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At the end of two hours of often emotional, powerful discussion Saturday on youth issues in Richmond – covering education, outreach, violence and fear — the resounding consensus was a need for more: Richmond needs more outlets for talking with, to and about its youth.
On Saturday more than 300 people lined the long hallway at Barrett Avenue Christian Church to celebrate gift giving. At one end of the spectrum was a room full of children getting their faces painted, while at the other end parents sat and listened to the musical group Rondalla del Sagrado Corazon. It seemed like there was something for everyone down the block-long hallway—from free flu shots sponsored by Walgreens, to the sale of organic health and beauty products. And…
Mayor Gayle McLaughlin invited the community to the Richmond Public Library Friday night to honor the memory of this year’s homicide victims. More than 30 people attended the event. Chairs formed a circle providing a public forum for the mayor and the attendees who had stories to share about the year’s 18 homicides. “It’s people owning the neighborhood together,” McLaughlin said on ways to decrease crime and violence in the community. She focused on communities taking personal responsibility, being more…
Two matches into the 2012-13 boy’s soccer season, the Richmond High School soccer team is struggling to find its identity. The Oilers, who suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Amador Valley High School Dons Saturday, are still searching for their first win. But coaches said the loss didn’t matter as much as the team’s lackluster play. “We were playing very soft and with no sense of urgency,” said Oiler co-head coach Jasko Begovic. “Out of 80 minutes,…
Richmond Arts Center has been holding holiday arts festivals for more than 50 years. But this is the first time its festival has gone green, thanks to volunteers who spent a week in November making decorations for the Dec. 2 festival out of old newspapers. This shift from new to recycled materials is innovative, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. And it represents a more dignified final use for newspapers than serving as birdcage liner for the family parrot. “People have donated…
The white-collar crime of identity theft, which has increased dramatically nationwide in the last decade, has not spared Richmond. Richmond Police Detective Jeffrey Whitson calls Richmond one of the identity theft epicenters of the West Coast. With the technological advances that come with smart phones, online banking, and other exploitative tools, Whitson said he’s getting far more cases across his desk. “It’s an epidemic,” Whitson said. Whitson said that from last November to the present he has seen more…
Over the last week and a half Richmond has seen a spike in homicides, adding three more killings to a relatively quiet year. Andre Cross, 34, of Fairfield stepped outside of a home on the 2800 block of McBryde Ave. around 10:30 p.m. to make a phone call and was shot multiple times by someone waiting outside, said Richmond police spokeswoman Lieutenant Bisa French. “It was not random,” said French. “We believe he was an intended target. There was a…
On Wednesday night, in the Richmond high school cafeteria, the more than 40 players on the Oiler roster were congratulated on their successful season. Coaches thanked them for their efforts, certain players received awards for their play, and the team now has a trophy to document it.
When you think of a jail, what comes to mind? Bars. A cell without windows. Agitated prisoners. Maybe I watch too much TV. But when you go to the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, be prepared for something different. This is a model jail where inmates can get a high school diploma or learn a trade. It’s also overcrowded, and its operations are threatened. “So before you go outside to the main part of the jail, I would like…