Education
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of kids and parents descended on the Richmond Police Activities League (PAL) gymnasium for a giveaway of free backpack full of school supplies. Kids were able to play on the two inflatable jump houses while music was provided by band members from the Richmond PAL center.
On Friday, 16 West County high school students completed a paid summer internship program at Doctors Medical Center and were awarded certificates of proficiency by the Contra Costa County Office of Education. The five-week Summer Youth Employment Program acquainted students with the kind of work done in different hospital departments such as human resources, food and nutrition, the sleep lab and the cancer center.
On Saturday night in downtown Richmond, the unmistakable beats of Latin Jazz, followed by cheers and laughter, poured out of a small office tucked away in a row of other non-descript offices. The little space on Macdonald Avenue by the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts was illuminated with ambient lighting and filled with people. In the back corner the band played while people twirled on the dance floor. This is how the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) was helping two of its own candidates—Marilyn Langlois and Eduardo Martinez—raise money.
During a heated meeting on Tuesday night, Richmond council members tackled two items that drew out many members of the public: the teachers’ union’s concerns about Teach for America members employed in Richmond and the formation of the city’s first business improvement district. But the most heated exchange of the night came when council members Corky Booze and Jovanka Beckles got into a dust-up over Booze’s request for a legal opinion regarding his concerns about the possible civil rights violations of public speakers during past meetings.
Richmond resident Cordell Hindler is already taking shorter showers and turning off the lights. He said he’s tired of seeing his water and heating bills shoot through the roof. “I live in a house where everything is not up to date,” Hindler said about his heater, stove and light fixtures. “My bills are getting out of control. I’m here trying to learn how to keep my utility bills down.”
A study of the average weight of students in middle schools throughout California reveals that cities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have a high number of children who fall into the category of overweight or obese, including nearly half of the kids in Oakland and Richmond.
New coaches are coming to Richmond High School this year, but we’re not talking about football, basketball and baseball coaches. Instead we’re talking about writer coaches.
After 20 years, on June 1st, West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) was able to pay off its $47 million state loan to the state of California four years ahead of schedule. WCCUSD, previously known as the Richmond Unified School District, filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and became the first district in the state to enter receivership. By paying off its debt, the district will be freed from oversight by a state trustee and the $1.4 million in annual debt…
Bagging groceries, flipping pizzas and sitting by the public pool as a lifeguard used to be the ultimate jobs for young people. But with funding from Kaiser Permanente, five motivated teenagers from Richmond’s Police Activities League (RPAL) will skip the chump change and start their own business.