Retired dentist Dr. Edwin D. Cooke Jr. dies at 85
Dr. Edwin Donald Cooke Jr. is being remembered as a caring dentist. The Air Force veteran practiced in the Richmond area for more than 35 years before retiring. Dr. Cooke, a resident of Prince George County, died Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, his family said. He was 85.
Poet and playwright Ntozake Shange dies at 70
Playwright, poet and author Ntozake Shange, whose most acclaimed theater piece is the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf,” died Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, according to her daughter.
Personality: Franchon L. ‘Fran’ Randall
Spotlight on chef coordinator of ‘Sauté and Sizzle: Richmond Men Are Cooking’
Franchon L. “Fran” Randall is a good cook, even if she says so herself. The pescatarian’s favorite dish to whip up is fresh spinach, red onion, basil and fresh garlic and tomato sauce over angel hair pasta and topped with grilled or baked salmon.
Obama Elementary to hold fall festival Nov. 10
North Side’s newly renamed school is having a fall celebration.
Gingerbread House Challenge to benefit Better Housing Coalition
Twenty-four teams will vie to create a prize-winning gingerbread house this weekend to benefit the Better Housing Coalition, a Richmond nonprofit that develops affordable housing, it has been announced.
Stoney launches census committee
Mayor Levar M. Stoney is seeking to ensure every city resident is counted in the official 2020 Census. This week, Mayor Stoney launched Richmond’s Census 2020 Complete Count Committee to help make it happen when the population count begins more than a year from now.
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.
RRHA inspection turns up more heating problems
An inspection of heating equipment in the city’s 4,000 public housing units has turned up broken radiators and other problems in 250 units, according to Orlando Artze, interim executive director of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
VCU cuts university-wide commencement ceremony in 2019
Virginia Commonwealth University is the latest customer to be affected by a still largely undisclosed plan to replace the Richmond Coliseum. VCU officials announced Tuesday that the university-wide spring graduation ceremony held in early May at the 13,000-seat Coliseum since 1972 is off for 2019.
Mayor: COLA for retirees too costly
Too costly. That is Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s explanation for his decision to back away from his March promise that he would seek to use a surplus to pay for a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retired city employees.
Election Day TUESDAY, NOV. 6 VOTE Polls Open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. At stake: A U.S. Senate seat representing Virginia; the state’s 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including the 4th District that includes Richmond, Petersburg and parts of Henrico and Chesterfield counties, and the 7th District that includes parts of Henrico and Chesterfield counties; and the Richmond School Board’s 7th District seat.
RRHA reconsidering plan to demolish Creighton Court
The city’s key public housing agency is rethinking its vision of demolishing the six major public housing communities in Richmond and replacing them with “mixed-income” neighborhoods to end the concentration of poverty.
Critics claim voter suppression efforts may change Georgia governor’s race outcome
Thousands of people in Georgia hoping to participate in next week’s crucial gubernatorial election there could be blocked from voting because of the strict enforcement of its relatively new “exact match” rule.
After Pittsburgh, remember: We’re in this together
The resurgence of a newly emboldened white supremacy is the challenge of our time. The attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, in which 11 Jews were murdered as they gathered for Sabbath prayers, was but the most tragic of recent battlefronts.
1,000 attend vigil in Richmond
More than 1,000 people of different faiths, races and backgrounds came together Tuesday night in a community display of unity and love following the weekend tragedy in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were shot and killed by a gunman who entered the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire.
Personality: Jessica N. Thomas
Spotlight on chair of Alzheimer’s Association 2018 Walk to End Alzheimers
On the first Saturday in November, 3,000 people are expected to gather in the river city to take a stand – and a walk – against Alzheimer’s disease. That day is empowering, emotional and uplifting. It celebrates families and professional caregivers who are fighting to end Alzheimer’s.
No new taxes for RPS
If there was any correlation whatsoever relative to spending and academic performance, then Richmond Public Schools would be among the best school districts in the state.
Democrats and racism
Democrats hide their racism by accusing their opponents of the same. This happens on two such issues as immigration and abortion.
School grading practices inaccurate, inequitable
The battle for equity in our schools is not only a fight to guarantee access to great teaching and high quality learning environments, programs and materials. The battle also includes the practices and policies that teachers use to describe students’ success or failure in school.
