Education

Toy donations abound in one school, fall short at a children’s center

It was a good day to be giving away coats. The air was biting cold and rain dribbled intermittently. On the last day of school before winter break, students at Verde Elementary School would be leaving with a new coat and a present. The school was running its annual toy and coat drive, an event that’s put together by individuals at churches, public offices, and others in Richmond. Members of the Davis Chapel left toys and coats at their church….

“Miss Richmond” heads to pageants

Alexis Pickins, otherwise known as “Miss Richmond,” will be representing her hometown in two upcoming beauty pageants. The 22-year-old senior at UC Berkeley will compete in Miss Black California Dec. 28-30 and Miss California Jan. 12-13, and she may well be the first “Miss Richmond” the city has ever seen. But for the community, Pickins isn’t just a pretty face – a star student in high school and the first who will graduate from college in her family, she’s a…

Romeo and Juliet in Richmond

Students from Richmond are putting a new spin on Shakespeare’s classic tale of forbidden love, making it meaningful to life on the streets.

Forum addresses issues facing Richmond youth

At the end of two hours of often emotional, powerful discussion Saturday on youth issues in Richmond – covering education, outreach, violence and fear — the resounding consensus was a need for more: Richmond needs more outlets for talking with, to and about its youth.