Education
The concept is simple: a handful of books in a wooden box, mounted in a public space. The books are free. Peruse the selection. Take a book if you’d like. Leave a book in its place if you can. Enjoy. Called the Little Free Library, these informal neighborhood lending libraries have popped up in front of schools, homes, parks, bike paths and cafes in all 50 states and more than 70 countries since a man named Todd Bol installed the…
It is just shortly after noon on a Saturday, and the sun stands high over the historic Atchison Village in Richmond. Not a single cloud is in the sky. In its northwestern corner, a small crowd has gathered in front of one family home. The housing complex was originally built during World War II to accommodate workers from the nearby shipyards. In a small revolution, it was later sold to its residents and turned into a mutual housing cooperative. Today,…
The West Contra Costa Unified School District’s school board meeting Wednesday night included discussion of the need to find a home for Caliber Beta charter schools, updates on the district’s bond program, and recognizing the Richmond High School soccer team. The night started on a light note with a video representing the achievements of the Oilers soccer team. Not only did the team win the championship in the 2014-15 North Coast Section Division 2 soccer league, but the players have done…
Sixth grader Clemon Brown loves reading books, but he has a hard time finding books outside of school. “Two weeks ago, I was sitting in my room [and] I want to read a book,” Brown said. He said he wanted to visit a library, but his mom’s car wasn’t working at the time. Brown lives in North Richmond, almost three miles away from the nearest Richmond public library. “That’s really the difficulty,” Richmond Public Library Director Katy Curl said. “[We’re]…
It’s a sunny Thursday afternoon and the new health clinic at Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School is open for service. In an impeccably clean waiting area decorated with plants, a round table and a bright area rug, teenagers sit scrolling through their phones as they wait their turns, and Ferris Bueller plays overhead on the wall-mounted TV. LaShonda Williams, a health educator with Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS), leans over and checks in briefly with a young man sitting…
Students from Richmond’s De Anza High School, along with their parents, protested in front of the school early Monday morning to help Tahitia Dean, De Anza’s Law Academy instructor of two years, keep her job.
Affordable and sustainable food is a priority for Laneisha Whitfield, the director of the Richmond Food Policy Council, and her young campaigners. So on February 17, the Richmond Food Policy Council created an online and door-to-door petition to address the issue of getting more nutritious food for students.
Peres Elementary School’s auditorium was filled with low murmurs of conversation Saturday morning as West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) held its second community town hall meeting of the year. Armed with questions, parents trickled in around 9 am, dropping off their children at the daycare service the district provided. Coffee and pastries were munched as community members, teachers, staff, parents and Spanish translators split off into four groups for light discussions. Each group discussed changes in the district…
Roughly 40 people filled up the theater at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park’s visitor center on Saturday morning to meet Elizabeth Escobedo, author of From Coverall to Zoot Suits: The Lives of Mexican American Women on the World War II Home Front. The author and associate professor of history at the University of Denver was invited to the museum to share her research. During her presentation, Escobedo showed a variety of advertisements, newspaper articles, and photos…