Stalking, trespass charges against child advocate absolved
The big case is still ahead. But two charges against an advocate for special needs children have been dismissed or absolved. Last month, Kandise N. Lucas was acquitted of trespassing at Falling Creek Middle School.
Snowstorm plows through city budget
The winter storm that dumped 12 inches of snow on Richmond three weeks ago did more than snarl traffic, stall mail service and close schools.j
CARE van drivers still without contract
Elderly and disabled people who ride the specialty CARE van are seeing improved service and are registering fewer com- plaints, GRTC reports. Currently, about one in five rides arrives late, compared with one in four late arrivals logged last April, data from the transit company indicates.
‘Do we really want what Hillary Clinton has to offer?’
If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for president, chances are that the Republicans will never allow her to run a successful race. They will dredge up every scandal she and Bill Clinton have been involved in since he was governor of Arkansas, and there have been many.
Reaching toward justice
Bryan Stevenson’s inspiring and best-selling book “Just Mercy” shares some of the fruits of his lifelong fight to push our nation closer to true justice. In January, our nation took two more steps forward in the ongoing struggle to treat children like children and ensure a fairer justice system for all, especially for our poor and those of color.
Pro football’s double standard
Despite Cam Newton leading the Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 record during the regular season and two playoff victories en route to his being selected the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and six black quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl, black quarterbacks are still routinely subjected to a double-standard by fans and the media. In an error-filled game in which neither star quarterback played particularly well, Newton’s team lost Sunday to the Denver Broncos 24-10. Even so, he had a stellar season by all accounts: Throwing for 3,837 yards, including a league-high of 35 touchdowns, and running 636 yards, accounting for 10 more touchdowns. He was selected as a first-team All-Pro and received 48 of the 50 votes cast for league MVP.
Queen Bey and the Super Bowl
We’ve just about had our fill of uninformed critiques from the peanut gallery about Beyonce’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl last Sunday. Everyone from former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to journalists and spectators around the world have tweeted, posted and dissected everything about it.
The human cost
The painful truth about America has emerged with the poisoned water in Flint, Mich. Top state and federal officials, including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and regional Environmental Protection Agency officials, knew more than a year ago that residents of Flint were being harmed by toxic levels of lead in the city’s water supply. Yet, they did nothing to stop it. The situation in Flint has been compared to that of Third World nations. Critics also have used the word “genocide” in describing the deliberate and unabated damage done to the city of nearly 100,000 people, 57 percent of whom are African-American and 40 percent of whom are poor.
Love Stories
We formally met in the spring of 1999, introduced by mutual friends at a poetry and live music event. Our paths had crossed a few times the previous year.
14 authors to engage young readers at Feb.17 library event
In 1970, Clarence “Bucky” McGill joined fellow African-American football players at Syracuse University in a strike against racist conditions at the school — the first action of its kind. Now 66, Mr. McGill plans to use the story of the “Syracuse 8” strike to highlight a discussion with young Richmonders and their parents about conditions today that impact them.
‘Mardi Bras’ party with a purpose to aid homeless women
It’s Mardi Bras time in Richmond. That’s the program a local ministry is spearheading to collect intimate items for homeless women, including underwear and feminine hygiene products.
Exhibit highlights early Chesterfield lawyer-activist
He was a pioneering lawyer who also built Chesterfield County roads and oversaw services to the county’s poor during his lifetime. But, today, Cornelius Mimms is largely forgotten. The only notable mention of him in the county are street names in the county’s government complex, Mimms Drive and Mimms Loop.
New East End festival to bring music to Chimborazo Park
Another festival is coming to festival city. The first “RVA East End Festival: The Gift of Music,” will play Friday, May 6, through Sunday, May 8, in Chimborazo Park. Adding to the excitement, Bon Secours Richmond Health System has joined festival partners toward a pledged goal of $100,000 to provide musical instru- ments and related materials for East End students at Richmond’s Bellevue, Chimborazo, Fairfield Court, George Mason and Woodville elementary schools, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Armstrong High School and Franklin Military Academy.
Help choose TEDxRVA speaker at Open Mic Nights Feb. 17, 24
TEDxRVA has scheduled two “Open Mic Nights” in Richmond this month to give speakers the opportunity to compete to earn a spot in the group’s 4th Annual TEDxRVA 2016 event Friday, April 8, at Richmond CenterStage, 600 E. Grace St., in Downtown.
VUU’s history grounded in incubating the oppressed for success
Audience members rose to their feet with impassioned shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” at Virginia Union University’s Founders Day Convocation last Friday.
Misinformation ‘devastating’ to African-American community
Journalist, author and lecturer A. Peter Bailey does not count himself among the fans of the popular, award-winning movie “Straight Outta Compton,” which chronicles the rise and fall of the legendary gangster rap group N.W.A. “I refuse to go see it,” he told about 40 people at the 4th Annual State of Black America Address for Central Virginia on Saturday at Thirty-first Street Baptist Church in the East End.
Black History Month Kwanzaa celebration Feb. 27
It’s called “Black History Month Kwanzaa In Daily Living Celebration.”
‘Jesus is a good cure for fear’
WASHINGTON In his last National Prayer Breakfast speech while in office, President Obama gave an introspective talk about how his faith overcomes his fears. “For me, and I know for so many of you, faith is the great cure for fear,” President Obama said at the event Feb. 4 at a Washington hotel. “Jesus is a good cure for fear.”
Cam Newton wins league MVP, but loses Super Bowl
From Super Bowl 50, we learned the “D” in Denver stands for “defense,” and Cam Newton remains a work in progress. In a game sandwiched between endless commercials and a marathon halftime show, the Denver Broncos defeated the upstart Carolina Panthers 24-10.
VUU snags Holland Fisher in NCAA National Signing Day
Football Coach Mark James bills Virginia Union University as a “second chance school.” That being the case, it’s ideal for well-traveled Holland Fisher. The quick-striking, 6-foot-2, 200-pound former high school Under Armour All-American from Chesterfield County has landed at VUU with three years of eligibility.
