Health
On Monday and Tuesday Saffron Strand, a Point Richmond non-profit focused on helping the homeless find meaningful employment and achieve economic independence, hosted its third annual conference to generate ideas about how to end homelessness. Topics included health care, housing, transitional employment and the hiring of ex-offenders.
What would you do right now to prepare a children’s hospital or pediatric ward for an earthquake? This was the question posed by conference organizers to the health professionals and emergency center managers who attended the California Neonatal/Pediatric Disaster Coalition Conference.
On Tuesday night at Richmond’s City Council meeting, upset residents and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, mostly dressed in purple t-shirts and yellow armbands, signed a unity pledge against hate speech and asked council members to do the same. The standing-room-only crowd also heard 65 people voice their concerns about homophobic comments they heard during the last public meeting.
In a country where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate roughly 90 million people are considered obese, some Richmond residents say that taxing soft drinks is an effective way to reverse the trend. On May 15, city council leaders In Richmond voted 5-2 to put a special tax on sodas on the November 6 ballot. The soda tax would add a one-cent per ounce surcharge to soda and other sugary fruit drinks with less than ten percent juice….
Talk about bang for your buck—14,000 square feet for a dollar a year ain’t bad. In terms of food production, that could mean a whole lot of apples, and whatever else will take root on the corner of 1st Street and Chanslor Avenue. The nearly half-acre lot sits just one block east of the Iron Triangle and used to be a popular spot for drug dealing and a dumping ground for trash. Now thanks to the daringness of one resident,…
A 30-acre area of unincorporated North Richmond is not eligible for a casino, representatives from the U.S. Department of the Interior announced today. The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians had sought to build a large casino on a 30-acre slice of land in North Richmond near Parr Boulevard on the Richmond Parkway. But according to a department press release, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure determined that the tribe’s application does not qualify for gaming because the…
City and school district officials joined more than 100 residents and students to officially open the new facilities at J.O. Ford Elementary School in Richmond on Saturday, including new classrooms and playgrounds and modern, colorful facade. “When our kids can go to a first-class, world-class facility like this,” Councilman Jim Rogers told the crowd, “we say we care about education, it’s important. The kids can see that we’re walking the walk.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony and pancake breakfast Saturday morning marked…
More than 120 people crowded into the parking lot of the Neighborhood House of North Richmond around noon Friday for music and food. They also learned more about the Men and Women of Purpose, the new community-based nonprofit a that offers programs aimed at reducing violence, recidivism, homelessness, drug abuse and chronic unemployment. “The turnout, the support, the momentum we’re building with our work—it’s all just amazing,” said MWP’s founder and program director Antwon Cloird. The Men and Women of…
A version of this story first appeared in the Contra Costa Times. David Meza was the victim of a hit-and-run incident in March. A white sedan struck him as he rode his bicycle near Pennsylvania Avenue and Harbour Way, then sped away. The incident left him with abrasions on his face, palms and knees, and a heightened sense of purpose. “So often, pedestrians and bicyclists get hit by cars and they don’t speak up, they don’t think anybody cares,” said…