Story

N.C. A&T wins Celebration Bowl
On a football scale of 1 to 12, North Carolina A&T State University is a 12. The Aggies finished the season 12-0 with a 21-14 victory over Grambling State University of Louisiana last Saturday in the third annual Celebration Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Story

Political control of House will come down to lucky draw
A drawing from a hat will decide control of the Virginia House of Delegates. That random draw will determine the winner of the 94th House District in Newport News — and with it whether Republicans retain a 51-49 majority in the 100-member chamber or whether the chamber becomes evenly split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, requiring a power-sharing arrangement.
Story

Mayor to use fellowship resources to help preserve Richmond’s slavery history
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney is pledging to use a national fellowship he was awarded to help make Richmond a major destination for learning about America’s slavery past.
Story

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to buy NFL team?
Could the “emperor of hip-hop” be preparing to inject some color into the whites-only ranks of NFL football team owners?
Story

Stallings family gets building permit for St. Luke project
It took eight months, but Wanda Stallings and her development team now have a city building permit to begin the renovation of the historic St. Luke Building in Gilpin Court.
Story

City challenged to find $ for new school buildings
The likelihood that City Hall will rush to build new school buildings under a plan the Richmond School Board is advancing appeared to dim at an Education Compact meeting Monday with Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Richmond City Council.
Story
Preserving slave district is an ‘ethical imperative’
Re ‘Opponents fear Main Street Station plans will run over slave memorial,’ Free Press Nov. 30-Dec. 2 edition:
Story

Zero tolerance needed for racism
Michigan Congressman John Conyers was the first politician to leave his job after the “Me Too” hash tag galvanized women to speak up about sexual misconduct, harassment and more.
Story

A model for advancement
Over the last decades, many American inner cities have seen an economic resurgence. Buoyed by millennials and people’s desire to shorten their daily work commute, neighborhoods and communities that were all but pronounced dead two decades ago now find themselves flush with new businesses and residents.
Story
The club is closing
Note to the ol’ boys: The club is closing. We’re talking about the club whose members are being outed daily for their reprehensible behavior of sexually harassing and assaulting women.
Story

It’s a 3-peat!
Highland Springs High School wins third consecutive state football title
Highland Springs High School’s talented and determined football Springers have done it again. The Eastern Henrico County squad, aka the “Beast of the East,” is Virginia’s 5A football champion for a breathtaking third straight season. Finishing the season 14-1, the Springers three-peated on Sunday, Dec. 10, with a decisive 40-27 victory over Tuscarora High School of Leesburg at Hampton University’s Armstrong Stadium.
Story

Sophomore Ikechi Chantilou gives spark to George Wythe squad
It almost feels unfair. Ikechi Chantilou is so quick, so athletic. And he’s only a sophomore. On a senior-laden George Wythe High basketball squad, it’s hard taking your eyes off Chantilou, a whippet-lean, 6-foot-3 guard-forward seemingly with rockets on his sneakers.
Story

Jackie Robinson fêted for football too
When football fans file into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day, they’ll be greeted by an exciting addition — a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Jackie Robinson.
Story

Rev. Curtis W. Harris, civil rights activist, 1st black Hopewell mayor, dies at 93
The Rev. Curtis W. Harris Sr. devoted his life to battling the racism and bigotry that oppressed African-Americans in Hopewell and across Virginia.
Story

Simeon Booker, ‘dean of black journalists,’ succumbs at 99
Simeon S. Booker Jr. never lived in Richmond during his nearly 100 years on Earth. Still, at the height of his career, it seemed he was always in town somewhere.
Story

Gov. McAuliffe, end new Jim Crow voter suppression tactic
Imagine a wonderful parting gift from Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Imagine if Gov. McAuliffe put an end to Virginia’s strange and inexplicable participation in a GOP voter suppression trick that reeks of Jim Crow. Since 2013, this stealth voter purge program has cost tens of thousands of Virginians of color their right to vote. It’s called Interstate Crosscheck.
Story
Story
REAL LIFE Community Center extends jail program into the city
Amid his preparations to leave office, Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. opened a new nonprofit center in Downtown this week aimed at helping people address addiction, anger and other challenges to enable them to stay out of jail.
Story

Former Highland Park supermarket appears slated for a Family Dollar
A former supermarket in Highland Park appears to be on track to become the next Family Dollar location. S&K Supermarket has been closed since late summer. The property where it was located, 1404 E. Brookland Park Blvd., now has a new owner, Twin Rivers Capital of Charleston, S.C., that seeks property for Family Dollar and other national companies.
Story
Why is Hampton leaving MEAC?
Re “HU exits MEAC for Big South Conference,” Free Press Nov. 22-25 edition: