Government

Spike in homicides adds to unfinished agenda awaiting Magnus successor

It wasn’t quite dark in central Richmond, a little before 5 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving. A 13-year-old girl was walking down a flight of stairs, two people were driving north in a white sedan on Carlson Boulevard “when they shot into the direction of the Pullman Townhouses, and kept on driving,” police said. The 13-year-old was shot in the leg, just above the knee. Police said the girl, treated and released at a local hospital, “was not the intended…

Departing police chief built Richmond legacy on trust

Editor’s note: This is Part One in a two-part series on the departure of Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus, who leaves after this month to become police chief in Tucson, Arizona. In Part Two tomorrow, staff writer Matt Beagle looks at a recent rise in Richmond homicides and the unfinished agenda facing Richmond’s next top cop.       When Chris Magnus came to Richmond in 2006, gun violence by all accounts was out of control. Many people considered Magnus an unlikely choice to do much…

First community briefing for the Berkeley Global Campus

UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are planning the new Berkeley Global Campus at Richmond Bay. The committee wants the university to sign a legally binding agreement aiding those such as disadvantaged workers, emancipated foster youth, homeless people and individuals with criminal records, and requesting the university pay a fee to the city, to improve affordable housing and displacement issues, among other suggestions.

Richmond Youth Council aims to lower voting age

Richmond youth have rallied together in an effort to lower the city’s voting age to 16. If successful, they would earn the right to vote in municipal and school board elections long before they can even buy tobacco.

New scholarship helps Richmond college students

The Richmond City Council voted Tuesday evening to include all of Richmond’s students in a new college scholarship program. Students who earn the scholarship will receive $1,500 per year, starting with high school graduates in 2016. The scholarship program known as the Richmond Promise is financed by a grant from Chevron Corp.