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Huguenot senior hurdles to state champion
Huguenot High School senior Shaunté Harris has a passion for fashion. But if there’s one thing she relishes more than a sporty, chic look, it’s running the high hurdles — an event famous for its thrills — and also its spills. Therefore, don’t be surprised to see Harris wearing distressed denims to school, rather than a trendy shirtdress. “My legs aren’t the nicest,” she says with a wide smile. “I’ve taken plenty of spills, lots of hard falls. My legs have cuts and scratches. It kind of never stops.”
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Lawsuit over disabled access to apartments ruled premature
A federal judge has thrown out a high-profile lawsuit seeking to force a new apartment complex going up in Church Hill to be altered to accommodate persons with disabilities. Senior U.S. Judge James R. Spencer ruled the suit was premature because the 151-unit Shockoe Valley View Apartments is still under construction in the 1900 block of Cedar Street.
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Armstrong alumnus returns as football coach
If at first you don’t succeed, McDaniel Anderson will be quick to tell you to “try, try again.” The 64-year-old native Richmonder never gave up in his quest to become a head football coach for a city high school. His perseverance finally has been rewarded.
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‘Created Equal’ film series begins April 23
A new edition of “Created Equal,” a documentary movie series focusing on civil rights and social justice, is ready to launch at the Virginia Historical Society, it has been announced.
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City’s new CAO
In her seven years of managing the City of Suffolk, Selena Cuffee-Glenn has garnered serious attention for turning the once nearly bankrupt city into a job magnet with a triple A bond rating. Mayor Dwight C. Jones hopes that she will be equally successful in Richmond.
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Video of police a game changer
Feidin Santana is a hero. He is the young Dominican immigrant who videotaped former North Charleston, S.C., police officer Michael Slager firing his gun eight times, killing an unarmed Walter Scott. Mr. Santana’s quick decision to videotape the unfolding action on his telephone led to the arrest of Mr. Slager for murder.
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Evangelist Creflo Dollar drops pitch for jet
The ministry of a prominent Georgia megachurch pastor and evangelist who teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches has dropped a pitch for donations to buy a luxury jet valued at more than $65 million. The website of Creflo Dollar Ministries no longer features a message asking followers to “Sow your love gift of any amount” to help buy a Gulfstream G650 airplane. That message has disappeared.
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Personality: Arlette J. Teele
Spotlight on Queen of Purple Pumps Chapter of The Red Hat Society
Arlette J. Teele founded the Purple Pumps Chapter of the Red Hat Society with the goal of bringing women in the Richmond area together “to greet middle age with verve, humor and élan.” At chapter gatherings, members are colorfully attired in red hats and wear purple shoes, whether they are cowgirl boots, purple heels or purple flip flops as the occasion dictates.
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VUU expects to name coaches next week
Virginia Union University is continuing its search for women’s and men’s basketball coaches. Panthers Athletic Director Joe Taylor said he hopes to announce the women’s coach by Tuesday, April 21, when VUU holds its Athletic Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. at the Henderson Center on campus.
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Spring football shows off offenses at VUU and VSU
Offense and optimism are the key words following Virginia Union and Virginia State universities’ spring football games. Under second-year Coach Mark James, VUU’s offense routed the defense 80-36 in the annual Maroon and White intrasquad game April 11 at Hovey Field. VUU’s Shawheem Dowdy, a 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer from Grambling State University, tossed six touchdowns passes. Kenneth Graham, VUU’s quarterback most of last season, is still rehabilitating from knee surgery and was held out of the game.
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Oklahoma deputy charged with manslaughter
A white reserve sheriff’s deputy in Oklahoma was charged with manslaughter Monday in the death of a black man who he fatally shot as he lay on the ground. Tulsa County, Okla., prosecutors filed a second-degree manslaughter charge against 73-year-old Robert Bates, a reserve deputy with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
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$1.1M needed for new voting equipment
Richmond is hoping to borrow voting machines to use in the upcoming June 9 Democratic primaries. At the same time, the city voter registrar is seeking more than $1.1 million from the city government to buy new voting equipment to use in the November general election. The city is one of 30 localities facing an emergency situation involving voting machines. The upheaval is the result of Tuesday’s action by the state Board of Elections decertifying the WINVote touch-screen machines that the 30 localities have used in their elections for 10 years. The board’s action essentially bans the use of the WINVote machines in any future elections, including the June 9 primaries that will be held in Richmond and nine other localities.
