
Emergency SNAP benefits extended
Recipients of Virginia’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will continue to get emergency benefits for the month of October.

Policy group’s awards event combines inspiration and celebration
Richmond Delegate Betsy B. Carr will be among the adult and student honorees whom the nonprofit Policy Pathways will salute during its fourth annual virtual Fall Celebration at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20.

Plans to house homeless citizens gain ground pending City funding
City Hall is preparing to shell out $615,000 to Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC) and other nonprofits or churches that have agreed to provide space to shelter the homeless during inclement weather, particularly the cold weather period that runs now through mid-April.

Free COVID-19 testing, vaccines
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: • Thursday, Oct. 13 & Oct. 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Southside Women, Infants and Children Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza; 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. - Fulton Neighborhood Resource Center, 1519 Williamsburg Road. • Wednesday, Oct. 19 & Oct. 26, 8 to 10 a.m. - East Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through

City Council approves creation of Civilian Review Board
Richmond Police officers hit with complaints could soon have a civilian panel reviewing the details. Monday night, City Council capped two years of debate by voting unanimously to approve the creation of a Civilian Review Board, rejecting calls for delay from advocates disappointed at the limited role the eight-member group will have.

Delivering help to those in need
Most people are still asleep when Joseph E. “Joey” Matthews starts his collection run Sunday mornings.

Church leaders want public lands to better reflect Black history
Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, the Rev. Carey A. Grady heard about the history of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and its connection to a slave revolt planned by Denmark Vesey — long before it was the site of a 2015 massacre.

Early childhood educator Joyce R. Cosby dies at 83
For decades, Joyce Randolph Cosby played a key role in helping 3- and 4-year-olds in Richmond prepare for kindergarten.

2 Va. poets awarded the Ruth Lilly Prize
Rita Dove, the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and Nikki Giovanni, recently retired professor of English at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, are two of 11 poets who have been awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The distinction, announced by the Poetry Foundation’s 2022 Pegasus Awards, includes a $100,000 award given to each poet.

VUU – Bowie outcome may determine CIAA and NCAA postseason play
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the main event you’ve been anticipating.

Personality: Lucia Anna ‘Pia’ Trigiani
Spotlight on the Library of Virginia Foundation’s board president
Lucia Anna “Pia” Trigiani is working to tell the story of an institution built around stories and histories.

Explainer: A huge jump in Social Security payments is coming
Tens of millions of older Americans are about to get what may be the biggest raise of their lifetimes.

Looted and found
VMFA’s new African Art curator will lead efforts to return stolen objects
“I have always had a tremendous interest [in art] however, knowing your strengths and weaknesses is very important. It occurred to me that I wouldn’t be hugely successful as a studio artist and so I concentrated on being an art historian.” — Dr. NDubuisi C. EzEluomba

RPS rejects Youngkin policy; curricula challenged
Transgender students attending Richmond Public Schools can expect to have their rights protected for now, and all RPS students may be learning under a new curriculum in the next few years.

New authority to oversee Henrico County’s sports and entertainment venues
Henrico County is being proactive about its plans for sports tourism with its new Henrico Sports & Entertainment Authority that will oversee an increasing number of public-private facilities in the county.

Maymont’s annual Garden Glow promises to shine brighter than before
Dramatic and colorful lighting will once again transform portions of Maymont’s gardens and historic architecture after sunset beginning next Thursday, Oct. 13, and continuing through Saturday, Nov. 6, it has been announced.

Technical Center sees lack of classes
Teachers have little to do other than monitor halls
For decades, hundreds of Richmond high school students have been bused daily to the Technical Center on Westwood Avenue to learn everything from barbering to vehicle repair and construction trades. After those courses, students then were bused back to their schools to take regular classes.

Fate of VUU sign, Confederate statue at standstill
On hold. That’s the status of two landmarks — Virginia Union University’s lighted logo signs that sit atop the 165-foot Vann bell tower on the campus, and the last Confederate statue still standing in the city.

Jefferson Davis Highway lives on with postal service
Jefferson Davis Highway no longer exists in Virginia, but the name of the president of the slavery-defending Confederacy lives on in the database of the U.S. Postal Service.

Donald ‘Cisco’ Ross, former Armstrong High, VCU star, dies
Donald “Cisco” Ross Jr., a former Armstrong High and VCU basketball standout, died Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. He was 74.