Events

Urban agriculture organizations want their soil tested after Chevron refinery fire

After the Chevron refinery fire sent plumes of black smoke laden with chemicals into the air, Urban Tilth, one of Richmond’s urban agriculture organizations, wants the soil it uses to grow food tested for heavy metals. Though the Contra Costa Health Services say Richmond-grown fruits and vegetables are safe to eat and that they don’t expect any impact from the fire on soil or compost, Doria Robinson, the executive director of Urban Tilth, said she worries about heavy metals like…

Particulates below state standard after refinery fire, testing proved difficult

Results from a Bay Area Air Quality Management District analysis of particulate matter in the air over Richmond following the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire show slightly elevated levels of elemental carbon, which is common after a fire. Those levels are still well below state and federal air quality standards, the BAAQMD announced Thursday. Although the official analysis showed low levels, the smoke plume went several thousand feet into the air and the wind blew it east, said Wendel Brunner,…

Teens create a rainbow-hued mural celebrating pride and acceptance

Over the last five weeks, seven Richmond teens—under the guidance of two adults, Loriana Valente and Pancho Peskador—have spent hours spray painting the walls of a building in Richmond. On the corner of 41st Street and Macdonald Avenue they worked, transforming the dull brown walls of the West Contra Costa County Children’s Services building into a vibrantly colorful depiction of their vision of life in Richmond.

West County Wastewater District workers, management not seeing eye-to-eye

On Tuesday morning, over 20 West County Wastewater District (WCWD) employees picketed outside the district’s headquarters on Hilltop Drive to denounce contract negotiations that have come to a screeching halt. At the heart of the matter is a wastewater district that’s trying to save money during a global economic crisis, while at the same time repair pipes that are 70 to 90 years old.

National Night Out is more than a party, it’s a show of appreciation

On Tuesday evening, Richmond residents gathered at Target to celebrate the kick off of the city’s annual National Night Out event, a series of neighborhood block parties designed to improve neighborhood safety by getting residents to know one another and making them familiar with the officers in their local police department.

Richmond rolls to victory at Bay Area Derby Girls Championship

Energy as tangible as an electric current charged through the Craneway Pavillion on Saturday night as people flowed into the glass-lined room by the bay. The cavernous space was converted into a derby stadium for the 2012 B.ay A.rea D.erby (B.A.D.) Girls Championship showdown between the San Francisco ShEvil Dead and the Richmond Wrecking Belles.

Health food company Nutiva moving to Richmond, hiring 100 workers

When he was 20 years old, John Roulac had no idea that the pain and sluggishness he was experiencing while shooting hoops would lead him to found Nutiva, one of the fastest-growing health food companies in the United States, which will soon move into a new warehouse in Point Richmond and expects to hire about 100 local workers.