Rachael Pecota, 26, brings uniqueness to Lady Panthers
Small, private HBCUs such as Virginia Union University sometimes must explore off the beaten path for talent. Even area health clubs can be on the search list. Rachael Pecota had been away from organized basketball some five years when her jump shot was spotted at American Family Fitness in Midlothian.
VCU beats UMass; ready for Davidson on Saturday
Just prior to the Atlantic 10 tournament in March, conference coaches will gather in Pittsburgh to vote on the A-10 Player of the Year.
Mike London headed to Howard
Howard University is a perennial football underdog perhaps known more for its dynamic “Showtime” Marching Band than for its gridiron success. Michael London, HU’s new football coach at age 56, hopes to change that image by sandwiching some improved football around the glitzy halftime performances.
Anna Wilson playing at Stanford after previous injury
Anna Wilson’s clean bill of health spells trouble for upcoming opponents of Stanford University’s women’s basketball team. Wilson, a Richmond native and sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, was held out of the Pac-12 school’s early action due to a concussion suffered last March at the McDonald’s All-America Classic in Chicago.
Richmond area athletes land spots in NFL conference semifinals
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Houston Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown both earned an A-plus on their NFL first round playoff report cards.
Jury sentences white supremacist to death in S.C. church massacre
Unrepentant white supremacist Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine African-American church members during Bible study at a landmark Charleston, S.C., church, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
Prosperity preachers to pray at Trump inaugural
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who hosted President-elect Donald Trump with his Detroit congregation in September, is among the religious leaders chosen to offer prayers at the new president’s swearing-in next week in Washington. The inaugural committee announced that prosperity gospel preachers Bishop Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries International, and Pastor Paula White, a friend of the president-elect, will join four others selected to participate in the inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20.
Personality: Roslyn C. ‘Roz’ Tyler
Spotlight on new chair of Virginia Legislative Black Caucus
Delegate Roslyn C. “Roz” Tyler of Sussex says she has always wanted to help people. Since 2006, the 56-year-old has represented a district in the House of Delegates that runs from Dinwiddie County to Emporia and Isle of Wight County.
Richmond Community ICU nurses told to apply for other jobs
A Bon Secours memo provided to the Free Press undercuts the Catholic hospital group’s public claim that it intends to maintain its five-bed intensive care unit at Richmond Community Hospital in Church Hill.
Longtime Wilder aide convicted of embezzlement
“Shocking” and “tragic.” Those are the words former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder used to describe his feelings about the embezzlement conviction Wednesday of his longtime and once trusted aide.
Legality of severance pay to ex-mayor’s appointees questioned
In November 2004, as Richmond City Hall prepared for the change to an elected mayor-council form of government and to abolish the city manager’s office, the outgoing City Council rushed to approve an ordinance that authorized the council or the mayor to give severance pay to appointees whose jobs were eliminated or who were terminated for non-criminal reasons.
Stoney gets high marks on first on-the-job task
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney appears to have passed the first big test for his new administration — clearing away the 8 inches of snow that fell on the city by last Saturday afternoon.
McClellan wins; GOP holds Senate
Veteran Richmond Delegate Jennifer L. McClellan will be moving up to the state Senate. As expected, the 44-year-old corporate lawyer and Democrat overwhelmed her opponent, Corey M. Fauconier, a Libertarian Party member, by a 9-1 margin in Tuesday’s special election for the Senate seat previously held by Congressman A. Donald McEachin, a Democrat now representing the 4th District.
Martin Luther King Jr. holiday schedule
In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 16, please note the following:
Christmas tree recycling moved to Jan. 14
Residents have a second chance to get rid of their live Christmas trees in an environmentally friendly manner. As a result of the snowy weather, the city’s annual “Bring One for the Chipper” Christmas tree recycling event has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at 1710 Robin Hood Road, across from the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, it has been announced.
Trump denounces intel reports of damaging info from Russian hacking
A defiant President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday adamantly denied reports that Russia had compromising personal and financial information about him, calling it a “tremendous blot” on the record of the intelligence community if material with any such allegations had been released.
Congressional Black Caucus poised for tougher action under new administration
For almost eight years, the members of the Congressional Black Caucus existed in the shadow of the first African-American president. They praised President Obama’s achievements while at the same time pushing him to do more for their constituents who overwhelmingly supported his history-making campaign and administration.
Farewell, President Obama
Commander in chief returns to Chicago for his final speech where it all began
President Obama bid farewell to the nation Tuesday in an emotional speech that sought to comfort a country on edge over rapid economic changes, persistent security threats and the election of Republican Donald Trump.
Gov. McAuliffe announces criminal justice reform
Gov. Terry McAuliffe is proposing changes in state laws that could help reduce the number of people who end up becoming unemployed or who are sent to prison.
Recipe for public education success
Education is still the key to success. In Richmond, it is not up to school personnel, the School Board or the City Council to solve all of these problems. All of us are responsible. All of the community is responsible. And with the city’s extremely high poverty rate, it will take a “village.”
