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Tiger at 40
Ten days after Tiger Woods turned 24, he picked up his 16th career PGA Tour victory by beating Ernie Els in an epic battle at Kapalua.
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VUU hosts annual Community Leaders Breakfast Jan.15
The 38th Annual Community Leaders Breakfast honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held 7:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center at Virginia Union University, 1500 N. Lombardy St. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Robert M. Franklin Jr., president emeritus of Morehouse College.
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Personality: Robert N. Barnette Jr.
Spotlight on board chairman of Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration
Robert N. Barnette Jr. says he was inspired to accept the position as board chairman of the Richmond-based Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration after reading “Billion Dollar Divide,” a report by the Justice Policy Institute in April 2014. “I wanted to lend my voice to a worthy cause,” he says.
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Dr. Frances C. Welsing, 80, renowned psychiatrist best known for her views on the origins of white racism
Dr. Frances Cress Welsing used her platform as a psychiatrist in the nation’s capital to battle white supremacy. Dubbed the “Queen of Black Consciousness,” she won attention for her views on white racism, including her assertions that white racism is because of a deficiency of melanin, the pigment that darkens skin, and that white people oppressed black people out of fear of black domination.
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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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27% Black-owned businesses gain from Stone Brewing project
Black contractors have quietly played a big role in the development of the Stone Brewing Co.’s new East Coast brewery off Williamsburg Avenue in Fulton, according to city records. For example, Glen Allen contractor Dwight Snead and his employees prepared the land for construction, the city Office of Minority Business Development (OMBD) report shows.
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RRHA resident’s chilly 3-year ordeal
For the past three years, Tina Marie Shaw has had to rely on an electric space heater to keep the winter cold out of her public housing unit in Creighton Court. “I worry about the heater starting a fire,” said Ms. Shaw, who looks after her 9-year-old grandson, Xavia, her pride and joy and an honors student at a Richmond elementary school. To avoid risk to herself and the child, “I unplug (the heater) at night when I go upstairs to bed, and turn it on in the morning.”
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Real ‘Woman of the Year’
Jannie Ligons is an Oklahoma City grandmother who left a friend’s house to drive home. She collided with Daniel Holtzclaw, the rogue police officer who seemed to think it was part of his duty to sexually abuse black women. He raped them because he could. They did not accuse him because they feared they could not. Some of the women had criminal records — they had been involved with drugs or had other skirmishes with the law. They felt both vulnerable and violated, and they thought nobody would believe them.
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RVA New Year’s Eve party at Siegel Center
Will Richmonders pay ticket prices ranging from $20 to $30 for general admission and $50 for VIP seats to attend the community New Year’s Eve celebration at its new location at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center? We’ll know soon enough.
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War veterans wanted for writing project
The Mighty Pen Project teaches military veterans how to best write the stories of their wartime experiences. The class “is open to all Virginia veterans and civilians alike at no cost, and will focus on furthering the craft of writing about the experiences of war, the warrior’s life, the home front and the military family,” according to organizers.
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Sign’s messages inspire passers-by
Motorists slow down and often do double takes as they drive by Chicago Avenue Baptist Church on South Side. The reason: The church at 2331 Broad Rock Blvd., led by Dr. Marlon Haskell, features lots of creative, eye-catching messages on its sign display.
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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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‘Meadowlark’ Lemon
Harlem Globetrotters star dies at 83
In winter 1960, an advertisement appeared in the Waynesboro News-Virginian announcing the Harlem Globetrotters were coming to town.
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Sister of Seattle’s star has star power of her own
It’s no surprise Anna Wilson is having a sensational senior year in high school playing basketball. The surprise is that she’s playing on America’s West Coast instead of in Richmond’s West End.
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Personality: Bruce S. Richardson Sr.
Spotlight on winner of VHDA’s Service to Virginia Award
“Equal access is paramount,” declares Richmond Realtor Bruce S. Richardson Sr. of providing access to homeownership to all people.
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Bill Cosby posts $1M bond after sex crime arrest
Bill Cosby was charged Wednesday in Pennsylvania with sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 after plying her with drugs and alcohol. The arrest marks the only criminal case against the once-beloved performer whose father-figure persona has been damaged by dozens of misconduct accusations.
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Cleveland police officer not indicted in fatal shooting of Tamir Rice
National civil rights leaders are expressing disappointment and calling for new policies after a Cleveland grand jury on Monday refused to indict the police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice only seconds after encountering him with a toy gun.
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CAO scraps plan to use energy savings for upgrades
Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration has killed a plan to use energy savings to finance critical improvements to more than 30 aging city buildings, the Free Press has learned. The city’s chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, quietly made the decision in the past few weeks. She did so after Siemens, the company the city hired to provide a detailed proposal, offered to undertake $13 million in improvements to city buildings that would be repaid over time from savings the city achieved from cutbacks in electricity and natural gas use.
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Longtime Broad St. business to close
For 70 years, Moore’s Auto Body and Paint Shop Inc. has been a fixture at 401 W. Broad St. But that is about to change as one of the city’s oldest African-American-owned businesses prepares to close. Owner Jesse Moore, 71, disclosed Monday that he has sold the nearly quarter-acre property and will shut down the auto body operation there at the end of the month.
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Energy industry vital to climate change, economic opportunities
Under the leadership of President Obama, the United States has taken unprecedented action to begin addressing climate change one of the biggest issues facing our time. Through advancements in new technologies, environmental initiatives and cleaner energy resources, our country already has greatly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
