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Dean of nation’s black preachers dies
Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, widely considered the dean of the nation’s black preachers and “the poet laureate of American Protestantism,” died Sunday, April 5, 2015, after a ministerial career that spanned more than six decades. He was 96. “Dr. Taylor was a theological giant who will be greatly missed,” the Rev. Carroll Baltimore, past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, said of the minister who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
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VUU women’s coach resigns; men’s coach under evaluation
Barvenia Wooten-Cherry has resigned after five seasons as Virginia Union University women’s basketball coach. Her Lady Panthers were 9-18 overall this past season, 4-12 in the CIAA and advanced to the second round of the recent conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C. In accepting Coach Wooten-Cherry’s resignation, VUU Athletic Director Joe Taylor applauded her for her efforts, but noted that college coaching is a bottom-line occupation. “Off the court, Coach Wooten-Cherry did a lot to assure it was a good experience for her players,” said Taylor. “But at this level, it’s about wins and losses.”
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City Council approves 2016 budget, cuts funds for 379 vacant positions
Call it the big shrink at City Hall. Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond City Council have combined to eliminate funding for at least 379 vacant jobs, essentially positions funded by taxes paid into city coffers
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NBA draft procedures changed the luck of the teams
Long before the NBA draft was determined by dancing Ping Pong balls, a.k.a. the weighted lottery, it was based on something less dicey — U.S. geography. Between 1949 and 1966, the “territorial draft” was imposed as a way of ushering elite talent to pro clubs nearest their college fan bases — or in one special case, their hometown.
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Plenty of jobs, not enough workers
Commission recommends aligning training with opportunities
Talk about a huge surprise: Four job openings exist in Richmond for every job seeker in the city, according to government data. In fact, more jobs in the city go begging for qualified workers than anywhere else in the Richmond region, which overall has 1.5 job openings for every job seeker, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated in its December report.
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‘We need to rebuild, renew and refocus,’ Emancipation Day speakers say
One after another, speakers at the 75th Annual Emancipation Proclamation Day Worship Celebration at Fifth Baptist Church in the West End passionately implored listeners to get involved in community betterment. Lynetta Thompson, president of the Richmond Branch NAACP, drew shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah” when she said, “Black churches, we need your help. We need for you to be a voice for the voiceless,” she stressed. She urged audience members to step outside the walls of the church to perform community service and become active in groups such as the NAACP that work for social change. The Bible, she said, has more than 300 verses speaking to seeking social justice and helping the poor.
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Chaise Johnson eyeing options after Steward School
Like many star high school guards, Chaise Johnson has speed, court smarts and a keen shooting eye. Unlike most, he also has a former NBA first-round draft choice as his longtime tutor. The Steward School all-time scorer credits Cory Alexander — San Antonio’s first-round draft pick in 1995 — with advancing his development.
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VSU’s new power player: Cannon
The most appreciated gifts are often those you never saw coming. Trenton Cannon has been Virginia State University’s surprise package this football season. A sophomore transfer from Shepherd University in West Virginia, Cannon didn’t create so much as a ripple in the Trojans’ preseason prospective.
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Herring to run for re-election, not for governor
Mark Herring enjoys his job as Virginia’s attorney general. That’s why the state’s top legal officer announced Wednesday that he would seek re-election for a new four-year term in 2017 rather than going after the top job of governor.
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Leroux shines on U.S. women’s soccer team
Talent plus controversy equals Sydney Leroux. The 25-year-old striker figures heavily into the main plot — and subplot — for this year’s Women’s World Cup soccer tournament.
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To improve schools, let’s work together
The success of Richmond Public Schools, its students, and its families is critically important to the City of Richmond and will be a top priority in my mayoral administration. Voters in 2016 made it very clear that they want their leaders to prioritize education, and that they want to see public officials collaborate to support schools.
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President Obama commutes sentences of more than 500 nonviolent federal offenders
President Obama used some of his final hours in the White House making good on his promises to help imprisoned nonviolent federal offenders get a second chance. He commuted the sentences of more than 500 federal prisoners. More than a dozen Virginians, including two from Richmond, were among those covered by one of two commutation packages issued by President Obama last week as he and his White House team were packing their bags after eight years of national leadership.
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Petersburg City Council chooses new leader
W. Howard Myers is out and Samuel Parham is in as the mayor of Petersburg. Foiled in his effort to gain a second term, 5th Ward Councilman Myers nominated Mr. Parham to be Petersburg City Council’s presiding officer at a time when the city continues to face severe financial challenges.
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Religious leaders celebrate denial of easement for Dakota Access pipeline
Native American and other religious leaders called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision on Sunday to deny an easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline an answer to prayer.
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While athletes speak out, Trump drops ball
Donald Trump is a political commentator’s dream in the usually news-challenged weeks of late summer when we’re looking for someone to complain about.
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‘Nobody had to wonder whether she would accept the outcome’
Richmond resident and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who was tapped to be Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate, introduced her Wednesday before her concession speech. His wife, Anne Holton, former Virginia secretary of education, was by his side:
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Mayor-elect Stoney plans to be ‘hands-on, visible, transparent’
As he looks forward to becoming Richmond’s next mayor, Levar Stoney is planning to be more visible after he takes office. As he puts it, he wants to be a “hands-on, visible and transparent mayor who can be a champion for accountability, measure outputs and inputs and, at the end of the day, say that the buck stops with me.”
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Battle of quarterbacks as VUU tackles Bowie State on Saturday
Virginia Union University’s football defense has sprung a leak at a most inopportune time — with Bowie State University’s explosive offense coming to Richmond. The Panthers are reeling from a woeful 54-21 loss at Chowan University in North Carolina in which the host Hawks rang up a whopping 631 yards total offense.
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Federal appeals court upholds right of city employees to express opinions on social media
Police officers and other government employees do not completely surrender their First Amendment rights when they go to work.
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Ben Carson: A never-ending nightmare
When Ben Carson emphatically declared that he has no government experience that would qualify him to run a federal agency, most took this to mean that he would quietly fade from public attention. We should have known better.
