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New business investments to add more than 1,200 jobs
More than 1,200 new jobs are headed to the Richmond area as the result of new business investments.

Artists Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui, whose projections on the Lee monument gained national attention, receive grant for new works
Richmond lighting artists Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui drew national attention 18 months ago in projecting the faces of Black thinkers, activists and victims of police violence nightly on the pedestal of the Lee monument on Monument Avenue.

Getting homes winter-ready
With El Niño returning for the first time in four years, Virginia could be in for a cold, snowy winter. Chill. Help is on the way.

Dr. Monroe E. Harris to lead VMFA board
Dr. Monroe E. Harris Jr., a Richmond oral and maxillofacial surgeon and avid collector of African and African-American art, has been elected president of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Board of Trustees.

President Obama inspires Class of 2020, adroitly criticizes current leaders for mishandling pandemic crisis
Hours after former President Obama delivered two measured and inspiring na- tional commencement speeches to the Class of 2020 college and high school graduates last Saturday, social media lit up with comments of “Great speech, Mr. Obama. We miss you!” and “That’s what a president should be like. November 2020 can’t get here soon enough.”

Class of 2020 has hope in President Obama
Could Barack Obama deliver a national graduation address to students? Stay tuned.

2 artistic directors join Virginia Repertory Theatre
Todd D. Norris and Rick Hammerly will join Desirée Roots, a Richmond-based jazz singer and actress, as artistic directors for the Virginia Repertory Theatre.

Youngkin appoints Lisa Coons as superintendent of public instruction
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday announced the appointment of Tennessee Chief Academic Officer Lisa Coons as Virginia’s 27th superintendent of public instruction. Dr. Coons’ appointment as the commonwealth’s chief school officer is effective Monday, April 17.

Smokey Robinson receives Gershwin Prize
An emotional and humbled Smokey Robinson received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song last week at a soul-stirring concert at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington.

The 2024 Virginia General Assembly begins and ends with record number of Black legislators
History was made last November with the election of a record number of Black candidates to the Virginia General Assembly.

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.

VCU Health’s Bridging the Gap program receives $5M grant for community violence intervention initiatives
Bridging the Gap, a VCU Health program geared toward community violence intervention at the bedside and in the community, was among six recipients of a $5 million grant to sustain the work of hospital-based community violence intervention programs (HVIPs) in Virginia.

Librarian of Virginia announces retirement plans
Search begins for her successor
The Library of Virginia Board will embark on a national search for the 10th librarian of Virginia after Sandra Gioia Treadway announced her intent to retire by the end of the calendar year. Dr. Treadway has spent 45 years with the agency.

DHR to administer preservation easement over Drexel-Morrell Center property
A permanent preservation and open-space easement has been established for the Drexel- Morrell Center, a historic property in Powhatan County that highlights the role of African-Americans in that area, and the life and contributions of American Catholic St. Katharine Drexel, founder of two now defunct African-American academies that were located nearby.

YMCA makes deal on Downtown building
The YMCA of Greater Richmond could become a model for nonprofits seeking to gain revenue from old buildings, while keeping them in operation.

State executioner who turned against the death penalty dies at 67
For 17 years, Jerry Bronson Givens carried out death sentences as Virginia’s chief executioner. The Richmond native then spent the rest of his life crusading against the death penalty.

Rep. John Lewis
A lion of the Civil Rights Movement and ‘conscience of Congress’ dies at 80
Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a lion of the Civil Rights Movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died late Friday, July 17, 2020. He was 80.

Winsome Earle-Sears wants Supreme Court to limit race-based admissions
Virginia’s Black lieutenant governor and the state Conference of the NAACP are sharply divided over affirmative action in higher education admissions.

It’s not over yet
Just days after the U.S. Senate acquits former President Trump, Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi files a lawsuit to hold him responsible for inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
One thing is for certain, there was no surprise.

Family dispute over Dr. King’s Bible, Nobel Prize medal ends
A Fulton County, Ga., judge has signed an order ending an ownership dispute over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s traveling Bible and Nobel Peace Prize medal that had pitted the slain civil rights leader’s two sons against their sister. The consent order signed Aug. 15 by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney says the items are to be released to Martin Luther King III as chairman of the board of his father’s estate, but does not indicate what will happen to them after that.