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Dress for Success’ fundraiser slated for Friday
Volunteer models will strut their stuff on a runway in dazzling outfits designed with donated clothes at the third annual “Dress for Success” fundraising fashion event. The evening of fashion fun begins 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 17.
Players of color in Flying Squirrels lineup
By gallantly breaking baseball’s color line, Jackie Robinson opened doors for talented young athletes not only in America, but everywhere. Since April 15, 1947, the date Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, doors have swung open at baseball organizations from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles to include players of color. The diversity of talent was visible on April 15 in Richmond, where the Flying Squirrels celebrated Jackie Robinson Day-Education Day at The Diamond and took on the visiting team from Altoona, Pa. The Squirrels, the Eastern League farm club of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, have no African-American players.
Police chief to hold town hall meetings
Police chief to hold town hall meetings Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham is making a greater effort to hear from the public.
Hicks touts improvement in city social services
Reports of child abuse and neglect in Richmond are being addressed more quickly. City children in foster care are spending less time in temporary homes. And applicants for Medicaid and food stamps are receiving faster service.
Comedy show to highlight anniversary
Fifth Street Baptist Church on North Side is presenting a comedy show this weekend as part of its 20th anniversary celebration for its pastor, the Rev. F. Todd Gray, the church has announced. “The Captain’s Comedy Hour” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at the Grace Center at 1302 Victor St. The center is adjacent to the church at 2800 Third Ave.
When Freedom Came, Part 3
The Free Press presents a series chronicling the black experience during the liberation of Richmond in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.
Flying Squirrels start season with fireworks at The Diamond
Play Ball!
“And the rocket’s red glare; the bombs bursting in air ...” Those are lyrics in “The Star Spangled Banner,” played before every Richmond Flying Squirrels game. The words also describe the postgame fireworks planned at The Diamond this season. The Flying Squirrels’ home opener Thursday, April 9, against the Bowie Baysox will conclude with “dueling fireworks,” pyrotechnics launched from two locations.
Tests cheat students out of education
Eleven Atlanta teachers have been convicted of altering student test scores on standardized tests. They are charged with racketeering and conspiracy. The much-celebrated superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, the late Beverly L. Hall, was among the indicted but was too ill to stand trial. She died March 2.
‘Havoc’ to continue under Will Wade
Among Shaka Smart’s first duties upon becoming Virginia Commonwealth University’s basketball coach in 2009 was to hire Will Wade as an assistant. Smart referred to Wade as “my first hire.” After Smart’s resignation for the head coaching job at the University of Texas last week, among the first moves the VCU administration made was to hire Wade as head coach for the Rams.
Personality: Christian P. Dundas
Spotlight on volunteer coordinator of Hoops for Health
Christian P. Dundas says he came up with the idea for a 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club in Church Hill three years ago when he was playing recreational basketball. It was about the same time the NCAA Tournament, known as “March Madness,” was underway. “It dawned on me … why not our own version of March Madness at the club?” Mr. Dundas recalls thinking. He suggested the tournament for sixth- through eighth-graders at the club at 3701 R St., where he serves on the advisory council. Mr. Dundas says Dick Guthrie, also a member of the advisory council, suggested adding a community health festival to the tournament. Hugh Jones, the club’s executive director, rubber-stamped the idea and asked Mr. Dundas to organize the first event. The rest is history.
Petersburg jail closure to cost taxpayers $
Instead of saving money, the closure of the Petersburg Jail will cost city taxpayers at least $1.2 million extra each year, a Free Press analysis has determined. Figures from Petersburg’s government confirm the newspaper’s finding that closing the jail is more expensive than keeping it open, belying claims from Mayor W. Howard Myers and three other council members who supported the jail’s shutdown. That extra cost is embedded in the proposed budget that Petersburg City Manager William E. Johnson III presented recently to the seven-member Petersburg City Council. His proposed budget also provides no raises for city employees and no increase in city contributions to the public schools.
