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Urban garden’s reach grows deeper into city’s ‘food deserts’
An urban garden that started out selling fresh produce and fruit at discount to two Richmond convenience stores will grow to serve 13 stores by this summer. But Tricycle Gardens wants to be more than a fresh food provider for Richmond’s food desert pockets. The nonprofit farm wants to be a magnet for grocery stores and farms in those pockets by highlighting the demand for fresh foods. “We want to show there’s a vibrant food community,” said Tricycle Gardens project manager Claire Sadeghzadeh.
Warriors capture second state crown
Henrico High School has steered into basketball’s fast lane and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Coach Vance Harmon’s heavy-on-the-pedal Warriors sped to their second state title in three years March 14, blitzing Norview High School of Norfolk, 78-64, for the Virginia High School League’s 5A crown. Henrico High has reached three straight state finals and boasts arguably the commonwealth’s top college prospect in junior Monte Buckingham. With the one-sided win over Norview, Henrico finished the season 28-1.
Rams win Atlantic 10; head to NCAA West
The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams regained their rhythm in New York, winning four games in four days for their first Atlantic 10 Tournament title. Now the Rams must hope their “reward,” a cross-country trip to the NCAA, won’t throw them out of sync again. VCU, 26-9, is seeded seventh. They play Big 10 Conference member Ohio State University on Thursday, March 19, in the NCAA West Region game in Portland, Ore. Ohio State, 23-10, is the 10th seed.
Public safety on front burner in mayor’s budget plan
Mayor Dwight C. Jones is proposing to pour millions of dollars into wage increases for city employees, most notably police officers and firefighters. He also wants to equip the police with body cameras and modernize the 911 emergency communications system at a cost of more $50 million.
Controversial call shoots down victory for Lady Justices in semifinals
Seven was indeed a lucky number this winter for John Marshall High School girls’ basketball, and a most unlucky number for the Justices’ foes. Quality trumped quantity for the school on Richmond’s North Side. With a bare bones roster of seven, the Justices came within a referee’s controversial call of reaching the State 3A final. “We were seven strong,” said Coach Travis Richardson, Class of 1998. “Our motto was ‘Seven deep, no sleep.’ “We were determined not to rest until we achieved our goals.”
Former VCU basketball star Lamont ‘Monty’ Knight, 54
Richmond’s Thomas Jefferson High School and Virginia Commonwealth University basketball fans remember Lamont C. “Monty” Knight as the silky smooth guard who lit up the scoreboard with his high-hanging jump shot. He also could light up a room with his warm smile. Mr. Knight was an All-Metro player under Coach Dave Robbins at Thomas Jefferson High.
Personality: Coach Willard J. Coker
Spotlight on the Bulldogs’ inspiring championship leader
When people get slapped down, they have two basic options. They can accept their sad fate, throw a pity party, curse at the world and stay on their backsides. Or they can bounce back. George Wythe High School Coach Willard J. Coker is a bouncer.
George Wythe wins championship
Maliek White wore George Wythe High School basketball jersey No. 1 and Brandon Holley wore No. 2. Together, they formed a knockout combination that lifted the South Richmond team to its first state championship in the school’s 55-year history.
True winners
Congratulations to the city’s and region’s scholar-athletes and their coaches who already have made February-into-March Madness a basketball season to remember! Their hours of practice and discipline on the court have translated into victories in state and conference championships that have thrilled basketball fans across Virginia and beyond.
‘Do Something’ awards presented this weekend
Twenty-one people will be honored this weekend for their impact on the Richmond community. The honorees will be presented with the first “Do Something” awards from two nonprofits, The Disciples Journey and The Dream Makers Academy. The goal of the awards is “to create an awareness of organizations and people who are making a difference and to move others to take action,” said Ervin Johnson, founder and director of the two organizations.
Local input sought on Shockoe Bottom
Wanted: Community involvement in creating a new development plan for Shockoe Bottom. An activist group is seeking public input now that Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ plan for a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom appears to be going nowhere. The mayor’s combo baseball-development plan has been on hold for 10 months after failing to win City Council support. The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, which battled the mayor’s plan as an effort to erase the history of slavery in Richmond, announced it would hold several brainstorming sessions in the next few days to solicit public suggestions for the historical and commercial development of Shockoe Bottom, an epicenter of the slave trade before the Civil War.
