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Mask mandates dropped on all public transportation
GRTC riders no longer have to wear masks when they board a bus. Neither do travelers taking airplanes, trains or any other form of public transit.
2nd Street Festival returns to Jackson Ward
Marking its 35th year, the 2nd Street Festival returns Saturday and Sunday in historic Jackson Ward.
June 16 deadline approaching for absentee ballot applications
Early voting in the upcoming Tuesday, June 23, primary is underway. Rule changes are making it fairly easy to vote absentee ahead of Election Day in the contests to choose Democratic and Republican nominees to run for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
VSU marching band is 3rd in the nation, ESPN says
Virginia State University’s Trojan Explosion Marching Band is named one of the best HBCU bands in the country, according to newly released rankings by ESPN. The band is ranked third in the Division II/NAIA category in ESPN’s HBCU Band of the Year rankings posted by HBCU Gameday.
NASA names Hampton center for Katherine Johnson
Katherine G. Johnson, the pioneering Virginia woman whose key role in America’s early space missions was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures,” has received a new honor. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton dedicated a new building last Friday named for Mrs. Johnson.
JMI, VSU summit dips into global issues
Best-selling author Bakari Sellers, former Google exec Jewel Burks-Solomon among speakers
Bakari Sellers’ 2020 memoir “My Vanishing Country,” is filled with delicious morsels that stay with readers long after they’ve been digested.
Former astronaut Mae Jemison celebrates silver anniversary of historic space flight
Twenty-five years ago, astronaut Mae Jemison was the first woman of color to travel into space. The Alabama native who was raised in Chicago entered Stanford University at age 16, earning a degree in chemical engineering before going to Cornell University Medical School. She worked as a medical officer in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone before joining NASA and the space program in 1987.
YWCA’s 2023 Outstanding Women Awards
Since 1980, YWCA Richmond has honored more than 300 women leaders for their achievements and contributions in the Greater Richmond area.
Goodnight, sweet Prince
Fans in the Richmond area and around the world are listening to their favorite Prince songs, watching his iconic movie “Purple Rain” and partying like it’s 1999 in memory and honor of the pop icon who died Thursday, April 21, 2016, in his hometown of Minneapolis.
Civil rights coalition to hold pre-inaugural march in D.C. on MLK weekend
The Rev. Al Sharpton, head of the National Action Network, has announced that a coalition of civil rights and advocacy organizations will lead a march and rally at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 14 — less than a week before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Kobe Bryant's legacy felt in Richmond, around the world
Purple and gold-themed tributes of praise have sprung up as Richmond and communities in Virginia and around the world recognize the life and accomplishments of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won five NBA championships during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Putting women on the map
National Center of Women’s Innovations selects Dr. Gladys B. West as inaugural honoree
Dr. Gladys B. West, the African-American mathematician whose mapping of the world enabled Global Positioning System (GPS), was chosen by the newly launched National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI) as its inaugural “Forgotten Women Innovator.”
Dems pull out big guns to energize virtual convention for Biden
Democrats launched the third day of their virtual national convention on Wednesday, with headliners broadening the focus from a multipart rebuke of President Trump to an energizing message of change in boosting former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential bid.
No jail
U.S. Supreme Court overturns corruption convictions of former Gov. McDonnell
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell insisted that he never sold his office in exchange for the $177,000 in loans and gifts that a businessman seeking to promote a dietary product showered on him and his family.
VMI appoints Black interim superintendent amid shakeup
The Virginia Military Institute has selected a retired U.S. Army major general to serve as its interim superintendent amid a leadership shakeup that followed a newspaper article describing allegations of persistent racism at the school.
Main pool at Randolph closed, awaiting repair
Randolph Pool in the near West End, one of seven outdoor pools the city operates, has been out of commission for nearly three weeks, leaving swimmers frustrated, including neighborhood children seeking to cool off.
Project Yoga Richmond closes its doors
After 12 years, Project Yoga Richmond is closing its doors. The nonprofit hosted its last classes in September, including the final Saturday Salutations at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Sep. 24.
Free summer meals sites available throughout Richmond area
Now that school is out for the summer, where can families find free breakfast and lunch for their students who enjoyed such meals when classes were in session?
Free Press announces new hires, summer interns from Stanford, VCU
Managing editor Bonnie Newman Davis recognized during Black journalists convention
The Richmond Free Press continues to expand, with two summer interns helping to cover some of the most important topics for the Richmond community and longtime contributors joining the staff in a full-time or extended capacity.
VUU receives $6M grant from Dominion Energy; names new trustees
Virginia Union University has been awarded a $6 million grant from Dominion Energy to enable the school to beef up its offerings in science, technology, engineering and math and improve its campus.
