Richmond Confidential
With the budget tight, Richmond middle school librarian crowd funds for books
In 2019, after eight years as an English teacher at Richmond High School, Rebekah Ponce-Larsen was excited to start a new job as a librarian at Lovonya DeJean Middle School. Being a librarian, she thought, would give her an opportunity to work with kids but in a different way. "I have more time to get to know individual students sometimes than teachers do," she said. It's through that personal relationship with students that Ponce-Larsen has transformed the library at DeJean,…
By Linus Unah on November 30, 2021
Trick-or-treat returns to the East Bay, with Covid risk sharply reduced but not gone
Robin Donovan's 13-year-old son didn't get to trick-or-treat last year because of the pandemic. Instead, he and some friends shared a big bag of candy in the family's El Cerrito backyard. Donovan's son wasn't alone. "Normally we got a lot of trick-or-treaters, hundreds in the past. Last year we didn't have any," Donovan said. "When I talked to people last year, nobody was planning to send their kids trick-or-treating." Donovan's son, 12 at the time, was old enough to understand…
By Olivia Zhao on October 26, 2021
Richmond expands job opportunities year-round for city youth
Cinthia Hernandez was on the verge of dropping out of high school when she joined Richmond's YouthWORKS in 2008. She credits the job program with much of her later success — an internship with the California Attorney General's Office, a bachelor's degree in social welfare from UC Berkeley, and her current position of program assistant for the project that helped shape her. "The summer youth employment program was able to open so many doors for me," Hernandez said. Over the…
By Manish Khanal on July 30, 2021
West Contra Costa schools prepare for April 19 reopening
Students in the West Contra Costa Unified School District may return to school on April 19.
By Christine Schiavo on April 1, 2021
Teaching young men to cry
Office of Neighborhood Change Agent James Houston mentors young people in the community as a way to interrupt gun violence in Richmond.
By Melissa Perez Winder on October 2, 2020
Rich City Talent takes center stage at Bridge FilmSpace
A steady drumbeat sounded through the doors of the Bridge FilmSpace studio as the band members of "2morrows June" prepared for their performance. Hip Hop Artist Markee "Kee Beez" Webb, entered in his gray Under Armour tracksuit and black shades, hyped to perform his latest single, "Turnt Up." Richmond-based filmmaker Joaquin Xavier queued his films in a browser to be displayed on the projector screen. After mic checks, quick video playbacks and soundchecks, the Rich City Talent Show got under…
By Chan'Cellore Makanjuola on December 4, 2019
RYSE Commons: building on dreams of Richmond youth
September 2019 marks a new beginning for the RYSE Center. One of Richmond's most prominent youth organizations, the center recently broke ground on construction for its new, 37,000 square foot building, known as RYSE Commons. RYSE first opened in 2008. Conceived as a sanctuary from urban violence, it is a place where youth can work, seek therapy, hold discussions, learn new skills, and create art in a safe space. Now, 11 years later, RYSE Commons is a product of ideas…
By Chan'Cellore Makanjuola on September 24, 2019
Macdonald Avenue mural reimagines cop-community relations
Its scenes embody the Richmond Police Activities League's ongoing efforts to foster positive relationships between police officers and the community, particularly adolescents.
By Kathryn Hurd on September 20, 2019
City council tightens vaping regulations over health concerns
Richmond's City Council unanimously approved a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes, including vapes, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't deemed safe. The measure, passed Tuesday night amid mounting nationwide concern over harm to health, will go into effect in 2020. There have been six vaping-related deaths reported in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Contra Costa County has seen one suspected case of vaping-related illness, according to Dr. Chris…
By Aaron Leathley and Victoria Dmitrieva on September 13, 2019
richconstaff@gmail.com
North Gate Hall
Richmond Confidential is an online news service produced by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for, and about, the people of Richmond, California. Our goal is to produce professional and engaging journalism that is useful for the citizens of the city.
Search for Stories:
© 2022 Richmond Confidential. All Rights Reserved.