Safety
“Clark is an actor, musician, and self-described “griot,” a name for an ancient West African storyteller and poet. For the past year, he’s also put his griot skills to use serving as an expert witness in criminal trials, where district attorneys seek to add gang enhancements that can add years to a sentence.”
Richmond Police Sgt. Florencio Rivera lifts a thick leather belt from the trunk of his police cruiser. He points to several objects dangling from it — pepper spray, handcuffs, riot baton, pistol, Taser — and explains: These are just stand-ins. The baton is made of foam, the Taser is unloaded, and the pistol fires Airsoft pellets. Together, they represent a pretend version of the “duty kit” carried by Richmond officers. Rivera is supervising a mock scenario as part of the…
Let Our People Go, a multi-faith organizing project base in Richmond, meets at the West County Detention Facility once a month to protest the ICE detention center housed there.
In response to gun violence in Richmond, a coalition of faith leaders and community members has organized these evening walks since 2011. They arrange them in concert with local church groups, and they take place in different crime-affected neighborhoods.
Contra Costa supervisors fund Richmond-based prisoner re-entry program on heels of beef with sheriff
The Contra Costa County board of supervisors unanimously voted to renew the contract of a Richmond-based prisoner re-entry program, but only after County Sheriff David Livingston and a supervisor clashed over the group’s financial practices.
Diana Becton overcame a plagiarism scandal to be named interim district attorney of Contra Costa County.
It is the first day back since spring break. Alana Banks still has her tan from Barbados. She walks onto UC Berkeley’s campus behind Sproul Hall to the Fannie Lou Hamer Center, a small tin building named after the voting rights activist. If you weren’t familiar with the place, it would be easy to miss, as it is hidden behind the English department and to the far left of the art studio. Banks, who is from Oakland, is one of the co-founders of the center, which opened in February. It is the first space set aside as resource center for black students on UC Berkeley’s campus.
A recent study suggests that not only do suspensions take a toll on students, they place a financial burden on their communities.