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Fight to preserve historic New Market Heights Battlefield from development wins white flag
Around 7 a.m., Sept. 29, 1864, five regiments of U.S. Colored Troops charged Confederate defenses under withering fire and dislodged troops dug in at New Market Heights in Eastern Henrico — about a mile east of what is now Interstate 295. Fourteen Black soldiers and two of their white officers ultimately were awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor in the savage fight that cost 161 Union lives and left another 666 soldiers wounded.
VCU receives $996,000 federal grant for gun violence prevention
A new program seeking to address Richmond’s recent rise in gun violence is in the works at Virginia Commonwealth University, with a new, nearly $1 million investment backing their work.
Charles ‘Baby Charles’ Jones Jr., promoter, manager and producer for entertainers, dies at 47
Charles “Baby Charles” Jones Jr. managed, promoted and produced recordings for new and up-and-coming singers and hip-hop artists during his 30 years in the entertainment field. But the Richmond native was proudest of his work guiding and mentoring the music career of his oldest son, Charles Jones III, better known as Young Prince Charles in the rap world.
Manchester sophomore Aiden Harris gives high sign to U.Va.
Aiden Harris is only a sophomore at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County, but already he knows where he’ll play college baseball.
PROC Foundation to host Derby Day Party fundraiser May 7
A huge tent will rise on the football field at the Bon Secours Training Camp for the return of the Derby Day Party, it has been announced.
High time for change
We call our readers’ attention to 4/20 — World Weed Day — and efforts toward equal and restorative justice for Black and brown communities that for decades have borne the brunt of the national “War on Drugs.”
New lease on life
Wize Shahid, aka Robert Henry ‘Wize’ Green, still seeks to help other inmates following his release from the Virginia prison system after more than two decades
It was in early January that the man formerly known as Robert Henry “Wize” Green learned he would be released from prison after serving more than 20 years behind bars.
Personality: Sharon S. Jennings
Spotlight on Virginia State Coach of GirlTrek
For the last six years, Sharon Simmons Jennings has helped put pep in the step of women throughout Richmond.
William Hugo Van Jackson Jr., musician and music educator, dies at 86
William Hugo Van Jackson Jr., a jazz performer who spread his love of music to thousands of Richmond students through his music teaching and directing of high school bands, has died. Mr. Jackson, who was living in Ellicott City, Md., died on Sunday, April 3, 2022. He was 86.
National Urban League finds State of Black America is grim
ATLANTA The National Urban League released its annual report on the State of Black America on Tuesday, and its findings are grim. This year’s Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9 percent of the American pie white people enjoy.
Hampton University announces new president
A former three-star Army general has been tapped to become the next president of Hampton University.
Richmond Virtual Academy may become its own school
The Richmond Virtual Academy is to become a new elementary school that could enroll between 400 and 500 students a year in online classes, the Richmond School Board decided Monday night. Instead of phasing out the program online learning program as Superintendent Jason Kamras proposed in February, the board, after hearing pleas from academy supporters, adopted a proposal by School Board member Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, to make RVA a school of record like other elementary schools, and eligible for annual state and local funding like other schools. While that decision must be approved by the state Department of Education, the vote to keep RVA as a functioning entity came as the board finalized its budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year. The board had a deadline on Wednesday to deliver a finished budget to City Council. Overall, the approved budget authorizes a record $548 million in total spending, or an expenditure of about $25,253 for each of the 21,700 students RPS estimated as enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Along with grants and one-time federal funds, the RPS budget provides $356.6 million in general fund spending, which mostly includes revenue from the city and state, or about $16,400 per student. The board, which cut $6 million from Mr. Kamras’ original general fund proposal, is relying on receiving a $15 million increase from the city in the fiscal year that begins July 1. That would boost total support from the city from $185.3 million this fiscal year to a new record of $200.3 million in 2022- 23. The increase from the city is largely designed to fund the local share of a 5 percent pay increase for teachers and other staff that the state plans to institute. Staff and teachers of the Richmond Virtual Academy, currently listed as a program and