VCU students renew calls for accountability from university leadership
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University are once again demanding increased accountability, protection and engagement from university leadership regarding its ties to the war in Gaza and federal influence on its policies.
Woman’s work
This year, it’s all but certain that Virginia’s next governor won’t be the best man for the job—because for the first time in the state’s history, both major parties have nominated women. Last week, Democrats and Republicans made it official, setting up a historical race that guarantees Virginia will finally elect its first female governor.
Wealth gets votes, not victory, by Clarence Page
Lately Elon Musk has been looking like a good candidate for Washington's unofficial "So Sorry to See You Go" award. We used to hand it out annually on "The McLaughlin Group," among other deliberately dubious honors, as a snarky salute to the formerly powerful and influential who, in the inevitable way that Washington cycles through its luminaries, had outlasted their sell-by date. With the passing of longtime host John McLaughlin in 2016, the show faded away, just before Donald Trump's first presidency could provide us with a seemingly endless supply of new contenders for the Olympics of political stardom. That process came back to mind as rumors began to circulate that Musk, the oligarch behind Tesla, X and SpaceX, among other business ventures, was going to exit his controversial role in President Donald Trump's administration and return to private sector concerns. Musk, as everyone knows, dominated headlines this year after Trump empowered him to slash the federal workforce as head of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, which is not a "department," since that would require confirmation by Congress. This came after Musk spent $290 million in 2024 to elect Trump and other Republican candidates. As Trump's right-hand man, he has wielded his unsupervised power like a chainsaw to eliminate thousands of government jobs and sow chaos in many federal agencies. Unfortunately, Musk's minions have given the boot to lots of long-tenured workers with what seemed to be shockingly little consideration for the valuable services those workers have provided. Not that government should not do everything possible to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. That worthy goal has been raised like a hardy perennial at least since the birth of our nation, when presumably it was calculated with quill pens. Unfortunately, Musk's army of DOGE data wizards has shown questionable abilities to distinguish real waste, fraud and abuse from what many of us would call essential services. Horror stories abound of lawsuits filed by government workers abruptly locked out of their offices and email accounts, and Musk set off alarm bells with a series of false claims about "fraud" that DOGE discovered in the Social Security system. Musk chose to propagate these falsehoods on his influential social media platform, X, which had already become notorious among Democrats and others of the political center and left for amplifying disinformation from right-wing extremists. Not surprisingly, a backlash against Musk and his enterprises has spread like wildfire, even leading to vandalism against his best known business, Tesla. But the truly painful manifestation of distaste with Musk has been entirely legal, as consumers have shunned his cars. Owing to Tesla's tanking sales, Musk reportedly lost more than a fourth of his total net worth since January as the company's shares plunged. Yes, losing $121 billion in three months is enough to put anyone in a bad mood. But Musk had more losing to do, as he traveled to Wisconsin to don the obligatory foam cheesehead hat to campaign for conservative Judge Brad Schimel in a special election for the state's supreme court. Why did Musk care enough about this election to blow $20 million and a lot of time and effort on it? Because the party that controls Wisconsin's supreme court also controls the drawing of congressional districts, and thus (potentially) controls the U.S. House of Representatives after the next election. And thus, as Musk put it, it will control the fate of Western civilization. Even though it was an off-year election, a surprisingly high turnout gave liberal Judge Susan Crawford enough votes to win handily. Thanks to Schimel's unabashed fealty to President Trump and the patronage of Musk, who stooped to handing out million-dollar checks to supporters of a petition against "activist" judges, Wisconsin voters had the pleasure of articulating the nation's evolving opinion of Musk and DOGE. Musk's defeat in Wisconsin last Tuesday night was a new sign of energy on the political left. Importantly, Democrats won special elections for state legislative seats in Iowa and Pennsylvania and defeated a handful of Republican-backed state referendums in Louisiana. The victories resonated nationally as the first burst of good news for Democrats since Trump beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the presidential race. Wisconsin Democrats couldn't be happier, as the state's high court is expected to consider cases related to abortion rights, union rights and voting rules, in addition to congressional redistricting. And what about Musk? The Beatles sang, "Money can't buy me love." Perhaps Musk, more unloved than ever, has learned money can't always buy you votes, either.
