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Gravely resigns NAACP post
After three weeks of mulling the decision, Jack Gravely is stepping down as interim executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. He delivered his resignation Monday via email to state NAACP President Linda Thomas and other members of the executive board.
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A Zika virus cure?
Research at VCU supports claims of new antiviral drug
When he first published a paper 18 months ago detailing a kind of “miracle” drug that could destroy every virus and bacteria that plagues mankind, Virginia Commonwealth University researcher Paul Dent found his work derided as too good to be true.
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Chief Brown no stranger to tragedy
Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown, a familiar face following last week’s shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas, is no stranger to tragedy.
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Foundation approves funds to preserve 2 historic cemeteries
Volunteers working to restore two overgrown andneglectedAfrican-Americancemeterieson the border between Richmond and Henrico County are getting significant state support.
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Former governor eligible to receive state pension
Former Gov. Bob McDonnell is once again eligible to receive his state pension and practice law now that he is no longer a felon.
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Free oral history workshop at Black History Museum
Historian Lauranett L. Lee has devoted her life to uncovering the lost stories of African-American women and men to help spotlight their contributions both locally and nationally. Now Dr. Lee wants to inspire people to preserve their own family histories to expand appreciation and knowledge of where they come from.
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Judge Roger Gregory makes history again
The son of humble tobacco factory workers is about to reach a new pinnacle in his legal career. On July 9, Judge Roger L. Gregory will become the chief judge of the powerful 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
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58: Number of candidates certified to run for mayor, City Council and School Board
Richmond voters will have plenty of choices for mayor, City Council and the School Board in the November election, when they also will be helping to elect a president, vice president and member of Congress. The three-member Richmond Electoral Board last week certified 58 candidates to run for city offices. The list would have been longer, but 15 potential candidates were disqualified for failure to meet filing requirements, the city Voter Registrar’s Office reported.
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Slew of candidates translated into flood of work
The 73 candidates who filed to run for Richmond office submitted 1,835 pages of petitions with 25,060 signatures of purportedly registered voters, according to city Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter. Every one of the signatures had to be checked against the state database of registered voters to ensure they were valid, Ms. Showalter said.
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Property values up in city
For the third year in a row, rising property values in Richmond will put Richmond City Council on the spot when it comes to collecting property taxes from owners of real estate.
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National commission to commemorate arrival of Africans in America approved by House
A federal commission to recognize the trials, tribulations and contributions of African-Americans since 1619 is one step closer to becoming a reality.
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City faces $1M bill from storm damage
Rosie Lee Woods, like dozens of city residents, has a reminder of the powerful storm that roared through the city June 16, knocking out power, felling trees and creating havoc. She can look out at the remains of the giant oak that stood in front of her North Side home, one of hundreds of city-owned trees toppled by the storm. Fortunately, her home didn’t suffer a scratch as the tree fell parallel to the street. After the storm, city workers came to the 3500 block of Hazelhurst Avenue and removed the massive branches that blocked the street, she said.
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Highland Park dry cleaners to reopen under new ownership
Good news for Lonnie McLaurin and up to 30 other people. They will soon be able to get their clothes back from a closed dry cleaners in Highland Park. As the Free Press described in the June 9-11 edition, Mr. McLaurin has been trying to get his clothes since the business at 1311 E. Brookland Park Blvd. shut down in late April. He, like others, had been required to pay in advance for the dry cleaning service.
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City moves to end regional jail arrangement
The City of Richmond wants to end its participation in a regional jail in Caroline County — a move that could save Richmond taxpayers at least $1.2 million a year.
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JM’s Carter-Sheppard signs with East Carolina
Jeremy Carter-Sheppard of Richmond’s John Marshall High School is headed to East Carolina University to play basketball on scholarship for the Pirates of the American Athletic Conference.
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Interim president named at VUU
A former senior vice president of Virginia Union University is returning to serve as interim president. The VUU Board of Trustees on Tuesday tapped Dr. Joseph F. Johnson, 69, to take over from President Claude G. Perkins, who will start a yearlong paid sabbatical Friday, July 1, before retiring.
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Mayor proposes tax hikes to fund improvements
Richmond has monster needs. Most of its schools are decaying, its streets are falling apart, its parks and public buildings need renovation — but it has maxed out its credit card and can’t afford to borrow any more money.
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Help in the wings for Evergreen, East End cemeteries
Two historic, but neglected cemeteries where renowned African-Americans such as Maggie L. Walker and John Mitchell Jr. are buried may get a huge boost from the state.
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Meter fees go up July 5 Downtown
Motorists will pay an extra 50 cents an hour to park at a street meter in Downtown beginning Tuesday, July 5, it has been announced.
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Gravely still in at state NAACP
Jack Gravely is still the interim executive director of the 16,000-member Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. “I am not planning to resign this week,” Mr. Gravely said Monday, denying a Free Press report published in the June 23-25 edition in which a source indicated Mr. Gravely was poised to depart.
