Story
Parson and backers initially barred then allowed to worship at RCC
“We’re back. And we’re not going away.” So said Pastor Stephen A. Parson Sr. after he successfully led nearly 40 supporters without incident into the Richmond Christian Center on Sunday to take part in the 8 a.m. worship service.
Story
Statue of archsegregationist remains in Capitol Square
Richmond and other Virginia localities are on track to gain permission from the General Assembly to take down Confederate statues.
Story
St. Luke Building ready for tenants
The historic 117-year-old office building in which Richmond business great Maggie L. Walker launched a bank and led a crusade for African-American economic independence has been renovated into an apartment building that is ready to welcome its first tenants.
Story
School funding questions remain as City Charter change takes effect July 1
“I believe we have six months from July 1 to respond to the charge embedded in the charter change. Rest assured, we will do so. When we have something definitive to say, we will say it.” That was the official administration response to a Free Press query as to how Mayor Levar M. Stoney would respond to a change to the City Charter regarding school improvement that goes into effect Sunday, July 1.
Story
Looking back, looking forward
New photo exhibition at Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia shares stories from a bygone era
A sense of dignity emanates from the faces peering out of the searing, black and white photos mounted in the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia’s upstairs exhibition space.
Story
Alexis Johnson leading a repeat for Lady Panthers
You might say Alexis Johnson has become the “Lady Walker Part Two” story for Virginia Union University basketball.
Story
Training sessions aimed at developing new employees for East End market
A new East End market promises to bring employment and opportunity to a longtime food desert in the city. The Market @ 25th, scheduled to open in March at 25th Street and Nine Mile Road, will fill many voids in the neighborhood, including the need for long-term, large-scale employment.
Story
Where are the African-American catchers in MLB?
African-American baseball catchers are a vanishing breed.
Story
Hemp: Virginia’s new big cash crop?
At first glance, it looks like a stoner’s paradise: Acres of plants that resemble marijuana. But this crop is hemp, a relative of cannabis that has commercial uses ranging from textiles and animal feed to health products.
Story
Charlottesville police chief retires in wake of damaging report
The first African-American police chief of Charlottesville abruptly retired Monday, about two weeks after a scathing independent review criticized his “slow-footed response” to violence at a white nationalist rally this summer.
Story
Religious conservatives defend Roy Moore
Conservative Christian supporters of former Alabama Judge Roy Moore are defending the U.S. Senate candidate against allegations of molesting a 14-year-old girl decades ago — and one of them used the biblical story of Mary and Joseph to rationalize an adult being sexually attracted to a minor.
Story
VUU fires football coach
Coach Mark James has been fired after four productive seasons as Virginia Union University’s head football coach. The question now is, “Why?”
Story
Obama-Trump: Great contrast
President Trump defines his administration as against all things Obama. Beneath his insults, outrages, lies and antics is a remarkably consistent attempt to undo his predecessor’s entire legacy. With Republicans in total control of the White House and Congress, President Trump can dismantle much of what former President Obama accomplished, but he ultimately will fail to overturn President Obama’s legacy. President Obama had the right moral compass; President Trump’s reaction will not be sustained. Consider the contrast: President Obama passed health care reform, enabling 20 million more people to afford health insurance. The centerpiece of his Affordable Care Act was the expansion of Medicaid to cover more than 10 million low-wage workers and their families.
Story
Some Richmonders on edge following national tragedies
Like many Americans, people around the Richmond area are dazed and distracted, saddened and angered after two mass shootings last weekend in Texas and Ohio left 31 dead and dozens of other wounded.
Story
Faster legal sales of marijuana snuffed out; Black advocates cheer
The rush to start legal retail sales of marijuana next September has been snuffed out.
Story
Answers to COVID-19 questions
With eligibility for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine expanded to children ages 12 to 15, and updates to mask mandates nationally and statewide, the Free Press has gathered answers from experts to common questions about these new developments:
Story
$8.3M RPS mystery
Meeting next month between School Board, City Council and Mayor’s Office to see what happens next
An $8.3 million surplus in the Richmond Public Schools’ budget that was disclosed during a recent Richmond City Council meeting is nothing out of the ordinary, according to Richmond School Board Chair Dawn Page.
Story
Council members concerned about latest utility rate hikes
Like a steady drip, drip, drip, the cost of utility services is continuing to rise in Richmond at a double-digit pace, outpacing inflation and raising concerns among some about affordability.
Story
Officials warn of e-cigarette dangers as vaping illnesses, deaths mount
When cases of lung disease linked to vaping began popping up across the country this summer, the Virginia Poison Center in Downtown began receiving calls from people who thought they might have become ill from using e-cigarettes.
Story
NSU wins bragging rights after Battle of the Bay
Terrance Ervin is among the most successful quarterbacks in state high school football history. Now it seems he has carried that winning spirit to the college campus.
