RPS names four new principals
Richmond’s George Wythe High School and three elementary schools will have new principals in the fall.
Staffing shortages leads to temporary state mental hospital shutdown
Virginia temporarily closed admissions at five mental hospitals last week amid a staffing crisis. The move will allow the hospitals to reduce the number of patients through attrition, not discharges, until there are enough employees to care for patients safely, an official said.
Elections Board chair says state law was followed in certifying House candidates
The chairman of the Virginia Board of Elections defended the June 30 board action to allow some late-filing Republican nomi- nees for House of Delegate seats to make the Nov. 2 ballot. Chairman Robert H. Brink also rejected any claim that racial preference was involved in the decision-making.
Barbers strike at Fort Lee and Fort Pickett after attempts to cut pay
Military personnel at Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia are struggling to get haircuts.
Can you spell ‘historic?’
Zaila Avant-garde, 14, is first African-American Scripps National Spelling Bee winner
Zaila Avant-garde twirled around in a spin, her smile radiating from the clear braces covering her teeth as confetti fell from the ceiling. The 14-year-old from Harvey, La., had reason to twirl and spin, and most importantly, she had more than enough reasons to smile.
Chris Paul wants NBA championship ring
While it would seem he has it all, Chris Paul has a conspicuously empty space in his jewelry box.
Educator, counselor Susie Banian succumbs at 82
Susie Ann Banian, a veteran Richmond teacher and guidance counselor who also sang in multiple church and community choirs, has died.
Personality: Julian M. Day
Spotlight on 2021 Henrico County Firefighter of the Year
After nearly a decade of service in multiple localities, Julian M. Day received a new kind of spotlight last month.
Misinformation, distrust keep Black vaccination rates low
In the world of sports, winning the game in the homestretch sometimes seems the toughest part of the challenge. That certainly is the case with getting people immunized against the deadly COVID-19 virus, public health and government officials are finding.
Charlottesville removes Confederate statues that sparked bloodshed
Cheers erupted last Saturday as a Confederate statue that towered for nearly a century over downtown Charlottesville was carted away by truck from the place where it had become a flashpoint for racist protests and deadly violence.
School fight
Students, parents and community members pleadfor speedy replacement of George Wythe High School regardless of who is in charge. Two-hour public hearing reveals deplorable rodent, structural problem.
Richmond can build and open by September 2024 a new George Wythe High School and two other school buildings that also are top priorities if City Hall would just begin cooperating with the School Board instead of throwing up roadblocks.
Mayor and School Board must work out differences for sake of the city
Re “Community members call for School Board to work with city on new George Wythe,” Free Press June 24 edition:
Voting rights: What’s next after U.S. Supreme Court decision?, by Da’Quan Love
One step forward, two steps backward.
‘National anthem doesn’t speak for me’, by Julianne Malveaux
Frances Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” our national anthem, was a dyed-in-the-wool racist. He opined that “Negroes” were a “distinct and inferior race.” He was a slaveholder from a family of slaveholders who influenced the odious seventh President Andrew Jackson to appoint Roger B. Taney, the author of the Dred Scott decision (“Blacks have no rights that whites are bound to respect”) to the U.S. Supreme Court.
D.C. statehood must be achieved, by Marc H. Morial
“Congress has both the moral obligation and the constitutional authority to pass the D.C. state- hood bill. This country was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed, but D.C. residents are taxed without representation and cannot con- sent to the laws under which they, as American citizens, must live.” — Eleanor Holmes Norton, delegate to U.S. House of Representatives representing the District of Columbia
Will Smith paid for NOLA’s fireworks
Residents and visitors to New Orleans have actor Will Smith to thank for the fireworks display on Independence Day.
Monument to activist-journalist Ida B. Wells unveiled in Chicago
A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells was unveiled June 30 in Chicago.
