Justices take on I.C. Norcom Friday in state tournament
John Marshall High School is among the smallest schools in the Virginia High School League’s 3A classification. It also ranks with the state’s 3A elite, at least basketball-wise. Relying on multitasking athletes such as Xavier Trent and Isaiah Anderson, Coach Ty White’s Justices are hopeful of a second state basketball title in three years.
A look back
Spirit of Maggie Walker’s 1967-68 Green Dragons lives on
One state with two state champions. That’s the way it was in Virginia.
VCU Rams looking for A-10 tourney win
Virginia Commonwealth University is trekking to Brooklyn, N.Y., this weekend with mostly fond memories of the sprawling New York City borough. The vast Barclays Center, site of the Atlantic 10 Conference basketball tournament, has been like Siegel Center North for the Rams and their fanatical fans.
Hampton U. Pirates favored to win MEAC Tournament
Hampton University has the MEAC’s best basketball record, and arguably the conference’s two best players. Its archrival, Norfolk State University, however, has the last regular season laugh, as well as hometown advantage, heading into this week’s MEAC Tournament at the Norfolk Scope.
Hanover golfer making big mark at 14
Christian Dyer would rather follow a golf ball, and the exciting places it might lead him, than follow the crowd. At 6-feet, 210 pounds, the young athlete would seem well suited for basketball or football. Instead the 14-year-old has been all-in for golf since receiving a set of clubs from his grandparents for Christmas when he was 3.
SisterFund giving circle seeks community change
Twenty philanthropically minded women have come together to have a greater impact on giving in the Richmond community.
VCU Children’s Pavilion opens
It’s being described as the biggest development in child health care in Central Virginia. After more than five years of planning and construction, the new $200 million Children’s Pavilion outpatient treatment center was celebrated with fanfare Wednesday, just days before its planned opening to patients and families on Monday, March 21.
Co-founders of Black Lives Matter movement to speak in Richmond
Two founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, will be speaking in Richmond this month. Ms. Garza is to deliver a lecture 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the University of Richmond’s Tyler Haynes Commons. Ms. Tometi is scheduled to speak 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St., on the topic “#BlackLivesMatter: Hashtag in Action.” Both events are open to the public without charge.
Miss Thompson marries Dr. Haskell
As the featured “Personality” in the Free Press edition published July 18-20, 2013, Dr. Marlon A. Haskell, pastor of Chicago Avenue Baptist Church, said his next goal was “to marry again, and fulfill God’s assignment for our lives.” Well …
Pine Camp hosts performance art exhibit March 18
The Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will host a performance art exhibit in honor of Women’s History Month featuring area artists at the Pine Camp Cultural Arts and Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road.
Water collection for Flint residents
Chesterfield County-based Brothers’ Keeper Inc. is pitching in to provide bottled water to the people of Flint, Mich.
MLW Class of 1967 reunion meeting
Members of the Maggie L. Walker High School Class of 1967 will hold a planning meeting for next year’s 50th Anniversary Reunion at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at Fifth Baptist Church, 1415 W. Cary St.
Bobbi Kristina’s autopsy shows mixture of drugs, alcohol
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s autopsy report contained evidence of recent cocaine use by the daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston before she was found unresponsive in a bathtub in her home last year. But a medical examiner’s office said last Friday it could not establish whether her death after months in a coma was accidental or intentional. Ms. Brown suffered brain damage and died of pneumonia resulting from drug intoxication and her face being immersed in water, the Fulton County Medical Examiner said.
A song and a prayer
Musician starts campaign linking prayer and healing
One year after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, James Johnson Jr., the minister of music at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in the East End, is releasing a song and initiating a national prayer campaign. Both are called “Agree.”
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan dies
Nancy Reagan, the former actress who was fiercely protective of her husband, President Ronald Reagan, through a Hollywood career, eight years in the White House, an assassination attempt and his Alzheimer’s disease, died Sunday, March 6, 2016, at her Los Angeles home.
Personality: Lee Brazzell
Spotlight on local president of the National Association of Women Business Owners
Lee Brazzell is on the front lines promoting the interests of women business owners as president of the Richmond/Southeast Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). She was elected to the post in 2015 and is committed to serving two more years.
Petersburg shake-up nets new chief operating officer
Amid crumbling finances, the City of Petersburg has shaken up its government leadership. After firing City Manager William E. Johnson III last week, the seven-member Petersburg City Council handed executive authority to three of its members, including Mayor W. Howard Myers, Ward 5, the city’s titular leader. The shuffle is the City Council’s latest effort to deal with millions of dollars in unpaid bills, a multimillion-dollar revenue shortfall and a malfunctioning water billing system.
City facing grim budget choices
Parking at a Downtown meter could soon be more expensive. So could the annual city fee to register a vehicle and the cost of trash collection. Those are some of the fee increases Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is proposing in the $709 million spending plan for fiscal year 2017 that begins July 1. He presented the plan last Friday to Richmond City Council. It would be up to the council to approve the fee increases as part of its work on the budget.
Planned school cuts causing pain
North Side resident Sherri Davis said she is concerned about planned budget cuts that may close schools, crowd classrooms and have parents scrambling to arrange transportation for their children. “It becomes a safety issue when you propose to put more kids in classes,” the mother of two Richmond Public Schools students told the Free Press on Wednesday. “It’s already hard enough for teachers to teach the large numbers of students they have in their classrooms.”
Rudd’s Trailer Park sold; new owner takes over in April
Ronnie Soffee exchanged hugs and accepted well wishes from residents at Rudd’s Trailer Park early Saturday afternoon. He even shed a few tears as several people stopped by the office of the mobile home park at 2911 Jefferson Davis Highway.