George Wythe High driving toward state championship
In 1975, Willard Coker was an up-tempo, high-energy guard who led Winston-Salem’s R.J. Reynolds High School to the state championship in North Carolina. Now, 40 years later, Coach Coker — still brimming with energy — is close to winning another high school state title state, this time as coach. Coach Coker’s fast-breaking George Wythe High School Bulldogs were playing unbeaten Spotswood High School of Rockingham County in the State 3A finals at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center at press time for the Free Press on Wednesday, March 11. The Wythe Bulldogs improved to 25-4 on Tuesday, March 10, by cruising past Northside High School near Roanoke, 78-57. Coach Coker “let the Dogs out” at just the right time for peak perfection.
Selma march inspires Richmonder
Rita Willis said she was overcome with emotion when she reached the top of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., late Sunday afternoon. “I just broke down and cried,” the 65-year-old Henrico County resident said. Ms. Willis was among the tens of thousands of people from across the nation — including President Obama, his family, dignitaries and foot soldiers from the time — who assembled in Selma last weekend to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody
Ferguson’s double message
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s Ferguson investigation offers plenty for both sides of this dispute to hate. Seven months after the shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by former white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson sparked national protests and a #BlackLivesMatter movement, U.S. Justice Department sleuths found enough evidence to let the cop off the hook but indicted the criminal justice system in which he worked. That’s enraging to Michael Brown’s family and many protesters nationwide who wanted to see Mr. Wilson prosecuted. But the evidence kept pointing the other way, said Mr. Holder, who would hardly be called an apologist for police abuse or racial profilers.
Churches battling Selma’s ongoing problem — poverty
The world’s eyes were again on this small Alabama city, the epicenter of the voting rights battle 50 years ago. However, the crippling poverty that faith and community leaders grapple with daily was largely overlooked amid the commemoration of the long ago fight to end the exclusion of black people from the ballot box. For those who live here, the big march and the powerful words of President Obama were a passing moment with little impact on conditions. As Pastor Reginald Wells put it in considering the spotlight that Selma has been in, “We’re not benefiting. Oprah (Winfrey) was just here. They just filmed the movie ‘Selma’ here and the world is enjoying Selma” this weekend.
VCU opens March 12 in Atlantic 10 Tournament
The chase is on as Virginia Commonwealth University heads to Brooklyn, N.Y. VCU is trying to run down its first Atlantic 10 basketball title, while Rams senior Treveon Graham remains in pursuit of the university’s all-time scoring record. The more the Rams win, the greater Graham’s chances. VCU, 22-9, opens A-10 tournament play 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, against the play-in survivor between George Mason and Fordham universities.
Bedden to stay in Richmond
“Everyone should check your emails,” Richmond School Board member Jeffrey M. Bourne eagerly alerted his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon prior to a hastily called board budget meeting. The six other board members in attendance then quickly turned to their hand-held electronic devices and scrolled to an email sent to them by Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden at 5:07 p.m.
Home sweet home?
Trailer park under pressure for repairs
Is the city on a code enforcement witch hunt to force vulnerable Latino citizens and other poor people to move from their mobile homes, which are for many a residence of last resort? Or are code enforcement officers merely fulfilling their duties by issuing a plethora of violations to residents at selected mobile home parks they deem hazardous to ensure they upgrade their homes for safe habitation? The answer depends on whom you ask. This week, officers from the city’s Bureau of Permits and Inspections began trailer-by-trailer inspections at the 106-unit Mobile Towne Mobile Home Park off Old Midlothian Turnpike. Mobile Towne, like many of the city’s eight other mobile home parks, has a large Latino population.
VSU women bring home CIAA crown
Virginia State University’s women’s basketball team picked the right time and right place for its best basketball of the season. The Trojans not only won their first CIAA tournament since 2002, they won in a blowout, routing Lincoln University 73-49 at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena. In the semifinals, VSU drubbed Shaw University 69-47, denying the Bears a shot at a fifth consecutive crown. Now VSU will carry an overall 20-9 record into the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament. Pairings will be announced March 8.
Crutcher hailed as new UR president
The historic nature of the appointment of Dr.Ronald A. Crutcher as the next president of the University of Richmond was not lost on people attending last Friday’s public ceremony at the Robins Center to welcome him to campus. Dr. Crutcher, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher, and their adult daughter, Sara, received a standing ovation from the audience of about 1,500. The Cincinnati native, renowned classical cellist and president emeritus of Wheaton College in Massachusetts is the 10th president and the first African-American selected to lead the private, liberal arts university, which was founded in 1830. He will succeed current President Edward L. Ayers on July 1.
