Education

WCCUSD pays off debt

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…

LGBT teens, RYSE Center, mobilize Richmond against hate speech

On Tuesday night at Richmond’s City Council meeting, upset residents and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, mostly dressed in purple t-shirts and yellow armbands, signed a unity pledge against hate speech and asked council members to do the same. The standing-room-only crowd also heard 65 people voice their concerns about homophobic comments they heard during the last public meeting.

Track athlete awarded scholarship to Azusa Pacific University

Kennedy High School senior Allana Reames has been awarded an athletic scholarship to Azusa Pacific University for track and field. Reames is ranked in the top five students at Kennedy with a 4.0 grade point average. She was also offered positions at Howard University, Norfolk State, and Seattle University but she has decided to take the one at Azusa Pacific. “Allana is one of the only female athletes to receive a track scholarship at Kennedy High School in the last…

Happy Lot Farm and Garden takes root, sprouts hope for urban nutrition

Talk about bang for your buck—14,000 square feet for a dollar a year ain’t bad. In terms of food production, that could mean a whole lot of apples, and whatever else will take root on the corner of 1st Street and Chanslor Avenue. The nearly half-acre lot sits just one block east of the Iron Triangle and used to be a popular spot for drug dealing and a dumping ground for trash. Now thanks to the daringness of one resident,…

Courses help ready local contractors for Richmond public projects

Like many construction contractors, Willie McGary was hit hard by the real estate meltdown a few years ago. “The jobs dried up, and then the competition became overwhelming for what was left,” McGary said. What was left in the West Contra Costa County area were mostly public sector projects, and the qualification process for bids left small independent contractors like McGary overwhelmed. “It’s a whole new world,” McGary said. It was this reality that prompted the West Contra Costa Unified…

Richmond National Park visitor center to open Saturday

Since it was established in 2000, the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park has been a local gem that preserves the city’s legacy as a booming shipping hub during the war years. But the sites are spread throughout the city, and the park has lacked a central location where visitors can start their tours. That’s about to change. The park’s new Visitor Education Center will be the site of a day of events beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday,…