Wendi Jonassen

Ride of Silence honors cyclists injured or killed on the road

He doesn’t remember the exact street he was on when he flew into traffic. But Najari Smith does remember riding in a shared lane—a section of road without a bike lane—when a truck behind him honked incessantly, signaling frustration with Smith’s slower speed. Smith tried to speed up, but his chain slipped off the gears, causing the bike to abruptly stop, flinging Smith off the bike and into the road. The truck slowed down for a few minutes, but sped…

For those in detention centers, calling home can be an expensive problem

Roberto dela Rosa’s mother has been in detention centers for almost two years, trying to get refugee status to stay in the United States. During the first year, his mother was transferred to different detention centers several times, and all of the bouncing around and the expense of phone calls kept dela Rosa from being able to talk to his mother at all, he says. Talking to his mother hasn’t been any easier over the past year since she has…

Housing plan sparks arguments on rent control, just cause evictions

After several hours of confusion and bickering, last week the Richmond City Council approved a housing element—a part of the general plan that will address land use and housing development throughout the city—just in time to meet a deadline to be eligible for a state-issued $44 million grant. But although the entire housing element contains more than fifty sub-sections, there are still four sections of the plan the council left undecided, which could affect rent control, eviction laws and low-income…

Financially struggling Richmond hospital seeks partnership

Luis Moreno brought his 17-year-old stepdaughter to Doctors Medical Center last Monday after she missed two days of school due to flu symptoms. She is not a Richmond resident—she lives in Pinole—but Doctor’s Medical Center is the closest emergency room. And she is uninsured. Like her, nearly a quarter of the patients Doctors Medical Center sees every day are uninsured and an additional 30 percent are underinsured, meaning that Medicare or MediCal covers a portion—but not all—of their hospital costs,…

Special meeting to discuss vacant City Council seat this Thursday

After running out of time to officially declare the council seat left by Gary Bell as vacant at last week’s city council meeting, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin announced a special meeting to be held this Thursday at City Hall to discuss the issue. The time for the meeting has not been specified yet. “This process is very important and I look forward to getting it started by way of establishing some dates for the process to begin to move forward,” McLaughlin…

Urban Tilth to host 6th Annual MLK Day of Service

Even though Martin Luther King is technically a holiday, Urban Tilth is asking residents to spend the day helping beautify the city to celebrate the accomplishments of the civil rights leader. On January 21, Urban Tilth is asking volunteers to help plant seeds in the Greenway Community Garden, improve bike trail paths, create a mural for the Richmond’s Greenway, plant pollinator seeds to attract butterflies, and assist with several other outdoor projects. “On Monday we will spend the day, giving…

Asthma hospitalization rates for children in Contra Costa County

Environmental health advocates have often linked asthma rates in Richmond to nearby industrial polluters like the Chevron refinery. But while science has established some strong correlations between air pollution and asthma episodes — such as in studies conducted by the California EPA Air Resources Board or published in scientific journals such as Current Opinion on Pulmonary Medicine — the jury’s still out on causation. “The connection between asthma and air quality is complicated,” says Abigail Kroch, Director of Epidemiology, Planning & Evaluation at Contra…

Air Quailty District hosts informative session on refinery fire

A dozen Richmond residents, most donning shirts that read ‘Clean Air for All,’ rode a bus to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District office this morning to hear from the various agencies investigating the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire. Spectators filled the chairs and lined the wall of the quiet, wood-paneled room as each organization — including representatives from BAAQMD, the Environmental Protection Agency, Contra Costa Health Services, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, and California Air Resources Board —…

ACLU sues School District over alleged inadequacies

The West Contra Costa Unified School District’s Community Day School Program will start school in a new location at the Richmond Police Activities League this fall, a little more than a month after an ACLU-led lawsuit challenged the District’s funding and handling of the school. But the move didn’t placate critics, who argue the District has utterly neglected its CDSP. The Northern California chapter of the civil liberties group and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights filed a lawsuit July…

Urban agriculture organizations want their soil tested after Chevron refinery fire

After the Chevron refinery fire sent plumes of black smoke laden with chemicals into the air, Urban Tilth, one of Richmond’s urban agriculture organizations, wants the soil it uses to grow food tested for heavy metals. Though the Contra Costa Health Services say Richmond-grown fruits and vegetables are safe to eat and that they don’t expect any impact from the fire on soil or compost, Doria Robinson, the executive director of Urban Tilth, said she worries about heavy metals like…

Particulates below state standard after refinery fire, testing proved difficult

Results from a Bay Area Air Quality Management District analysis of particulate matter in the air over Richmond following the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire show slightly elevated levels of elemental carbon, which is common after a fire. Those levels are still well below state and federal air quality standards, the BAAQMD announced Thursday. Although the official analysis showed low levels, the smoke plume went several thousand feet into the air and the wind blew it east, said Wendel Brunner,…

Veolia hires and trains two Richmond residents in wastewater management

In an effort to build better a more amicable relationship with the community, Veolia, the company that manages the wastewater treatment plant in Richmond, has instituted an internship program geared at employing local residents. The company is already through the first stages of selecting two interns, said Jamal Muhammad, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Veolia.