Tyler Orsburn

Season on the line for Half-Steppers

This is it. This is where the Half-Steppers lay everything on the line—if not they’ll be steppin’ in the stands Saturday as spectators, while others compete for medals during the Junior Olympic finals.

Heat, 400-yard record breakers, slow Half-Steppers’ winning stride

Day two of the Junior Olympics competition at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans was a roller coaster of sorts for the Richmond Half-Steppers’ coaches and parents. They witnessed two of their runners come in first and second place in their respective races with lifetime and personal bests, but no one on the team has yet to qualify for the next round. Robert Freeman, and Wayne Corbin were the days’s two big winners for the Half-Steppers. Freeman, 7, and Corbin,…

$1 million grant hopes to take a bite out of unhealthy food

Kaiser Permanente wants to HEAL Richmond. Not with expensive medicine or shiny surgical knives, but with good old-fashioned Healthy Eating Active Living, or HEAL Zones, the acronym chosen for a program that will help residents fight obesity through education. The program also includes a small business action plan that will encourage local businesses to promote responsible food and exercise choices. The three-year $10 million HEAL Zones’ initiative is a continuation of Kaiser Permanente’s 2006 Healthy Eating Active Living Community Health…

Half-Steppers board bus, Junior Olympics final destination

For the past year the Richmond Half-Steppers have been going up and down the state of California to qualify for the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games. This year 10 boys and eight girls qualified. According to coach Johnny Holmes, the boys relay team is ranked third in the country.

Peaceful protest held at immigration detention center

Nearly 100 residents from across Contra Costa County held a peaceful protest last week at the West County Detention Facility where illegal immigrants are held prior to deportation. Organized by the East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition, families and friends of immigrants, students and religious leaders shared stories, sang songs, held banners and prayed that Congress will one day take the necessary steps to repair a failed immigration system that they say is tearing families apart

Half-Steppers’ final tune-up for Junior Olympics

Half-Stepper head coach Johnny Holmes stood around Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park track Wednesday evening waiting for Moses “Bullet” Baker, age 8, — the first leg of his nationally ranked relay team—to arrive for practice. Teammate Josh Johnson, 8, was waiting, too, and had already loosened up when coach Holmes spotted him. This would be their last chance to iron out their hand-offs and make sure everything was correct before they jumped on a bus Friday night for New…

Police, civic leaders announce gang task force

Less than two days after Daryl Russell, 20, was gunned down in plain daylight and only a stone’s throw away from a community center, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus and officials from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office stood near the blood-stained site and announced a new joint gang task force.

Richmond soccer club encourages Latino students to attend college

Raquel Orozco is from Mexico. She arrived in Richmond as a teenager and didn’t speak a word of English. Ten years after graduating from Richmond High, she is completing her Ph.D. in chemical engineering this year from UC Davis. Last Sunday, Orozco, along with 11 other Latino UC Davis students, hosted over 100 Richmond United Soccer Club players, family members and friends on their campus. After brief introductions and a tour of the school, players and parents got to ask…

Richmond Baptist Church shares Bible study in Belize

“Vacation Bible School” takes on new meaning when classes are held near Mayan temples and jaguar jungles. But for eight Richmond Baptist Church members, that’s exactly what they got during the last week in June when they visited the small and impoverished Central American country of Belize.