Safety

Experts offer DNA, forensic testimony in Norteño double homicide trial

After a two-week break, the trial of Steven Miranda, 23, and Ignacio Ruiz, 31, for the 2009 double homicide in a Richmond restaurant continued Monday in the Contra Costa Superior Courthouse in Martinez with expert testimony on DNA and forensics. Miranda and Ruiz are each charged with two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and gang offenses for their alleged roles in the shooting that left Alvarado Garcia-Pena, 23, and Intaz Ahmed, 32, dead inside Alvarado Bar and Grill….

Opinion: Gun violence in Newtown, Richmond

There is an African Proverb that I am fond of quoting.  It says: “The experience of one generation becomes the history of the next, and the history of several generations becomes the traditions of a people.” On December 14, 2012 like many Americans and peoples from around the world, I found myself once again extremely grieved by the horrible reality that gun violence IS in many of our American, particularly urban communities.  We here in Richmond experience and understand that…

Community garden robbed of tools, not hope

More than $700 worth of power and carpentry tools were stolen from a locked shed at the Happy Lot Farm and Garden run by Andromeda Brooks. Brooks reported the theft to the police Dec. 6. Happy Lot Farm and Garden is a patch of land on the corner of 1st Street and Chanslor Avenue designed one year ago to give residents the chance to grow their own chemical-free food. Prior to becoming a food haven, the 14,000 square foot lot…

Three shootings over the weekend, none resulting in homicides

Three shootings occurred in Richmond over the weekend. None appear to be gang-related, police said, and all of the victims are expected to live. On Friday, shortly after 8 p.m., police responded to a call for a shooting on the 3400 block of Richmond Parkway. A man was transported to a local hospital with gunshot injuries to his abdomen. Police have one person in custody. The second shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the 2700 block of Macdonald. A…

Contra Costa passes realignment budget

Contra Costa County officials approved a budget of more than $20 million at a meeting in Martinez today to both continue operations in the jails, probation department and courts, as well as develop community partnerships geared around reentry. More than a year after California transferred responsibility for low-levels felons to county jurisdiction, the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) unanimously approved $15.4 million of the total budget to continue operations and expand some county departments. The move came just in time before…