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Two city-level measures on the ballot in Richmond propose to raise taxes for programs to support kids, the homeless and affordable housing. A third measure would tax marijuana cultivators to raise money for the county’s general use. Election day is Tuesday, November 6, 2018. To help you make an informed decision at the voting booth, we’re explaining the three ballot measures in this story. (Click here to check if you’re registered to vote.) Below is an overview of Measure H,…
At the corner of 22nd Street and Carlson Boulevard in Richmond sits a homeless encampment where the unofficial mayor, Oretha “Porkchop” Stevens, is calming down her next-door neighbor Tone. His phone is missing and Porkchop works to reassure him. “You’re not crazy, you know where you put your stuff! Don’t play with your own mind,” she says with authority, perched on the bed inside her tent from where she presides all day over her dozen neighbors’ lives. She and her…
We go out and ask people in Richmond a weekly question.
First San Pablo’s Doctors Medical Center closed in 2015. Now Sutter Health’s Alta Bates hospital in Berkeley is planning to shut its doors. This means patients in Richmond, who already have fewer hospitals to turn to for critical medical care, could see the options shrink further. Pregnant women and new mothers could be the ones to most acutely feel the squeeze. Alta Bates hospital, expected to close in 2030, has by far the highest number of live births of any…
The West Contra Costa Unified School District introduced bilingual education in 2014, to help Spanish speaking students transition into English medium schools. Transitional Bilingual Education at Grant Elementary School aims to equip K-3 students with English literacy and math skills to help them throughout their school career.
The board directed its staff to reach an agreement with the Amethod Public Schools, which operates the John Henry school, on how to move forward.
The city of Richmond declared October Is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The Richmond City Council decided last Tuesday to start drafting two new ordinances to help low income tenants find housing in Richmond. The council was responding to a proposal put forward by Vice Mayor Melvin Willis and several groups. It will make it cheaper for tenants to apply for rental housing and also outlaw discrimination against residents using housing choice vouchers, also known as Section 8, named after section 8 of a decades old federal law that assists very low-income…
Most Bay Area cities are trying to staunch the flow of trash into the bay through storm drains, but some cities are leading the pack. Richmond has already reduced 80 percent of its trash entering storm drains, thanks to a mix of trash bans, trash-filters and community projects. “The City of Richmond has made a lot of progress,” said Allison Chan, associate director of policy at the nonprofit Save the Bay, an advocate of reducing trash pollution. “Of the cities…