
VCU falls in first round of NCAA Tournament
What goes up doesn’t necessarily have to come down — or so it seems with Virginia Commonwealth University hoops. The Rams are enjoying the rarified air above the crowd and show no inclination of descending. Despite its early exit from the NCAA Tournament with a 85-77 loss to St. Mary’s College of California on March 16 in Utah, VCU has established itself as a resilient, long-term winner.

MEAC winners bow out of NCAAs early
MEAC, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, plays basketball on the NCAA’s highest level, Division I, for at least two reasons:

Chesterfield’s Devin Robinson is standout on Florida NCAA team
If you missed seeing Chesterfield County native Devin Robinson playing basketball as a youngster, here’s your chance to observe the more grown up version.

Parson attempts legal maneuver to retake Richmond Christian Center
Fresh from campaigning for President Trump, Pastor Stephen A. Parson Sr. has launched a campaign to retake control of the Richmond Christian Center in South Side.

Chuck Berry, rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, dies
nd lyricists, creating raucous anthems that defined the genre’s sound and heartbeat, died Saturday, March 18, at his Missouri home. He was 90.

Personality: Janet M. Moses and Pocket
Spotlight on volunteer duo for SPCA’s Paws for Health
When she enters a room, her excitement and eagerness to entertain others overwhelms the space and the people in it.Usually dressed to impress, she greets longtime friends and strangers the same way — with a contagious enthusiasm for connection. Her personality is much larger than her 7-pound frame. Her joy in making friends easily attracts strangers.

Wilder in legal brawl with his former lawyers Goldman, Morrissey
Richmond residents now have a front row seat on a heavyweight legal fight between former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and former Delegate Joe Morrissey.
City tax bills expected to be higher for 2017-18
Richmond residents should expect the city to send them bigger tax bills on vehicles and property this year — despite Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s claim that his proposed budget does not include a tax increase. A closer look at the budget plan shows that the mayor did not propose a hike in the tax rates the city charges on real estate or on cars, trucks and other personal property.

Calls mount for independent investigation of Russia’s ties to Trump administration
President Trump is finding its easy to play golf, but harder to get his way as the nation’s chief executive.

Gorsuch sidesteps tough questions in Supreme Court confirmation hearings
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch said on Wednesday presidents must obey court orders and expressed uncertainty about language in the U.S. Constitution barring government officials from taking payments from a foreign country as Democrats grilled him on issues involving President Trump.

African delegates denied visas to Calif. trade conference
An African trade summit held last week in California had no African delegates after the United States denied them visas to enter the country.

Dying with debt: Advice from experts
You’re probably going to die with some debt. A majority of people do. In fact, 73 percent of Americans had outstanding debt when they died, according to December 2016 data reported by Credit.com.

$8.3M RPS mystery
Meeting next month between School Board, City Council and Mayor’s Office to see what happens next
An $8.3 million surplus in the Richmond Public Schools’ budget that was disclosed during a recent Richmond City Council meeting is nothing out of the ordinary, according to Richmond School Board Chair Dawn Page.

State of city schools
Superintendent Bedden says progress won’t happen overnight
When Richmond schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden took the podium Tuesday night to offer his annual “State of the Schools” address, he was clear from the beginning that the picture would not be all roses.
Interventionists can help with handling addicts
Interventions can be the difference between life and death for a drug addict or an alcoholic. Not every person in need of rehab is going to initially jump at the chance to get clean and handle the issues that drove them to addiction. While some addicts or alcoholics have been so badly beaten and battered by their lifestyle that they grasp at the first opportunity to deal with their problems, others need some type of external help in order to seek help.
New GRTC bus routes avoid travel within public housing communities
After painstaking research, multiple workshops with Leaders Of The New South and interviews with city residents, it is apparent there will no longer be buses moving through the public housing neighborhoods in Richmond.
Congratulations to the Free Press
Re “Free Press in the Congressional Record,” March 2-4 edition: I wanted to drop you a note of congratulations on recently receiving a citation — now memorialized in the Congressional Record — from 4th District Congressman A. Donald McEachin commemorating the newspaper’s 25th anniversary.

Debt collection reform needed
When many consumers think of billion-dollar industries, banks and Wall Street often come to mind. Yet there is another industry in the same lucrative league that affects more than 70 million consumers each year — debt collection.

Attack on education
The effort to repeal and replace health care insurance is generating headlines, and the attempt to investigate our 45th president’s Russia connections is of high importance. The specious claim that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, too, has generated interest, largely because it is unprecedented for one president to accuse another of a felony, and because 45 has absolutely no proof that President Obama has done any such thing.
Thirst for history, truth
Next week, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will celebrate the six-month mark since its opening in September.