AP
The man who conducted an investigation into alleged discrimination in the Richmond Police Department testified Thursday that he was inundated with complaints from both sides of the issue in mid-2007. Ray Marshall, a Harvard-educated attorney whose firm was paid more than $300,000 by the city for his fact-finding mission, testified that bickering on both sides prolonged his work and impaired the performance of the department. Seven high-ranking African American police officials are suing Police Chief Chris Magnus, former Deputy Chief…
The Lauritzen Channel has more DDT in it than before the 1996 cleanup, and some fish are turning up with DDT levels in their tissues hundreds of times higher than their counterparts in the rest of the San Francisco Bay. It took one company less than two decades to create a chemical mess in the Lauritzen Channel that will take almost half a century to identify and clean.
As police command staff officials began peppering his hand-picked police chief with complaints of discrimination, Richmond’s most powerful executive official did all he felt he should do: Initiate an independent investigation, pass the complaints on to his Human Resources manager and issue a department-wide letter reiterating conduct policies. “I felt like I was doing exactly what I should have done,” Lindsay said in response to questions from Jonathan Matthews, the attorney for one of the seven plaintiffs in the discrimination…
A 23-year-old Richmond resident was shot and killed while riding in a car from a party in South Richmond Friday night. The victim, William Cantrell was one of three people in the car, which was fired at by a shooter who was on foot in the 2900 block of Florida Ave., according to Lt. Bisa French. “They were leaving a party, but we have no information on motive or suspect,” French said. The car traveled a few blocks to a…
A year ago possibilities meant nothing to Mari Hernandez. Possibilities were for American citizens—people who spoke English or had money. They certainly weren’t for undocumented immigrant women whose husbands beat them into a life of silence.
Joe Blacknell III was found guilty Thursday of 20 felony counts, including the first degree murder of Marcus Russell in 2009. Jurors reached their decision after more than eight days of deliberations. Blacknell, 21, was convicted on 20 out of 22 felonies with which he was charged. He was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder stemming from the September 13, 2009, shooting of Elliot Lawson and Devonte Bernstein, who were wounded in a drive-by shooting at the…
The song opens with the ominous, resonating notes of a piano and the gentle strokes of a harp. A deep bass voice croons, “Smell of chemicals hangs in the air above the Iron Triangle. Some things never change, and I’ve been here 70 years now.”
On a February weekend, Nick Despota and Nel Benningshof left their house in Richmond two to three times a day, sometimes at dawn, sometimes at dusk, strapping on their binoculars and carrying a notepad and a short, durable scope—12-15 inches long attached to a tripod.
Eight women in helmets, bulky protective pads, tight spandex and rollerskates gather in a pack. Just behind them, two girls — the jammers — are side-by-side, preparing to attack the rink in front of them. A referee blows a whistle twice, sharply, which is followed by a clacking of skates and the soft thud of bodies slamming into each other. The Richmond Wrecking Belles were off to a fast start against The Oakland Outlaws in the Bay Area Derby Girls’…