Safety
This year, California had the largest number of people registered to vote in the state’s history, with nearly 20 million ready to hit today’s polls. Formerly incarcerated people in Richmond, some of whom are voting for the first time, helped the state reach that record. In the lead up to the election, organizations across the city worked to educate formerly incarcerated people and their families about their right to vote. Laws vary across the country on voting rights for those…
They have no health insurance. They work ten or 11-hour days. They have no free weekends. No, they aren’t flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. They are attorneys on the government’s payroll. Public defenders, the lawyers hired by the county government to aid those who cannot afford legal representation, showed up at the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 11th to demand better pay and benefits. They are not only overworked, but at entry-level jobs, they…
Richmond residents will vote in November on a vacant property tax that could raise $5 million in revenue for homeless services and code enforcement. While almost everyone agrees that homelessness and blight are major issues facing the city, there’s a debate over whether taxing property owners is the most effective way to address the problem.
The Citizens Police Review Commission voted to send the Richmond Police Department recommendations that emphasize the use of non-lethal force and new officer training Wednesday night. These recommendations come several months after the commission ruled that Officer Wallace Jensen used excessive force in the September 2014 shooting death of Pedie Perez.
The monthly vigils were started seven years ago by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity as a way to show support for undocumented immigrant detainees held inside the West County Detention Center.
Last year in June, East Bay-resident Dieudonné Brou graduated from UCLA in African American studies. During his commencement speech, he revealed himself as formerly incarcerated. Even though higher education offers chance to break the cycle of recidivsm, barriers like financial difficulties and social stigma are high for former incarcerated people.
Crescent Park residents and a group of local religious leaders held an event on Saturday in honor of Mark Henderson II, who was shot and killed on April 9. The 29 year old was a well-known member of the community and father to a four-year-old daughter.
In 1996, an undocumented young man in the Easy Bay was tired of being paid under the table for his work, so he decided to do something about his legal status. Two friends recommended him to a notario—or notary—who had helped them obtain work permits. The man trusted his friends blindly, so on the advice of the notario, he filled out and signed some documents and was told that a work permit would be mailed to his home. The man…