Arts & Entertainment
On the stage of the Iron Triangle Theater, 8-year-old Sayirah Woods leans over her copy of the book Richmond Tales: Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle, absorbed in the adventures of Maisha and Mario. The book tells the story of two friends who take a journey to learn the history behind the Iron Triangle . . .
A program that gives away free books to school children has touched down on the West Coast, and one of Richmond’s schools was the first to host the event Wednesday night. Through the Newark-based program, My Very Own Library, more than 2,000 books were available for all students at Making Waves, a charter middle and high school that’s made up of students who are almost all low-income and qualify for free lunch. Every student received a certificate earlier in the…
In a contentious meeting Tuesday night, the city council took on gun control and support for a program that works to curtail violence in Richmond after a deadly week that ended with three dead in the city. Councilmember Corky Booze set the tone for the meeting early on, when he took issue with Mayor Gayle McLaughlin’s re-ordering of agenda items. “This is just to show how we let our personalities get ahead of what’s supposed to happen in our city,”…
Curator Melinda McCrary stands next to a clunky antique radio that’s perched on a classic wooden stand in the Seaver Gallery at the Richmond Museum of History. She signals for me to shut up and listen, then flips on a switch. Immediately the room fills with the voice of a sports commentator, and I am transported to the 1950s, listening to blow-by-blow accounts of the ups, downs and heartbreaks in a classic baseball game. This subtle but powerful use of…
Efforts to have Richmond Assistant City Attorney and Human Resources Director Leslie Knight removed from her position were deterred Tuesday evening, when a resolution calling for her dismissal was taken off the city council agenda shortly before the meeting. The resolution, introduced by Councilmember Jovanka Beckles, recommended that City Manager Bill Lindsay, who has the power to fire employees, terminate Knight for violating city policies, as found in a city-funded independent investigation. In a public statement Lindsay released in March,…
A synchronized swim team known for sending athletes to the Olympics gave Richmond residents a treat Friday as they performed several of their routines at the Richmond Plunge. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts, founded in 1968, has had more than 30 Olympians swim for its team, eight of them going on to win gold. Coach Kim Probst said about half of the team hails from near Walnut Creek, while the other half come from all around the country to train with…
Last week, RAW Talent hosted its second open mic night. Kids from across Richmond and the East Bay came out to share original poems and songs. Organizers hoped the event would be a safe place for kids to be creative and show off their talents. http://vimeo.com/62392823
Dozens of palm-sized faces hang from the ceiling in Steve Mainini’s art classroom at Kennedy High School. The ceramic reflections of former students dangle in wire cages and defy gravity as if trapped in some sort of bad dream. But for the hundreds of students that have enrolled in Mainini’s art classes the past eight years, the art teacher with a crew cut is no Freddy Krueger—instead his students and peers regard him as an inspiration. “Soul Cages,” Mainini called…
As they have every Sunday for the last 70 years, members of the Davis Chapel filed into church on a recent weekend and took their seats in the red-cushioned pews. The first sunlight of the day streamed in through the stained-glass windows and members of the choir took their positions behind the altar. Clapping their hands and stepping side-to-side in rhythm, the white-robed choir raised its voice in harmony and sang: “Oh to the blood of Jeee—sus. To the blood…