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Muslims must relearn faith to counter Islam’s critics, imam says
In the bustling conservative Fatih district, Imam Fadel Solimon looks at the floor and nods as a young woman asks him for advice on how to respond to criticism of Islam on Twitter.
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Personality: Frances T. Hayes
Spotlight on host chapter president of Club Dejouir’s 60th conclave
Frances T. Hayes served two terms as president of the Richmond Chapter of Club Dejouir Inc. in the 1970s. Now, four decades later, she has embarked on her third term as president of the nonprofit women’s social and civic organization.
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Recovering: Relief efforts begin to help thousands affected by Hurricane Florence; officials report 37 storm-related deaths, including 2 in Virginia
Remnants of Hurricane Florence swept Richmond into the national spotlight Monday when the storm’s wide-reaching bands of high winds and heavy rains spawned tornadoes and flash flooding.
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Final stanza
Larry Bland, director of The Volunteer Choir, is calling it quits as group reaches 50th anniversary
A local gospel music group that has been generating sounds of joy and inspiration for 50 years could soon be no more. Larry Bland & The Volunteer Choir is scheduled to make three appearances this year to mark its golden anniversary milestone, and then Mr. Bland said he will retire as the group’s director and chief organizer.
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New housing honcho
RRHA’s leader Damon Duncan outlines priorities that will impact city’s 10,000 public housing residents
The new chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority is vowing that the agency will move “expeditiously” to redevelop the city’s decaying public housing.
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Broken promises end legacy at 17th Street Farmers’ Market
They have been fixtures at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market in Shockoe Bottom for decades, just like their parents and grandparents before them. Now, sisters Evelyn Luceal Allen, 84, and Rosa L. Fleming, 80, have closed their stand beside the market from which they daily sold greens, tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes and other produce grown on their land in Hanover County.
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Hard hats replace bishops’ miters at Notre Dame’s first Mass since fire
Everyone, it seems, has an idea for how to rebuild Notre Dame.
Staff member
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Personality: Victor L. Rogers
Spotlight on new leader of Urban League Young Professionals
Victor Lamar Rogers is on a mission to engage younger African-American men and women in community affairs.
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‘Fifth Little Girl’ of 1963 Klan bombing reunites with nurse
On Sept. 15, Birmingham commemorated the explosion that proved to be a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement
When an initially blinded, and nearly lifeless, 12-year-old girl found in the rubble of a church bombing was wheeled onto the 10th floor of University Hospital in Birmingham nearly 60 years ago, one of the first people to tend to the child was Rosetta “Rose” Hughes, a nurse.
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New law addresses temporary detention orders during mental health crises
‘A law like this was needed’ says woman who faced hospital stay
A new state law might have prevented Jamisha L. Seward’s ordeal nearly a year ago when she was handcuffed and shackled by her leg to a hospital bed for more than 80 hours while a rotating shift of Henrico County police officers kept an eye on her.
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Clarence Avant, ‘Black Godfather’ of entertainment, and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies
Clarence Avant, the judicious manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the “Black Godfather” of music and beyond, has died. He was 92.
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VSU’s legacy of musical excellence
Earlier this year it was announced that Virginia State University was awarded the prestigious All-Steinway School designation — a recognition of their commitment to providing only pianos from the Steinway & Sons company for students and faculty to use.
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ROUNDUP
The search for Richmond’s next poet laureate is on. City officials recently launched the search for an artist who can bridge division in the city’s community through art.
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Incarcerated pregnant women fighting addiction need specific resources
Karlee Clements was six months pregnant, “full on into addiction” and begging to go to jail because she was afraid she would kill her child.
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Binding up the nation’s wounds 150 years later
Good morning. I am honored to be here with you today, joined by two congressional colleagues – Congressman Hurt and Congressman Goodlatte. As governor and senator, I have worked with these colleagues and others to preserve our nation’s Civil War battlefields so that future generations can learn the great lessons of the War and how it shaped our nation. And there is no more sacred Civil War battlefield than the spot where we now meet. Other places were the sites of more momentous battles. But it is here, at Appomattox Court House, where the battles ended and a divided nation chose a path of unity, a choice that would profoundly change not only our own history, but the history of the world. We come to honor that choice and to acknowledge that the same choice lies before us now.
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Elkhardt’s closing signals harsh reality for mayor, City Council
Elkhardt Middle School is a fresh reminder of the increasingly shabby and dilapidated condition of most of Richmond’s school buildings — a condition that the mayor’s office and City Council have yet to seriously address despite repeated reports and warnings in recent years. Set to be shut down this Thursday night, with students, teachers and staff moving 10 miles north across the James River into the vacant Clark Springs Elementary building, Elkhardt on South Side reflects the stark reality the city is facing — the need to provide big money to keep Richmond’s school buildings usable, a reality that no longer can be papered over with rosy talk about bike races, baseball stadiums and football training camps.
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Personality: Dr. Karen A. Faison
Spotlight on Virginia Nurses Association Nancy Vance Award winner
Dr. Karen Faison says she gains deep satisfaction as a professor in the Virginia State University Department of Nursing when “the light comes on” for her students “when information is mastered for patient-centered care.”
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Simone Biles, LeBron James named AP Athletes of the Year
She won a record-tying four gold medals to go along with a bronze during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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Personality: Oludare Ogunde
Spotlight on founder of nonprofit Project Give Back to Community
Facing life outside of prison can be almost as daunting as surviving life behind bars. As an ex-offender, Oludare Ogunde knows about these challenges.
