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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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‘You wear out’: How chronic illness grounds and inspires William Barber’s activism
Standing outside a church in rural North Carolina this spring, the Rev. William Barber II leaned on his dented and scuffed wooden cane. With one powerful hand he pushed himself up and into the seat of a long black Chevrolet Suburban, then swung his legs in, using the cane, wedged against the door, as a fulcrum. The effort left him out of breath, his expansive chest heaving as he lay back in the seat, reclined to afford him space. No sooner had an aide closed the door before a man from the church rapped gently on the window. “Rev. Barber,” he said, “you’ve been a role model, an inspiration.”
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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.
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Henrico’s 1st phase of Ashland-to-Petersburg trail will be built in Lakeside
Henrico County is set to begin construction of its portion of the 43-mile Fall Line trail, following a ceremonial groundbreaking today in Lakeside for the trail’s 0.26-mile Park Street Phase.
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JLARC report shows the cost of child care adds up in Virginia
Most Virginia families, particularly single-parent households, currently spend far more than 7% of household income on childcare, or well above the percentage the federal government defines as affordable, according to a new state report.
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SCLC Empowerment Conference sends message of collective change
Educate yourselves about issues of importance to the African-American community. Engage both individually and collectively with legislators in the General Assembly via emails, letters and phone calls. And go to the State Capitol in person to voice your concerns.
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Study shows some children don’t visit doctors despite having insurance
A majority of Richmond children from low-income families apparently are not getting annual checkups from doctors, even though the children have health insurance through Medicaid or other programs that would cover the cost. The result: Many youngsters are dogged by obesity or other treatable physical and mental health problems that are never dealt with, disrupting their education and well-being.
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Mayor to seek referendum on school funding
Raise taxes or cut services. Those, said Mayor Dwight C. Jones, are about the only options Richmond has if it is to boost spending on public education by the tens of millions of dollars Richmond Public Schools is requesting. And he said he would explore with Richmond City Council “the idea of an advisory referendum on the November ballot to determine whether the public wishes to raise its taxes and by how much.”
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A holiday wedding to remember
While every wedding seeks to be a memorable moment for everyone in attendance, none will have had the experience Donald McWilliams Jr. and Roberta Jennings will share this Saturday.
