Bike races hit bumps on the way to big start
The city’s grand plan to showcase itself to the world for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships is hitting some speed bumps.
‘Doing God’s work’ at The Healing Place
Al Jackson drank alcohol, snorted cocaine and smoked crack cocaine for 24 years. “I was suicidal, I was lost and I had no hope,” he recalls of those dark days.
2 fundraisers split by race
Segregation appears to be rearing its head in an unlikely place — in two fundraisers a trio of progressive women’s groups are hosting for female Democrats seeking office in Central Virginia. Intentionally or not, the first fundraiser, to be held this weekend, will feature four white candidates and the other, set for next month, will be for three African-American candidates.
Sources: Upset GRTC drivers slow bus service
GRTC drivers, angry over a delay in receiving a pay raise, began an unsanctioned work action this week. According to sources, drivers have been refusing to work overtime while some have called in sick or failed to show up. The result is that buses have been parked rather than going out on routes, creating disruption for riders trying to get to work, make other appointments or return home.
‘Why is this happening?’
Newborn baby taken from mother in hospital
Newborn baby taken from mother in hospital
Highland Park women offer children ‘safe haven’
The sounds of happy children fill the air behind the two-story home of Lena Robinson and Loretta Wallace in Highland Park. Sixteen neighborhood children — ages 6 to 10 — alternately are playing board games and basketball and reading in the backyard of the home at 2000 Fourth Ave.
VUU housing problems resolved
Virginia Union University has resolved the housing problems that troubled the private institution last week just before classes started.
Richmonder returns to lead former Consolidated Bank
Darryl R. “Rick” Winston is once again leading the former Consolidated Bank. The 60-year-old Richmond native has been named regional president of the Consolidated Division of West Virginia-based Premier Bank.
VSU ending dual-enrollment program
Virginia State University is junking most of its dual-enrollment program that allowed hundreds of high school students to gain college credits from the four-year institution near Petersburg. Beginning this fall, VSU no longer will partner with high schools to offer college algebra, biology, technology and other science courses.
Schools to stay open during bike races
Richmond Public Schools is not going to shut down during the international bike races that will engulf much of the city next month. Assistant Superintendent Tommy Kranz told the School Board on Monday night that he is anticipating “business as usual” during the upcoming 2015 UCI Road World Championships, scheduled to run from Saturday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 27.
City’s ambassador of compassion is back
Alicia Rasin said Tuesday she is back after six months out of the limelight. Richmond’s volunteer “ambassador of compassion” said she plans to be more visible after spending six months “getting some rest.”
VUU starts season with quarterback options
Last year, Virginia Union University led the CIAA in passing. This year, the Panthers hope to be No. 1 in passing again. But the team also wants to rank first in a more significant category — wins.
Loss of a legend
Julian Bond, warrior in the struggle for equality, dies at 75
Through the relentless struggles of the Civil Rights Movement, Julian Bond always kept his sense of humor. His steady demeanor helped him persist despite the inevitable difficulties involved, his wife recalled. Mr. Bond “never took his eyes off the prize — and that was always racial equality,” his wife, Pamela Horowitz, said Sunday. “He always ... in that hard struggle kept a sense of humor, and I think that’s what allowed him to do that work for so long — his whole life really,” his wife added.
Why pay state lawmakers for work not done?
Gov. Terry McAuliffe says that last Monday’s special session of the General Assembly will cost $40,000. Most of that, I presume, is the per diem compensation and expenses going to General Assembly members for the day’s “work.”
Va. Legislative Black Caucus on ‘wrong side of history’
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) states, in part, that its mission is to “improve the economic, educational, political and social conditions of African-Americans and other underrepresented groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Given this pointed self-description, the VLBC clearly appears to have betrayed its own mission in its decision to deny a Virginia Supreme Court judgeship to state Appeals Court Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., an African-American.
The Donald’s trump card
The fate of the Republican Party’s presidential sweepstakes at the moment is being controlled by two political Frankensteins – both of them of the GOP’s own creation.
Bond’s legacy, spirit live on
There is an African proverb that says, “The spirit of a freedom warrior will never die in the enduring life of the village, yet that valued spirit will be passed on to future generations.” Julian Bond was a freedom fighter. He was a gallant leader-warrior for freedom, justice and equality. And his spirit will never die. The National Newspaper Publishers Association family pauses to mourn the passing of civil rights leader Julian Bond. But we also know that it is important to highlight those lasting lessons from Mr. Bond’s legacy that apply to today’s struggle for freedom.
Lest we forget
Did you know the first documented Africans in Virginia arrived on a British privateer? Strangers in a strange land, they came ashore after sailors on the ship traded their “20 and odd” captives for food. That was in August 1619.
Julian Bond and Black Lives Matter
We were saddened to learn of the untimely death of Julian Bond.
Alston debacle
We note with disgust the Virginia Senate’s handling — or mishandling — of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s interim appointment of Justice Jane Marum Roush to the Virginia Supreme Court and the GOP’s insistence on their own selection, Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr., an African-American.
