RRHA honors 14 college-bound grads
A new laptop computer, a $500 gift card and a trunk overflowing with dorm room supplies.
Dominion leadership changes lead to promotions for African-Americans, women
African-Americans and women will play more prominent roles in the operation of Dominion Energy in the wake of a leadership overhaul at the Richmond-based energy giant following its abandonment last month of the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.
Henrico schools to reopen virtually this fall
The Henrico School Board voted unanimously last week to reopen schools this fall using a full virtual learning format for the first semester.
Rape kit backlog cleared
It took five years, but the backlog of 2,665 untested rape kits in Virginia has finally been eliminated, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring has announced.
RPS names 6 new principals
Open High School and five preschool centers will have new principals when Richmond Public Schools begins the 2020-21 academic year.
Ministers join call for citizen review board
Faith leaders from 35 churches, synagogues and mosques serving Richmond issued a petition Tuesday calling for city political leaders to create a civilian oversight board for the Richmond Police Department.
Damon Duncan leaves after getting paychecks from two housing agencies
Damon E. Duncan, who began working full time as the executive director of the Montgomery, Ala., Housing Authority in early May before wrapping up his full-time job as CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, has finally quit.
June 16 deadline approaching for absentee ballot applications
Early voting in the upcoming Tuesday, June 23, primary is underway. Rule changes are making it fairly easy to vote absentee ahead of Election Day in the contests to choose Democratic and Republican nominees to run for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
Miss local baseball? You can still get the food
With the coronavirus pandemic, fans are missing baseball. And some are missing ballpark food.
Historic first: A. Benjamin Spencer named dean of W&M Law School
As a University of Virginia law school professor, A. Benjamin Spencer has earned accolades for his knowledge of federal courts and civil litigation.
Magistrate Judge Roderick C.Young of Richmond nominated to federal district court bench
Roderick Charles Young started out as a public defender and has risen through the legal ranks to U.S. magistrate judge in Richmond.
General Assembly delays minimum wage hike until May 1
Forget a Jan. 1 raise for the Virginia minimum wage.
RRHA shuts down food deliveries from Feed More
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has cut off April food deliveries from the area’s largest food bank, Feed More, to needy families in public housing communities. The cutoff started last week after RRHA found that food deliverers were not wearing masks and other protective items or adhering to social distancing guidelines — keeping a 6-foot distance from other people.
Bishop Gerald O. Glenn and wife hospitalized with the coronavirus
A prominent Chesterfield County minister and his wife are both being treated at the hospital for the coronavirus.
Disinfecting your home and workspace are critical
In the past, they often went unnoticed, but now janitors, housekeepers and cleaning crews are front and center as the experts in cleaning and disinfecting amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Rev. Joseph Lowery, head of SCLC and dean of civil rights veterans, dies at 98
The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery fought to end segregation, lived to see the election of the country’s first African-American president and echoed the call for “justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” in America.
VCU leads clinical trials on drug to treat COVID-19
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University are participating in a trial of an experimental treatment for patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has spread around the world.
General Assembly elects 2 to area judgeships
A veteran Richmond General District Court judge has been tapped to fill a seat on the city’s Circuit Court, and the daughter of the late Richmond attorney Leonard W. Lambert Sr. is headed to the bench in Henrico County.
Honoring a civil rights pioneer
More than 100 people were present last Saturday for the dedication of a state historical marker in Gloucester County’s Hayes community honoring the late Irene A. Morgan and her actions to battle racial segregation.
Louis Draper exhibition, 'Working Together,' opens Feb. 1 at VMFA
A new exhibit focusing on the photography of late Henrico County native Louis Draper and other photographers he worked with in New York will open Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.
Regina H. Boone photo recognized among ‘100 photos that defined the decade’
A 2016 photograph by Free Press photographer Regina H. Boone of a toddler afflicted by the contaminated water in Flint, Mich., has made CNN’s list of “100 photos that defined the decade.”
VUU honors Wyatt Tee Walker legacy with new society
Virginia Union University’s Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology announced the creation of the “Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Social Justice Society of Preachers and Prophetic Witnesses” during a formal service Monday in Coburn Hall on campus.
Va. ranks 10th nationally in cost of dog bites
A dog may be man or woman’s best friend, but that pet’s bite could prove very costly for the owner. In 2018, insurance settlements for 359 dog bites in Virginia totaled $14.38 million, or $40,060 per bite, a new study of insurance companies payments has found. That ranked Virginia No. 10 on the list of the 50 states when its comes to the price tag
Elijah ‘Pumpsie’ Green, first black player for the Boston Red Sox, dies at 85
Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who became the first African-American player for the Boston Red Sox in 1959, died Wednesday, July 17, 2019, in El Cerrito, Calif.
Virginia lawmakers spar on reported Trump visit to Jamestown
Virginia lawmakers are sparring after an as yet unconfirmed report that President Trump will attend the 400th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, July 30, of the first meeting of the state’s legislative body in Jamestown.
Randolph Pool to reopen July 23
Tuesday, July 23. That’s the date Randolph Pool’s main pool will reopen, the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has announced.
