Richmond officials observed the anniversary of the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights by gathering near a hub for day laborers and doling out coffee, pastries and educational literature for about 50 men who hang around looking for work.
Four-term City Councilman Tom Butt took on a range of key local issues during a 90-minute roundtable interview with Richmond Confidential staff and professors Dec. 9. The interview was held at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
For the 28th consecutive year, longtime Richmond native Rick Spencer has hastily set up shop, outdoors and a bevy of lush, aromatic Firs. Bab’s Christmas Trees is open for business at 1030 23rd Street.
A trio of local restaurants that donated $600 worth of food for a workshop supporting a community art project were awarded “Small Business of the Month” certificates during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
A unanimous resolution has established the 60-plus-year-old United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights as “guiding principles” in Richmond’s local governance.
Homecoming night tends to transcend temporary discomforts, like chilly nights and shaky home football teams. On the biggest night of the high school sports season, cheerleaders have to bring their best, and that’s just what De Anza’s squad did.
The De Anza High School Dons, a much-maligned football team, got clobbered in their homecoming night game. But the full story does not show up in the box score. The Dons were blown out 49-7 by a much better Alameda High School team. The Dons gave up hundreds of yards, but never yielded an inch when it came to heart. They came in 0-9, and they left 0-10. Most of the 23 players who suited up were seniors, playing possibly…
De Anza High School’s football team lost every game they played this season, but that didn’t stop them from giving their fans a gutsy effort on homecoming night.
Gunfire occurs in the city of Richmond nearly every day. A video and written account of how denizens near a 23rd street restaurant reacted in the instant aftermath of at least one shooter unleashing a hail of bullets on a busy intersection.
The Fire Department may be grappling with double-digit percentage budget cuts, but Chief Michael Banks persuaded the City Council to approve contributing to purchase of eight grant-supplemented treadmills for local fire stations.
Richmond has taken a step other, larger cities nationwide have taken with some success: Launching and funding an agency to conduct community outreach and crime intervention to stem violence before it occurs.
Richmond’s YouthWORKS, a city-run youth-employment program, employed 705 local teens and young adults ages 16-21 last summer at 140 Bay Area public and private work sites. The civic youth jobs program is one the nation’s largest in proportion to the population of the city it serves.
Total homicides this year stood at 45 as of Nov. 6, nearly double the number killed in all of 2008, an increase that has raised renewed concern among city leaders and law enforcement officials. Twenty-seven homicides were recorded in all of 2008. Forty-plus homicide totals were the norm for most of this decade until last year, when law enforcement and a new crime intervention team focused resources on the “Iron Triangle,” section of the city, helping reduce homicide totals citywide,…