VSU Coach Lonnie Blow scores 100th CIAA victory
Basketball Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. arrived at Virginia State University with a reputation for success, and he hasn’t disappointed. The veteran coach picked up his 100th CIAA victory Dec. 15 when the Trojans defeated his former school, St. Augustine’s University, 86-63, in Raleigh, N.C.
Aggies win Celebration Bowl in Atlanta
There is plenty to celebrate, starting with the feats of North Carolina A&T State University’s Tarik Cohen, following last Saturday’s inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl. The Aggies’ explosive 5-foot-6 junior ran and ran and didn’t slow down until the Aggies had a 41-34 victory over Alcorn State University at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Petersburg cousins joined by blood, love of football
When the next Prosise family reunion rolls around, football is likely to be the hot topic. Burly Prosise athletes figure heavily into the college gridiron reports as nearby as Ettrick and as far away as South Bend, Ind. Ray Prosise Jr. is a powerful, 6-foot, 280-pound junior defensive lineman and electrical engineering major at Virginia State University.
Faulkner wins top pro bowl prize
Gary Faulkner Jr. is the winner of the Professional Bowlers Association’s World Championship. Faulkner, 25, of Memphis, Tenn., won the tournament Thursday, Dec. 17, to become just the second African-American to win a title in the PBA’s 57-year history.
Cherished Holiday Memories
Christmas. It’s a time for family, sharing good food, holiday fun and heartfelt blessings. From the smell of dinner cooking for a family feast, to the glow of lights on a decorated Christmas tree, the season is rich with ingredients for wonderful memories that linger long after the holiday is gone. Six area residents shared with the Free Press their cherished memories of Christmases past. We hope their reflections will bring special joy and happy recollections of your own during this season.
Harvey to host again despite big blunder
The Miss Universe pageant was going great until the host, popular comedian Steve Harvey, made a big mistake. He already had announced Miss Colombia as the winner last Sunday, and she already was wearing the crown. And then he reread his cue card and had to return to the stage to announce on live television that Miss Philippines actually was the winner.
Personality: Keith W. Hicks
Spotlight on the 2015 Astorian of the Year
“To inspire men to a higher moral, intellectual, civic and social standing” through activities that build a better community and promote racial equality.
Officer’s jobs program puts men on right side of law
Jeffrey Perry served 18 years in prison for his role in an armed robbery. Shaun Moore served two separate stints behind bars — seven months for possession of drugs with intent to distribute and, later, four months for failure to pay child support.
Holiday closings
In observance of Christmas, please note the following:
Coffee shop reopens on Brookland Park Blvd.
The Streetcar Café on North Side is back in business under new management. The coffee shop at 10 E. Brookland Park Blvd. turned on the lights and began serving patrons again Dec. 14, two weeks after the previous operators departed.
Va. NAACP elections on hold in wake of national investigation
In a surprise move, the national NAACP has put the Oct. 31 election results for the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP on hold as it investigates claims of irregularities in the vote. Among other things, the national office is seeking to determine whether youth delegates were wrongly denied ballots in the vote for officers.
New street sign unveiled to honor Alicia C. Rasin
Mayor Dwight C. Jones and others gathered Monday in Church Hill to unveil an honorary street sign in Church Hill for Alicia C. Rasin, a longtime advocate for families of homicide victims in the city. Ms. Rasin, who was known as the city’s “Ambassador of Compassion,” died in October. Ms. Rasin’s sisters, Patricia Rasin Smith and Albertina Rasin Walker, attended the ceremony, along with City Council member Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District.-
Strange fruit?
Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site
The fight over the tree in the planned Maggie L. Walker plaza isn’t over. Gary L. Flowers, a Richmond native and national political and civil rights operative living in Jackson Ward, has jumped into the fray with a petition drive opposing the live oak that now dominates the gateway into Jackson Ward where the monument to the great lady is to stand.
City election officials called on the carpet
The Virginia Department of Elections has a software upgrade that could have prevented voters in precincts split into two or more election districts from receiving the wrong ballots, the Free Press has learned. The finding comes at the same time the state Board of Elections, which oversees the department, has asked City of Richmond election officials to appear Jan. 8 before the state board to explain a series of problems that cropped up during the Nov. 3 election.
‘A Mad Hatter’s Party’
Colorful, creatively decorated hats fill the banquet room at a Downtown hotel for The Mad Hatter’s Party. The event, held Dec. 6, was organized by the Richmond Chapter of The Links, which invited other Richmond area Links chapters to join in the Fifth Annual Friendship Tea.
Women should not serve in combat roles
In another epic fail of the Obama administration, it was announced that women now will be given combat duty, as well as included in the draft, should one be reinstituted.
Why let anyone come to your country?
There’s a right way to enter the kingdom door. The thorns fall among the plants, choking them.
Black children overwhelmingly hurt by not modernizing schools
Ten years ago, I developed a plan for then Mayor L. Douglas Wilder to modernize Richmond’s public schools. At the time, City Council President Bill Pantele got it enacted into law.
The biggest threats are the lawmakers
Too many lawmakers do not want to listen to concerns of their constituents. Rather, they want to tell us what our concerns should be. Listening to us might cause them to have to hear about problems they have caused by bad laws they have passed.
Eloquence and arrogance
On the same day that President Obama gave a stirring and historically grounded commemoration regarding the 150th anniversary of the passage of the 13th Amendment that “abolished” slavery, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia chose to disregard tenets of equality and opportunity from the bench during the Fisher v. University of Texas hearing when he suggested that African-American students would benefit more if they went to “lesser track” schools. His verbatim comments:
