Environment

Election 2012: Proposition 37

On a sunbaked October afternoon, as shoppers munched on sliced apple samples and children dug into bags of kettle corn at the Main Street Farmers’ Market at Nevin Plaza, artist Malik Seneferu took a break from daubing paint on canvas to explain why he plans to vote for the state’s Proposition 37, which requires labeling food that is genetically engineered or contains genetically modified organisms. “People may say that GMOs are safe, but safe and healthy are two different things,”…

Richmond rabbits hop to new homes

The House Rabbit Society is a no-kill shelter in Richmond. They save rabbits from around the area from being euthanized. When you walk in, it neither smells like a shelter, nor looks like one. With carpeted floors and bright open enclosures, it looks more like a rabbit hotel.

Cafeterias digest lunch regulations

In Richmond, a city in which 51 percent of students in grades 5, 7 and 9 were obese or overweight in 2010 and where two-thirds of students are from families near and below the national poverty line, how to feed the children, what to feed the children — and if the children choose to eat what they’re fed — has created a world of dietary perplexity.

Unwrapped: Mixed reactions to new lunch

On July 1, new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations kicked in changing what kids eat nationwide. The federal regulations, spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, limit the average weekly maximum number of calories in a lunch meal to 850 in high school, 700 in middle school, and 650 in elementary school. Additionally, schools must offer more fruits and vegetables, and at least half of foods served must be “whole grain…

Making Waves students clean up Baxter Creek

On Saturday, students from Making Waves teamed up with The Watershed Project for a trash assessment and cleanup effort at Baxter Creek, which was recently named one of California’s trashiest waterways. From cardboard and paper, to styrofoam and plastic bags—and even the occasional shoe—students and other volunteers removed debris and freshened up the area. Richmond Confidential caught the action in the video above.

Oysters in for a comeback at Point Pinole

Olympia oysters, whose slender, two-inch shells can be found in historic Native American sites across the Bay Area, are believed to thrive in the shallow water below the tide. But more than a century after nearly disappearing, the Olys could make a comeback at Point Pinole.

Art on the Greenway exhibit a community effort to celebrate Richmond

The Richmond Greenway got a huge makeover this summer – from colorful murals to mosaic benches to hand-welded bike racks – thanks to $65,000 in grants through Richmond’s Neighborhood Public Art program. The summer’s projects culminated in a multimedia exhibit at the Richmond Art Center called Art on the Greenway that will remain until November 9, 2012. The Richmond Arts & Culture Commission awarded NPA grants to three different entities this year: The Community Rejuvenation Project for eight murals and…