Health
On the day after the election, as folks were picking themselves up after a night spent celebrating or grieving, Nutiva CEO John Roulac, a major financial supporter of the failed genetically-modified-food-labeling Prop. 37, was putting his best GMO-free foot forward. “Obviously, I would have loved to have won, but 47 percent is respectable and demonstrates that 47 percent of Californians want the right to know what’s in their food,” Roulac said, referring to the 4.3 million Californians who voted yes…
W hat is the solution to Richmond’s environmental woes? Trees, some say. More than one hundred trees have been planted in Richmond soil in the last month and last weekend nearly 60 volunteers transplanted 30 trees to Roosevelt Avenue and surrounding streets. Richmond Trees and Groundwork Richmond hosted Saturday’s harvest festival, complete with art and crafts, live entertainment — and even a giant radish — to set the tone of community and environmental awareness. PG&E representatives shoveled with Watershed Project…
Contra Costa voters generally sided with the rest of California Tuesday night, voting in favor of successful measures to harshen penalties against human traffickers and soften the Three Strikes law, while rejecting a genetically engineered food labeling bill and a proposition that would limit campaign contributions from unions and corporations.
Measure N was defeated in Tuesday’s election with an overwhelming two-thirds of voters saying no to the one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Of the roughly 25,000 votes cast, more than 16,000 went against the measure. Championed by the Richmond Progressive Alliance, the proposed tax attracted national media attention, and drew the ire of local pro-business groups and the national soda industry, which spent more than $2.6 million to defeat the measure. A victory would have made Richmond the first city…
Richmond residents erupted into gleeful cheers as they watched CNN call three states in a row for President Barack Obama, before finally handing him the presidency. “Four more years! Four more years!” chanted people watching the results at Salute restaurant, throwing their fists into the air, hugging, and crying before toasting their champagne glasses. Anxiety turned into relief as Iowa a swing state, was called for the president. “I was biting my nails – I was too scared to watch…
A group of students, teachers, parents, and politicians gathered at Harding Elementary, Saturday as a first step to help communication efforts between the Contra Costa LGBTQ community support groups and the school systems. Participants said it’s important to open lines of communication with schools, while the children are young.
The fight to end sex and labor exploitation in California may affect Richmond differently than other cities — because in Richmond trafficking takes place on the streets and not in fields or sweatshops. Proposition 35 calls for expanding the definition of human trafficking, increasing penalties and protecting victims. Supporters see it as a step forward in deterring traffickers and defending victims, and opponents see it as a step backward for sex workers and taxpayers. As in other urban communities, human…
Families from Richmond’s African American community testified Monday night to the fight against the health effects of poor diets at a town hall meeting to discuss the city’s proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages. The town hall, held in the eastern corner of the Iron Triangle neighborhood at the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, attracted at least 80 residents and city officials who came to listen to keynote speaker Maya Rockeymoore, a leading public policy scholar based in Washington D.C. Rockeymoore…
The debate surrounding Richmond’s proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages intensified this week, with a prominent Richmond doctor, Brazell Carter, speaking out against the measure in fliers distributed by the Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes.