In what must be a response to Mark Warner’s endorsement of Kim Gray in her bid for the 2nd District school board seat, the incumbent Lisa Dawson has announced her endorsement by First Lady Anne Holton and Mark Emblidge, Chair of the State Board of Education.

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African American Book Fair; Election Day Blowout Show; Tuesday Verses; First Friday Artwalk; No Bs Brass Band, Antlers, Lemuria, Gordon Gano’s Army, Friendly Fire; MORE…

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The premier issue of the RRHA’s RRHA Master Plan News (”A newsletter for the master planning of the North Jackson Ward community”) is now available. The well-put-together newsletter has info about the Sept.30 meeting at the Calhoun Center, where “over 200 residents, community members and stakeholders gathered [...] to remain informed and involved in the revitalization process for North Jackson Ward”, information about the planning process, and information about who to contact with your questions and concerns.

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Ann Field Alexander’s Race Man: The Rise and Fall of the Fighting Editor John Mitchell Jr. (available from the University of Virginia Press) is a fascinating look at Richmond and especially Jackson Ward and the African-American experience at the turn of the last century as seen through the perspective of Richmond Planet publisher John Mitchell, Jr.:

Best known for his crusade against lynching in the 1880s, Mitchell was also involved in a number of civil rights crusades that seem more contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s than the turn of that century. He led a boycott against segregated streetcars in 1904 and fought residential segregation in Richmond in 1911. His political career included eight years on the Richmond city council, which ended with disenfranchisement in 1896.

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The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia is hosting an African American Book Fair today from 11Am-4PM. Festival is free with museum admission. Contact Patricia Jordan at 804-319-9763 or africanamericanbookfair@yahoo.com to find out more.

Style Weekly has the word that Second District school board candidate Kim Gray has received the endorsement of former Governor and Senate candidate Mark Warner in her bid to unseat School Board Vice Chairwoman Lisa Dawson.

Come on out for the 3rd Annual Community Harvest Festival @ the Seigel Center on October 31, 2008, from 6-8PM. Free admission, face painting, henna tattoos by Zarina and friends, crafts, story time, Rosie the Clown, games, moon bounce, Richmond Kickers Inflatable Soccer Kick, Chaolin Dragons Kung-fu, VCU Girls Volleyball, refreshments, ice cream, CANDY, & MORE…

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The 2nd in a series of North Jackson Ward Master Planning Public Meetings hosted by the RRHA will be held this Thursday, October 30th, 6-8PM at the Calhoun Family Investment Center, 436 Calhoun Street.

Mingus Awareness Project 2008; Ghastly City Sleep, Brontosaurus, Johnathan Vassar, Caves Caverns; Tuesday Verses; RRHA Master Planning Meetings for the Revitalization of North Jackson Ward; Annual Harvest Festival; Halloween Party; African American Book Fair; MORE…

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This seems like an interesting time to revisit the Virginia Public Access Project, a non-profit group the makes it easy to access the public records of who has donated how much to a candidate for office.

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Immensely popular numbers-crunching and politics site FiveThirtyEight made a stop in Richmond, VA and interviewed both recent Miss Virginia Kristi Lauren Glakas and Governor Tim Kaine. They also popped into the Obama headquarters in Carver and got a few photos of the hustle and bustle.

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