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Chesterfield’s Megan Walker has WNBA, international playing career
The offseason for women’s elite basketball talent isn’t much different than the regular season. In the NBA, the average salary is $7.7 million. By sharp contrast, the average WNBA salary is about $101,000. That’s ample reason why many WNBA athletes — like local star Megan Walker — supplement their paychecks with far-away gigs across oceans, mountains and multiple time zones.
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Televangelist Rev. Frederick K.C. ‘Fred’ Price, who built the ‘FaithDome’ in L.A. dies at 89
The Rev. Frederick K.C. “Fred” Price, the televangelist who built his Los Angeles ministry into one of the nation’s first Black megachurches, has died. He was 89.
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Boxing great Marvelous Marvin Hagler dies at 66
Marvelous Marvin Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in a fight that lasted less than eight minutes yet was so epic that it still lives in boxing lore. Two years later, he was so disgusted after losing a decision to Sugar Ray Leonard — stolen, he claimed, by the judges — that he never fought again.
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Charges dismissed against Sen. Lucas
A Richmond judge dismissed charges on Monday that were filed against the highest-ranking Black state senator and several other Portsmouth officials after police said that she and others conspired to damage a Confederate monument in the Hampton Roads city.
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Another double standard? Police seize firearms from Black men, but not whites, at Lobby Day
Police stopped a car of Black men and confiscated two of their guns at Virginia’s annual “Lobby Day” on Monday, while white gun rights activists defied local laws unimpeded in the state capital of Richmond.
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John Marshall High renames gym, field to honor former coaches
The John Marshall High School gymnasium and athletic field are getting new names to honor two coaches who were instrumental in the North Side school’s sports history and in mentoring youths.
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School Board votes in new leaders
The Richmond School Board voted in a new chair and vice chair—Shonda Harris- Muhammed, 6th District, and Kenya J. Gibson, 3rd District, respectively.
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White House responds to HBCU bomb threats; Black leaders decry ‘domestic terrorism’
Black leaders are calling the recent series of bomb threats against several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) campuses “terrorism.” There have been threats to more than a dozen HBCUs so far this month, many of which occurred only in the past two days. The matter is so alarming that civil rights lawyer and attorney for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, Lee Merritt, who also is a graduate of Morehouse College, said that he believes the Biden administration should form a task force to get to the bottom of the threats and identify the source of the ongoing threats. As the news of the HBCU bomb threats over the past two days was making headlines, in the White House brief- ing on Tuesday, Feb. 1, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reporters, “We take these threats incredibly seriously. Our Homeland Security adviser is in close touch with law enforcement authorities at a federal and local level, and we are assessing what we think the origin, the reasoning, the motivation behind it is.” The Biden administration affirmed its continued support for HBCUs in this moment that is being characterized by leaders as domestic terrorism. “We are absolutely behind these HBCUs. We want to make it very clear that we take these threats seriously and we deeply value their contributions. But it’s important for law enforcement authorities and others to make an assessment before we make any determinations about next steps,” said the presidential spokesperson. On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the Congressional Black Caucus plans to engage with the Department of Justice on actions to be taken to address the threat of danger against HBCUs. Meanwhile, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, To- bacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are investigating the matter. “ATF is aware of bomb threats received by some Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We take all potential threats seriously and we regularly work with our law enforcement partners to determine the threat credibility,” ATF said in a statement. “This is a fluid situation with ongoing investigations, and we can’t comment on the specifics at this time.” White House Press Secretary Psaki said, “I would not call it irony, but I would say that it is scary. It is horrifying. It is terrible that these students, these faculty, these institutions are feeling under threat.” She added, “We don’t know more details at this point in time, and I don’t want to get ahead of law enforcement authorities ... but certainly, given the history you referenced, you know, this is something we’re very mindful of, and that is why we’re so focused on providing regular updates and seeing what our law enforcement team assesses.”
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Global warming is real, by Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
Record fires in Oregon and California. Floods in Houston and New York. Deadly winter storms in Texas. Droughts across much of the west. Flash floods in England and Germany. Blinding dust storms in China. One hundred year cyclones devastate Fiji and Indonesia. Deadly droughts across sub-Saharan Africa. Wildfires in Greece and Italy.
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Time capsule with items from a new Virginia buried at former Lee site
The streets of Monument Avenue were filled with sounds of construction equipment last Thursday as more than a dozen workers searched from sunrise to sunset, and through sporadic rainfall, for a 134-year-old time capsule believed to be hidden in the base of the pedestal that until Sept. 8 held the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
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REA wins victory giving city teachers, staff collective bargaining authority
In a nearly unanimous vote, the Richmond School Board voted 8-1 Monday night to approve a resolution giving teachers and other school staff the power to establish a union and collectively negotiate for pay and benefits.
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Mobilize for voting rights, by Marc H. Morial
“After decades of struggle and a year of our leaders choosing the Jim Crow filibuster over our voting rights, our time is now. On this day of action, I call on Congress and the White House to eliminate the filibuster and pass voting rights to protect millions of Black and Brown voters. The arc of the moral universe is long. Join me on January 17 to demand that it bends toward justice.” — Martin Luther King III
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Traffic concerns lead to removal of several curb planters on Brookland Park Boulevard
A battle over traffic safety measures in North Side has ended in at least a partial win for supporters of on-street vehicle parking in business districts.
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World Series gets underway with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros
Yordan Alvarez and Eddie Rosario celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month a little late by leading their teams to the World Series.
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Cold meals another hot topic at School Board meeting; new vendor sought
Most students in Richmond elementary schools started receiving hot meals on Monday, just hours before the Richmond School Board met and voted unanimously to rescind the $12.9 million food contract awarded during the summer to Illinois-based Preferred Meals to provide breakfast and lunch.
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Pat Robertson retiring at 91 from ‘The 700 Club’
Pat Robertson, who turned Christian TV into political power — and blew it up with wacky prophecy — announced last week his intention to retire as daily host of “The 700 Club.”
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City councilwoman wants to revive apartment inspections
Apartment buildings in Richmond would have to undergo a city inspection at least once every four years and more often in the case of violations under a proposal that 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch plans to introduce in January.
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Newly empowered Virginia Democrats nominate the state’s first Black House speaker, Don Scott
Virginia’s state House will soon have its first Black speaker in its more than 400-year history after the chamber’s incoming Democratic majority on Saturday chose Del. Don Scott to serve in the post.
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Need: Attention to detail
City Hall is a $3 billion yearly operation with a lot of moving parts and thousands of employees.
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Feudalism in the Commonwealth, by Gary L. Flowers
In 1619, English colonizers brought captured Africans to Virginia on a cargo ship “The White Lion.” The white colonizers also brought a hierarchical social structure, left over from the days of feudalism in mid-evil England.