funded with federal CARES Act dollars, advocated for it to remain open and funded and rallied parents to lobby for the survival of the academy that adopted the owl as its mascot and bills itself as a space “where learning is a hoot.” The board’s vote was both a reaction to the lobbying and a rebuke to the adminis- tration, which had notified the academy’s entire staff that they would be laid off as of July 1 and would need to reapply for positions within RPS. Mr. Kamras initially proposed cutting the program from 70 to just 10 instructors, who would largely teach homebound students too sick or injured to come to school or students removed from in-person learning for discipline reasons. Cindi Robinson, the academy’s princi- pal, said the board’s action is good news for parents and students. “Virtual learning is not just a Band-Aid,” Ms. Robinson said, noting that numerous school divisions have found some students “actually thrive and do better” in an online program. Among them is Sheila Barlow’s 19-year- old son, Douglas. Ms. Barlow told the board that the virtual school has been a boon for her son and other students like him with serious disabilities who can now attend class from home in a safe environment. Her son has Down syndrome and can- not talk, she said. “He has a sign language interpreter for all of his classes,” Ms. Barlow told the Free Press. “If he goes back to in-person learning, my son would not have that service.” While the board’s action appears to have saved the virtual academy, the board’s funding will provide only for a reduced operation. Richmond’s virtual operation enrolls about 768 students, including 500 elementary school students, which is fewer students than Henrico and Chesterfield’s school systems. But that would shrink further. The board’s funding would allow for only 30 total staff, including a principal, counselors and other staff and about 23 instructional staff strictly for elementary programming. Currently, the school has at least 70 staff members, including a 43-member instructional staff. As part of the transition, the School Board agreed with the administration’s plan to end enrollment for middle and high school students who can move to the state’s online program, Virtual Virginia. The revamped Richmond Virtual Acad- emy also will oversee virtual educational programming for students who are home- bound for disciplinary or health reasons. According to board members, the ad- ministration is expected to drop the cur- rent homebound program that dispatches teachers to the homes of students to provide in-person instruction two hours a day. If it becomes a school of record as anticipated, RVA would not only have a budget, but would also report state Stan- dards of Learning test results. The board’s budget, meanwhile, cuts more deeply into the central office staff than Mr. Kamras proposed and largely eliminates contracts for consultants pro- viding curriculum training. Ms. Gibson also won approval for an audit of Mr. Kamras’ original budget plan after she turned up a significant discrepancy in total employee numbers compared with the current year. The board also provided funding for the first time to enable 400 students to take math, science and other required high school classes at the Richmond Technical Center along with their career and voca- tional training programs. Under the initiative advanced by Jona- than Young, 4th District, the students will no longer have to be shuttled back to their home schools for those courses. This change is seen as a harbinger of the proposed career and technical high school that RPS plans to create in a former tobacco plant in South Side. In addition, the board also provided funds to support an increase in the number of students during the next four years at two specialty high schools, Richmond Com- munity and Franklin Military Academy, and three regional high schools, Code RVA and the Maggie L. Walker and Appomattox regional governor’s schools.
City Council wants South Side homeless shelter to remain open temporarily
Could there be a spike in homelessness in Richmond?
Democrats angered as Gov. Youngkin vetoes 25 bipartisan bills
Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin vetoed 25 bills — including some that passed with broad bipartisan support — as he took action on more than 800 bills the divided legislature sent him during its regular session.
Pope Francis calls for Easter truce in Ukraine
Pope Francis opened Holy Week on Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.”
Pittsburgh backup QB Dwayne Haskins hit, killed in Florida
Dwayne Haskins, who arrived in Washington three seasons ago as one of the NFL’s most promising newcomers, died Saturday, April 9, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale after being hit by a dump truck as he was attempting to cross Interstate 595 on foot.
Incoming U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson celebrated at White House ceremony
“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.” With those words, incoming Justice Ketanji Brown Jack- son acknowledged both the struggles and progress of Black Americans in her lifetime.