Police brutality : ‘I will not tolerate it’
Chief talks tough on expectations of officer conduct
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham minced no words about how he won’t tolerate brutality and excessive use of force by officers under his command. “I’m going to tell it like it is. If there is riffraff in my department and you’re wearing a gun and a badge, you’re gone,” he told an audience of about 50 people at a public forum Tuesday night at Richmond’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. “I will not tolerate it.” At this second “Peeps and Police Community Conversations” attended by mostly elderly and middle-aged adults, Chief Durham said that “several officers were disciplined” recently after they mishandled a situation inside a resident’s home. He did not elaborate.
When Freedom Came, Part 2
The Free Press presents a series chronicling the black experience during the liberation of Richmond in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.
3 Dems knocked out of primary races
Three potential contenders for Richmond area seats in the General Assembly have been knocked out at the starting gate — at least temporarily. Former Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey and Dr. Derik E. Jones, son of Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, are among the disqualified. Both were blocked from challenging state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in a Democratic primary in the 16th Senate District that stretches from Richmond to Petersburg.
‘Bloody, but unbowed’
U.Va. student beaten by ABC agents; Gov. McAuliffe orders all agents retrained
The photo of Martese Johnson lying dazed, bloodied and bruised on the pavement is almost iconic. Blood streams like huge tears from the gash on his forehead and covers his face. His shirt is saturated with blood. The gruesome image of the University of Virginia honors student was captured in photographs and by video only seconds after he was slammed to the ground by state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents outside a Charlottesville bar last week on St. Patrick’s Day. The images, posted on the Internet, have gone viral — drawing fire from people across the nation as yet another example of unwarranted police brutality unleashed against a young black male.
Missed opportunity
Talk about a missed opportunity to put Richmond in the spotlight. We are talking about the celebration next week of the liberation of our city from the grip of slave power and the human oppression that was taken for granted since the nation’s founding. This should be a huge event. After all, Richmond was at the epicenter of a dramatic struggle for the soul of America. For four terrible years, the question of whether a flawed democratic nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal was debated in blood and cannon fire.
U.S. Colored Troops re-enactors to march into Richmond for 150th anniversary events
A four-day commemoration in Richmond organized by a coalition of organizations called The Future of Richmond’s Past will mark the 150th anniversary of the liberation of Richmond, ending its role as the epicenter of the slave trade. A major highlight will be the “Blue Coats Parade,” starting 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 4. It is a commemorative procession along East Main and Bank streets from Rockett’s Landing to the State Capitol to follow the route of the United States Colored Troops who led the Union Army in liberating Confederate-held Richmond. Re-enactors will march west along East Main Street, follow 14th Street to Bank Street and enter Capitol Square along 9th Street between 10:30 and 11 a.m. Contemporary military units will join the procession.
VCU falls in nail-biting overtime to Ohio State
Working overtime in the everyday world helps pay the bills. By contrast, working overtime in college basketball carries no guarantees and can often break your heart. For the second straight year, Virginia Commonwealth University trekked across the country only to lose its first-round NCAA Tournament game — in overtime — to an under-seeded foe. This time, it was to Ohio State University, 75-72, in Portland, Ore.
Hampton Pirates defeated in NCAA second round
Confronted by superior forces, Hampton University refused to surrender. The MEAC champions put forth a valiant effort — albeit in defeat — against intimidating, undefeated, top-ranked University of Kentucky March 19 in the NCAA Tournament’s second round. The HU Pirates actually led briefly in the early going, and played the Wildcats nearly even following intermission before bowing 79-56. The Pirates faced long odds and long players.
Three candidates vying for 74th House District nomination
A three-way race is shaping up to replace former Henrico Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey in the General Assembly. David Lambert, son of the late Benjamin J. Lambert, a former state senator, officially became a candidate this week. He announced Tuesday that he would challenge two other contenders — Henrico School Board member Lamont Bagby and the Rev. Leonidas B. “Lee” Young II.
