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Richmond to host major meeting on environmental justice

Richmond will host a major public meeting on environmental justice and job creation Thursday, with representatives from nearly a dozen federal agencies as well as local officials, social-service providers and environmental and business groups. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the departments of Justice, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development will be among those present. The event is one in a series of meetings nationwide between local stakeholders and…

Cohn-Stone Studios opens its doors to the public

The glassblowers at the Cohn-Stone Studios in Richmond make glass sculptures motivated by nature. They produce thousands of glass apples, pears, seashells, leaves, and in the fall, pumpkins. With the help of three employees, Michael Cohn and Molly Stone work year-round, but only open their doors for a few weekends in the fall to show the public how glass pumpkins are made. Check out this video to see how the process works.

From anti-graffiti to anti-tag: Richmond considering new graffiti ordinance

Last October a group of student artists from Gompers High School pooled their money to buy paint and spent two weeks splashing vibrant blues and greens on the brick wall of an industrial building off 8th Street, composing a colorful jungle with bouncing animals and bubble letters. While they worked, a few miles away, near the railroads and I-580, hurried graffiti popped up on the walls of deserted factory plants. One is an intricate mural, the other is a crude…

A concussion shortchanges the Oilers, but they still fight

The concussion left these inner-city high school football players in tears. There were curses, there was silence, there was rallying and hope, there was a bit of envy over the flashier jerseys of the opposing team. The Richmond Oilers — a short-manned team that could hardly afford to lose a player — was huddled, in anger and nervousness — to watch number 65, junior Jorge Diaz, who runs the defensive and offensive lines, on a stretcher, his shirt off, paramedics over…

Eagles bulldoze Indians

Kennedy High Eagles fans had a lot to cheer about Friday night, as Kennedy dominated John Swett High School’s Indians 42-6. After an evenly matched first quarter, with the Eagles leading by a point 7-6, the Indians began to slip when a fumble abruptly stopped their momentum down the field and was recovered by the Eagles’ Danny Pompa for a touchdown. During halftime Head Coach Mike Carminer motivated his players, repeating the phrase “We haven’t got to our level of…

The Lunch Special

Whether it’s burgers and fries or crab cakes and cognac, Richmond has a restaurant for just about everyone. Maggie Beidelman takes you to three quintessential Richmond establishments — Casper’s Hot Dogs on Macdonald Ave., the Boiler House at the Craneway, and Hotel Mac in Point Richmond — to find out who’s there, and what’s cooking.

Council, and democracy, take time

The slow crawl of representative democracy was on full display Tuesday as the City Council debated a Personnel Board election held earlier in the month, in which some votes weren’t counted. The time-sucking agenda item caused Councilmember Nat Bates to say “let’s move on and go home,” as the discussion topped the hour and a half mark. The whole affair centered on the decision by City Clerk Diane Holmes to invalidate ballots submitted by some city employees in the Department…

Fun run on the Home Front

More than 200 people ran or walked the Bay Trail at Marina Bay on Saturday as part of the Home Front Festival. Runners and walkers had two options: 5k and 10k courses. The fastest man in the 5k run was 37-year-old Tim Stahler, and BZ Churchman, 49, was the fastest woman. In the 10k run, the champion Jack Wallace, 21, took less than 36 minutes. Emily Ferenzi, 31, was the women’s champion, taking about 39 minutes. The youngest “runner” was…

East Bay Center celebrates reopening

Music, applause and hundreds of community members filled the newly renovated East Bay Center for the Performing Arts Thursday night at the center’s Community Launch Party. The center raised nearly $16 million under director Jordan Simmons to rebuild the worn Winters Building on the corner of 11th Street and Macdonald Avenue. Home to after-school performing arts programs for more than 350 Richmond youths from the Iron Triangle neighborhood, EBCPA’s reach extends throughout the Bay Area. For a full list of…