
Personality: Kathryn ‘Katie’ Hamann
Spotlight on chair of Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond
Kathryn Ayn “Katie” Hamann is dedicated to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease. Her volunteer efforts with the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond began 13 years ago. That’s when, through her work with Door to Door Solutions, a company specializing in helping senior citizens to relocate, she realized many families are dealing with a loved one with dementia.

Petersburg’s interim city manager back on her transit job
Robert C. Bobb took control of the Petersburg city government Tuesday after being handed an opportunity to turn around the municipality that is drowning in unpaid bills.

New firm, CoStar, to bring 732 jobs to Downtown
Most people in Richmond probably never heard of CoStar Group Inc. before this week. Soon the 30-year-old company that is the No. 1 provider of information on commercial real estate will be a local household name.

State NAACP convention starts Friday in Alexandria
Gov. Terry McAuliffe and national NAACP Chairwoman Rosalyn Brock will be the featured speakers at the 81st state convention of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP in Northern Virginia this weekend, it has been announced. The conference, expected to draw several hundred civil rights activists, is Friday, Oct. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 30 in Alexandria.;o

Groundbreaking Oct. 31 on East End community transformation
The former Armstrong High School is about to be cleared away to make room on the 22-acre site for a new mixed-income community to include up to 250 apartments and 50 single-family homes, according to approved plans.

Enrollment begins Nov.1 for health insurance under Affordable Care Act
Open enrollment begins Tuesday, Nov. 1, for 2017 health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Although next year’s premiums are slated to rise, officials said Monday that a majority of Virginians shopping for insurance on the ACA marketplace could get health care coverage for less than $75 per month, based on a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Health organizations offering free flu shots
The Richmond City Health District and HCA Virginia are offering free flu shots. The Richmond City Health District will offer free flu vaccinations to adults and children age 3 and older from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at the Walmart at 2210 Sheila Lane, and Big Apple Supermarket, 2916 Jefferson Davis Highway, on South Side.

27,952 registered in 2 days
Voters flood state online registration system during deadline extension
Tens of thousands of Virginians registered to vote last week after a federal judge ordered the state to reopen the voter rolls for two extra days.

Republican Colin Powell endorses Hillary Clinton
Colin Powell, who served as U.S. secretary of state in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, said on Tuesday he would vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 presidential election, according to Newsday newspaper. Gen. Powell, who made the announcement at an event hosted by a Long Island business group in Woodbury, N.Y., said Republican Donald Trump was “not qualified” and had sold Americans a “bill of goods” that he could not deliver, Newsday said.

White supremacist candidate qualifies for debate at HBCU
White supremacist David Duke has qualified for Louisiana’s U.S. Senate debate scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Dillard University, a historically black university based in New Orleans.

Ciara, Russell expecting first child
Richmond native and Seattle Seahawks superstar quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara are expecting their first child. Mr. Wilson and Ciara tied the knot four months ago, in a fairytale wedding on July 6, at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, England.

‘Tiger Tom’ hits 100
Local radio, news icon was voice of community for more than 50 years
When John “Tiger Tom” Mitchell was born in 1916, African American-owned banks, insurance companies, newspapers, barber and beauty shops and retail businesses had set a foundation of wealth for Jackson Ward.
Readers speak out on Nov. 8 elections
I want the citizens of Richmond to remember back to when a former City Council was in office and corporate Richmond would not work with them. New businesses were locating in the county. The City of Richmond was not growing. In 1994, a new City Council was elected that included Tim Kaine, Viola Baskerville and others. Corporate Richmond worked well with them.

Trump unshackled, unhinged
When Donald Trump gloated that “the shackles have been taken off me,” I immediately wondered, how was he shackled? Was that the shackled Mr. Trump, for example, who obsessively attacked Judge Gonzalo Curiel in May, Khizr Khan and his family in July and Alicia Machado in September?

Save sacred ground for the future
Richmond understands the importance of its history — most of it, anyway. Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, the early debates over the proper relationship between religion and government, Richmond’s brief role as capital of the Confederacy, even Abraham Lincoln’s walk through the city after retreating Confederates set it ablaze — all are recognized as important parts of our complex collective story. But the fact that for 30 years, pre-Emancipation Richmond was the epicenter of the massive U.S. domestic slave trade has, until very recently, been literally buried.
We endorse Hillary Clinton for president
This upcoming presidential election is exceedingly consequential, perhaps even more so than the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012.

Problems of the 1960s still plague black community
The problems driving dissatisfaction among African-Americans in the 1960s — discriminatory police practices, unemployment, unequal pay, poverty and more — continue to plague many people in the African-American community today.

VSU celebrates homecoming this weekend
Grammy Award-winning gospel musician and choir director Kirk Franklin will perform at Virginia State University’s 2016 Homecoming Gospel Concert. The ticketed concert, slated for 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at the VSU Multipurpose Center, is among the activities celebrating homecoming at the university in Ettrick.

‘Diversity Day’ slated this Friday
A range of speakers are expected for “Diversity Day,” an inaugural event “to address diversity and inclusion head-on in an effort to strengthen race relations and communication in Metro Richmond,” according to organizer David Dise. The event will be held noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at Plant Zero, 500 Stockton St., in South Side.

TEDxRVA holds talks by women Oct. 28
The popular international speaking series TEDx will return to Richmond on Friday, Oct. 28, with a special focus on women. The TEDxRVA Women conference will be held at the Byrd Theatre in Carytown. Men and women are welcome to attend.