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Richmond’s new police chief details plans to deter crime, build community outreach, be transparent
After a nationwide search, Richard “Rick” Edwards’ interim position as Richmond’s police chief became permanent when the 24-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department was sworn in July 24 as the city’s 21st police chief.
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Smoke and mirrors
Last week, City Hall pulled back from installing a “burn building” where firefighters could train in handling simulated fires on 2-acres of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side.
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Handling extremism, by Dr. E. Faye Williams
At one time we could confidently turn to the U.S. Supreme Court for relief from extremist behavior that attempted to take away rights we already had or rights we were fighting to achieve. Today, unfortunately, we experience extremism in so many areas of our lives.
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FTC hindering Black economic achievement, by Julianne Malveaux
The Biden administration has been pushing hard for credit for its significant economic successes. Coining the phrase “Bidenomics,” the term is meant to direct attention toward the administration’s striking successful economic agenda.
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Virginia NAACP responds to traffic stop data
The Virginia State Conference NAACP (Virginia NAACP) acknowledges the findings of the 2023 Report on Analysis of Traffic Stop Data Collected under Virginia’s Community Policing Act. It continues to be alarming that Black drivers are 19.4% of the driving population but make up 30.4% of those who are stopped. The report findings are also alarming that Hispanic and Native American/Indian Americans also are stopped at a higher percentage than their population.
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VCU Rams score victories in Greece
New VCU basketball Coach Ryan Odom is piling up the miles on his “Odometer” before his first season begins.
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Simone Biles dazzles in her return from a 2-year layoff to dominate the U.S. Classic
Simone Biles spent two years trying to distance herself from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it.
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Down Home Family Reunion is ‘Bringing the World Home’
The 32nd Annual Down Home Family Re- union will bring music, dance, stories, food, shopping and enrichment to Jackson Ward’s Abner Clay Park on Saturday, Aug. 19. Presented by the Elegba Folklore Society, this year’s cultural arts festival highlights “A Celebration of African American Folklife.”
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Summer sounds visit Highland Park
The St. Elizabeth Catholic Church Jazz & Food Festival bills itself as blending traditional and contemporary jazz with great food in a Christian, family-oriented atmosphere.
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‘He took the bait’
Kamala Harris pushes back over Florida’s new teachings on slavery
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, facing heavy criticism for defending “anti-woke” teaching in Florida, this week teed up an unusual proposal to the nation’s first Black vice president: Come debate the merits of the state’s new curriculum on African-American history.
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Henrietta Lacks’ family settles lawsuit with biotech company
More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks’ cervical cells without her knowledge, a lawyer for her descendants said they have reached a settlement with a biotechnology company that they accused of reaping billions of dollars from a racist medical system.
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Personality: Jessica B. Brooks
Spotlight on Peter Paul Development Center board chair
Four years ago, Jessica B. Brooks joined the board of the Peter Paul Development Center after hearing her husband speak of the East End facility’s positive impact during his youth.
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Dr. Cora S. Salzberg, a state, national and international champion of education, dies at age 81
Dr. Cora Slade Salzberg, a leader in promoting higher education in Virginia and the leader of The Links’ national program aimed at aiding underachieving K-12 students to become more successful in school, has died.
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Music week features folk, hip-hop, jazz, metal, pop, rock, R&B and more
Entertainment will be in the spotlight during the first ever Richmond Music Week.
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Meade clears Byers for takeoff
If Jada Byers is the leading man at Virginia Union University, then Justin Meade represents the powerful supporting cast.
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Goldman prepares to sue over casino
In mid-June, Richmond City Council voted 8-1 to select RVA Entertainment Holdings LLC as its preferred choice to operate a resort casino in the city — setting the stage for a second attempt to win city voter support for a gambling operation that was defeated two years ago. However, political strategist Paul Goldman believes the no-bid award to the company could violate a provision of the state constitution as well as the Virginia Public Procurement Act. He said he is preparing a lawsuit to test whether the city was required to go through a bidding process before making what amounts to a perpetual right for that company to operate the casino.
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
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Feeling the heat
Local libraries, other facilities offer relief for some
It’s been a record-breaking hot summer and, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, July was the world’s warmest month ever recorded.
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Richmond Electoral Board to reverse course
The Richmond Electoral Board is preparing to retreat from its controversial and evidently illegal plan to eliminate two early voting sites for the upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 7, general election, one at Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side and the other at City Hall. Hit by strong backlash after the vote last month to shutter those sites as well as a stern, official legal opinion stating the action violated state law, the Republican-led board already has scheduled a special meeting for Friday, Aug. 4, to reverse course.
