Health
The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors has taken steps to curb what it considers an unacceptably high rate of suicides. More county residents die by suicide than homicide, according to recent statistics, from a special county committee. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors adopted the Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan. It was the work of the county’s Suicide Prevention Committee, made up of more than a dozen agencies and groups, including representatives from the RYSE Youth Center, Contra Costa Behavioral Health,…
The first asthma clinic in Contra Costa County is slated to open later this month. The clinic is part of a larger program that starts Monday.
The U.S Department of Justice has awarded $700,000 in federal grants to two organizations in Contra Costa County, paying for programs to enhance the services given to trafficking victims and battered women. “It is really huge for us and we are really rejoicing,” said Rebekah Truemper who works for STAND! For Families Free of Violence. “The grant will keep the transitional housing program going and it also allows us to use other funds to support crisis intervention, prevention and other…
Confusion and concern: That’s what most of the 50 Richmond residents expressed last week during a workshop about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama’s subsidized health coverage that’s commonly called Obamacare.
The woman who is allegedly the victim of a gang rape that happened four years ago outside Richmond High’s homecoming dance testified Monday to a full courtroom at Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. It was the first time the woman had appeared publicly since reports of the brutal rape sent shock waves across the country in 2009, and she took the stand to give evidence against two of the men accused of sexually assaulting her. Jane Doe (the…
Kiome Davis of Grant Elementary School wasn’t convinced she’d like track. She didn’t like training because it was too hard. On her third day of conditioning she said she heard her teammate use bad language. “I thought [the Richmond Grinders] was one of those bad teams that cusses a lot,” the nine-year-old said. She was panting from sprinting 200 meters in khaki pants and a white short-sleeve polo shirt. “[But] now that I got to know everybody—it’s good. We [train]…
A 17-year-old powerlifter overtook his 71-year-old mentor Saturday. And he did it with ease. It may have taken the Kennedy High School special education junior three years of teeth-grinding training to accomplish the feat, but it was well worth the wait. “Today I got depressed,” special education teacher Salvatore Morabito said with a big laugh recounting how student Ryan Palmieri pushed and pulled more weight than his own bones could handle, 25 pounds more, in fact. “My glory days are…
He doesn’t remember the exact street he was on when he flew into traffic. But Najari Smith does remember riding in a shared lane—a section of road without a bike lane—when a truck behind him honked incessantly, signaling frustration with Smith’s slower speed. Smith tried to speed up, but his chain slipped off the gears, causing the bike to abruptly stop, flinging Smith off the bike and into the road. The truck slowed down for a few minutes, but sped…
Governor Jerry Brown selected County Supervisor John Gioia on Tuesday to represent the San Francisco Bay Area on the California Air Resources Board. The 12-member panel, a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency, provides state leadership and enforcement on air pollution standards and climate change regulations. “I’m excited to be working at a statewide level on climate change and community health issues,” Gioia said. “The Air Resources Board has been on the cutting edge of developing policies to address…