
Great expectations
Spartans rely on Davis’ offensive moves for wins
J.J. Davis was a freshman phenom last year at Norfolk State University, and much more is expected this season from the now sophomore.

Hopewell and Chester alums candidates for major college football awards
The 804 area code is producing big-time running backs.

Virginia Union golfers’ academic skills saluted
Virginia Union University’s golf team believes in posting low scores on the course but high scores in the classroom.

‘The Lioness’ gets her prey
Amanda Nunes had revenge in her corner and that, combined with her flying fists and feet, was enough to regain her UFC bantamweight belt.

‘Chief Connection Officer’
Former NSU point guard is among nation’s top rugby players
As a Norfolk State University women’s basketball point guard, Jazamine “Jaz” Gray was known for her passing talent. She tossed for 230 career assists. Since then, Gray has passed the test in another sport — rugby.

DOJ: Buffett company discriminated against Black homebuyers
A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett’s company discriminated against potential Black and Latino homebuyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice said Wednesday, in what is being called the second-largest redlining settlement in history. Trident Mortgage Co., a division of Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeServices of America, deliberately avoided writing mortgages in minority-majority neighborhoods in West Philadelphia such as Malcolm X Park; Camden, N.J.; and in Wilmington, Del., the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in their settlement with Trident.

City Council collective bargaining vote is a win
I want to say kudos to Richmond City Council for voting and allowing most city employees to unionize.

HUD announces $2.8B in grants for homeless services
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing $2.8 billion in fresh funding for homeless services organizations across the country. The funding, announced Monday, will be allocated via competitive bids through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program, the largest source of federal grant support to housing and services programs for people experiencing homelessness.

MAGA meets fascism, by Clarence Page
As much as I call myself a zealot for free speech, I also find it prudent sometimes to remember the value of not speaking. Or, at least, in pursuit of reasoned discourse I will seek a substitute that sounds less inflammatory.

Plan won’t end economic violence, by Julianne Malveaux
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law on June 25, 2022, was a win for the Biden-Harris Administration.

Who’s manning Richmond City Jail?
For several weeks the Richmond Free Press has reported ongoing violence at Richmond’s City Jail.

No charges for officer who pepper-sprayed Army lieutenant
A former police officer in Virginia should not be criminally charged but should be investigated for potential civil rights violations after he pepper-sprayed, struck and handcuffed a Black U.S. Army lieutenant during a 2020 traffic stop, a special prosecutor has determined.

Virginia Court of Appeals denies Terrence Richardson’s innocence petition
An effort to free two Sussex County men sentenced to life in jail following the 1998 murder of a Waverly police officer continues to face major obstacles after a petition to exonerate one of the convicted men was rejected after months of legal deliberation.

Jackson Ward Collective hosts business conference
The term “Black Wall Street” is often associated with the prosperous residential and business community that was destroyed in the Tulsa, Okla., massacre 101 years ago. But there were similar places of prosperity in Black communities throughout the United States, including Richmond’s Jackson Ward.

From the Free Press to the front office
From the Free Press to the front office St. Joe’s student-athlete flexes writing skills as summer news intern
Most journalists will tell you that nothing beats seeing your name in print or having something tangible that says to family, friends and future employers, “I did this.”

RPS receives award for fighting hunger
Richmond Public Schools is one of six school districts in the state to receive a 2022 Food for Thought Award from the Virginia School Boards Association.

Cities face crisis as fewer kids enroll and schools shrink
On a recent morning inside Chalmers School of Excellence on Chicago’s West Side, five preschool and kindergarten students finished up drawings. Four staffers, including a teacher and a tutor, chatted with them about colors and shapes. The summer program offers the kind of one-on-one support parents love. But behind the scenes, Principal Romian Crockett worries the school is becoming precariously small.

Property owners given more time to apply for tax exemptions
Elderly and totally disabled property owners in Richmond will have the whole year to apply for exemptions from real estate taxes, beginning in January 2023.

Judge, after slow process, tosses lawsuit seeking new Virginia elections
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates can continue to represent unconstitutional districts that the state Supreme Court abolished in December.