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VUU heads to first round of NCAA playoffs
Virginia Union University has been given the chance to scratch a 24-year football itch. But before the Panthers say can “ahh,” there is much work to be done.

Pivotal church versus state legal battle urged to proceed in high court
Missouri officials and a church embroiled in a closely watched dispute over public money going to religious entities urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide the case despite a pivotal policy change by the state’s Republican governor.

No more monuments to slave owners and Confederates
Letters to editor
On Monday, the Commonwealth of Virginia took another absurd step toward creating another space in Richmond to celebrate slave owners and Confederates.

Deadline May 30 for city storm drain art competition
The City of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities is seeking five artists who can paint a picture of the importance of keeping the James River, the city’s source of drinking water, clean.

Falwell urges students to pack pistols
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has urged students to carry concealed weapons on campus to counter any possible armed attack, saying that “we could end those Muslims before they walk in.” “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Mr. Falwell told students at the private Christian school Dec. 4. His remarks make him the first president of a Virginia college or university to urge students to arm themselves and put him among the first in the country to do so.

Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get

GOP candidate a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’
I was disgusted when I saw the Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, surrounded by Black folks at a recent news conference at Virginia Union University.

Playwright aims to open hearts and minds with premiere production
Brittany Fisher left her native Virginia for New York in 2021 to attend Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Now graduated, she is still based in New York, but she never stays away for long. Her family won’t let her.

Strange fruit?
Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site
The fight over the tree in the planned Maggie L. Walker plaza isn’t over. Gary L. Flowers, a Richmond native and national political and civil rights operative living in Jackson Ward, has jumped into the fray with a petition drive opposing the live oak that now dominates the gateway into Jackson Ward where the monument to the great lady is to stand.

Some striking UAW members carry family legacies
As Britney Johnson paced the picket line outside Ford’s Wayne Assembly plant, she wasn’t just carrying a sign demanding higher pay and other changes. Autoworker jobs have long been a pillar of the Black middle class in America, and the strikes and the fight for higher wages have had even deeper significance for workers like Johnson.

Va. student network criticizes colleges reopening for in-person learning
Virginia students have leveled several criticisms against state colleges that chose to reopen their campuses for the fall semester in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools are trying to get more students therapy. Not all parents are on board
Derry Oliver was in fifth grade when she first talked to her mom about seeing a therapist.

Rare Bible that went to moon up for sale
For the collector who has almost everything, there’s still a chance to own a Bible that literally was out of this world.

Orchestra, museum present sounds of black composers
The Richmond Symphony’s Big Tent concert series comes to Abner Clay Park for the first time on May 27 at 7 p.m. The free event in the recently renovated park features the music of noted black composers such as, Florence Price, Joseph Bologne (the subject of the recent film “Chevalier”), and Virginia resident Adolphus Hailstork.

State NAACP to hold “The Urgency of Now Rally” Feb. 12 at Capitol Square
The Virginia State Conference NAACP is urging people to rally in support of teaching Black history from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Bell Tower on the grounds of the State Capitol.

Our children pay the price
Editor’s note: The 65th anniversary of the historic Moton School student strike in Prince Edward County over

State may force city to replace voting machines
Richmond, Henrico County and 27 other localities might be forced to immediately buy new voting machines for use in upcoming elections. The reason: The state Board of Elections is considering banning the wireless touch-screen machines the city and the other localities successfully have used for 10 years.

State Fair of Virginia kicks off Sept. 23
The Spinners’ ‘one of a kind’ music among main stage acts
The State Fair of Virginia returns to Meadow Event Park Sept. 23 through Oct. 2 with activities focused on Virginia agriculture and forestry. The park is at 13191 Dawn Blvd. in Doswell.

Richmond area resident wins national publishing competition
Freelance writer Robin Farmer is set to release her first book, “Angel Dressed in Black,” in 2021 after winning a nationwide indie publishing contest.

Walmart, Target quit Thanksgiving shopping cold turkey; Black Friday still looms in the air
Forget about rushing out this year on Thanksgiving Day to get a jump on Christmas shopping. Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores Thanksgiving Day, ending a decade-long tradition of jumpstarting Black Friday door buster sales.