Story
Story
Democracy should not be a partisan issue, by Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
While the United States champions democracy across the world, our own democracy is under siege. Nothing is more fundamental to democracy than the right to vote – yet there is no explicit guarantee of the right to vote in the U.S. Constitution.
Story
‘Defund the FBI’? Seriously?, by Clarence Page
Yes, I had to polish my eyeglasses and put them back on for a second look before I could believe what the always provocative and occasionally rational Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had just tweeted. In a takeoff on the Black Lives Matter slogan, she tweeted “Defund the FBI.” Cute. Barely a step ahead of other like- minded law- makers, the Georgia Re- publican went on to sell hats and other sou- venir merchan- dise online with the slogan, all in response to the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of her hero, former President Donald Trump. Although more than a dozen other Republicans publicly shared Rep. Greene’s sentiments, others, like Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, were not amused. Although he was “impressed Democrats finally got us to say, ‘Defund the FBI,’” he said sarcastically, the slogan “makes you look unserious, when you start talking like that.” On that, I agree. I have ex- pressed similar criticism of the original “Defund the police” sloganasitemergedamid global protests by the Black Lives Matter movement follow- ing George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020. Although apologists defended the slogan as a call for construc- tively rethinking policies that pile too many social service burdens on police, conservatives easily turned it into a call for softness on crime. Now, in another ironic twist, a disturbing number of Repub- licans are using it to call for softness on Donald Trump. After the FBI search at the Mar-a-Lago estate, many Trump supporters have turned a slogan they hate into one that they love, Clarence Page even at the cost of the GOP calls to “Support the police” and “Back the Blue” going back at least to Richard M. Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign. Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, whom I call Rep.Greene’s brother in shameless grandstand- ing, threatened to give “not one more damn penny” to the FBI and other such agencies. To which BLM tweeted back with “you are corny..... But we’ll work with you to defund and dismantle the FBI. Welcome to #DefundThePolice.” While most of the GOP’s establishment leaders stayed out of the fray, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Cali- fornia tweeted after the search, “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.” Thisisthesameleaderwho, during a Police Week speech in May, said “hateful rhetoric” and policies have helped create an “environment of rising crime and put our officers in danger.” The search came after Mr. Trump failed to comply with polite invitations to return clas- sified government documents he had taken to his home. Instead, he claimed to have declared the documents “declassified” without any documentation to back that up. That’s not how declassification is done, especially when you’re no longer president. Now we see some Republi- cans finding virtue in “Defund the FBI” as a rallying cry for Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) base. They’re hungrily looking for some solace amid the pile of scandals threatening their favorite potential candidate. So far, echoing Mr. Trump’s FBI attacks appears remarkably to be working, even in the wake of shocking revelations uncovered by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. After the committee took its summer break, a poll by The New York Times and Siena College showed Trump support had weakened. But after the search at Mar-a- Lago, a new poll by the Trafalgar Group and the Convention of States Action revealed more than 80 percent of Republican respondents said the feds’ action made them more motivated to vote in this November’s midterm elections. Regardless, our justice system is being tested in this case, along withourdemocracy.Let’stake our time and do it right. Our system of justice isn’t perfect but, for now, it’s all we’ve got. The writer is a syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune edito- rial board.
Story
Braves enjoy homegrown talent with Michael Harris
Rising star could be National League Rookie of Year
Major League Baseball teams toss their fishnets all over the globe in hope of landing talent. No distance is too far. Other times teams get lucky and find what they’re looking for in their own backyard.
Story
TJ goes against Armstrong in season opener
Thomas Jefferson High School football is a success story of which all Richmonders can be proud.
Story
Jackson State adds former NFL analyst, banner class of recruits
Deion Sanders is pulling out all the stops to bring an HBCU national football championship to Jackson State.
Story
Legal weapon
City’s plans for Ashe Center unlikely to win in court, says pro bono lawyer
City Hall would violate state and city laws if it moves to tear down the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center and sell the site without the permission of the Richmond School Board.
Story
Liberation Church’s intent is children’s learning center, not homeless shelter, says pastor
The founding pastor of Liberation Church is pushing back against a report that the city was considering placing a large homeless shelter on the site of the main sanctuary at 5501 Midlothian Turnpike. Founding Pastor Jay Patrick said the church never considered that idea.
Story
Story
NSU’s former president remembered
Dr. Marie McDemmond’s vision boosted university’s technology focus
Marie Valentine McDemmond, the first female president of Norfolk State Univer- sity and the first African-American woman to lead a four-year college in Virginia, is being remembered as a history-maker and educational visionary. Dr. McDemmond, who led NSU from 1997 to 2005 before illness led to her retire- ment, succumbed to cancer on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at her retirement home in Florida. She was 76. Her groundbreaking service to NSU and higher education was celebrated at a memorial service Saturday, Aug. 13, in Fort
Story
Federal transportation allocates $18M for Arthur Ashe Boulevard Bridge replacement
Transportation in the Commonwealth is getting a massive investment of federal dollars, as over $64 million in funding is set to be distributed across six different transportation projects and eight localities, with the goal of increased affordability, safety and connectivity for supplies.
Story
Richmond reduces charge for natural gas
The cost that Richmond customers must pay for natural gas is coming down, for now.
Story
VUU appoints director of global and online learning
Tunesha Witcher has been appointed director of VUU Global and Online Learning in the Division of Academic Affairs.
Story
A big deal
Let’s be clear. Your grocery bill won’t go down and your rent won’t drop because President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Action into law on Tuesday. But make no mistake, this legislation has all the earmarks of a big deal.
Story
Fearmongering, by David Marshall
During the Trump presidency, the pontiff continued to speak out. He said the president was “not Christian” because of his views on immigration and ought to extend protections to undocumented young immigrants if he is actually “pro-life.”
Story
Book has insight, no clear answer on Ralph Northam blackface yearbook photo
A Virginia author’s investigative effort to uncover the origins of a racist photo on Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page has ended inconclusively, according to the author, who has written a book that offers new details about the 2019 scandal and the former governor’s remarkable political survival.
Story
Charles Leno’s durable tackles, high rankings
If Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz is to be safe and successful in his first season in Washington, Charles Leno Jr. might be a top-of-the-list reason why.
Story
When tenants don’t pay, eviction is the price, says one landlord
Landlords are in trouble, too, according to Bobby L. McIntosh, who is in charge of 109 units in Richmond through his company, Bayside Properties and Management.
Story
Uncertain future
Richmond man says he’s being evicted after a lifetime of working and paying his bills
Phillip E. Brown Sr. is packing up his belongings as he faces being homeless.
Story
Breonna Taylor supporters relieved by charges against police
Ahmaud Arbery’s assailants receive second life prison sentence while a street is named in his honor
Louisville activists put in long hours on phones and in the streets, working tirelessly to call for arrests in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor — but it was mostly two years filled with frustration. They saw their fortunes suddenly change when the federal government filed civil rights charges on Aug. 4 against four Louisville police officers over the “drug raid” that led to the death of Ms. Taylor.
