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Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr., pastor, author and former president of Virginia University of Lynchburg, dies at 80
The private Virginia University of Lynchburg was teetering on collapse when Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr. left the pulpit at Riverview Baptist Church in Richmond to respond to a call to save his undergraduate alma mater.
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Troubled Essex Village apartments sold, renamed
Essex Village, once labeled Henrico County’s worst apartment complex, is now in the hands of a successful African-American property investment and development firm based in Baltimore.
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Woman raises concern over fees charged by court
In the world of local courts that seems to have an endless list of fees and costs, one thing has always been free: Subpoenas and summonses for witnesses in a criminal case. However, a recent incident has left a Richmond woman concerned that the policy has changed in Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
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City Council approves creation of Civilian Review Board
Richmond Police officers hit with complaints could soon have a civilian panel reviewing the details. Monday night, City Council capped two years of debate by voting unanimously to approve the creation of a Civilian Review Board, rejecting calls for delay from advocates disappointed at the limited role the eight-member group will have.
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City Council signals support for plans for American Rescue Plan money
As Mayor Levar M. Stoney proposed, four community recreation centers will get a major chunk of the $155 million flowing into Richmond’s treasury from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
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Gone!
After more than 100 years, the statue of Confederate ‘Stonewall’ Jackson on Monument Avenue comes down
Goodbye, “Stonewall” Jackson.
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Father’s Day
What wisdom did your father instill in you?
Father’s Day will be celebrated Sunday, June 19, with people across the country grilling, baking cakes and cookies and buying ties for the man who has a special place in the hearts and lives of their family. In honor of fathers everywhere, the Free Press put the following question to several people
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A box office KO: ‘Creed III’ debuts to $58.7M
“Creed III” punched above its weight at the domestic box office in its first weekend in theaters.
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Protecting the right to vote
Voting is not a privilege. It is a fundamental, constitutionally ratified right afforded to all eligible citizens. The right to elect your federal, state and local representatives and weigh in on proposed local policies via ballot is the very definition of democracy — rule by the people.
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Only $21M to rename military bases?
I’m glad that no one saw my stunned deer-in-headlight face after I recently read an editorial regarding the quoted sticker-price of $21M for renaming our military bases, but believe it or not, I do have a suggestion!
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Trump and ‘Medi-scare’
Maybe Donald Trump really believes his hype about the “lying media.” That might explain why his effort to produce a commentary longer than a tweet contains enough falsehoods to have fact checkers working overtime.
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Council raises percentage of vehicle tax owners must pay
Richmond vehicle owners can expect to see bigger personal property tax bills for their cars and trucks this year.
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Spartans hoping for long shot win over JMU
Norfolk State University’s football role has quickly switched from clear favorite to distant long shot.
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Civil War was about ‘secession, not slavery’, says reader
Marc H. Morial, in excoriating Nikki Haley, parrots the tiresome myth of American history by claiming the Civil War (which it was not, by definition) was “about” slavery, quoting slavery as one among the reasons for the secession of the Southern states.
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Students turn to TikTok to fill gaps in school lessons
Mecca Patterson-Guridy wants to learn, but for some subjects, she isn’t always comfortable asking her teachers. So she has been turning to TikTok.
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Virginia’s pandemic benefit program to issue school meals to limited households
Virginia students who were absent from school from September to October last year due to COVID-19 can now receive free school meals.
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Begin Again
City Council majority strikes $1.5B Coliseum and Downtown development project, urging the administration to start over with public inclusion
Start over — and this time include the public. That’s the cry from the five members of Richmond City Council who followed through Monday night in eliminating the $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and Downtown redevelopment plan, just as they said they would do when the nine-member governing body met last week as a committee.
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New book asks: What if Harry Potter attended an HBCU?
It all began with a post on Twitter. It was 2020 during the height of the pandemic and LaDarrion Williams was thinking about the lack of diversity in the fantasy genre. He proposed: “What if Harry Potter went to an HBCU in the South?”
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Flying Squirrels’ GRASP program seeks VUU, VSU applicants
The application process is underway for the $5,000 Richmond Flying Squirrels “34” Scholarship. .
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Plans to use city schools for day care program break down
Talks between City Hall and Richmond Public Schools over using five school buildings as day care sites have broken down.
