
Dr. Frank S. Royal honored by National Medical Association
Dr. Frank S. Royal Sr. of Richmond is the recipient of the National Medical Association’s W. Montague Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dominion leadership changes lead to promotions for African-Americans, women
African-Americans and women will play more prominent roles in the operation of Dominion Energy in the wake of a leadership overhaul at the Richmond-based energy giant following its abandonment last month of the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.

Pandemic puts city assessments, financial picture on hold
New valuations of Richmond homes and businesses have yet to be issued.

More COVID-19 cases reported at city jail; Henrico cases subsiding
A few more cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the Richmond Justice Center in the past week, as the Henrico County Jail has reported an end to the epidemic at its Parham Road facility.

Signs with Confederate school names go back up in Hanover County
The Hanover County School Board has temporarily re-installed the signs of two Hanover schools named for Confederates, just weeks after voting to rename the schools and their mascots to eliminate ties to the Confederacy.

RPS releases initial details of online reopening
When school starts Tuesday, Sept. 8, for Richmond Public Schools students, their online lessons will begin at 9:15 a.m. and end at 4:20 p.m. Students in pre-school through third grade will start earlier — at 9 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m.

Henrico schools to reopen virtually this fall
The Henrico School Board voted unanimously last week to reopen schools this fall using a full virtual learning format for the first semester.

Policing and COVID-19: A dangerous combination
As protests in Richmond continue to draw attention to decades of overpolicing, it has become abundantly clear that the status quo cannot hold. Richmond is a city with deeply entrenched segregation and brutal poverty alongside glittering new developments. Recent police actions here make the state’s “Virginia Is for Lovers” slogan ring hollow. These responses to protests are made even more harmful by police reliance on aggressive strate- gies that only exacerbate the health risks of the coronavirus.

Inequality and injustice must end
The most recent acts of evil that brought about innocent deaths of Black people due to police brutality and white racism compel the faculty of School of Theology at Virginia Union University, or STVU, to condemn these acts in the strongest possible way. We will continue to do what is necessary for our students by empowering them to do justice in the Black community and beyond.

There’s no question, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
Jane Elliott said, “If we didn’t have all those years when Black lives didn’t matter, we wouldn’t have to have a Black Lives Matter movement now.”

Restore the Voting Rights Act, by Marc H. Morial
“Although the court did not deny that voter discrimination still exists, it gutted the most powerful tool this nation has ever had to stop discriminatory voting practices from becoming law. Those justices were never beaten or jailed for trying to register to vote. They have no friends who gave their lives for the right to vote. I want to say to them, ‘Come and walk in my shoes.’” — Congressman John Lewis reacting to the U.S Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder deci- sion in 2013.

Oprah’s O magazine to end monthly print editions after 20 years
O, The Oprah Magazine is ending its regular monthly print editions with the December issue after 20 years of publication.

July 1 was red-letter day for former inmate Rojai Fentress
Rojai Fentress, arrested in 1996 on a murder charge when he was just 16 years old, woke up on July 1 at the Augusta Correctional Center as inmate No. 1038804.

Beyonce’s new ‘Black Is King’ premieres July 31
Social media is buzzing in anticipation of Beyoncé’s new visual album, “Black Is King,” that premieres Thursday, July 31, on Disney+.

John Blake, whose coaching helped Dallas win 2 Super Bowls, dies at 59
John Blake, who made a coaching impact on both the NCAA and NFL levels, died Thursday, July 23, 2020, of a heart attack. He was 59.

Clash of the quinquagenarians: Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. to fight
Professional boxing is turning back the clock.

Several Richmond Flying Squirrels have made leap to the majors
The primary objective of a minor league baseball team is to prepare players for the major leagues.

WNBA opens shortened season with tribute to Breonna Taylor
WNBA players opened their season last weekend wearing uniforms featur- ing Breonna Taylor’s name to honor the 26-year-old emergency medical technician and former high school basketball player who was shot and killed by plainclothes police who broke down the door of her Louisville, Ky., apartment on March 13 to serve a narcotics search warrant.