RPS opens with problems with lunches, new buildings
Richmond Public Schools reopened last week and school trash cans are overflowing with rejected prepackaged lunches that students would rather throw away than eat. And parents don’t blame them.
Early voting begins Sept. 17 for Virginia’s top posts
The future direction of Virginia’s government is now in the hands of voters, with early voting cranking up on Friday, Sept. 17 – 45 days ahead of the official Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
’Monumental Conversations:’ RPS launches new, free app offering insight into community feelings about Confederate statues that lined Monument Avenue
A new mobile app gives people the ability to hear the stories of the generational resistance of Black Richmonders to the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue that once stood as symbols of the white “Lost Cause” narrative.
Confederate A.P. Hill statue may be headed to Culpeper
The last city-owned Confederate statue is on its way out of Richmond, though the process will not be swift because a grave is involved, according to Mayor Levar M. Stoney.
Inside Met Gala, where there’s always someone more famous
U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe had just gotten her beverage at the bar at the edge of the room. She looked back at the throbbing crowd of celebrities packed into the center of the airy Petrie Court, where the Met Gala was holding its cocktail reception.
VUU to play VUL Sept. 18 in Willard Bailey Classic
Who is Coach Bailey rooting for?
Virginia Union University’s long-awaited first football game on its beautifully renovated field left much to be desired. The game this Saturday, Sept. 18, against beleaguered Virginia University of Lynchburg figures to produce far happier results.
Trial set for Oct. 12 in Fourth Baptist Church dispute
A Richmond Circuit Court judge on Tuesday refused to throw out a case in which some members of historic Fourth Baptist Church have sought protection for their voting rights in church affairs, clearing the way for a trial scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Funeral service Sept. 21 for Dr. Clifton Whitaker Jr., pastor emeritus of Grayland Baptist Church
Dr. Clifton Whitaker Jr. set out to be a career Richmond police officer, but injury after 17 years on the force opened the door to a new career in ministry.
Personality: Lawrence E. West Jr.
Spotlight on founder of Black Lives Matter RVA
For many, the removal of the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the pedestal where it stood for more than a century was a symbolic moment that could herald further progress and change. For Lawrence E. West Jr., founder of Black Lives Matter RVA, the removal was something more substantial and critical.
Trial in ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ college admissions scandal gets underway
The first full trial in the college admissions bribery scandal opened Monday with defense attorneys seeking to portray the two parents accused of buying their childrens’ way into school as victims of a con man who believed their payments were legitimate donations.
Tough love
Task force recommends subpoena powers for police oversight board
A recommendation for creating a powerful new city office to police the police has been sent to Richmond City Council for review.
Time capsule with items from a new Virginia buried at former Lee site
The streets of Monument Avenue were filled with sounds of construction equipment last Thursday as more than a dozen workers searched from sunrise to sunset, and through sporadic rainfall, for a 134-year-old time capsule believed to be hidden in the base of the pedestal that until Sept. 8 held the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Talk about the real issues
On Thursday, Sept. 9, I was interviewed by two white people – a man with a camera and a woman reporter from a local television station – in front of the U.S. Post Office on Main Street in Downtown regarding President Biden’s mandate about COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the interview was to get me to say something negative about President Biden. I did not take the bait.
Personality: Melanie K. Frank
Spotlight on board chair of the Full Circle Grief Center
During COVID-19, grief has become a greater presence in the lives of many people with the large numbers of people stricken with, hospitalized by or who succumbed to the virus. For Richmonders struggling with this part of life, Melanie K. Frank and the Full Circle Grief Center have been working to be a helping hand.
From hatred to hope
The 131-year old, 12-ton bronze symbol of white supremacy honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue is taken down as scores watch in person and online
An empty pedestal covered with colorful anti-racist slogans. That’s all that remains of the state’s greatest symbol of white supremacy – the statue of the traitorous Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee riding his horse, Traveller.
9/11 artifacts share ‘pieces of truth’ in victims’ stories
For nearly six years, Andrea Haberman’s ashen and damaged wallet lay mostly untouched in a drawer at her parents’ Wisconsin home, along with a partly melted cell phone, her driver’s license, credit cards, checkbook and house keys. Flecks of rust had formed on the rims of her eyeglasses, their lenses shattered and gone.
Field at N.C. stadium named to honor legendary Coach Bill Hayes
Bill Hayes first made his football coaching mark at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Now that mark will become permanent.
Honoring Tony Cosby
Re “Actor Tony D. Cosby, who portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in area productions for decades, dies at 66,” Free Press Sept. 2-4 edition:
Playing politics with students’ health
Across the country, students are embarking on what is certain to be a third consecutive academic year that is compromised or disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
