
Community advocate raises concerns about City’s new Confederate shrine
Even as Mayor Levar M. Stoney and City Council revive a citizen commission to help Richmond eliminate slavery-defending Confederate names from streets and bridges, the city Department of Public Utilities has created a new shrine to fallen Civil War rebels.

Planning Commission rejects fire training facility
A controversial proposal to install a training facility for Richmond firefighters on a major section of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center again has been rejected.

When making exceptions for Ramadan is no longer the exception, by Dilshad D. Ali
Scrolling Twitter on the first evening of Ramadan 2023, I was greeted (well, as all Muslims were) by Elmo. “Ramadan Mubarak to all of Elmo’s friends!” the red toddler Muppet said. “Elmo loves you!”

President Biden says tech companies must ensure AI products are safe
President Biden said Tuesday it remains to be seen if artifi- cial intelligence is dangerous, but that he believes technology companies must ensure their products are safe before releasing them to the public.

LSU ends season winning 102-85 over Iowa in NCAA finals
Jasmine Carter leads scoring with 22 points
One of the first things Kim Mulkey did upon becoming women’s basketball coach at LSU was to study the available talent in the transfer portal. She obviously made some wise personnel decisions.

John Marshall loses to Central Cabarrus 67-65 in ATL
John Marshall High’s magical ride on the basketball court hit a patch of turbulence and fell back to Earth in Atlanta.

Ryan Odom replaces VCU’s Mike Rhoades
VCU’s basketball forecast has gone from sunny and bright to overcast and complicated.

NFL’s John Brockington, 74, dies
John Brockington, among the NFL’s top running backs in the early 1970s, died Friday, March 31, 2023, in San Diego. He was 74.

Nationals’ rebound likely depends on CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray
Looking to recover from three poor seasons in a row, the Washington Nationals hope to bounce back with an impressive list of young prospects.

Game changer: Attendance, ticket sales surge since Squirrels arrival
The Richmond Flying Squirrels had a good season on the field in 2022 and a great season at the ticket booth.

Rites of passage
Rites of passage ceremonies traditionally mark important transitional periods in a person’s life, such as birth, puberty, marriage, having children, and death. In recent weeks, Richmond and surrounding communities have witnessed far too many rites of passage for young Black men whose lives were cut short by horrific tragedy.

Hickory Hill community opposes planned fire training facility
In a retreat from a two-year-old policy of expanding parks and green space in overly hot South Side, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration are quietly pressing to replace 2 acres of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side with a $1 million fire training building.

Bagby wins Va. Senate special election
Henrico Democratic Delegate Lamont Bagby, as anticipated, crushed Republican rival Stephen J. “Steve” Imholt in Tuesday’s voting for a Richmond-area seat in the state Senate.

‘We will stand for you’
Remembrances, calls for reform at funeral for Irvo Otieno
Family, friends and other mourners gathered Wednesday at a Virginia church to remember Irvo Otieno at a funeral service, celebrating his life and calling for mental health care and policing reforms after the 28-year-old Black man’s death earlier this month while in custody at a state psychiatric hospital.

Richmond’s Randall Robinson reshaped American’s foreign policy, forced change in South Africa
Seared by the segregation he grew up with in Richmond, Randall Maurice Robinson championed change in American policies toward African and the Caribbean nations that he considered unjust and undergirded by racial bias.

Personality: Shirley H. Scarborough
Spotlight on Cry Loud, Spare Not, Speak Up founder
For the past two years Shirley H. Scarborough has worked, in her own words, to create “Beauty for Ashe,” through her organization Cry Loud, Spare Not, Speak Up.

Can’t stop dancing
NCAA’s Final Four
Something missing here? For the first time since the NCAA basketball tournament began in 1939, there are zero No. 1 seeds remaining in the Final Four.

Richmonders want funding for schools, housing, less gas
Fund the full request for Richmond Public Schools. Improve our parks. Fully fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and fund repairs for decaying mobile homes. Protect the environment by planning for elimination of the city’s gas utility. Those were among the ways that least 20 speakers urged City Council to amend the 2023-24 budget plan at a public hearing Monday night.