
Former ROC property to become residential school for adults
The North Side building and property that once served as home to the Richmond Outreach Center’s School of Urban Ministry has a new owner.

SCLC Empowerment Conference sends message of collective change
Educate yourselves about issues of importance to the African-American community. Engage both individually and collectively with legislators in the General Assembly via emails, letters and phone calls. And go to the State Capitol in person to voice your concerns.

Falwell urges students to pack pistols
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has urged students to carry concealed weapons on campus to counter any possible armed attack, saying that “we could end those Muslims before they walk in.” “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Mr. Falwell told students at the private Christian school Dec. 4. His remarks make him the first president of a Virginia college or university to urge students to arm themselves and put him among the first in the country to do so.

Personality: Dr. Karen A. Faison
Spotlight on Virginia Nurses Association Nancy Vance Award winner
Dr. Karen Faison says she gains deep satisfaction as a professor in the Virginia State University Department of Nursing when “the light comes on” for her students “when information is mastered for patient-centered care.”

Highland Springs hoping for state football crown Saturday
Oozing with momentum, Highland Springs High School has won 13 straight football games and needs just one more victory to claim its first state title since 1961.

VSU reigns over VUU
In the longtime backyard basketball rivalry between Virginia Union and Virginia State universities, two thoughts emerge: Virginia Union owns the past.

Melvin Johnson brings heart, big numbers to Rams
Melvin Johnson obviously enjoys big cities, big name basketball opponents and national TV cameras. VCU is hoping his sharpshooting trend continues next Tuesday when the Rams travel to Atlanta to play ACC member Georgia Tech in a 9 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2. The Rams are 5-3 after a 76-71 loss Sunday at Atlanta’s Philips Arena to another ACC school, Florida State University, on ESPNU.

Protests continue after Chicago mayor’s apology
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under heavy criticism for his handling of a 2014 police shooting that resulted in the death of a black teen, gave an emotional apology Wednesday, hours before angry demonstrators closed city streets while demanding his resignation.

Dr. Bedden gets 2-year extension
The Richmond School Board presented Superintendent Dana T. Bedden with an early Christmas gift Monday when six of its nine members voted to extend his contract by two years — through June 30, 2019. The extension comes midway through Dr. Bedden’s initial 3½-year contract that began Jan. 13, 2014, and was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2017.

School Board election recount set for Dec. 10
The Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III is expected to learn this week whether his 43-vote victory will stand for the Fairfield District seat on the Henrico County School Board. The Henrico Circuit Court has ordered a recount Thursday, Dec. 10, to formally settle the race, according to county election officials.

Library board tables decision on armed guards at branches
The board of the Richmond Public Library is not ready to approve armed guards at its branches. The issue of deploying guards with guns was discussed at the board meeting last week after two disturbing incidents at the North Avenue Branch recently shook up staff and patrons.

Accreditation sanction lifted from NSU; extended at VSU
Eddie N. Moore Jr. is wreathed in smiles, while Dr. Pamela V. Hammond is frowning. That’s how the interim presidents of Norfolk State and Virginia State universities, respectively, are greeting the latest word from the accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges (SACS) based in Decatur, Ga.

CBC head backs America’s College Promise Act
“Some people believe HBCUs are no longer needed and are irrelevant. They are under assault.” That was the sobering message U.S. Rep. George Kenneth “G. K.” Butterfield, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, delivered on the state of historically black colleges and universities.

NAACP march to protest death of Linwood Lambert
The Halifax/South Boston Branch NAACP is holding a “Day of Courage 4 Justice in Virginia March” on Saturday, Dec. 12, in South Boston, located about 100 miles southwest of Richmond.

New president named at VSU
Dr. Makola M. Abdullah to face financial, academic challenges
Dr. Makola M. Abdullah to face financial, academic challenges

New Byrd Park site proposed for Richmond police memorial
A new location is to be announced Thursday for Richmond’s memorial statue to city police officers killed in the line of duty. The location: The intersection of Blanton Avenue and Trafford Road, according to Glenwood Burley, the retired police officer leading the relocation effort.

Dance, Warner to speak at fall commencements
State Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance of Petersburg and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner will be the featured speakers at fall commencements at area universities.

Feds to investigate advocate’s complaint against Chesterfield school system
The U.S. Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into whether Chesterfield County Public Schools retaliated against special needs advocate Kandise Lucas for her work on behalf of students with disabilities.

NAACP official convicted of drunk driving
A state NAACP officer has been convicted of driving while intoxicated. LaSalle J. McCoy Jr., who serves as state NAACP secretary and president of the Chesterfield County Branch NAACP, was found guilty in Chesterfield County District Court at a hearing two days before Thanksgiving.

Coffee shop business grinds to a halt
A combination coffee and bike shop was supposed to be a first step in breathing fresh life into a neighborhood business strip in North Side. But four months after the ceremonial, high-profile ribbon-cutting, only the nonprofit bike shop remains in operation at 10 E. Brookland Park Blvd. — and just a few days a week.