History
West County voters came out strong for education Tuesday — both on a local and state level. Measure E, Measure G and Prop 30 passed. Todd Groves and Randy Enos will join the West Contra Costa School Board.
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…
“We come together in grief,” said Pastor Dan Damon as he opened a memorial service Friday for Barbara Moore Vincent — but the day brought few tears. Instead, Vincent’s family and friends laughed and joked at the Richmond Yacht Club as they celebrated her long, rich life as a sharp-witted muckraker and tireless advocate for Richmond. Vincent, who helped create public access to miles of Richmond shoreline and served nearly three decades as a board member for the environmental group…
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.
Officer Amit Nath and Officer Gary Lewis of the Richmond Police Department stand in wait near their squad cars in a nearly empty parking lot on the corner of Barrett and 25th Street. It’s around 8 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, and the street lights are on, but they’re so dull they barely cast shadows of Nath as he walks away from the open door of his Crown Victoria, to better hear the radio feed through his ear piece. Lewis…
Sometime this year, all BART police officers will begin wearing cameras to record their actions. The policy is in the process of being finalized, but Shante Barnes, a training specialist officer, said that trainers travelled to Arizona in mid-October to study proper usage and video storage of the camera. After the official launch date each BART patrol officer will be assigned a camera to wear on duty, and once they engage with a person they must turn on the camera…
“This one is called Laser,” said Flora Ninomiya, stroking the smooth petals of a small yellow rose she cultivates in a greenhouse along Brookside Avenue.
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill last month to ban what’s commonly called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy,” processes aimed at changing the sexual orientation of minors.