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Dems need winning formula
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel just got spanked. Despite a campaign war chest of more than $15 million and the support of President Obama, the former congressman and White House chief of staff could not avoid a runoff in the non-partisan election. Garnering 45 percent of the vote to runner-up Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s 34 percent, he did not clear the 50 percent bar for victory. Mr. Emanuel, the darling of the mainstream Democratic Party, has earned the dubious distinction of being in the first Chicago mayoral runoff in nearly 20 years. He also runs the risk of being the first incumbent mayor ousted since Harold Washington beat Jane Byrne in 1983.
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The GOP’s acting-the-fool dynamic
Among the formal definitions for “acting the fool” is: One who is deficient in judgment, sense or understanding. Perhaps the dictionaries should add a new one: Today’s Republican Party. February was a great month for those who think the GOP has become a dustbin of ideological extremists with no commitment to actually getting things done in Washington, elected officials easily led into ethically questionable dealings, and office-holding crackpots with bizarre beliefs about some of the most important issues of the day.
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Whipping up war, disrespect
If we needed further proof of the Republican disrespect shown to President Obama, the nation witnessed the latest insult Tuesday with the visit of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, where he addressed a joint session of Congress. His appearance was at the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican who flouted protocol and decency by neither consulting nor informing the White House first.
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Virginia State University’s interim President Pamela V. Hammond and her husband, Gary John Hammond, celebrate VSU’s win over Lincoln University for the women’s title
Published on March 5, 2015
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General Assembly ends with stronger ethics law
Virginia’s 2015 legislative session is over. Lawmakers adjourned last Friday after passing legislation at the last minute aimed at tightening the state’s ethics rules for public officials and curbing sexual assaults on Virginia’s college campuses. The ethics reform proposal puts a $100 cap on gifts lawmakers can accept — including meals, entertainment and travel — from lobbyists and their clients, or others seeking to do business with the state. Lawmakers were spurred to reform the state’s ethics rules following the conviction last year of former Gov. Bob McDonnell on federal corruption charges.
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Personality: Dana A. Kuhn
Spotlight on founder of nonprofit that helps ill afford medications
Dr. Dana A. Kuhn understands the terrible toll expensive chronic illnesses can take on families and their loved ones. “While providing counseling for families, I observed their emotional, psychological and financial struggles,” the Midlothian resident says. “One family I counseled was forced to live off of one income because one parent had to become their child’s primary caretaker. “They had to sell their home and eventually divorced so their child, whose condition continued to worsen, could qualify for health care under Medicaid. Not only did they lose their child, they were financially ruined. No family should experience that.”
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VCU Rams on the road at Davidson
Not so long ago, Virginia Commonwealth University basketball was sailing along smoothly. Now the Rams have hit choppy waters. Agonizing, back-to-back losses at the University of Richmond (67-63 in double overtime) and at home against the University of Dayton (59-55) have knocked the Rams out of the national poll and the Atlantic 10 Conference lead. VCU enters its Thursday, March 5, date at Davidson College in a must-win situation regarding the league’s regular season title and with a first-round A-10 Conference tournament bye in question. Only the top four institutions receive byes into the tournament quarterfinals.
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Livingstone wins CIAA men’s championship
For decades, Livingstone College’s Blue Bears were little more than commoners in CIAA basketball. Today, they’re kings. In fact, the Blue Bears now have a second crown to wear atop their first one. The jump shooters from Salisbury, N.C., are back-to-back tournament champs after blitzing Winston-Salem State University 106-91 in last Saturday’s CIAA title game at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.
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Former Va. first lady sentenced to prison
Former Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell broke a two-year silence on her role in the federal corruption case that rocked Virginia and sent shockwaves across the nation. Fighting back tears, she read from a prepared statement during her sentencing hearing last Friday before U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.
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Pastor gets the boot
Parson departs amid Richmond Christian Center’s move to survive
More than a year after filing for bankruptcy, the Richmond Christian Center is gaining a fresh shot at survival after seizing financial power from founding pastor Stephen A. Parson Sr. The pastor, who launched RCC in his living room more than 31 years ago, is no longer a member of the church’s ruling Board of Trustees and has been stripped of control of the church’s bank account.
