Story
Movie screening to raise money for Sudan refugees
Virginia Commonwealth University is hosting a screening of the movie “The Good Lie” 4 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the VCU Commons Theater. The goal is to raise money to aid Sudanese refugees living in camps across the Sudan border in Gambela, Ethiopia, according to Manyang Reath Kher, founder and CEO of the Henrico County-based Humanity Helping Sudan Project. The group is organizing the fundraiser. An estimated 200,000 Sudanese now live in such refugee camps, Mr. Kher said.
Story
Stop the violence is plea from Richmond youths
These letters were written by young people participating in the Richmond Peace Education Center’s Youth Gun Violence Prevention Workshop this summer and submitted by the workshop’s lead facilitator, Alison R. Wilson.
Story
Richmond Christian Center to search for new pastor
The Richmond Christian Center is moving to replace its founding pastor, Steve Parson. Two months after emerging from bankruptcy, the fundamentalist South Side church announced Tuesday that it has begun a search for a new full-time pastor to be in place by July.
Story
Mayor seeks to change definition of emerging small business
For more than 15 years, City Hall has sought to use its purchasing power to boost start-up and fledgling companies, often with minority ownership, that generally bring in less than $500,000 a year in revenue and have 10 or fewer employees.
Story
City Council looks to ease zoning for homeless shelter locations
City Council this week took the first step toward lifting zoning restrictions that have largely limited homeless shelters to Downtown and low-income sections of the city.
Story
Plan collapses for South Side homeless shelter and services center
It’s back to the drawing board for City Hall and Commonwealth Catholic Charities in seeking a new space for a shelter and resource center for the homeless in Richmond.
Story
City Council approves use of Giles Center for winter overflow shelter
Homeless people once again will find shelter on bitter cold days at the Annie Giles Community Resource Center in Shockoe Valley, if they can get there.
Story
It must be Magic
Josh Harris is Commanders’ new owner, Earvin Johnson is team’s minority owner
Washington Commanders fans are already having a good time – 1,000 free beers can put folks in a party mood. Soon after it became official that Josh Harris was the franchise’s new owner, the private equity billionaire called radio station WJFK and ordered 1,000 brews for customers at Old Ox Brewery. “Hail to the Commanders, and drink up,” Harris told his radio audience.
Story
RRHA approves developer’s plans for Jackson Ward hotel
$35M project among largest awarded to a Black-owned firm
Michael A. “Mike” Hopkins is on track to achieve his 20-year-old dream of developing a hotel in Richmond.
Story
Retired pediatrician Dr. Cynthia Charity succumbs at 73
Dr. Cynthia Anne McClennon Charity sought to keep a generation of Richmond children healthy.
Story
Collard greens: Only $66 at Neiman Marcus
First, cultural appropriation Twitter police called out the popular food blog “Thug Kitchen” in 2013 when a 29-year-old white couple from Hollywood revealed themselves as the anonymous authors of the highly acclaimed blog written largely in black vernacular English.
Story
Enrollment begins Nov.1 for health insurance under Affordable Care Act
Open enrollment begins Tuesday, Nov. 1, for 2017 health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Although next year’s premiums are slated to rise, officials said Monday that a majority of Virginians shopping for insurance on the ACA marketplace could get health care coverage for less than $75 per month, based on a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Story
VSU Trojans to celebrate homecoming ‘Flash Back’
A gospel extravaganza, a hip-hop concert, a jazz event and appearances by singer TSoul, and comedian Mike Epps are among the highlights of Virginia State University’s 2017 homecoming celebration that kicks off this weekend on the Ettrick campus.
Story
Ground-breaking ceremony Saturday for VCU’s new inpatient children’s hospital
Workers are still tearing down the old mirror-faced Marshall Street Pavilion — once an outpatient center for children — on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Story
Trump changes course
President-elect Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to step back from running his global business empire to avoid conflicts of interest, as concern over his dual role mounts ahead of the Republican’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Story
Evicted
Richmond ranks No.2 nationally in displacing people from their homes and apartments by eviction
Marcel Slag has been fighting evictions for 28 years as a lawyer with Central Virginia Legal Aid and its now independent Justice Center.
Story
Study puts monetary value on good works done by U.S. religious organizations
Religion News Service Religion is worth $1.2 trillion a year to the American economy, according to the first comprehensive study of the question. “In perspective, that would make religion the 15th largest national economy in the world, ahead of 180 other countries in terms of value,” according to the study’s author, Brian J. Grim, president of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation and an associate scholar at Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project. “That would also make American religion larger than the global revenues of the top 10 tech companies, including Apple, Amazon and Google, or the combined annual revenue of the six largest American oil companies,” Dr. Grim said as he released the study Sept. 14 in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. Dr. Grim understands why the religious and nonreligious alike might look upon the exercise of valuing religion’s contribution to the economy skeptically. To put a value on the work of the nation’s 344,000 religious congregations representing all faiths, Dr. Grim looked at the schools, the soup kitchens, the addiction recovery programs and other activities they run and the programs’ impacts on local economies. He found that congregations and religiously oriented charity groups are responsible for 130,000 alcohol and drug abuse recovery programs; 94,000 programs to support veterans and their families; 26,000 programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and to support people living with the disease; and 121,000 programs to train and support the unemployed. They also operate more than 50,000 schools. He also determined that churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship employ hundreds of thousands of people and buy everything from flowers to computers to snow removal services. He believes the $1.2 trillion figure he came up with is a “conservative” valuation of the annual work of religious organizations in American society. Why crunch the numbers? Dr. Grim believes it is good to know the impact religion has on the nation. Dr. Grim also wants congregations and clergy — and the society that benefits from the charitable work— to appreciate the size of the contribution. In a country where people often hear much more about the evils committed by religious people — from sex abuse scandals to genocide — it’s time for some “balance,” Dr. Grim said. Even clergy often downplay the value of their work, said Ram Cnaan, director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cnaan, who attended the National Press Club presentation to help Dr. Grim unveil his work, said the study would allow the religious to take pride in their contributions. “This is a new day for the people who study congregations,” he said of Dr. Grim’s work, “The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” “This is the beginning of a national debate — not if religion is important but how much it is important,” Dr. Cnaan said. Dr. Grim said that secular organizations like the Red Cross and the Cancer Society and the host of other nonprofits certainly contribute generously to the social health of the nation. Indeed, he said if the work of the religiously motivated did not exist, “I don’t think we would see all the good of society disappearing. However, I think it would be significantly less.” William A. Galston, a Brookings Institution scholar and a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser who writes on religion and society, called Dr. Grim’s estimate of $1.2 trillion “a sensible number.” Dr. Grim’s paper, Dr. Galston said, can be used by religious organizations as “a credible calling card to get in the door” of policymakers who have too long undervalued their importance to society.
Story
Sharon Baptist Church building no longer for sale
Sharon Baptist Church in Jackson Ward is still on the market, according to a major Richmond real estate company’s website.
Story
Henrico County’s leaf collection starts Nov. 7
Henrico County will begin providing annual leaf collection services starting Monday, Nov. 7, with both free and paid options available for county residents.
Story
Fifth Street Baptist, Richmond Convention Center free Thanksgiving meal sites
Two free Thanksgiving dinners are being prepared for the Richmond community.
