
Youth Matter Showcase wraps up youth violence Prevention Week activities
A Youth Matter Showcase, presented from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Pine Camp Cultural Arts and Community Center, will help round out the 2nd Annual Youth Violence Prevention Week coordinated by Richmond’s Youth Violence Prevention Coalition and the INSPIRE Workgroup.

Documentary on African-American men and mental health Saturday
Black men’s mental health is spotlighted in a documentary film being screened this weekend in Richmond.

Richmond Raceway will host first eSports event
Rocket-powered cars are coming to the Richmond Raceway, but they’re not racing — they’re playing soccer.

Markers to honor late city native Dorothy I. Height on March 24
Dorothy Irene Height left segregated Richmond at age 5 and went on to earn national recognition as a civil rights and women’s rights activist who devoted her life to uplifting people.

No more taxes
Letters to the editor
Re “More taxes: Mayor Stoney proposes tax hikes on real estate, cigarettes and utility rates to generate more money for city needs,” Free Press March 7-9 edition: I see that Mayor Levar M. Stoney wants to raise more taxes in Richmond. The tax hikes would include real estate, cigarettes and utilities to help offset city expenses.

Gaming the college admissions system and defunding K-12 public education
Letters to the editor
Re “Stand by your plan: Mayor Levar M. Stoney pushes his proposed tax hikes despite opposition and criticism” and “Fallout continues from college admissions scandal,” Free Press March 14-16 edition: The indictment of 50 people in a fraudulent scheme to gain admission to elite universities and colleges for already privileged children exposes an appalling but unsurprising reality.

Vote out those who weakened school truancy law
Letters to the Editor
Re “RPS attendance officers’ jobs on chopping block despite crucial need, service,” Free Press March 14-16 edition: It was unconscionable for members of the Richmond delegation to the General Assembly to vote to defang the truancy law.

Remembrance and justice: Shockoe Bottom Memorial
Letters to the editor
Every week, a new story of some city, county or state’s decision to keep or remove a memento of the Confederacy captures our nation’s attention.

Calling out white terrorists
An Australian white nationalist who says he hates immigrants acted out his hate by murdering at least 49 people and seriously injuring dozens more last week. He

Too late in Venezuela?
The United States is pushing for an overthrow of the government of Venezuela. The Trump administration has denounced Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro as a “dictator,” dismissing the 2018 election, which the opposition boycotted.

Parity and equity
Several searing events during the past two weeks have again raised serious questions about the lack of parity and equity in this nation.

Congratulations!
Well played!
Congratulations to the Virginia Union University Lady Panthers and the Virginia State University Trojans men’s basketball teams!

New Zealand shooting hits home for American Muslims
For Muslims, Fridays are special. Mosques come to life with the mandatory Jummah prayer services, where imams deliver sermons and lead rows of worshippers in congregational prayer. Muslims dress in their Friday best and greet one another with “Jummah Mubarak” or “blessed Friday.”

Personality: Mary R. Sadovszky
Spotlight on chair of CancerLINC’s Bags & Bourbon Benefit
Mary R. Sadovszky, chair of the Bags & Bourbon Benefit, a live and silent auction to benefit CancerLINC, is working weekends and nights to make this charitable event Richmond’s most memorable spring fundraiser.

Virginia, change and the ERA
People have said the Democrats have no central focus. I think we do — and that’s inclusion.

From the ground up
Cityscape: Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
Church Hill North is going vertical three years after ground was broken for the development at the former site of Armstrong High School in the East End.

Help end gun violence
H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, is the most significant gun safety bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in more than two decades. The legislation requires background checks on all firearm sales in the country.

Young people and vaping
Nearly half a million people die every year from complications from smoking. About a tenth of them never put a cigarette to their lips; they die from exposure to second-hand smoke.

‘Something in the Water’
Planning to attend “Something in the Water,” the three-day music festival in late April spearheaded by Pharrell Williams in Virginia Beach? According to the latest reports, the cheapest tickets are sold out, along with most of the hotel rooms on the oceanfront.

The only plan on the table
Mayor Levar M. Stoney has presented what he calls a “bold” new budget to Richmond City Council that goes all in for greater investment in public schools and road and street improvements.