Will parole return to Virginia?
Gov. appoints commission to consider possibility
Thirty-three elderly inmates from the state prison in Buckingham County have sent a petition to Gov. Terry McAuliffe urging him to consider reinstating parole in Virginia. In the petition, the inmates noted the abolition of parole has “not significantly prevented, reduced or deterred crime.” Instead, the requirement that convicts serve at least 85 percent of their time has ballooned the state prison population from around 18,000 in 1994 to more than 30,000 in 2014, they wrote.
Mayor Jones pushes regional effort for ballpark, children’s hospital
Mayor Dwight C. Jones is hoping to leave more of a legacy when his second term ends in less than 17 months. So he has come up with a new idea: To champion development of an independent, free-standing children’s hospital on North Boulevard in place of The Diamond, the home of the San Francisco Giant’s Double A affiliate the Flying Squirrels. Prospects for the hospital appear to be as much of a long shot as his failed plan to build a new stadium for the Squirrels in Shockoe Bottom.
Black vendors hoping for bigger score at NFL camp
The owners of Big Herm’s Kitchen and Croaker’s Spot — two popular local black-owned eateries — hope fans will bring a hardier appetite to the Washington professional football team’s training camp than they did to last year’s.
Bagby handily wins 74th House District seat
Lamont Bagby just jumped from the Henrico School Board into the General Assembly. The 38-year-old Democrat was sworn in this week to the House of Delegates after winning a smashing victory over challenger David M. Lambert, an independent candidate, in Tuesday’s special election for the 74th House District seat.
3 dead in 3 days
City inmate deaths raise questions about medical care
City inmate deaths raise questions about medical care
Election Tuesday for 74th District seat
Next week, voters in the House of Delegates 74th District will decide whether Lamont Bagby or David M. Lambert will represent them in the General Assembly.
GRTC fuel savings may reduce push to raise fares
Diesel fuel is a lot cheaper these days — and that’s good news for public transit companies such as GRTC. Richmond’s public transit company expects to save $1 million a year through 2018 as the result of a $1 per gallon decline in the fuel’s price.
City cooling shelters open during high heat
The City of Richmond provides cooling shelters on days when the heat index is anticipated to reach 95 degrees or higher. Shelter locations:
Free training class for voter registration
The League of Women Voters of Metro Richmond is sponsoring its third annual voter registration training class 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1. Location: Tuckahoe Library, 1901 Starling Drive, in Henrico County. The training is designed for community organizations and individuals seeking to conduct voter registration drives, according to organizers.
Metropolitan Business League sells Jackson Ward headquarters
The Richmond area’s largest African-American business group has waved goodbye to its former home in Jackson Ward. The Metropolitan Business League last month sold its longtime headquarters at 2nd and Marshall streets to a subsidiary of Washington-based Douglas Development, which has been buying up chunks of Downtown for more than 10 years.
Body cameras coming
Richmond police officers could be wearing body cameras as early as this fall. Chief Alfred Durham said Tuesday the nearly 740-officer force should have about 200 body cameras purchased and ready for use by officers “by October or November.”
Getting praise, worship on at Gospel Music Fest
At age 80, gospel music icon Dorothy Norwood still can spiritually move an audience. Known as “Gospel’s greatest storyteller,” she demonstrated her star power again Sunday evening as the headliner before an overflow audience at Dogwood Dell at the 6th Annual Gospel Music Fest.
Case against Bill Cosby continues to escalate
The latest in the Bill Cosby case has drawn attention to an unusual condition. A lawyer for one of the women who accused the comedian of sexual assault raised the possibility that he might have the little-known condition called somnophilia.
Serena wins Wimbledon
Serena Williams, up 5-1 after already winning a set during the finals at Wimbledon on Saturday, duly completed the job against Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 to claim her sixth Wimbledon title and her first since 2012. The accomplished athlete’s victory completed the “Serena Slam” — winning four straight majors — for the second time.
$5.9M settlement for Garner family in chokehold death
The family of Eric Garner, who died after a white police officer put him in a chokehold a year ago, renewed calls this week to criminally charge the police officer, a day after the family reached a $5.9 million settlement with New York City.
In Bible, there is ‘no gray area’
Re “God alone has the power to bind couples,” July 9-11 edition: The writer asked “any Christian to cite from New Testament Scripture any condemnation made by Jesus about same-sex anything.”
We must stop being brainwashed
The African-American community in this country is never going to be free until we stopped being brainwashed. Dark brown and brown complexioned women are the best looking women in the world. But they don’t get credit for being the best looking in their own race. This honor goes to the bronzed and ultralight complexioned.
Clarification on article
Re “Brush-off in Richmond pays dividends in Norfolk,” July 9-11 edition:
Like the swastika, Confederate flag stands for hate
I am getting sick and tired of hearing people complaining about taking down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina statehouse. What is it with these people always crying the blues over that flag and the fact the South lost the war 150 years ago?
Vanquishing the Confederate flag
A flag of any sort represents a country or a cause. Displaying the Confederate flag in the United States of America — whether it is the battle flag or another — is an issue of symbolism and statutory law. Last week, 150 years after using it within the Confederate States of America (a country) in armed rebellion against the United States for the cause of a Southern economy based on the forced labor of Africans, the government of South Carolina lowered the Confederate flag from its Capitol grounds.
