Residents of Richmond's troubled Hacienda public housing development must feel as if they're trapped in a time warp. After reports of water leaks, mold and vermin infestation earlier this year, the City Council on April 1 directed staff to prepare a plan to relocate residents within 30 days. The next day, City Manager Bill Lindsay told this newspaper that he hoped the 130 residents would be relocated "between 61 and 150 days from today." Continue reading

A couple of hours after the previous article was posted word was circulated about a Council candidate forum at Point Richmond. As was pointed out in the earlier article about these forums, advertisement of this forum was scarce. I believe it would be of great benefit to the people of Richmond if there was some sort of information clearing house where residents could go online and see which forums were coming up and—and this is important—where they’re being held (along with a link to a map). Continue reading

Mississippi Catfish will surprise you. While its name makes it seem like typical fried fish shack, the quality of the food and the heritage of the recipes bring it to a higher level. The owner, Thomas Wright, may seem a little brusque at first, but he is so friendly and welcoming that you'll quickly understand how his restaurant has stayed open for over two decades. Continue reading

Every week, Radio Free Richmond provides an offering of events in the city. Here is what's happening from September 26th through October 2nd. Continue reading

I’ve attended a number of forums this season for both the Richmond Mayor/Council races and for the WCCUSDSchool Board. What I’m seeing a lot of are candidates who are quick to point out the problems—the obvious problems that we can all see—but what I’m not seeing a lot of are solutions to those problems. So why should I vote for a candidate who has such limited vision as to only see the obvious? If I point out the obvious problems does that make me the obvious choice to hold office?  Continue reading

Focusing on education saves kids from the streets and puts them on the right track for their futures. I've seen what happens when people don't care about their educations, and I've seen the paths people go down when they don't have good role models around them. That's why I worked hard in school, and that's why I've worked to help kids in my community to overcome challenges to get ahead. Continue reading

At last night's special meeting of the Richmond Housing Authority (RHA) and the Richmond City Council, it came out that while steps have been taking to fix problems at the most troubled building in the department, there is still vast room for improvement across different parts of the organization. Continue reading

Nearly 70 nonprofits will come together this Thursday and Friday for California Nonprofit Tech Fest. Over the course of two days, nearly 100 representatives from the nonprofits will meet to talk about technological developments, social media strategies, and how to succeed in a digital landscape. This may sound like a typical tech gathering in San Francisco, but in fact this event is happening much closer to home -- right here in Richmond. Continue reading

Young Richmond and Oakland artists came together at the RYSE Center on Friday to deliver their brand of poetic expression in response to community violence, particularly the deaths of young black and brown men at the hands of law enforcement. Continue reading