Economy
Richmond is home to higher than average childhood asthma rates and a refinery responsible for some the highest emissions in the state. How are the two connected?
After the great recession of 2008, inequality widened along racial lines as people lost their homes, often their only major asset. Earlier this month the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C. think tank, reported in “Billionaire Bonanza: The Forbes 400 and the Rest of US,” that the average white family today has net assets of $141,900, compared with the $11,000 for African American families. This hollowing out of the African American family asset base is a nationwide phenomenon that can be explained by the shrinking African American middle class. It’s even more a factor in “strong market” regions like the Bay Area, where housing costs are soaring.
Taqueria la Estrella, which specializes in authentic Mexican food, opened in May 2005 on 23rd Street near MacDonald Avenue. The restaurant is owned and operated by the seven-member Carmona family.
Lilly’s Beauty Salon, located on 23rd Street near Lincoln Avenue, turns 24 this month. It was the first in Richmond to offer services by Spanish-speaking stylists.
Locally Richmond is an occasional series of profiles that highlights the small businesses that contribute to making Richmond a unique community. The dark and treacherous battle with cancer leaves some people helpless and weak. For Sarita Evans, it put things into perspective. It reinforced in her the importance of her relationship with her daughter as well as the importance of her health. “I was very scared and I was a single parent and became very focused on trying to build a future for…
Sumatra McGilbery is the owner of Dejavu’s Hair Salon, located on MacDonald Street near downtown Richmond. Next month will make 17 years she has been involved with the salon, first as styling assistant, then as stylist and now as owner.
Many things change over the course of two decades. But change is rare at Angelo’s Gourmet Delicatessen, where the prices have increased only once. In the newest edition of Locally Richmond, meet Anna Lee and Jae Choy, the owners of Angelo’s Gourmet Delicatessen for the last 20 years.
Clarence Ford had a story to tell, and it was one that may resonate among those who have faced the depths of despair behind bars, yet feared the prospect of freedom when it suddenly arrived.
Last week, Richmond’s City Council faced a painful choice between paying a $30 million bond termination fee or taking on an extra $10 million in debt over the life of the bond. Neither of these options help the city handle its deficit, but council members opted for continuing payment through the life of the bond.