
A model for advancement
Over the last decades, many American inner cities have seen an economic resurgence. Buoyed by millennials and people’s desire to shorten their daily work commute, neighborhoods and communities that were all but pronounced dead two decades ago now find themselves flush with new businesses and residents.
The club is closing
Note to the ol’ boys: The club is closing. We’re talking about the club whose members are being outed daily for their reprehensible behavior of sexually harassing and assaulting women.

‘Work for a cause and not for applause,’ VSU graduates told
Virginia State University graduates received a lesson in delayed gratification last weekend before the 2017 Fall Commencement held Sunday in the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.

Tavis Smiley to bring stage presentation to city
As America commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death next year, Richmond will celebrate the civil rights icon’s life and legacy with a multimedia stage presentation by PBS broadcaster and author Tavis Smiley.

It’s a 3-peat!
Highland Springs High School wins third consecutive state football title
Highland Springs High School’s talented and determined football Springers have done it again. The Eastern Henrico County squad, aka the “Beast of the East,” is Virginia’s 5A football champion for a breathtaking third straight season. Finishing the season 14-1, the Springers three-peated on Sunday, Dec. 10, with a decisive 40-27 victory over Tuscarora High School of Leesburg at Hampton University’s Armstrong Stadium.

Sophomore Ikechi Chantilou gives spark to George Wythe squad
It almost feels unfair. Ikechi Chantilou is so quick, so athletic. And he’s only a sophomore. On a senior-laden George Wythe High basketball squad, it’s hard taking your eyes off Chantilou, a whippet-lean, 6-foot-3 guard-forward seemingly with rockets on his sneakers.

VUU’s Hammond wins Lanier Defensive Back of the Year award
Sterling Hammond is the latest in a long line of exceptional defensive backs at Virginia Union University. He has lived up to his name, Sterling, meaning “excellent” or “valuable.” The fleet and rugged 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hammond has picked up two impressive postseason honors following his sophomore season at VUU.

Hughes bouncing back for VUU
Virginia Union University basketball fans never really got to know Todd Hughes a year ago. On Nov. 30, 2016, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in a game at the University of the District of Columbia and was lost for the remainder of the season.

VUU set to name new coach
Virginia Union University Athletic Director Joe Taylor says he expects to name a new football coach by this weekend. The position became vacant when Coach Mark James was not retained following four seasons at the college located on Lombardy Street in Richmond.

VSU’s Cannon up for prestigious national award
Trenton Cannon is vying for at least one more honor before the book is closed on his college football career. The Virginia State University senior running back is a finalist for the Black College Football Player of the Year Award that is presented to the top performer in an HBCU program.

Jackie Robinson fêted for football too
When football fans file into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day, they’ll be greeted by an exciting addition — a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Jackie Robinson.

Black family gets apology 40 years later from KKK member turned priest
A former Ku Klux Klan member who burned a cross on a black couple’s lawn 40 years ago, before becoming a Roman Catholic priest, has finally written his victims an apology.

Hanukkah continues through Dec. 20
Public menorah lightings for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah are planned around the world in locations ranging from ski towns and Caribbean islands to famous landmarks and sports arenas.

Rev. Curtis W. Harris, civil rights activist, 1st black Hopewell mayor, dies at 93
The Rev. Curtis W. Harris Sr. devoted his life to battling the racism and bigotry that oppressed African-Americans in Hopewell and across Virginia.

Simeon Booker, ‘dean of black journalists,’ succumbs at 99
Simeon S. Booker Jr. never lived in Richmond during his nearly 100 years on Earth. Still, at the height of his career, it seemed he was always in town somewhere.

Personality: Vinara L. Mosby
Spotlight on organizer of RVA Entrepreneurs
Endless possibilities and a spirit of giving drive the RVA Entrepreneurs. The organization was created in June by a handful of people in a variety of fields who are eager to share knowledge gleaned from a combined 100 years-plus of experience.

City Council OKs money for raises, Church Hill North project
Most city employees will receive fatter paychecks this Friday, Dec. 15, while construction of the first 105 apartments will be able to move ahead on the site of the former Armstrong High School off Nine Mile Road in the East End.

ACA health insurance deadline is Friday
Open enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, ends this week. Enrollment Virginia, a nonprofit that helps people sign up, noted that applications must be filed by midnight Friday, Dec. 15. This is less time than last year because of President Trump’s action to reduce the sign-up period.

Revamped bulk trash collection to begin Dec.18
A new program that aims to create a cleaner Richmond will launch Monday, Dec. 18. Under the program, the city’s Department of Public Works staff and trucks will begin collecting every two weeks brush, small tree limbs and many other items that do not fit into a Supercan, according to Bobby Vincent, director of Public Works.

CHIP remains on danger list
A state agency began sending out notices this week to thousands of families about the impending loss of health insurance for their children. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services began issuing the notices Tuesday amid waning hopes that the Republican-controlled Congress will extend funding beyond the end of December for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, before leaving Washington for the holiday recess.