North Carolina A&T heading to Celebration Bowl Dec. 15
North Carolina A&T State University is making Atlanta a regular stop on its football travel itinerary. For the third time in the four-year history of the Celebration Bowl, the Aggies are heading to Georgia to play in front of a national television audience.
Lady Panthers’ ‘Towers of Power’ jump-start hoops season
There are at least three towers at Virginia Union University. A visitor can’t miss the brick and mortar tower — the 160-foot Belgian Building — in the middle of the Lombardy Street campus.
Einstein’s ‘God letter’ hits auction block
A handwritten 1954 letter by physicist Albert Einstein in which the Nobel laureate is dismissive of religion in general and Judaism in particular is expected to bring a seven-figure price when auctioned by Christie’s in New York City on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Cedar Street Baptist to hold dedication service Dec.15
Cedar Street Baptist Church of God has spent three years and $3.5 million renovating its original sanctuary at Cedar and 24th streets in Church Hill.
Personality: Ashley A. Morgan
Spotlight on Richmond’s 2019 Teacher of the Year
A William Fox Elementary School teacher’s youthful dream paved the way to Richmond’s highest teaching honor. Ashley A. Morgan, 28, a first-grade teacher at the Hanover Avenue school in The Fan, was named the 2019 Richmond Public Schools Teacher of the Year last week during the school district’s annual ceremony. She wins $1,000.
RPS needs $150M more to fund strategic plan
Richmond Public Schools will need to beef up its budget with an added $150 million over five years to help implement its strategic plan to bolster city schools. Superintendent Jason Kamras presented the Richmond School Board with the cost estimate for the first time during its meeting Monday night.
Special VCU council offers plan for human remains from old medical research
A proper burial in a historic African-American cemetery, recognition on the Virginia Commonwealth University medical campus and continued research.
Public meetings slated on city parking issues
Parking is one of the key issues that City Hall is seeking to address as it moves ahead in preparing a new master plan for Richmond. A series of meetings began this week to allow residents in seven areas where parking is a contentious issue to review and discuss recommendations from a consultant, DESMAN.
‘March for More’ demonstration set for Dec. 8
Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Virginia education leaders will hold a “March for More” rally and demonstration this weekend to demand more state money for public education.
Help for health care sign-ups on Dec. 8
Celebrate Healthcare is teaming up with First Baptist Church of South Richmond to help people enroll in health insurance plans under the federal Affordable Care Act and the state’s Medicaid expansion program.
On separate TEDx stages, a local mother and daughter share their perspectives on education and identity
They were already close, but Dr. Hollee Freeman said her bond with her daughter is even stronger after they were invited to speak at separate local TEDx events within weeks of each other.
State NAACP president muddies group’s stance against Dominion Energy pipeline project
The Virginia State NAACP is reaffirming its opposition to Dominion Energy’s $6.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline because it believes a key element of the pipeline — a natural gas compressor station —poses a pollution risk to a historically African-American community in Buckingham County, 75 miles west of Richmond.
Dr. Corey Walker leaving VUU School of Theology
Virginia Union University will soon start looking for a new dean for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. In a surprise move, Dr. Corey D.B. Walker announced in a letter to the students and faculty that he is leaving what he called his “dream” job as a VUU vice president, theology school dean and professor of religion and society on Dec. 31.
Trump endorses bipartisan federal sentencing reform effort
President Trump’s boisterous and often denigrating political rhetoric during most of the 2018 midterm campaign season and his post-election assault on the federal court in California may have overshadowed his positive take on federal prison sentencing.
In limbo: City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto casts decisive vote in latest poll on Coliseum project despite looming questions over his qualifications to hold 5th District seat
Richmond City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District, is continuing to play a prominent role on the nine-member governing board despite ongoing concerns about the legality of his seat on council since his move last summer to another council district.
Bowie State loses in round 2 of NCAA playoffs
Bowie State University’s football season and quarterback Amir Hall’s college career both ended Saturday, Nov. 24, in Valdosta, Ga.
Trump and scandal
For several years, many of us were consumed by the night on which the popular television show “Scandal,” starring Kerry Washington, was broadcast. Well, it seems that the program was our preparation for what’s going on in our country today.
Is this really environmental justice?
The Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative condemns Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s decision to suddenly replace two members of the state Air Pollution Control Board in the midst of the crucial permitting process for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline proposed compressor station in Buckingham County.
Step aside
Richmond City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto no longer lives in the district that he represents. He has acknowledged that he moved out of the 5th District in July into a house on West Franklin Street in the city’s 1st District with his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter, saying he needed larger accommodations for a growing family.
Teaching while black
We have read with disgust report after report from around the nation of incidents of white people calling the cops on African-Americans who are engaged in nothing more than the normal activities of daily living — barbecuing while black, going to the pool while black, waiting at Starbucks while black, going into your apartment building while black, vacationing at an airbnb while black, selling Girl Scout cookies while black and campaigning for public office while black.
