Business
Running through the heart of Richmond and San Pablo, 23rd Street was once a bustling hub of immigrant-owned businesses. When a protest was held against the Trump administration’s immigration policies in January, it was on 23rd Street where hundreds of people gathered and marched in the pouring rain, waving flags from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. As 2025 comes to a close, immigrant-owned businesses along 23rd are reporting historically low sales. Restaurant owners, servers and organizers attribute this drop…
Last in a two-part series on Richmond’s exploration into wind turbine manufacturing. This series is part of “The Stakes,” a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. The Trump Administration is putting a dent in Richmond’s plans to assemble offshore wind turbines, following an onslaught of actions against clean energy. Richmond has hoped to assemble turbines for the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation & Conservation District in Eureka. The district is building an offshore…
First in a two-part series on Richmond’s exploration into wind turbine manufacturing. This series is part of “The Stakes,” a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. After decades of manufacturing declines, Richmond leaders have a new pitch: retool the city’s industrial legacy for clean energy. In October, California placed a bet on that vision. The California Energy Commission awarded Richmond a $750,000 grant to study the feasibility of bringing wind turbine manufacturing…
Some Richmond Uber and Lyft drivers are cautiously optimistic about a new California law granting them union rights, but many question if it will reverse their deteriorating earnings in an industry where the average driver makes less than minimum wage after accounting for vehicle expenses. Assembly Bill 1340, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, allows app-based ride-hail drivers to form unions and collectively bargain with Uber and Lyft for the first time. Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks, who represents West Contra…
Richmond Flea Market vendors recover from the pandemic, but now a new fear is keeping customers away
It’s an empty parking lot on weekdays but on weekends, this deserted piece of industrial land to the city’s north turns into the Richmond Flea Market. Traditionally, it’s where families come to have a meal, kids ride the miniature train, and everyone walks through the five rows of stalls shopping for everything from second-hand gadgets to power tools and trinkets from all over Latin America. But on Oct. 26, the Sunday after the Trump administration called threatened immigration raids in…
It’s been almost half a century since Debbie Carrillo’s journey as a home cook began in her mother’s kitchen in Hayward. She and her sister, Deeann Carillo, discovered their love for cooking while learning how to make savory and sweet dishes rooted in their Italian and Puerto Rican ancestry. Last year, Debbie Carrillo lost her job as a cook for a financial firm, where she prepared lunch for 30 to 65 people every day. Before that, she had spent nearly…
At the once-abandoned Hilltop Mall in Richmond, the golden Macy’s sign has faded, moss grows in the cracks of the parking lot, and vines climb the building’s vents. But if you listen closely, the rumble of excavators signals that new activity is starting here. A Silicon Valley-backed automated transportation company, with investors like Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has begun building a one-mile test track at the former Hilltop Mall. The construction team is transforming the northern parking…
Dozens of community members gathered at Richmond Memorial Auditorium Wednesday to imagine Richmond’s economic future, expressing concerns about economic hardship, pollution and a lack of community spaces. The event is part of a series called “Our Future Economy,” which the UC Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute is hosting along with the mayor’s office to devise ways to transform the economy for communities, workers and climate well-being. Othering & Belonging says on its website that Richmond was selected for a number…
Nestled on cozy Stockton Avenue in El Cerrito is an intimate, well-curated gift shop, the sort of place procrastinating Christmas shoppers dream about, and a homey coffeehouse where students from El Cerrito High sit next to board members of the Chamber of Commerce on a chilly afternoon. Both businesses, Jenny K. and Well Grounded Tea & Coffee, are the creations of Jenny Komaromi and Kevin O’Neal, a wife-husband duo who live in the community. The back of the building is…