Not too long ago, the men now sitting around this table at the Contra Costa Probation Office were in prison. “I want to ask how long have you been in prison,” Chief Adult Probation Officer Philip Kader asks them. They respond with three, six and even 12 times. But now they’re getting a taste of their newly found freedom.
Richmond and Oakland students recently graduated from a new college certificate program designed to teach violence prevention skills.
Mike H. had been waiting for half an hour to hear his name called by an intake counselor at the Rubicon Legal and Economic Service Center in Richmond. But he was in no rush. He had been waiting for over 30 years for this; Saturday was the closest he’d ever been to getting his criminal record dismissed.
Brother and sister Sarah Lynn and Aaron Goeth were raised on church service and bar music while growing up in San Antonio, Texas. Now living in Oakland, the ginger-haired duo have been playing as Aquarena Springs, a country, honky-tonk band that incorporates the ukelele, drums, bass, melodica and keyboard.