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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.
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…
With exactly three weeks until the upcoming election, Richmond’s key political players were out in full swing and the council’s division on full display at Tuesday night’s meeting. The main source of tension for the evening was a recent fight between Corky Booze and Richmond Progressive Alliance member David Moore. The much-disputed incident between the two men resulted in an exchange of blows outside the Sept. 20 Point Richmond Neighborhood Council’s Candidates Night forum. Councilmember Nat Bates placed an item…
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.
About 30 2nd graders marveled at their teacher, Linda Townsend-Bryson as she pulled a new microscope out of its box to show them. “Whoa,” said the Peres Elementary students in unison as Townsend-Bryson explained that the microscope came with prepared slides containing samples of carrot root, onion skin and cucumber. The three boxes full of school supplies that were awarded to Townsend-Bryson’s class came from Fuel Your School, a program spawned by a partnership that began in 2009 between DonorsChoose.org,…
Richmond native Anthony Green spent 13 years in the Air Force – first as an Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic, then as a loadmaster for the C-5 airplane, which he told me was one of the best jobs he ever had. “I still got to fly around everywhere,” he said. “I just wasn’t flying the plane.” The Air Force took him from battlegrounds in Iraq and Afghanistan to training grounds at Travis Air Force Base, as well as to Washington, Texas,…
Eleanor Thompson is known in the Iron Triangle neighborhood as an advocate for youth and their safety. What’s less known is that she is motivated to work for the young people of Richmond by her own childhood experience. Thompson was born in Arkansas but moved to Arizona when she was six. By the time she was 14, she had lost both her parents and entered a foster home with her two younger sisters, then 13 and 12. Despite being the…
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.
Armed with a Ziploc bag full of bookmarks and a compliment, Mike (Ali) Raccoon Eyes Kinney moves quickly from house to house “slinging paper.” As an experienced precinct walker, he gives himself 15 seconds to assess each porch before he decides whether to deliver the thin strip of paper emblazoned with a “WE LIKE MIKE!” slogan, his picture and the words “Candidate for Richmond City Council 2012.” If the doorstep is too cluttered, he won’t go near. There might be…