George Wythe Bulldogs hoping to climb out of slump
Imagine you’re a lightweight boxer, and every time you enter the ring you’re facing a heavyweight. That’s about how George Wythe High School’s football Bulldogs must feel. The results are predictable. The South Siders were 0-10 last year, outscored 461-38. The team has just two wins in the last 10 years.
Clouds lifting for Huguenot Falcons varsity team
Huguenot High School’s 2015 football Falcons were either 2-8 or 8-2, depending on whether you attended games on Friday or Thursday nights.
Postal service to issue stamp marking Hindu holiday
Never before has a U.S. postage stamp celebrated anything Hindu. But coming soon to a post office near you: A stamp marking the Hindu holiday of Diwali. The new Forever stamp is scheduled to be featured at a first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony on Oct. 5 at the Consulate General of India in New York City.
Good preaching attracts congregants
Top-notch preaching most attracts people looking for a new place to pray. That’s the conclusion of a new Pew Research Center study released Tuesday that asked 5,000 people about their search for a new church or other house of worship.
Raymond D. Patterson, former state official and manager of community affairs for Sports Backers, dies at 69
Raymond D. Patterson received a second chance and made the most of it. After pleading guilty to felony misuse of public funds as a state official in the early 1990s, Mr. Patterson rebounded to become a key figure in staging big sporting events in the city, including the fall Anthem Richmond Marathon and the spring Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K.
Personality: Regina N. Hall
Spotlight on co-chair of Central Virginia Chapter of the Sisters Network Community Health Fair
For 10 years, Regina N. Hall and the Central Virginia Chapter of the Sisters Network have been going into the community to educate women about breast health. This year, the chapter is hoping the community will come to them
NAACP lawsuit alleges black and disabled students bear brunt of punishment in city schools
Richmond Public Schools — dominated by African-American administrators and teachers — is being accused of fueling the “school-to-prison pipeline” through a regime of discipline that punishes mostly African-American students, particularly those with disabilities.
Petersburg facing shutdown because of money woes
Petersburg’s financial woes are even worse than previously disclosed. Interim City Manager Dironna Moore Belton warned the Petersburg City Council and a crowd of taxpayers Tuesday night that she is just a few weeks away from having to shut down all city operations except for police, fire and ambulance services because the city is running out of cash.
RPS to pay consultants $1,692 for each temporary teacher hired
Richmond Public Schools has an emergency shortage of 119 teachers, and the administration hopes a Staunton consult- ing firm will help fill the void by placing temporary teachers in classrooms. Although the school district continues to offer contracts to new hires daily, teachers continue to resign less than two weeks before the start of the new school year, Tamica Epps, executive director of human resources for RPS, told the Richmond School Board during its Aug. 15 meeting.
Education advocate back in Chesterfield court
Education advocate Kandise Lucas is once again headed back to Chesterfield County General District Court to face a charge of trespassing on school property — just two weeks after Chesterfield Schools Superintendent James F. Lane promised to lift a ban against her under an agreement with the federal government.
Crusading journalist George E. Curry dies at 69
George E. Curry, a pioneering journalist and publisher whose civil rights advocacy helped free a Henrico County woman from federal prison while calling national attention to the disparity in federal drug sentences for African-Americans, died Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016, at a Takoma Park, Md., hospital.
Family dispute over Dr. King’s Bible, Nobel Prize medal ends
A Fulton County, Ga., judge has signed an order ending an ownership dispute over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s traveling Bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal that had pitted the slain civil rights leader’s two sons against their sister. The consent order signed Aug. 15 by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney says the items are to be released to Martin Luther King III as chairman of the board of his father’s estate, but does not indicate what will happen to them after that.
Undeterred
Not to be blocked by court, Gov. McAuliffe restores voting rights of 13,000 felons; creates system to help thousands more
Just a month after the Virginia Supreme Court blocked his attempt to restore the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons, Gov. Terry McAuliffe is once again charging ahead on this “issue of basic justice.”
Plans for Church Hill grocery move foward
Plans to bring a new grocery store to Church Hill are moving forward.
Maggie Walker statue clears final hurdles
The plan to create a statue of Richmond great Maggie L. Walker in Downtown has cleared its final hurdle. Now the work can begin on the project to honor Mrs. Walker, best known as the first African-American woman to charter and serve as the president of a bank, an accomplishment in 1903 when Mrs. Walker was leading the Independent Order of St. Luke, a benevolent society.
‘We love our animals to death — literally’
Today’s 10 highest grossing box office releases are about animals. They include “Finding Dory,” “The Jungle Book,” “Zootopia,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Kung Fu Panda.” Nearly half of our households include a dog and nearly 40 percent have a cat. Two-thirds of us view them as family members and cherish them accordingly. We love our animals to death — literally.
‘We are one election away from becoming Nazi America’
We are one presidential election away from becoming Nazi America. The Republicans in Congress are not only willing to support Donald Trump. They are working diligently to destroy Hillary Clinton.
How far we’ve come; how far yet to go
With a woman heading the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, it may be challenging for us to remember that women have had the right to vote for less than a century — and black folks less than that.
Lethal disregard for black lives continues
Protestations regarding the value of black lives have become increasingly common in the public dialogue. The simple phrase “Black Lives Matter” has generated praise from that segment of society that has suffered countless race-based indignities and been condemned by those who, in my opinion, are too blind or obstinate to see the realities of the black experience in the United States.
A true freedom fighter
Say the name Jack Gravely, and people even in the farthest corners of Virginia are likely to know who you’re talking about. Mr. Gravely, the un-bought, un-bossed two-time head of the state NAACP, died Monday, bringing to a close a life dedicated to ensuring the freedoms as outlined by the founding fathers were equally applied to people of color. He fought for equal rights in voting, fairness in housing and equality in job opportunities, education and pay. And no matter what far-flung part of the state people experiencing problems lived in, Mr. Gravely was there.
