Health
Two weeks ago, hundreds of staff and movers transported the Richmond Health Center to its new home in San Pablo. This was one of the last steps in opening the doors to the West County Health Center, and it had been preceded by years of preparation. The long-term planning process was fed by focus groups that considered staff and patient needs. Dr. Chris Farnitano, the WCHC ambulatory care medical director, said planners wanted a building that would “encourage a team-based…
In Richmond, a city in which 51 percent of students in grades 5, 7 and 9 were obese or overweight in 2010 and where two-thirds of students are from families near and below the national poverty line, how to feed the children, what to feed the children — and if the children choose to eat what they’re fed — has created a world of dietary perplexity.
On July 1, new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations kicked in changing what kids eat nationwide. The federal regulations, spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, limit the average weekly maximum number of calories in a lunch meal to 850 in high school, 700 in middle school, and 650 in elementary school. Additionally, schools must offer more fruits and vegetables, and at least half of foods served must be “whole grain…
Committees backed by the American Beverage Association have spent $3.5 million total to defeat measures proposing one cent per ounce taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in Richmond and El Monte, CA.
The Texas-based movie theater chain Cinemark USA Inc has joined the campaign against Richmond’s Measure N, adding nearly $107,000 in non-monetary contributions against the measure between July 15-Sept. 30, according to campaign statements filed with the City Clerk. During that period, Cinemark was one of two contributors to the Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes, which has spent $2.2 million this year in opposition to Measure N. CCABT’s other — and largest — contributor is the American Beverage Association, a lobby…
The Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes spent $1.8 million dollars on efforts to defeat Measure N between July 1-September 30, more than four times what it spent on the campaign in the six months between January and July. Campaign contribution statements filed with the city clerk Friday show that the CCABT, a local group funded mainly by the American Beverage Association, received $1.39 million in total contributions between July and September and spent $1.84 million on its efforts to defeat…
About 120 pounds of prescription drugs were dropped off at the Richmond Police Department’s Prescription Drug Take Back Day Saturday at the Hilltop Mall police substation. A strategically placed 2012 Chevy Camaro patrol car attracted the attention of passersby, which gave police representatives the opportunity to educate the adults on the risks of prescription drugs in the home and drug abuse while entertaining the kids who played a trunk-mounted X-Box. The RPD’S purpose is to combat drug trafficking on the…
The Peres Elementary Dental Clinic has come a long way from its modest start as a janitorial closet with a dentist chair. Twelve years, $500,000 and 412 square feet later, a new dual dentist chair clinic has emerged. Following a major reconstruction, the 12-year-old clinic reopened on Friday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Dr. Daniel Tanita, the dentist who will continue to maintain it. With brand new equipment, Dr. Tanita and the nine other volunteer dentists will now have…
Who would’ve thought that the 1970s disco hit “Stayin’ Alive” would one day literally help people stay alive?