Mother, daughter reunited 50 years after adoption
Bonnie L. Davis grew up in an adoptive family, but always longed to find her biological mother. But the Richmond middle school English teacher, church musician and creative writer, found it nearly impossible, despite spending years seeking records in Louisville, Ky., where she was born.
Deadline to register to vote Monday, Oct. 16
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, voters will go to the polls to elect Virginia’s governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and members of the Virginia House of Delegates.
10 vying for School Board appointment
Candidates seeking appointment to the Richmond School Board’s 7th District seat pointed to a multitude of issues during public interviews Monday night.
Tragedy in Vegas
Sunday’s bloody mass shooting outside casino is the worst massacre in recent U.S. history
The mystery and motive behind mass killer Stephen Paddock — gambler, accountant, auditor and real estate investor — continues to baffle federal authorities and law enforcement officials in Las Vegas who were working on Wednesday to discover what drove the 64-year-old to commit the worst mass murder in modern U.S. history.
Picketer seeks to challenge regulations in Capitol Square
Beatrice Downs is learning that sidewalks are not created equal when it comes to public demonstrations. The 69-year-old nurse found that out when she sought to picket outside the governor’s office in Capitol Square. The Henrico County resident is convinced that state officials have made it more difficult for her to work or to find a place to live, “and I wanted to bring this to the attention of the governor.”
Richmond graduation rate falls
The percentage of Richmond students graduating in four years is dropping, while the dropout rate is going up, according to a new state report.
Richmond School Board race tightens as candidate drops out
One of the five people seeking election to Richmond’s 3rd District School Board seat has dropped out. Businessman Kevin A. Starlings confirmed to the Free Press that he has ended his campaign. “I need to focus more on my family,” the 31-year-old said last Friday in explaining his decision to quit his second bid for the office. He declined to elaborate.
City appointments announced
Christopher Frelke will take charge of the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced Mr. Frelke as the new director on Tuesday. He will take over of Oct. 30, the mayor said, with a starting salary of $135,000 a year.
Take down all the statues
Regarding the brouhaha over the Confederate statues here and elsewhere, I have come up with a solution that should please both sides.
ESPN anchor vs. Trump
Perhaps it was not the proper forum for ESPN anchor Jemele Hill to air her opinion about President Trump. But the president himself has made a plethora of denouncements of people both here and abroad. Those include character assassinations of members of his own cabinet, and he still remains in his position, though only the Lord knows why.
Creating a peaceful Richmond
As a Hijabi Muslim and new resident of Richmond, I quickly learned that the city is quite welcoming. It was during a visit to the grocery store that I really felt welcomed, and then again when I went to Short Pump Mall. Small talk in a checkout line or elevator goes a long way to make people of different backgrounds feel welcomed.
Too late to complain about Confederate flag being co-opted
Many people do not know that the swastika is actually an ancient Sanskrit symbol denoting good luck and prosperity. It is sort of an ancient Indian-Asian four leaf clover. A lucky charm. A rabbit’s foot.
Speak up for environmental justice
Equity, understanding, morality and justice are at the foundation of any society. Unfortunately, here in the United States, society is being revisited by the more visible public manifestations of the systems of oppression that our country was built on.
Dick Gregory predicted chaos
For those who knew comedian-activist Dick Gregory, it’s no secret that we were best friends for a very long time. More than a year before he died, he told me — as I am sure he told many others — that the 2016 election wasn’t going to go the way I thought it would.
Who’s in charge?
It seems the Richmond School Board has been taken down the rabbit hole of secrecy yet again. And Thomas E. “Tommy” Kranz, Richmond Public Schools’ interim superintendent, may have a starring role in the latest drama.
NASA names Hampton center for Katherine Johnson
Katherine G. Johnson, the pioneering Virginia woman whose key role in America’s early space missions was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures,” has received a new honor. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton dedicated a new building last Friday named for Mrs. Johnson.
Former astronaut Mae Jemison celebrates silver anniversary of historic space flight
Twenty-five years ago, astronaut Mae Jemison was the first woman of color to travel into space. The Alabama native who was raised in Chicago entered Stanford University at age 16, earning a degree in chemical engineering before going to Cornell University Medical School. She worked as a medical officer in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone before joining NASA and the space program in 1987.
Dick Gregory: What is seen and unseen
The celebration of the life of Dick Gregory on Sept. 16 at the City of Praise Family Ministries in Landover, Md., was more than seven hours of eclectic diversity, from a serenade by Native Americans to a musical tribute by Ayanna Gregory, Mr. Gregory’s daughter, and Stevie Wonder, to speakers MSNBC’s Lawrence O’ Donnell and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, to the fiery Rep. Maxine Waters, who vowed to help impeach that “thing” in the White House.
Trump creates firestorm over athletes’ taking a knee
President Trump seems to have too little to do. Amid the damage from two hurricanes, a verbal feud with a nuclear North Korea and a host of other issues ranging from health care to tax reform, the president has triggered a spat with athletes in the nation’s most popular pro sports leagues, the NFL and the NBA.
VSU takes winning streak on the road
Hot will meet cold this week in Salisbury, N.C., as Virginia State University, one of the NCAA Division II’s hottest football programs takes on struggling CIAA football rival Livingstone College on Saturday, Sept. 30.