Hip-hop can document life in America more reliably than history books, by A.D. Carson
Describing my 2017 appointment as a faculty member, the University of Virginia dubbed me the school’s “first” hip-hop professor. Even if the job title and the historic nature of the appointment might have merited it, the word was misleading.
Thousands rally in city for “Hands Off!” protests against Trump and Musk
Thousands of demonstrators filled Downtown Richmond streets Saturday, marching from Capitol Square to Monroe Park as part of a nationwide series of “Hands Off” protests held in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The demonstrations targeted President Trump and billionaire tech executive Elon Musk, criticizing their influence over politics, social media and civil rights.
Lawsuit over Richmond Community Hospital building dropped
As plans for the future of the old Richmond Community Hospital building continue to unfold, a lawsuit regarding its condition and preservation is being dropped.
Personality: Ashley Williams
Spotlight on president of The Well Collective
Stress is an unavoidable part of daily life for many. Economic uncertainty, political unrest, workplace pressures and unresolved trauma contribute to the chronic strain on individuals and communities. This ongoing toll fuels burnout, strains relationships and costs the global economy billions.
Documentary screening to honor culinary pioneer Edna Lewis at Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia will host a free screening of “Finding Edna Lewis,” followed by a panel discussion onThursday, April 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event celebrates the Virginia-born chef during what would have been her 109th birthday week.
In leaked audio, Sears downplays job losses tied to Trump cuts
A newly surfaced recording of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and federal employee unions, who say her remarks downplaying the impact of recent federal layoffs show a disregard for the thousands of Virginians — many of them veterans — who have lost their jobs under President Trump’s administration’s workforce cuts. -
Torian succeeds Bagby as leader of Virginia Legislative Black Caucus
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus elected Delegate Luke Torian as its new chair last week, succeeding Sen. Lamont Bagby, who led the group for seven years.
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week ending Saturday, April 5, COVID-19 represented 0.8% of all emergency department visits in Virginia. Overall, respiratory illness rates remained low and continued to trend downward compared to previous data. No COVID-19-related deaths were reported at press time.
Trump’s Smithsonian order mirrors tactics of Nazis, Soviets, by David W. Marshall
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch and other staff members at the Smithsonian are upset, and they have every right to be. The Smithsonian network spans 21 museums and has become one of the latest presidential targets through an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." The order directs the removal of "improper, divisive or anti-American ideology" from its museums.
No more markers
The embarrassing and irritating recurrence of these Confederate markers makes plain the need for missionaries in this Southern land of benighted heathens.
Faith, business leaders gather for final T.D. Jakes leadership conference
T.D. Jakes’ International Leadership Summit, presented by Wells Fargo, will hold its final gathering April 10-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, bringing together faith and business leaders for a last time under its current format.
Richmond Poetry Fest celebrates community through verse
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its second annual Poetry Fest this weekend, April 11 and 12, featuring free workshops, readings and performances. The event showcases Richmond’s literary community with former City Poet Laureate Roscoe Burnems hosting Saturday’s poetry slam.
Flying Squirrels stumble late, swept by RubberDucks in season-opener
The Richmond Flying Squirrels learned a hard lesson Sunday afternoon: no lead is safe against Akron’s red-hot Jorge Burgos. After building a comfortable 4-0 advantage behind rookie Sabin Ceballos’ first Double-A homer and Adrian Sugastey’s two RBIs, the Squirrels watched their early dominance evaporate in a crushing 5-4 loss to complete a franchise-first season-opening sweep at The Diamond.
Virginia State’s Coach Blow earns spot on national coaching honor roll
Virginia State University head men’s basketball coach Lonnie Blow Jr. has been selected for the 2025 Achieving Coaching Excellence Honor Roll, recognizing his outstanding leadership this season.
Top basketball talent honored at Spring Maxie Awards
NOAH (Natives of African Heritage) Sports presented the annual Spring Maxie Awards on Saturday night, celebrating Richmond’s top high school basketball players, coaches and teams. The event was held at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and emceed by NOAH Sports founder Clarence Kenney.
Frida Fest
A lively event marked the opening of “Frida: Beyond the Myth,” honoring Kahlo’s artistic legacy and Mexican culture through music, dance and community.
Youngkin, Earle-Sears join pro-life march opposing abortion amendment
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears joined hundreds of pro-life advocates for a Capitol Square rally Wednesday opposing a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect abortion access in Virginia.
