It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without taking a pause to reflect upon all that we’ve learned from publishing 370 articles since we launched Richmondside in June of 2024. And there’s no better way to do that than to review the stories that resonated the most with you — our readers.
1: Annie’s Annuals suddenly closes
Our stories about the sudden shutdown (and reopening of) popular North Richmond garden center Annie’s Annuals made Annie’s our No. 1 topic of 2024.
News of the unexpected closure on a warm afternoon in early October spread fast on social media, with readers also alerting us via our online story tip form. Knowing what a legend Annie’s has been throughout the East Bay for several decades, I jumped in my car and headed straight there, but the gates were already locked. I caught shocked customers milling around the parking lot with flower clippings in hand — an attempt to grab a living keepsake of a place they loved visiting.
An employee who saw the customers holding the surreptitiously snipped cuttings pleaded with them to stop, saying she wanted the nursery grounds to still look nice for all the fired workers who would have to show up there the next day to find out what would happen to their benefits and pay.
The story that unfolded in the ensuing days weren’t pretty, as there were plenty of behind-the-scenes accusations and drama. Customers were particularly angry that their gift cards, some of them worth hundreds of dollars, wouldn’t be honored.
But there were touching moments as well, especially when we asked readers to send us photos of what they had grown from Annie’s seeds and starter plants. We quickly assembled a stunning gallery of the flowers and produce they had spent years growing — all thanks to Annie’s.
Ultimately the story seems to have a happy ending, with the brick-and-mortar location reopening as Curious Flora Nursery. (Thanks to all who helped cover this story for Richmondside, including freelance writers Kate Darby Rauch, an Annie’s customer herself, and Karina Ioffee, along with photographer Andrew Whitmore.)
2: County education board candidates dispute ballot description
The interest in this story, which looked at the race for the Contra Costa County Office of Education’s governing board, came as a bit of a surprise.
As a veteran news editor and reporter who has covered education in California and Oregon, I can say that the work of county education offices and their governing boards isn’t usually closely followed by the public. And often, with newsrooms shrinking, covering those entities isn’t a priority.
But this is why what we at Richmondside are trying to do — to fill a void left by mainstream news organizations — is important. Because most of the Bay Area’s media outlets don’t cover education, or much else in Richmond or west Contra Costa County, it’s important that small independent nonprofits such as ours pay attention to the so-called down-ballot races.
Several readers who commented on the article confirmed this for us, including Matt B., who said, “Thanks Richmondside, for the info on this one! Precious little other coverage of these lower profile races, so it’s great to have y’all as a resource now.”
Incidentally, covering this race has since led freelance writer Zack Haber to uncover some other important county ed board issues, notably questions about election campaign contributions from a charter school political action committee. Richmondside will be keeping an eye on how the county education board moves forward with renewing charter school operation petitions in the coming year.
3: Barnes & Noble to close El Cerrito store after 20 years
As journalists we are always concerned when a bookstore closes as it means there’s one less spot for residents to become more informed about the world. So, although this Barnes & Noble is in El Cerrito — a city that we don’t officially cover due to our small staff size — we knew this story was too important to pass up.
Freelance writer David Mills headed to the store to talk to customers in person about the closing. He met one Richmond resident who described it as a nice place to hang out and discuss books with friends over coffee.
While it is concerning that there will be one fewer bookstore in the area, publishing this article fortunately led us to learn there is a popular independent bookstore that is still alive and well in Richmond: Multicultural Books and Gifts.
Freelancer Ioffee interviewed the owner, Tamara Shiloh, and I loved learning that she’s an author of a creative series where a young character brings Black history to life by traveling through time to meet important historical figures.
This is a good reminder: We all still have lots to discover about Richmond, so we always welcome your story ideas. Submit story tips here or email me at hello@richmondside.org.
4: Rich City Rides wasn’t burglarized, police say
Richmondside city reporter Joel Umanzor and freelance writer Julia Haney teamed up to explore the story of a dispute between two former partners in a nonprofit and its bike shop in downtown Richmond.
While the investigation appears to be ongoing, the popular Macdonald bike shop has been shut down for nearly a year after experiencing financial issues.
5: What’s in Richmond’s air? New studies provide clarity on pollution and its sources
Richmondside’s in-depth series on air pollution in Richmond, led by freelancer reporter Brian Krans and edited by Cityside’s Community Journalism Director Jacob Simas, has been one of our most impactful bodies of work to date.
The investigation has been supported the Data-Driven Reporting Project, which is funded by the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University, Medill. Thanks to additional small grants, we plan to continue reporting on these issues into 2025.
In the series, we take a look at the many causes of air pollution in Richmond and the serious toll poor air quality has taken on generations of residents who suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems at greater rates than in other Bay Area communities. And we explore possible solutions to the problem.
6: July Fourth fun: Ooh and ahh at fireworks or enjoy drone light show
Not all of our top stories are about serious issues such as air pollution. Before we even launched Richmondside, Richmond residents told us they were seeking basic information about the good things happening here, so we’ve made a concerted effort to cover positive stories and events. Nothing illustrates that more than some old-fashioned summer July Fourth fun.
We publish a weekly What’s Up column of things to do where you can always find out what’s happening. And we have a free calendar where you can add your own events. Finally, we keep our readers updated via the Richmondside Report, our weekly newsletter that sum’s up the week’s headlines.
7: State Senate: Jovanka Beckles is up against Jesse ArreguÃn
This story is an example of how our readers relied on us in 2024 for information about local elections.
While Richmondside primarily focused Richmond’s local races, Jovanka Beckles is a longtime Richmond political figure, so we knew our readers would want to follow this race.
It’s also an example of how Richmondside collaborates with its sister publications, in this case Berkeleyside, which had covered Jesse ArreguÃn while he was Berkeley’s mayor. Having this network of resources through our parent nonprofit company Cityside, which also publishes The Oaklandside, significantly enriches what we can accomplish for Richmond. In fact, readers in Richmond often share that they were previously readers of other Cityside news sites and say they’re glad we’re here now.
8: Primary elections or ranked-choice? Richmond voters will decide on Nov. 5
Our reporter Umanzor’s coverage of a November ballot measure that would change how Richmond voters elect city officials was our eighth most popular topic of 2024.
It wasn’t too surprising given that many voters were confused about what this measure (and a competing one) would do exactly.
Coming soon: Umanzor is working on his next story about how the winning measure (Measure J) — which changes the city’s voting process to a primary system — stands to impact the 2026 races for Richmond mayoral and city council seats.
9: Richmond City Council Election: Here’s who’s running in 2 of 3 races
Credit: Richmondside
Speaking of elections, our local elections coverage kept us busy most of last fall, with this initial story kicking off months of coverage.
A highlight for us was hosting three city council candidates forums, one in each district that had a race, giving us a chance to meet many community members in person.
10: Jack London’s legacy lives on in little Richmond house
Finally, last but in no way least, considering the man: The 10th most popular story in 2024 was a profile of how author Jack London’s great-granddaughter, Tarnel Abbott, keeps his legacy alive.
Abbott, a retired librarian and environmentalist, was gracious enough to show us some of the family’s personal London memorabilia, including handwritten notes inscribed in first-edition books.
This story, part of an ongoing series called Meet Your Neighbor, was a good example of how Richmond residents truly represent every possible experience life has to offer. You’ll never know who you’ll meet next!
As 2025 arrives, we look forward to telling many more of their stories right here at Richmondside. Thank you for reading!