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For the orange and blue
Virginia State University appears to be headed on the right track with the addition of interim President Pamela V. Hammond. In just over 30 days at the helm, Dr. Hammond, a nurse educator from Whistler, Ala., has raised nearly a half-million dollars for the historically black institution in Ettrick. And the Virginia General Assembly is poised to shore up VSU’s student need-based financial aid with a $950,000 infusion written into the state budget for 2017.
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VCU retires Burgess’ number; Graham hopes to be next
In its storied basketball history, Virginia Commonwealth University has retired the numbers of five players. Their jerseys now hang from the Siegel Center rafters. They are No. 3 Eric Maynor, No. 5 Calvin Duncan, No. 22 Gerald Henderson, No. 23 Kendrick Warren and, just this past Saturday, No. 20 Bradford Burgess. Sometime in the future, look for Treveon Graham’s No. 21 to be among the rafters display. The Rams’ foes probably wish the university would retire Graham’s jersey right now, preferably with Tre in it.
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Personality: Clarence M. Dunnaville Jr.
Spotlight on Hill-Tucker Public Service Award winner
Clarence M. Dunnaville Jr. loves to converse about his more than six decades as an attorney and change agent involved in civil rights. He has stories about the many icons he has met and worked with during that time. “I was involved in so many things through the years,” the engaging 81-year-old Chester- field County resident says. “I was always moving on, trying to make things better.” Mr. Dunnaville is among a special cadre of African-American attorneys who waged important legal battles against discrimination and forever changed the nation’s landscape.
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Political pilgrimage to Selma
Ninety-five members of Congress will make a civil rights pilgrimage to Alabama next week. The delegation of House members and senators will spend Friday, March 6, through Sunday, March 8, in Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma and Marion for the 50th anniversary of the historic voting rights marches in 1965. President Obama will join them March 7 in Selma to commemorate “Bloody Sunday,” when state troopers attacked marchers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to Montgomery to demand voting rights for African-Americans.
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UR chooses Ronald A. Crutcher as next president
For the first time in the 185-year history of the University of Richmond, the new head of the private liberal arts college that borders Richmond and Henrico County will be an African-American. Dr. Ronald Andrew Crutcher has been named as the 10th president of the university. The announcement was made Monday at the institution founded in 1830.
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Mayor to propose $35M to fix schools
Mayor Dwight C. Jones will propose spending $35 million to pay for major fixes for Richmond’s decaying school buildings when he delivers his two-year budget plan to City Council. While the mayor is keeping mum, Norman Butts, the city’s chief financial officer, disclosed at a City Council committee meeting Mayor Jones’ plan to address school maintenance in the budget he is scheduled to present Friday, March 13. Mr. Butts, who is involved in the budget preparation process, described the impending proposal as “a high priority” for the mayor.
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Grassroots effort mounts to keep Bedden
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden interviewed Wednesday for the superintendent’s job in snow-covered Boston and prepared to meet Thursday with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. The Boston School Committee is expected to name its top choice for the job early next week, according to reports. Meanwhile, a growing number of Dr. Bedden’s supporters in Richmond are continuing their efforts to convince him to stay and lead the aggressive RPS turnaround effort he began after becoming the struggling school district’s superintendent in January 2014.
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Mo Alie-Cox: VCU’s big man in paint, on court
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Mo Alie-Cox is a 3-D basketball performer. He stands out for his defense, dunks and dreadlocks. The imposing 6-foot-6, 255-pound sophomore from Northern Virginia is a prime reason the Rams began the week tied for first atop the Atlantic 10 Conference standings. Answering to “Mo-nan the Barbarian,” Alie- Cox sparkled in each VCU win over George Washington University, including the Rams’ 79-66 win Feb. 14 in the nation’s capital.
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The evolution of Malcolm X
“You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it.” ~ Malcolm X, Letter from Mecca, April 1964 Perhaps no American civil rights leader has generated as many divergent opinions as Malcolm X. As we near the 50th anniversary of his assassination on Feb. 21, 1965, our nation will scrutinize his life, his work and his lasting impact on our country and our continuous struggle to address racial inequality and its heinous consequences.
