
Personality: Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn
Spotlight on the board chair of Health Brigade
As a proud alumnus, Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn exemplifies Virginia Tech’s motto, “That I May Serve,” through her career and community service. She is deeply committed to making a positive impact for the betterment of her community.

‘Threads of Humanity’ explores homelessness through art at museum
Liberated Arts Foundation is presenting a pop-up exhibition highlighting the stories of homelessness with contemporary artwork at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.

Analysis: Risky onside kick highlights NFL’s ‘dead play’ dilemma
The NFL was already planning to explore the onside kick before Dan Campbell made a regrettable decision to try one at an unusual time.

Family of W.I. Johnson celebrates street renaming honoring late mortician
The life of a man who served Richmond’s Black community in times of death will be memorialized Friday, as the city of Richmond will honor mortician William Isaac Johnson Sr. with a street renaming in the 100 block of W. Leigh Street.

Youngkin serving up tax relief for tipped workers with new plan
Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited McLean’s Restaurant in Scott’s Addition on Monday where he donned an apron and served breakfast after announcing a budget proposal that would eliminate state income taxes on cash and electronic tips. If passed, Virginia would become the first state in the nation to implement such a policy.

State leaders push bold plan for better maternal care across Virginia
State legislators announced plans to improve maternal health and care across Virginia during a Monday press conference, highlighting key elements of the “Virginia Momnibus” legislative package ahead of the upcoming General Assembly session.

Swansboro Elementary holds financial literacy night for parents, students
Dorisa Sanderson, a math instructional coach for Swansboro Elementary School, acted as a salesperson for the school’s first financial literacy workshop last Thursday evening to teach students critical thinking skills when spending money and basic math skills.

Passing opportunity
Second acts are hard to come by for African Americans. While it seems some white people are allowed to fail and fall repeatedly before securing a shot at redemption, it doesn’t work that way for everyone. Virginia native and former NFL quarterback Michael Vick is an exception to that rule.

Finding common ground around the holiday dinner table, by Ben Jealous
The holidays are a time for coming together. We should not just be coming together physically to drive us further apart mentally, emotionally and spiritually by reinforcing our differences.

Kash Patel and his ‘bureau of intimidation’, by Clarence Page
When Merriam-Webster chose “polarization” as the word of the year for 2024, the timing was dramatic for many of us who make our living through words.

Vaccines protect your children and others, too, by Roger Chesley
Parents in Virginia who don’t vaccinate their young children, a percentage that’s grown over the past decade, are making a risky bet with their kids’ health – and maybe even their lives.

Jackson State crowned HBCU national champions
Jackson State University has been crowned the 2024 HBCU national football champions, following their dominant 31-16 win over South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl. This marks the Tigers’ first HBCU national title since 1986, when American Urban Radio Networks named them champions.

Drums, dance, and community unity take center stage at Kwanzaa
Drums will echo and vibrant traditions will take center stage as the Richmond Kwanzaa Kollective hosts its 18th Annual Kwanzaa Afrikan Heritage Celebration on Dec. 27 at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1000 Mosby St.

Michael Vick hired as Norfolk State's coach
Michael Vick has agreed to become the head coach at Norfolk State University in a return to football for the former NFL star who has never coached at any level.

Rise Richmond appoints Brittany Lopes as executive director
Rise Richmond has appointed Brittany Lopes as the organization’s new executive director.

Jones launches re-election campaign
State Delegate Michael Jones announced his bid for re-election Tuesday. The former Richmond City Council member and council president hopes to retain the seat he won in 2023, when he ran unopposed in the redrawn 77th District.

Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending Saturday, Dec. 14, COVID-19 accounted for .8% of all emergency department visits in Virginia, with overall respiratory illness levels moderate and stable 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 were below detection as of the most recent sample collection week on Sunday, Dec. 8.

New leadership team elected for Richmond Crusade for Voters
The Richmond Crusade for Voters announced its elected officers for the 2025-2026 term during its November meeting.

Richmond, Henrico honor top educators McCray and Suders
Two local educators are being recognized for their exceptional contributions to students and school communities. Rebecca McCray, a reading interventionist at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School, has been honored as Richmond Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year, while Christine Suders, an English teacher at Hermitage High School, has been named Henrico County Public Schools 2025 Teacher of the Year.

VUU to pilot teacher residency program with federal grant support
Virginia Union University has received a $230,000 portion of a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership program to establish a Teacher Residency program. The funding, in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University, will support the development of innovative teacher internships and residency programs over the next three years.