Akenji Joseph, 2, clings to his mother, Kamala Bhagat, as the two joined a socially distanced crowd of about 100 people last Sunday for the final porch concert of Plunky & Oneness in the city’s West End.

Sunday was a day to remember and a finale for noted saxophonist J. Plunky Branch. The soulful musician has been giving solo porch concerts outside his home on Rosewood Avenue near Byrd Park in the city’s West End for the past 90 days. The concerts helped lift the spirits of neighbors, friends and others during the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, Mr. Branch celebrated his birthday with a final porch concert, which drew about 100 people who set up lawn chairs along the shady street and median to enjoy the music of Plunky & Oneness, his group.

Sunday was a day to remember and a finale for noted saxophonist J. Plunky Branch. The soulful musician has been giving solo porch concerts outside his home on Rosewood Avenue near Byrd Park in the city’s West End for the past 90 days. The concerts helped lift the spirits of neighbors, friends and others during the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, Mr. Branch celebrated his birthday with a final porch concert, which drew about 100 people who set up lawn chairs along the shady street and median to enjoy the music of Plunky & Oneness, his group.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney presented him with a proclamation and a key to the city.

Grace Street once again is open in front of Richmond Police Department’s Headquarters at 200 W. Grace St. Concrete barriers filled with gravel blocked traffic beginning around June 16.

The barriers were removed last weekend, enabling westbound traffic to move past the building again. police several nights, resulting in officers firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds. The concrete bar- riers were installed after the tires were slashed on dump trucks that initially were used as barriers and the front door to the headquarters building was damaged. New Police Chief Gerald M. Smith authorized the barriers to be removed after the front door was fixed and most of the trucks were removed. Before the installation, the department put high priority on protecting the building after a Minneapolis police building was torched following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25 in Minnesota. Also prompting the barriers was a rumor that protesters would attempt to ram the building with a tractor-trailer. No attempt was made.

Vibrant bloom Downtown

The late Maggie L. Walker was honored with a Day of Service last Saturday in commemoration of what would have been her 156th birthday. The noted businesswoman and activist who lived in Jackson Ward was the first African-American woman in the nation to charter a bank and become its president.

The National Park Service, which preserves her home at 1101⁄2 E. Leigh St. as a national historic site, and the city Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, sponsored the day, which drew volunteers to help with a vari- ety of community projects. Volunteers Nia Brown, front, and Ebonee Henry pick up litter in the 500 block of Brook Road, while others work on a fence mural of Mrs. Walker outside the Calhoun Family Investment Center in Gilpin Court.