General
A year ago, after reaching a $550 million settlement with Chevron, Richmond City Council promised residents it would seek their input to determine how that money would be spent. But three months after the first $50 million installment landed in the city’s coffers, community leaders who understood the money would be used for residents’ immediate benefit are still waiting for the city to come aknockin’. They’re not waiting anymore. Diego Garcia stood up at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting…
With 98% of its members approving, the union representing teachers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District voted Tuesday to authorize its leaders to call a strike. Since January, United Teachers of Richmond has been negotiating a new contract with the district. On Aug. 19, the UTR declared an impasse, triggering third party mediation from the California Public Employment Relations Board. Since then, the sides have been in mediation sessions and are currently in the midst of a fact-finding…
Local artist Julia LaChica guided the hands of eager kids at the Richmond Art Center on Saturday as they pulled a squeegee across a stencil: “LAND BACK, THIS LAND IS HUICHIN.” Huichin refers to the land of the Ohlone people, what is now commonly called the Bay Area. LaChica helped youth attendees peel paper away from the wooden screenprint frame to reveal the bold words on a take-home poster. “In designing this, I was thinking about the land, the Indigenous…
Colorful portraits of ancestral traditions and spirits, and delicate hanging sculptures of everyday objects are just some of the offerings on display at the Richmond Art Center this fall. Three new exhibits — “Seeds of Tradition,” “Big Feelings,” and “Unsettled Things/Things I Had to Leave Behind” — opened last month and will run through Nov. 20. The center will host free events for the public to meet the artists and engage in hands-on workshops over the next six weeks. “The…
Hundreds of people enjoyed food trucks, a rock wall, and live performances at Nicholl Park on Saturday for YES Fest, sponsored by the Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods. Kids ran around playing soccer, trying archery with velcro arrows and making mango smoothies with a bicycle-powered blender. Participants waved their arms toward the sky in a group Nia dance, meant to ground them. And everyone jammed to live music by the youth group Voices of Reason. The festival opened under…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: How do you de-stress in Richmond? Tiffany Jenkins (administrative analyst) “I like to go on hikes and go on walks. There are some really nice neighborhoods, and I really enjoy the beach.” Andrew Clark (rancher and construction worker) “I’m the type of person that likes the water. It is relaxing, therapeutic.” (Pictured…
“The Stakes” is a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. On a hot morning in late June, Gabriel Biddler came to River City Food Bank’s distribution center in Sacramento’s Arden-Arcade neighborhood in his wheelchair and with his dog. He stocked up on non-perishables like soup, pre-cooked chicken and macaroni, as well as fresh carrots, celery, asparagus, tomatoes and bananas. Because of disabling scoliosis, Biddler said, most of his money goes to medical…
Update: On Jan. 21, after a second reading of the ordinances, the City Council unanimously approved the pay raises. Richmond City Council is poised to get a big salary bump this year, under an ordinance introduced Tuesday that would increase the salaries of council members and the mayor by 80%. Only a couple residents questioned the salary boost, which the council spent half an hour defending, with each presenting an argument to justify the motion. “These jobs actually are 24/7…
Contra Costa County certified the 2024 election counts on Dec. 5. At the county level, voter turnout was 72%, with 519,078 ballots cast out of 722,861 registered voters. This high level of engagement was reflected in the presidential race, where Contra Costa County voters showed strong support for Alameda County native Vice President Kamala Harris, with 67.3% casting their ballots for the Democratic candidate. Here’s how Richmond voted on city, school board, county and state ballots: City Council seats went…