Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending Saturday, Jan. 4, COVID-19 accounted for 1.6% of all emergency department visits in Virginia, with overall respiratory illness high and trending down compared to previous data. No deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported within that period at time of publication. COVID-19 wastewater levels for Richmond and Henrico County had plateaued as of the most recent sample collection week on Sunday, Dec. 22.
The governor fiddles while Virginia smokes, by Phillip E. Thompson
The tale of Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned has become a metaphor for leaders ignoring pressing crises. In Virginia, this imagery feels all too real as Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears content to let the state’s illegal marijuana market thrive while turning down opportunities to regulate it, while denying Virginia millions in tax revenue. This policy fails to ensure health and safety protections for its citizens, while hundreds of thousands of Virginians still puff away.
Virginia State outlasts Johnson C. Smith for 75-68 victory
Virginia State University surged in the second half to defeat Johnson C. Smith University 75-68 in an exciting back-and-forth battle Saturday.
“MathAlive!” exhibition nears final days at Science Museum
The Science Museum of Virginia’s touring exhibition “MathAlive!” closes this Sunday, Jan. 12, providing visitors this weekend the chance to explore the interactive display showcasing the connections between mathematics and music, sports, movies and games.
Library of Virginia to host virtual talk on historic mapping project
The Library of Virginia will present a virtual talk Jan. 22 from noon to 1 p.m., focusing on the 19th century mapping project that led to the creation of the first official map of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The talk will delve into the surveying efforts and teams that contributed to the detailed manuscript maps of each county, which ultimately formed the foundation for the engraved Virginia state map, often referred to as “the general map.”
Richmond churches plan faith-based racial healing initiative
St. Philip’s and St. Paul’s Episcopal Churches are collaborating on “Walking with the Enslaved: The Church’s Role in Slavery,” a faith-based program focused on addressing Richmond’s racial history and promoting racial healing.
Freedom Classic Festival returns with VSU-VUU basketball rivalry
The Freedom Classic Festival returns to the Virginia State University Multi-Purpose Center on Saturday, Jan. 18, promising a day filled with basketball, community and HBCU pride.
New world water
I sit here and wonder, How in the world this could be, my-oh-my I never thought, oh, I never thought you’d ever leave me But now that you left me Good Lord, good Lord, how I cried out You don’t miss your water You don’t miss your water ‘til your well runs dry — William Bell, “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
Richmond issues boil water advisory amid system outage
The City of Richmond, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health, has issued an immediate boil water advisory for all city residents following a winter storm-related power outage that disrupted the city’s water reservoir system.
New year, new state laws
New Year’s Day brought a range of new laws and changes to Virginia, including a rise in the minimum wage, expanded protections against discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on ethnic origin and greater privacy for minors from data collectors. These are a few of the changes residents can expect this year.
America mourns the loss of Jimmy Carter, a president who lived with purpose
James “Jimmy” Carter, the peanut farmer from Plains, Ga., who became the 39th president of the United States and later redefined the role of an ex-president through decades of humanitarian work, died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, at his home. He was 100.
Richard Parsons, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76
Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. He was 76.
Personality: Melissa Weaver
Spotlight on chair of 30th Annual Women and Wellness Luncheon/ VCU Massey Cancer Center
When doctors told Melissa Weaver the lump she had felt for six months was not cancerous and didn’t need to be removed, they suggested it was due to hormonal changes. However, she wasn’t convinced and sought more conclusive answers.
Settlement reached in case over vandalism of Arthur Ashe mural by white nationalists
Five members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front settled a civil lawsuit over defacing the Arthur Ashe mural in Richmond’s Battery Park in October 2021.
Youngkin putting brakes on car tax burden with new budget amendment
As lawmakers consider Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to provide vehicle tax relief for Virginians and ultimately eliminate the property tax, policymakers can find comfort after repeals in Rhode Island and Georgia.
Civil rights icon James Meredith honored in Mississippi
A new historical marker has been unveiled in the hometown of James Meredith, honoring the Black man who fought white supremacy by integrating the University of Mississippi in 1962.
Will next HUD secretary fight for the unhoused?, by David W. Marshall
In 2000, Republican George W. Bush ran for president as a “compassionate conservative.”
Behind the “Lie of the Year,” some bitter truths, by Clarence Page
As it has been doing yearly since 2009, the fact-checking organization PolitiFact has chosen the Lie of the Year.
‘I upended my life to care for Mama, it was one of the best decisions I ever made’, by Hazel Trice Edney
It was an autumn morning in 2018 when my phone rang in Washington, D.C., and I’ll never forget the sound of Mama’s voice on the line.
The transformation of Richmond’s Confederate monuments into historical lessons, by David Cunningham
In a symbolic rebuke of the American South’s racist history, an old Confederate monument now has a meaningful new life, four years after it was toppled in Virginia.
