General

East Bay Center reopens, provides second home for young Richmond artists

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Monday night passersby on Macdonald Avenue peer in curiously at a whirl of dance. Fingers snap. Feet slide. Hands swoosh a horsehair prop through the air, slapping the knees at intervals. The bright pastels of Victoria Secret sweatpants flash across the room in a blur of pink, yellow and turquoise. The dancers chant a call and response in a West African language: “Wadapo!” Drums pound in a…

Wastewater management may be leaving in 90 days

After a series of foul odors released from its sewage treatment plant over the last year, the multinational company Veolia may only have 90 days left in Richmond. Although the City Council had considered terminating the contract immediately at the council meeting Tuesday, council members opted to consider the arguments and the possibility of alternatives, and set a decision on the contract for Dec. 6. Mark Russell, a lawyer who is providing the city with outside legal counsel, said Tuesday…

Heat, 400-yard record breakers, slow Half-Steppers’ winning stride

Day two of the Junior Olympics competition at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans was a roller coaster of sorts for the Richmond Half-Steppers’ coaches and parents. They witnessed two of their runners come in first and second place in their respective races with lifetime and personal bests, but no one on the team has yet to qualify for the next round. Robert Freeman, and Wayne Corbin were the days’s two big winners for the Half-Steppers. Freeman, 7, and Corbin,…

Half-Steppers board bus, Junior Olympics final destination

For the past year the Richmond Half-Steppers have been going up and down the state of California to qualify for the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games. This year 10 boys and eight girls qualified. According to coach Johnny Holmes, the boys relay team is ranked third in the country.

Half-Steppers’ final tune-up for Junior Olympics

Half-Stepper head coach Johnny Holmes stood around Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park track Wednesday evening waiting for Moses “Bullet” Baker, age 8, — the first leg of his nationally ranked relay team—to arrive for practice. Teammate Josh Johnson, 8, was waiting, too, and had already loosened up when coach Holmes spotted him. This would be their last chance to iron out their hand-offs and make sure everything was correct before they jumped on a bus Friday night for New…