Celebration of life for Betty Reid Soskin set for March 1 in Oakland
The beloved national park ranger and civil rights pioneer died in December at her Richmond home. She will be honored at the Kaiser Center for the Arts.
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Latest News
Athletic Club sports bar throws in the towel; plus a Thai restaurant and a boba spot also shutter
It was a rough start to February for restaurants and bars around downtown Oakland, with Uptown’s Athletic Club, Old Town’s Attaros and Boba Binge in Chinatown all shuttering.
PG&E’s armed security has El Cerrito school community on edge
The Fairmont Elementary community doesn’t want a private military service that works with ICE and Homeland Security near their school.
Top Thai expands into Richmond, plus new donut, Mexican, and Mediterranean options hit the East Bay
A running list of restaurants that have recently opened in Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and beyond.
City
Candidate filing period opens for Richmond’s June primary election
A community college student and an anti-zionist activist are among newcomers challenging incumbents in the city’s June primary election.
Community
BART, AC Transit warn of drastic service cuts unless sales tax measure is approved
A group is collecting signatures to put a measure on the November ballot. It would raise Richmond’s sales tax to 10.25 cents to help fund public transportation.
East Bay loses multiple sushi spots, cafes among January restaurant closures
Sumo Sushi, Uzen, Coffee Cultures, and Delah Coffee’s Berkeley location all shuttered in the first month of 2026.
SCHOOLS
WCCUSD board to vote on big budget cuts Wednesday; community furious
District officials say cuts are necessary to fix a $127 million deficit and prevent a state takeover, but parents and teachers say they weren’t consulted.
Public safety
I-80 shooting: DOJ identifies Richmond police detective who killed man
Brandon Hodges, a 13-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, was the officer who shot and killed Luis Angel Torres Rivera last month.
How Richmond works
How we work
Richmondside’s Alejandra Armstrong recognized as ‘unsung hero’ by SPJ NorCal
As audience engagement editor, Armstrong ensures reaching and serving readers is always top of mind — from social media posts to headlines, public events and our email newsletters.
Richmondside’s free newsletter is going daily
Fans of our weekly newsletter told us they want to see information and news about their city more frequently. So, starting now, we’ll send the Richmondside Report to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Inside a reporter’s 3-year effort to investigate the deaths of 2 men after forced sedations
Richmondside reporter Joel Umanzor shares how he used public records and drew on personal relationships to tell the stories of Jose Luis Lopez and Ivan Gutzalenko.
Richmondside: Built on a foundation of listening
How do you build an outlet for local journalism that is rooted in, representative of, and responsive to communities in a city as diverse, complex, and powerful as Richmond? The answer is listening. We talked to hundreds of Richmond residents who told us what they want from local journalism. Here’s what we learned.
