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Failure to deliver: Residents describe litany of problems hampering basic mail service
Jean Morris is tired of having the Forest Hill Post Office refusing to deliver packages to her South Side residence. Donna Royster is fed up with not receiving any of the letters her grandchildren keep sending her from Hawaii at her East End apartment.
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Councilwoman to challenge Stoney for mayor, sources say
For months, City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, has been the only person mentioned as a possible opponent to Mayor Levar M. Stoney in his November re-election bid.
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Personality: Alycia Wright
Spotlight on Cultural Roots Homeschool Cooperative’s director, founder
Alycia and Steven Wright began homeschooling their children about a decade ago. While their two eldest daughters attended Richmond Montessori School — Alexandra until the fourth grade and Jordan for kindergarten — their younger daughters, Kennedy and Stevie, have always been homeschooled. Mrs. Wright says because there is no separation between learning and education, the family is able to be “life learners with no limits.”
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Brother Biden, please keep another promise or two, by Julianne Malveaux
I do this thing in my head with President Biden. When he gets on my nerves, I often call him President. When I want something from him or want to thank him for something, I call him Brother Biden.
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Rift grows between School Board and City Council over Wythe replacement
A Richmond city councilwoman is calling on the School Board to halt its effort to retake control of school construction and to come to the table with city officials “to create a process that everyone can support.”
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Tom Joyner, the 'hardest working man in radio,' retires
The “fly jock” and “hardest working man in radio” has hung up his microphone.
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Richmond Public Schools losing budget director during critical season
Richmond Public Schools is losing one of its chief budget architects as the School Board and Superintendent Dana T. Bedden prepare to kick off their budget negotiations for fiscal year 2017 with Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond City Council. Betsy Drewry, RPS director of budget and planning, will leave her position Friday, Feb. 5, to become director of budget and finance for Prince George County, she told the Free Press at Monday’s School Board meeting at City Hall. Ms. Drewry is exiting after 18 months in the position. She was the Prince George school system’s budget chief for 14 years prior to coming to Richmond.
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Michigan Wolverines greet screaming fans after victory over Washington Huskies
The national champion Michigan Wolverines returned home Tuesday night to thunderous applause and screaming fans following their 34-13 victory over the Washington Huskies.
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Calling out global anti-Blackness, by Julianne Malveaux
In Los Angeles, City Council President Nury Martinez resigned both her council presidency and later her seat after someone leaked vile racist sentiments that she shared with members of a Latinx cabal that included other council members, Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo.
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History maker
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would be only the third Black justice to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Wednesday took her first steps on her history-making journey to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Starting as a pastor in the midst of a pandemic
“I never imagined I would start my ministry in the midst of a pandemic,” Dr. Joshua L. Mitchell said.
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Tyre Nichols’ family sues Memphis Police over beating, death
The family of Tyre Nichols, who died after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers, sued the officers and the city of Memphis on Wednesday, blaming them for his death and accusing officials of allowing a special unit’s aggressive tactics to go unchecked despite warning signs.
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President Obama’s memoir off to record-setting sales start
Former President Barack Obama’s memoir, “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the United States and Canada in its first 24 hours, putting it on track to be the best selling presidential memoir in modern history.
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Personality: Fattah Muhammad
Spotlight on community activist and founder of RACE
Fattah Muhammad began marching in the streets of several North Side and East End neighborhoods in 1980 to help end violence plaguing these communities and encourage cooperation with Richmond law enforcement.
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The Dolezal debate
The curious story of Rachel Dolezal has transfixed the nation, as though we are passing by a mirror and looking at ourselves. In a sense, we are. We are peering into the racial reflection of the nation and discovering what truths and lies are beneath the surface.
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Shawn Jackson’s mother calls for community unity
On Thursday, Feb. 29, day four of the Huguenot graduation shooting trial, Amari Pollard, 20, accepted a plea deal. Mr. Pollard pleaded guilty to one charge of first degree murder and one charge of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of Huguenot graduate Shawn Jackson. Mr. Pollard was not charged for the murder of Renzo Smith, Mr. Jackson’s stepfather, who was also killed during the shooting chaos. Mr. Pollard was sentenced to 43 years with 18 years suspended. After 25 years, Mr. Pollard will be eligible for release.
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Shout out to those who deliver the Free Press to friends and neighbors
I would like to send out a special thank you to the informal volunteers who pick up the Free Press from boxes and newsstands and deliver it to friends, neighbors and others each week.
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Elkhardt’s closing signals harsh reality for mayor, City Council
Elkhardt Middle School is a fresh reminder of the increasingly shabby and dilapidated condition of most of Richmond’s school buildings — a condition that the mayor’s office and City Council have yet to seriously address despite repeated reports and warnings in recent years. Set to be shut down this Thursday night, with students, teachers and staff moving 10 miles north across the James River into the vacant Clark Springs Elementary building, Elkhardt on South Side reflects the stark reality the city is facing — the need to provide big money to keep Richmond’s school buildings usable, a reality that no longer can be papered over with rosy talk about bike races, baseball stadiums and football training camps.
