School Board approves construction plan
The Richmond School Board voted 6-2 at its meeting Monday to approve Superintendent Jason Kamras’ plan to collaborate with the City of Richmond on construction of four new school buildings — George Mason and E.S.H. Greene Elementary schools, Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School and George Wythe High School. Board members Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, and Jonathan Young, 4th District, cast the two dissenting votes. Member James “Scott” Barlow, 2nd District, was absent from the meeting.
Fair housing for all an elusive dream
In the classic movie “Gone with the Wind,” the owner of Tara plantation admonished his daughter for remarking that she didn’t care about her home. In a sharp rebuke, Gerald O’Hara declared that “land was the only thing worth living for, worth fighting for … worth dying for.”
Black tech consumers, but not employees
A nationwide assessment of the digital economy has found that black Americans are overrepresented as tech consumers, but drastically underrepresented as tech employees, according to the 2018 State of Black America.
Lynching memorial helps heal old wounds
If we don’t know the whereas, the therefore doesn’t make sense. Witness the ovens in Auschwitz and Treblinka, and then you can understand the creation of Israel.
A more dangerous world
President Trump is a menace to society. His announcement Tuesday that he is scrapping the Iran nuclear agreement, that was negotiated in part by former President Obama, threatens to destabilize the Middle East by increasing the potential for the spread of nuclear weapons and alienating our nation’s allies and the international coalition that helped build the arms control deal with Iran.
VUU to turn Industrial Hall into a museum
Virginia Union University is restoring and re-purposing one of the original buildings on its campus. Industrial Hall, which was built in 1899 and stands at the south end of the Lombardy Street campus with its tall, granite smokestack seen by travelers on Interstate 95, is being turned into a new museum and art gallery.
Sickle Cell Community Awareness Day May 19
The VCU Health Sickle Cell Disease Program is partnering with the Richmond Fire Department and Fire Station 14 to host a Sickle Cell Community Awareness Day 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at Pollard Park in North Side.
Former U.N. ambassador named to Netflix board
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com
Former Lady Panthers star Kiana Johnson makes All-Finnish team
Kiana Johnson has gone from All-CIAA to All-Finnish.
Virginian Noah Lyles focused on a 2020 Olympic win
A former Virginian may be the 200-meter dash favorite for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Noah Lyles, a 20-year-old former standout at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, is making noise on the professional IAAF Diamond League circuit.
Huguenot Falcons hope to boost wins under new coach Jared Taylor
Huguenot High School has improved the number of victories its team has secured on the girdiron each of the past three seasons.
Benedictine’s Jahdon Robinson commits to Hampton
Jahdon Robinson, a junior at Benedictine Prep, has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at Hampton University starting with the 2019-20 season.
Shaka Smart’s coaching lessons bearing fruit
The fruit never falls far from the tree. Evidence of Coach Shaka Smart’s powerful tenure as the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University continues sprouting.
Pujols joins baseball elite hit-home run club
Albert Pujols has slugged his way onto the short list of baseball’s all-time hitters. The Los Angeles Angels first baseman/designated hitter joins legends Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez as the only players with at least 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.
Priest caught in political fire reinstated as House chaplain
Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan has announced he will reinstate the Rev. Patrick Conroy as chaplain for the House of Representatives after the controversial Jesuit priest challenged the stated rationale for removing him.
Helen Peyton Wallace, among first teachers to integrate Westhampton Elementary, dies at 90
Helen Winfree Peyton Wallace had a passion for helping Richmond children master reading. An avid reader, Mrs. Wallace was best known for her work as a Title I remedial teacher who helped untold numbers of city elementary students overcome reading problems.
Maxine L. Black, longtime school counselor and civic leader, succumbs at 77
Maxine Lewis Black wore multiple hats as an educator and in leadership roles with women’s organizations. Mrs. Black was a foreign language teacher and late served as a guidance counselor with Richmond Public Schools in a career that spanned nearly 50 years.
Personality: Joseph P. Costello
Spotlight on founder of the nonprofit Friends of Pump House
Joseph P. Costello first discovered the Pump House in Byrd Park in the summer of 2013. He was with friends when he visited the Gothic Revival structure situated just north of the James River and Kanawha Canal off Pump House Drive. It was constructed of local granite in 1883, with annex buildings added in 1905. “I was blown away by the beauty of the building,” Mr. Costello says.
Need protection?
Replicas of Terracotta Warriors up for auction
They were life-size terracotta depictions of soldiers protecting Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China, and buried with him in Xi’an in 210 BCE to protect him in the afterlife.
Virginia Premier to offer health plans on ACA exchange this fall
Virginia Premier, the insurance arm of VCU Health, will start selling individual plans beginning this fall to Richmond area residents who buy coverage through the health insurance exchanges of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, it was announced Monday.