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Teachers, police make impassioned plea for more $
Put more money into public education. Provide better pay for police officers. Advocates for both gave Richmond City Council members an earful at a public hearing Monday night as the governing body considers amendments to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ two-year budget. Whether their appeals are successful remains to be seen, but the council may have little wiggle room. The budget plan council members are reviewing provides virtually no new revenue over the current year’s spending, limiting the governing body.
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Jack Gravely new NAACP interim executive director
Jack Gravely last led the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP as executive director more than three decades ago. This week, Mr. Gravely began a second stint with the organization, this time as interim executive director. “I know this is a different era, but we still face some of the same issues along with some new ones, and I have the same passion to lead this organization to address them,” Mr. Gravely said Wednesday. He takes over from King Salim Khalfani, who was pushed out by the board in early 2014 after serving in the post for 15 years.
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VUU’s Sheals reassigned
Virginia Union University is again searching for a head basketball coach. VUU Athletic Director Joe Taylor confirmed Wednesday that Tony Sheals, who was hired under a three-year contract, has been reassigned within the university following one season. Derek Thompson, a member of Sheals’ staff, has been named interim coach while VUU pursues a permanent replacement. Thompson is now handling day-to-day operations, Taylor says.
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Black men still targets of police
Walter L. Scott shot 4 times in the back; cop charged with murder
Four bullets to the back and one in the ear. That’s the unimaginable pain an unarmed Walter L. Scott suffered as he was fatally gunned down by white police officer Michael T. Slager as he ran away following a routine traffic stop. The gruesome slaying was graphically recorded on the cellphone of a bystander Saturday morning in North Charleston, S.C. It is the latest in a string of highly publicized incidents across the nation — including Ferguson, Mo., New York City and Cleveland, Ohio — in which white police officers have killed unarmed black men. Each instance raises questions — and public consciousness — about disparate treatment by people of color by police and racial injustice in the United States. Mr. Slager was charged with murder Tuesday and fired from the police department after the video surfaced. He is being held without bond. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty or life in prison.
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Natural gas price down again in city
Natural gas customers in Richmond are enjoying another plunge in the price of the fuel they use to heat their homes, cook and generate hot water. For the third time in eight months, the city is passing along savings to residents for the price it is paying to buy and bring the fuel to Richmond.
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Fulton oral histories to be accessible on the Internet
Stone Brewery is unwittingly giving a helping hand to people who want to call attention to historic Fulton. The brewery’s decision to locate its East Coast home in Fulton is focusing public attention on the area and potentially raising interest in the once African-American community that was bulldozed into oblivion nearly 45 years ago in the name of urban renewal. That’s good news for those who are now engaged in posting on the Internet interviews with people who knew the area before the community was razed. The interviews with former residents are being digitized and soon will go online with help from the Valentine Richmond History Center and Virginia Commonwealth University’s library system, according to Spencer E. Jones III, chair of the Legacy Committee of Greater Fulton’s Future.
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11% tuition hike
NSU and U.Va. among state’s highest
Once again, the price tag to attend Virginia’s 15 state-supported colleges and universities is going up faster than inflation. In-state students can expect to pay at least 3 to 5 percent more in the fall, with a few schools going even higher. For example, Norfolk State University and the University of Virginia are posting a tuition-and-fees increase of 11 percent for incoming freshmen — among the largest tuition hikes in Virginia. U.Va. is imposing a $1,470 increase for new freshmen with the aim of raising money to reduce borrowing for students from lower-income families. The increase means new freshmen will pay $14,468 for the fall and spring semesters, not including room and board. Tuition for current students will rise only 3.9 percent from the current charge of $12,998.
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The U.S. flag flies once again over the city of Richmond on April 3, 1865, proclaiming Union victory over Confederate forces in the city and …
Published on April 10, 2015
