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City Council approves 1% pension hike for retirees starting Jan. 1
As anticipated, Richmond City Council unanimously approved a 1 percent pension increase for retired city employees, beginning Jan. 1, during a special meeting on Monday.
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Obama Elementary School
What’s in a name? A lot, we believe. And so we were more than pleased when the Richmond School Board voted last week to rename the elementary school on Fendall Avenue in North Side for the nation’s 44th president — Barack Obama.
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NSU upgrading turf at Dick Price stadium
The footing, if not the football, figures to be much improved this fall at Norfolk State University.
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St. Paul’s Episcopal hosts luncheon series Downtown
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Downtown is hosting a series of speakers on issues ranging from race, politics and mental health and addiction during its Friday luncheon series, “Eyes on Richmond.” The theme for the fall series: “Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice of Justice.”
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Trauma-informed care focus of FACTS in Va.
On March 11, Oprah Winfrey presented a story on “60 Minutes” on “Childhood Trauma’s Long-Term Effect,” uncovering how trauma affects a child’s brain and can lead to physical, mental and social health problems throughout a child’s life. The special also highlighted trauma-informed efforts.
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State auditor concludes city doesn’t need state intervention
Richmond can handle its financial problems without the state needing to hold its hand. That’s the conclusion the state auditor of public accounts reached after reviewing the city’s information on its financial operations and holding discussions with the city’s finance officials.
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Mayor Stoney proposes free bus service on Election Day
Mayor Levar M. Stoney wants to spend $24,310 to provide Richmond residents with free GRTC bus rides on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6.
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Taxation not solution for Richmond Public Schools
Re Column “We must invest in ourselves,” Free Press March 28-30 edition: While I can agree with Dr. Ravi K. Perry’s assertion that the state of Richmond Public Schools reflects years of racist policies, I do not agree with his solution.
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Personality: Maj. Daniel T. Fox III
Maj. Daniel Tré Fox III seeks to open musical doors to students as others did for him when he was a student in Richmond Public Schools. The 33-year-old vocal instructor at Franklin Military Academy in Church Hill sees the power of music as a bridge to uplift and mold young men and women.
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Readers react to racism, police violence, protests and Confederate statues coming down
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis is more than a reminder of white supremacy’s perpetrated racism.
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Carol Swann-Daniels, a trailblazer integrating Richmond schools in 1960, dies at 73
Sixty-one years have passed since Carol Irene Swann, 12, and her friend, Gloria Jean Mead, 13, blasted an opening in the racially segregated schools of Richmond.
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Personality: Frances K. Scott
Spotlight on chair of The Charmettes’ annual prayer brunch
Cancer does not discriminate. Age, race, ethnicity and economic background don’t matter, Frances K. Scott has learned.
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In context
Protesters and politicians alike are redefining Richmond by removing racist and obsolete symbols of oppression and inequality from public spaces
The daily explosion of young activists on Richmond streets is forcing a reckoning with Virginia’s racist past and the symbols of oppression that hang over it.
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The battle for parental rights and government oversight remains alive
Huguenot High School’s library functions as a type of escape from the pressures of student life, a place where students can come and “chill out,” as librarian Kevin Murray puts it. He doesn’t give out grades or assign homework, so it makes sense why so many students like spending their time there, a serene space away from the bustling halls of high school.
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Maggie Walker among local schools receiving an NFL Golden Football
The former Maggie L. Walker High School has been awarded an NFL Golden Football for being among the high schools that contributed to the first 49 years of Super Bowls. Willie Lanier, a member of the Maggie L. Walker Class of 1963, helped the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970, in New Orleans. From Walker, Lanier went on to star at Morgan State University in Baltimore before embarking on a Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs.
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Training grounds
Former tobacco factory may become teaching site for construction workers
Along with a huge investment to transform the 67-acre Diamond District, the private development team that has been awarded the project also is proposing to invest in a construction training center and in other projects that could benefit the Black community.
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City plans $3.5M sale of Public Safety Building for new development
Unveiled nine months ago, a $325 million plan to replace the city’s decaying Public Safety Building in Downtown is gathering steam.
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New coalition offers blueprint for more affordable housing
A coalition of Richmond groups is advancing a policy agenda they hope can be a blueprint for City Hall’s efforts to reduce evictions and make affordable apartments and homes more available.
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A segregationist in the House, by Julianne Malveaux
Many are rejoicing that Republicans finally got around to electing a speaker, thus breaking the logjam that began when Trump acolyte Matt Goetz (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to eliminate Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.). In selecting Louisiana’s Mike Johnson, Republicans chose a self-avowed “evangelical Southern Christian” (read racist segregationist) who is anti-choice, anti-gay rights (and marriage), and anti-education.
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Watch out
’Tis the Christmas season and Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin played Santa Claus on Wednesday when passing out his new Virginia spending plan for the next two years.
