
VSU launches no-cost tuition initiative for qualified high school seniors
A federal Pell Grant will be all 300 qualified high school seniors in Richmond and other nearby localities must have financially to enroll as full-time students at Virginia State University in the fall.

City tax amnesty application process now open
City Hall is now accepting applications for tax amnesty on real estate taxes and some businesses taxes.

Equity issues surround COVID-19 vaccinations
Is there inequitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to people of color?

City facing potential $15M deficit?
Is there a big hole developing in Rich- mond’s budget? And could spending be proposed to shrink in the new 2021-22 budget that Mayor Levar M. Stoney will present in March?

GOP Sen. Amanda Chase sues after being censured
A firebrand conservative state senator from Chesterfield County seeking the Republican nomination for governor filed a federal lawsuit Monday that seeks to undo her legislative colleagues’ recent decision to censure her for an alleged “pattern of unacceptable conduct.”

Kamras gets overwhelming public support for 4-year contract
Richmond Public Schools parents and students, teachers and staff overwhelmingly voiced their support for Superintendent Jason Kamras’ contract to be renewed for four years.

Fired
Kirk Showalter, Richmond’s voter registrar, is dismissed by the Richmond Electoral Board after multiple complaints surrounding the Nov. 3 general election
J. Kirk Showalter’s 25-year reign as Richmond’s voter registrar is over.

Virginia adopts permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standards
Social distancing, face masks, sanitation, infectious disease preparedness and response plans are now mandated for public and private workplaces in Virginia following Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s recent approval of permanent workplace safety and health standards.

Legend of screen and television Cicely Tyson dies at 96
Actress Cicely Tyson, whose legendary roles portraying the history and humanity of Black people won awards and touched hearts, has died.

Super performances expected from Devin White and Tyrann Mathieu in Super Bowl LV
If Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are the rocket launchers for Super Bowl LV, then Devin White and Tyrann Mathieu represent the anti-aircraft.

Faith leaders issue BHM book challenge to Richmond area residents
Challenge to Richmond area residents: Spend February reading award-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s widely praised book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” then participate in a Zoom discussion of the book 7 p.m. Monday, March 1.

Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, whose activism led to diversity on state boards and commissions, dies at 83
Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison championed Black inclusion in government and public contracting while also opening her heart and her home to children and adults who needed a helping hand.

Personality: Douglas Powell aka ‘Roscoe Burnems’
Spotlight on Richmond’s first poet laureate
Douglas Powell is many things — a poet, author and spoken word artist who performs under the alias Roscoe Burnems. He is a National Poetry Slam champion, a former TEDx speaker, a husband, father and teacher who has contributed to a number of creative endeavors in Richmond. And now, Mr. Powell has been selected to serve as the city’s first poet laureate.

Biden nominates Virginia official, former VSU dean, to key USDA post
Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh is heading to Washington to help run the U.S. Department of Agriculture after nearly three years of leading Virginia’s agricultural agency.

Parents say 4-year contract for Kamras would provide stability
For decades, Richmond Public Schools has struggled to keep a superintendent and administration in place for more than five years.

Crusade supports 2-year contract for Kamras with benchmarks
The Richmond Crusade for Voters recently considered the matter before the Richmond School Board regarding contract negotiations with Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras.

Healing a divided America, by Dr. Keith Magee
A white man strolled into an office, settled down in a leather chair and casually put his dirty boots on the desk in front of him.