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Richmond police provide Monroe Park shooting update
It’s been three weeks since the shooting in Monroe Park after Huguenot High Schools graduation that killed a graduate, Shawn D. Jackson, his stepfather Renzo Smith and injured five others. Since then, official information about the investigation has been scarce, with the Richmond Police Department canceling a planned in-person briefing last Friday and releasing information in statements instead, after a consultation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
Hip-hop comes to the Hippodrome
Celebrating art form’s 50 years as a ‘culture-defining superpower’
Local rapper Ant the Symbol remembers when he first connected to the sound of hip-hop. He was 2 years old when he heard “Bonita Applebaum,” a song by New York-based rap group A Tribe Called Quest.
City School Board approves metal detectors in middle schools
In an effort to reduce weapons coming into in the schools and to ward off increased incidents of violence, Richmond Public Schools will install metal detectors in every middle school early next year.
RPS lunch times to be extended
The Richmond School Board unanimously approved a motion during their meeting Monday evening for a minimum 20-minute seated lunch time.
VUU works to retain accreditation status
Virginia Union University is continuing to address financial issues months after receiving probation that, if not resolved, could lead to the loss of its accreditation.
RRHA extends eviction freeze to Jan. 31
The Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority’s freeze on public housing evictions has been extended through Jan. 31.
As COVID-19 continues, community needs grow along with programs to help
Three years ago, Greta Randolph’s work to meet the needs of the Richmond community “exploded,” she says, as a novel disease began creating upheaval and disruption.
Hanover County School Board stalls on new names for Confederate schools
The former Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Lee-Davis High School will remain unnamed for a few more weeks after arguments and criticisms led the Hanover County School Board to delay the renaming until at least October.
VCU anti-war protest attracts hundreds, ends in 13 arrests
Six students at Virginia Commonwealth University were among the 13 people arrested by police Monday evening on VCU’s campus outside the James Branch Cabell Library during an antiwar, pro-Palestine protest and encampment focused on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Palestine.
Virginia adopts permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standards
Social distancing, face masks, sanitation, infectious disease preparedness and response plans are now mandated for public and private workplaces in Virginia following Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s recent approval of permanent workplace safety and health standards.
VCU opens COVID-19 clinic for ‘long haulers’
The spread of COVID-19 has slowed significantly. But plenty of people who contracted the virus are still dealing with the effects.
’We need this to get back to normal’
It has been months since Annette Johnson has seen her grandmother in person.
Sen. Bernie Sanders helps celebrate Starbucks workers’ unionization victory
The sounds of music, community and solidarity filled the National Theater in Downtown for several hours Sunday as visitors from Virginia and beyond, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, celebrated the unionization efforts of Starbucks employees in Richmond and nationally and ongoing work to improve labor conditions in the United States.
ACLU lawsuit against police action during summer protest dismissed
A Richmond Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia against the Virginia State Police, the Richmond Police Department and the City of Richmond for actions taken against protesters during a “teach-in” last summer on police brutality and community action.
Rally calls for end to mandatory minimum sentences
Chris Young. Kemba Smith. Quadaire “Q” Patterson. Jerry James. These names and many others were the focus of a news conference Monday at the Bell Tower in Capitol Square, as prison justice advocates called for the end of mandatory minimum sentences.
KKK targets Henrico neighborhoods, hits Hanover again
Henrico County Branch NAACP officials and top county officials urged residents to push back against white supremacy as the Ku Klux Klan targeted Glen Allen neighborhoods to distribute recruitment fliers in the dead of night last weekend.
Community rallies to preserve historic Black hospital
Richmonders will rally for an important symbol of the city’s Black history Sunday afternoon at the former Richmond Community Hospital on Overbrook Road. Virginia Union University, a historically Black university which owns the former hospital, plans to demolish the historic building and replace it with housing.
Opening Bell
Richmond Public Schools students, parents, teachers and officials were up bright and early and full of optimism Tuesday morning for the beginning of the new school year.
Officials urge caution during the holidays with omicron variant
Virginia health officials are urging caution and for people to protect themselves as omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus, rapidly spreads throughout the United States.
