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Rodents, Roaches and Broken Elevators: Why it took nearly a decade for Richmond to fix public housing

By Betty Marquez Rosales and Ravleen Kaur The elevators inside a Richmond public housing building had been broken for about a week before city officials moved to have them fixed — an unusually rapid response for a building plagued by maintenance issues for years, where residents regularly endure long waits to have them repaired. This time, the fix was triggered not just by the usual residential complaints. This time, it took the outrage of residents who believe a death might…

Small businesses along Albany’s commercial corridors struggling to find employees

Located at the intersection of Albany and Berkeley, the Tokyo Fish Market is never empty. Customers buying salmon, sushi or Japanese rice desserts fill the large room, and workers carrying, cutting, and wrapping fish abound. Or so it seems. The market needs more workers, said Li Nakamura, who has been running it since 1990. “Every business has a hard time right now finding workers,” he said. “We do not know why.” Up and down Albany’s commercial district of Solano and…

Tales of Two Cities – Where Are You From?

Welcome back to the Tales of Two Cities podcast! We’ve missed coming to you through your headphones the last few months. This episode’s theme is “Where Are You From?” It’s a broad topic that encompasses the idea of home. This week you’ll hear all kinds of stories about what home means to people in Richmond and Oakland, and the types of things that make these two cities feel like home. This episode was produced by Kaitlin Benz and hosted by…

Dialysis companies spend millions to defeat Prop 8, which seeks to limit dialysis center profits

Billion-dollar dialysis companies and a labor union are spending tens of millions of dollars to sway Proposition 8 votes their way on Election Day. Health experts say the proposition, which seeks to limit dialysis center profits, is unlikely to improve care for dialysis patients and may put care out of reach for patients in low-income areas, including parts of Oakland and Richmond.

Dissension grows among RPA supporters over councilwoman’s ‘egregious violation’ on Point Molate vote

The Richmond City Council vote to move forward with plans to develop a pristine piece of the city’s shoreline has sown some dissension in the ranks of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, potentially weakening the political organization that has transformed city politics over the past decade. Some think the divisions within the alliance could affect the outcome of the November election. Two alliance members are running for re-election to the council and another, Vice Mayor Melvin Willis, is trying to oust…

Student ratios improve for district health professionals, but numbers are still overwhelming

When counselor Teresa Pamintuan arrived in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District more than a decade ago, hundreds of students would be trying to get in to see her every day. She would try to squeeze in dozens of seniors a day for 20-minute one-on-one meetings to help map out their career and college goals. She often skipped lunch. But as the district’s lead counselor in the past year, she has helped reform the overwhelming caseload for school…