AP

Marquis Hamilton: Recollections of a life lost

Marquis Hamilton was a 20-year-old father of two. On Nov. 25, he became the fifth young adult homicide victim in the tiny neighborhood of North Richmond this year. Before that, a RichmondConfidential.org reporter got to know him a bit, and wants you to know him too.

North Richmond mourns Marquis Hamilton

Mourners and clergy remembered Hamilton, 20, as a fun-loving prankster who snatched the bed covers off his seven brothers and five sisters and borrowed friends’ bicycles without their knowledge – only to return them with a laugh.

Mourning lives lost in Richmond, 2011

Friday’s ceremony to remember the victims of homicide in Richmond has become an annual exercise, as McLaughlin uses her monthly meet-the-mayor meetings every December as a solemn occasion to reflect on the lives lost to violence in the city.

Debate stirs over two-year on-ramp closure

The California Department of Transportation is planning a project that would close an I-580 on-ramp near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for at least two years, forcing residents to enter westbound and cross the bridge into Marin County.

North Richmond man slain, city police on alert

Marquis Hamilton was smiling when he coaxed a store cashier into giving him a cigarette before wandering back to the street corner a few ticks past 8 p.m. on Friday night. Moments later, after an exchange of rapid gunfire at the corner of Market Avenue and Fifth Street, Hamilton was back.

Public salaries outpace residents’ income levels

Richmond public employees earn a yearly average salary almost twice the median household income of the city’s residents, leading to a drain of wealth and resources as many of those employees choose to live outside of the city.

Dejean Middle school students visit Slide Ranch

Students in the Environmental Science, Conservation And Photographic Excursions, or E.S.C.A.P.E. Club, at Dejean Middle School are rolling up their sleeves and trading urban living for a day on Slide Ranch. The Club started in 1999 at Adams Middle School when three teachers took their students on an end of the year trip to Monterey Bay. Some of the students had never seen the ocean before. This inspired the teachers to create an after-school club focused on helping students experience…