Don’t wait for Petersburg, Hanover to change Confederate school names
Re “Petersburg School Board to hold sessions on renaming Confederate schools,” Free Press Jan. 4-6 edition: Why hasn’t the city of Richmond changed the names of schools named for Confederates?
Trump and unemployment
When the unemployment rate dropped and economic conditions improved under the leadership of President Obama, 45 derided the gains as “fake news.”
Infidelity at its worst
Not surprisingly, one of the latest revelations about 45 is the report that, in 2016, his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stephanie Clifford (aka “Stormy Daniels”) $130,000 to secure an agreement preventing her from disclosing the details of a 2006 sexual liaison with the reality star now politician.
Get busy or get out of the way
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has taken a giant step toward accountability this week with the resignation Sunday of its chief executive, T.K. Somanath.
The death of a giant
We have lost a giant with the death this week of Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. The 88-year-old Dr. Walker, who was in an assisted living facility in Chester, served as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s chief of staff, strategizing and organizing some of Dr. King’s most successful civil rights demonstrations.
Thousands turn out for Women’s March RVA
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Carytown last Saturday for the second annual Women’s March, recalling demonstrations a year ago when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington and cities around the nation and the world to protest President Trump’s inauguration and the GOP’s stance on issues such as women’s rights and immigration. Some called the 2017 event the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
‘Get Out’ surprises at Oscar nominations
This year’s Oscar surprises include four nominations — including best picture and best actor for Daniel Kaluuya — for Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” in which an African-American man finds himself trapped at his white girlfriend’s house with her strange family.
Petersburg’s Ron Bolton, 10 others to be inducted into VIA Hall of Fame
The VIA Heritage Association wants to make sure the historical achievements of stellar athletes such as Ron Bolton don’t fade into oblivion.
Williams takes charge on UNC’s defense
Kenny Williams III is the Richmond area’s most recent link to arguably the nation’s premier college basketball program.
Quarterback showdown gearing up for Super Bowl LII
“Fly, Eagles, Fly,” the Philadelphia Eagles fight song, is unofficially No. 1 on the pop charts these days in the City of Brotherly Love.
William T. Stone Sr., former substitute judge, Williamsburg funeral home owner, dies at 87
William Thomas Stone Sr. made history in 1968, when he was one of the first African-Americans appointed to the judiciary in Virginia.
Retired teacher Margaret Dungee, 88, dies
Margaret Inez Rollins Dungee felt called to teach. The Richmond native “loved children, delighted in seeing them learn and went to long lengths to see others obtain college educations,” her daughter, Veronica D. Abrams, stated.
AME Bishop John Hurst Adams succumbs at 90
Bishop John Hurst Adams, a nationwide religious and civil rights leader who was a strong voice for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House dome, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. He was 90.
Hugh Masekela, South African jazz musician instrumental in anti-apartheid fight, dies at 78
Trumpeter and singer Hugh Masekela, known as the “father of South African jazz” who used his music in the fight against apartheid, has died after a decade-long fight with prostate cancer, his family said on Tuesday. He was 78.
Misperceptions prevent some from donating organs
Although most Americans say they’re willing to be an organ donor after they die, some people never sign up because they’re unsure about what could happen to them in a medical emergency, according to a new study. In particular, survey respondents reported concerns about receiving adequate medical care if they registered to donate organs after they died.
Personality: Diane E. Woodruff
Spotlight on board chair of nonprofit City Singers Youth Choirs
Music is the great equalizer and it touches the whole child.
A new lease
T.K. Somanath resigns from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority amid criticism regarding heating crisis
Battered by criticism over his handling of a heating crisis in the Creighton Court public housing community, T.K. Somanath abruptly resigned Sunday as chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
RRHA picks Orlando Artze as interim CEO
Orlando Artze, a 64-year-old former Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority board member who has spent the past two years working on special projects for the authority, has been named RRHA’s interim chief executive officer.
Work begins in Creighton Court
Work is finally underway to restore heat in 12 buildings in the Creighton Court public housing community, a failure of a basic service that has come to symbolize the deteriorating state of Richmond’s “public housing stock.”