Councilwoman Robertson working to create jobs bus
Richmond Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson is hoping to build on the job and career fair she sponsored June 29 at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, which attracted 121 job seekers.
Main pool at Randolph closed, awaiting repair
Randolph Pool in the near West End, one of seven outdoor pools the city operates, has been out of commission for nearly three weeks, leaving swimmers frustrated, including neighborhood children seeking to cool off.
Volunteers sought for city school cleanup blitz RPS Shines 2019
Wanted: Volunteers to spruce up city schools. Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras has issued a call for volunteer help to parents, students, RPS staff and community supporters in launching RPS Shines 2019.
Free summer meals sites available throughout Richmond area
Now that school is out for the summer, where can families find free breakfast and lunch for their students who enjoyed such meals when classes were in session?
Clem Daniels, AFL’s leading rusher, dies at 83
Clem C. Daniels Jr., the leading rusher in American Football League history, died Saturday, March 23, in Oakland, Calif. He was 83. Mr. Daniels rushed for 5,138 yards — the most ever by an AFL back — while also catching passes for 3,314 yards and scoring 54 touchdowns.
City honors cousins
Annie Reese spent five decades helping Richmond children cross the street safely as they traveled to and from school.
Virginia Reads One Book kicks off Friday in city elementary schools
Richmond elementary schools are joining Virginia Reads One Book, a program designed to help schools and communities build reading habits, increase student and family literacy and family financial literacy.
7 honored in 2019 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History program
Seven outstanding African-American leaders were celebrated during the seventh annual “Strong Men & Women in Virginia History” awards program Feb. 7 at a Downtown hotel.
Postal rates go up Sunday
The price of a first-class stamp will jump to a record 55 cents on Sunday, Jan. 27. The nickel increase from the current 50-cent stamp price is the largest single jump in the history of the American postal service, according to U.S. Postal Service records.
Wakanda forever: ‘Black Panther’ poised for Oscar win
The box office smash “Black Panther” just made history as the first superhero film to be nominated for an Academy Award, the top award in the movie world. The film, directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, is one of the eight movies, including “Green Book” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” that will compete for best picture honors at the 91st Academy Awards to be broadcast Sunday, Feb. 24, it was announced this week.
Lt. Gov. Fairfax sits to take a stand
Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, the second African-American to hold statewide office in Virginia, made a statement with a “sit-in” of sorts last Friday in the state Senate chamber, where he presides.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects GOP argument to hold up Va. redistricting
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a three-judge panel to redraw the boundaries of 11 Virginia House of Delegates districts — including five in the Richmond-Petersburg area — that were found to have been illegally packed with African-American voters.
Fay A. Howlette, manager of her husband’s optometry practice, dies at 89
Fay Anderson Howlette aided her husband, the late Dr. John L. Howlette Sr., in offering a new option for eye care in Richmond before the start of the Civil Rights Movement.
Barbara B. Abernathy Ross, longtime Carver community activist, dies at 77
When Virginia Commonwealth University sought to expand its campus north of Broad Street in the 1990s, the university hit a stonewall — civic activist Barbara Beatrice Abernathy Ross. As president of the Carver Area Civic Improvement League, or CACIL, Ms. Abernathy, as she was known in the community, fought against VCU’s plans to replace much of the neighborhood.
Area men named to national 2019 commemoration commission
Two Richmonders will be among the 14 people who will help plan, develop and coordinate next year’s commemoration of the 400th anniversary arrival of the first Africans into English territory in what is now the United States.
Crusade for Voters endorses Sen. Kaine, other candidates
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine has received the endorsement of the Richmond Crusade for Voters, the city’s oldest and largest African-American political group.
Public meetings scheduled on city master plan
Want to help shape Richmond’s next master plan? Beginning next week, City Hall will be hosting public meetings to receive comments from residents on the new city blueprint, dubbed “Richmond 300,” aimed at carrying the city through at least the next 20 years when the city will mark its third century as a place on the map.
Rev. John E. Johnson Jr. to be installed at Union Baptist Church in Hopewell
Union Baptist Church in Hopewell has a new pastor.
Dr. Monroe E. Harris to lead VMFA board
Dr. Monroe E. Harris Jr., a Richmond oral and maxillofacial surgeon and avid collector of African and African-American art, has been elected president of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Board of Trustees.
Bishop Curry to speak at royal wedding
The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, will speak at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Kensington Palace has announced.
Virginia Premier to offer health plans on ACA exchange this fall
Virginia Premier, the insurance arm of VCU Health, will start selling individual plans beginning this fall to Richmond area residents who buy coverage through the health insurance exchanges of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, it was announced Monday.
The late Oliver Singleton to be honored with street sign
The 2700 block of East Grace Street will be named to honor the late Oliver R.H. Singleton, who worked to boost opportunities for and the profiles of black-owned businesses before his death in 2016.
Henrico School Board member Roscoe D. Cooper III arrested for misdemeanor assault
Henrico School Board member Roscoe D. Cooper III is once again the subject of a criminal court action, but this time the county police are on his side.
Catholic diocese apologizes for display of figure hanging in tree
The Catholic Diocese of Richmond apologized last Friday for the “insensitive” hanging of a homemade mannequin in a tree outside Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Henrico County.
