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Three Richmond teens charged with first-degree murder in Lincoln Plair investigation

Richmond police charged three teenagers on Monday in connection with the March 4 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Lincoln Plair. Plair was killed on the 100 block of 6th Street in Richmond while washing a car. “All three are affiliated with a gang active in North Richmond known as the Swerve Gang,” Detective Stina Johanson said. The shooting took place in a rival neighborhood, though Plair is not believed to have been involved in gang activity. The Contra Costa County district…

Richmond Grinders prepare for meet in Berkeley

Kiome Davis of Grant Elementary School wasn’t convinced she’d like track. She didn’t like training because it was too hard. On her third day of conditioning she said she heard her teammate use bad language. “I thought [the Richmond Grinders] was one of those bad teams that cusses a lot,” the nine-year-old said. She was panting from sprinting 200 meters in khaki pants and a white short-sleeve polo shirt. “[But] now that I got to know everybody—it’s good. We [train]…

Memorial Day weekend at the beach

Memorial Day has been observed for more than 140 years. Since soon after the end of the Civil War it has been a time to remember those who have given their lives while wearing a U.S. military uniform. According to the non-profit Civil War Trust, more than 1,200,000 American soldiers have died in battle. On Sunday, families gathered at Keller Beach in Point Richmond and honored those fallen soldiers and sailors by celebrating family. We at Richmond Confidential would like…

Richmond mulls legal action against Chevron Corp. over refinery fire

The Richmond City Council is 30 days from pursuing litigation against Chevron Corporation if negotiations fail to secure compensation for the August 2012 refinery fire. Legislators are seeking money from the oil company for damages and for expenses incurred by the city after the accident. Council voted 5-2 to hire Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, an antitrust, securities fraud and personal injury law firm based in Burlingame, to prepare to litigate if no agreement is reached by June 18. The measure…

Full UC college scholarship awarded to Kennedy High student

Kennedy High School senior Kelssie Sontay has a hero, and it’s not Wonder Woman. It’s Sontay’s dad, a man who she said didn’t get the opportunity to finish elementary school. Sontay recently won a full scholarship to UC Santa Cruz, and says her father was her inspiration. “He’s been my motivation for everything he went through in his childhood,” she said. Her father, she said, taught her that “it doesn’t matter what I have right now.” Now, what the 17-year-old…

Chevron and Oakland A’s promote science education at Stege Elementary School

Oakland A’s mascot Stomper and second baseman Eric Sogard  made a special appearance at Stege Elementary School Friday before their game against the Kansas City Royals. The floppy-eared mascot and spectacled major leaguer were in town to celebrate the academic fields of science, technology, engineering and math. This is the second year the Oakland A’s have partnered with Chevron to promote the oil refinery’s scholastic workbook the “Science of the Game.” Last year the dynamic duo visited Lincoln Elementary School…

National Parks Service highlights push for universal childcare after WWII

It was August, 1945. In Europe, the Second World War had barely ended; in Asia, the peace was less than a month old. But already the U.S. government was making plans to demobilize the unprecedented war effort it had assembled over the previous half-decade. That month, the government announced plans to shut down the system of federally-funded childcare centers that had sprouted across the country to support the legions of “Rosies” working outside the home in the war effort. The…

Woman shot in home; police confirm May 10 homicide victim

A 64-year-old woman was shot dead in her home late Wednesday night, according to Richmond Police Department officials. Bonita Todd, 64, was hospitalized after gunshots were fired from the street into her apartment on 20th Street near Espee Avenue at around 11 p.m. on May 15, said police spokesperson Det. Nicole Abetkov. Todd died later at the hospital. The woman’s son, who is in his 40s, was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Detectives believe he may have been the intended…

Richmond basketball star goes global, aims for Big East success

Jamaree Strickland sees the world differently. Some may even say the Richmond native has his head in the clouds. If anyone would know it’d be his mom, Stacey Strickland, who recalls that even back in preschool, when her son stood behind his friends they just reached up to the top of his stomach. “I don’t remember ever being average height,” Jamaree Strickland said upon his recent return from playing basketball in France for the USA Elite Under-23 team. “In the…