
Bringing people together one conversation at a time
StoryCorps’ One Small Step, a national effort pairing strangers with opposing political views to get to know each other through conversation, will record conversations at the Library of Virginia Oct. 2-6. The program seeks individuals in the Metro Richmond area who would like to participate in the conversations.

Richmond area events celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year to acknowledge the history and contributions of individuals with roots in Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.

Pernell Calhoun Taylor Jr. remembered
Sports was a big element of education for Pernell Calhoun Taylor Jr.

Personality: Darius A. Johnson
Spotlight on Medical College of Virginia Foundation board chair
Darius A. Johnson says the heart of who he is as a person can be traced to his parents, Jerome J. Johnson and Roslyn A. Johnson, and his sister, Leslie N. Johnson.

47 acres and a dream
Developer seeks to expand family’s legacy in Tappahannock with housing for seniors, workers
Business is in Shiree Monterio’s blood.

Huguenot High School gymnasium honors Bo Jones Sr.
From now on, every time a basketball fan enters the Huguenot High School gym, they will be reminded of one of the Falcons’ most successful and beloved coaches.

Personality: Sylvia Clute
Spotlight on The Alliance for Unitive Justice president
When former trial attorney Sylvia Clute read the book “A Course in Miracles” in 1987, her concept of justice shifted.

Willard Bailey Classic
Panthers return for first home game of season
Bye bye cramped bus seat. Hello Hovey Field. Finally, the road-weary, yet road-conquering Virginia Union University Panthers will merely have to stroll across Lombardy Street to play a football game. Now 3-0 after three long bus rides, Coach Alvin Parker’s squad will play host to Fayetteville State 6 p.m. Saturday under the Hovey lights. It also will serve as the Willard Bailey Classic, honoring the former (and still avid supporter) who posted a 157-73-6 record in two stints of duty, 1971-1983 and 1995-03.

‘Walk Through Fire’
Sheila Johnson’s memoir explores love, loss and triumph
For four days and three nights in mid-August, Sheila Crump Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, hosted hundreds of guests at her 340-acre Salamander Resort and Spa near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

Winter shelter’s opening may be delayed
A planned 150-bed winter shelter for Richmond’s homeless population may not open until Dec. 1, or well after freezing temperatures could hit the city, it has been learned.

RRHA gets REAL about reducing gun violence
A crime-reduction initiative that Mayor Levar M. Stoney has spurned apparently will come to Richmond after all. The city’s housing authority is partnering with the nonprofit REAL LIFE to implement the same initiative in Richmond that is credited with dramatically cutting shootings and violent crime in Hopewell.

Early voting begins Sept. 22
The next election is the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and early voting for this election begins tomorrow and ends Nov. 4.

VCU names Faye Belgrave as vice president, chief diversity officer
Faye Belgrave, Ph.D., a respected scholar, author and equity advocate, has been named vice president and chief diversity officer at Virginia Commonwealth University, effective Oct. 23.

Richmond employees gain new benefits
In a bid to ramp up retention of current workers and recruiting of new workers to fill hundreds of vacancies, City Hall plans to improve benefits offered to employees in the area of workforce training and home purchase assistance. Topping the list is a new partnership between the city government and Reynolds Community College’s Community College Workforce Alliance.

RPS approves changes in selection process for three high schools
In an effort to enable more underprivileged students to attend Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, Richmond Community High School and Open High, the Richmond School Board approved changes for admissions to those schools on Monday.

RPS names new leadership at McClenney and Overby-Sheppard elementaries
Richmond Public Schools recently announced two new interim principals.

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

Family of Irvo Otieno agrees to $8.5M settlement
The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the state and the county and sheriff whose deputies were involved in restraining him. A judge approved the out-of-court wrongful death settlement Tuesday, according to an agreement filed in Henrico County Circuit Court.

New agreement appears to move forward Diamond District, stadium
A breakthrough in negotiations has put the $2.4 billion Diamond District deal back on track, the Free Press has learned.

Virginia Organizing challenges Youngkin’s voting rights move
The Charlottesville-based grassroots group Virginia Organizing plans to lead a public march and protest in Richmond at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, to protest Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s rollback of the virtually automatic restoration of voting rights for released felons, it has been announced