Shad Smoked; Candidates Roasted

Amanda Ladden-Stirling
VCU Capital News Service
WAKEFIELD – The 61st annual Shad Planking kicked off Virginia’s political season with cold beer, smoked shad and a poignant roast of the 2009 gubernatorial candidates.
Three of the four candidates for governor – Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrats Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran – poked fun at each other in a [...]

DMV to Change Licenses and ID Cards

Brittany Allen
VCU InSight
Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles is changing some of the rules of the road. Starting July 1, 2009, DMV issued driver’s licenses and identification cards will have some new security features.
“They’ll have a new look for the first time in 10 years, ” said DMV spokesperson Melanie Stokes.

Movieland Opening Helps VCU Children

By Scott Kennedy and Brittany Grove
VCU InSight
RICHMOND, Va.– A new movie theatre recently opened in Richmond. Movieland Cinemas is located on Boulevard Avenue, just past the Diamond Stadium, and it’s already making its mark as a partner in the community.
The cinemas complex was once a locomotive factory. Movieland retained much of the original building [...]

Richmond TV Switches to DTV

By DeShonda Overby and Scott Kennedy
VCU Insight
RICHMOND, Va.–Television is changing–it’s going all digital on June 12th, 2009. But the government is worried many people were not ready or the big switch.
A.C. Nielsen research says the concern is warranted, noting that 33,000 households are “completely unready.”

Nicholas Langhorne Talks General Assembly

By Brittany Allen
VCU InSight
VCU’s Capitol News Service students have a special assignment. They report on the goings-ons of the Virginia General Assembly. InSight’s Brittany Allen sat down to talk to CNS reporter Nicholas Langhorne about Crossover Day.

New Library Plans for VCU

By Jeremy Hirsch
VCU InSight
Many universities in Virginia have expanded their libraries and now VCU has plans to do the same. VCU InSight’s Jeremy Hirsch sat down with VCU’s Librarian John Ulmschneider, who discussed what it would take for a new library at Virginia Commonwealth University.

New VCU President to Receive $890,000 in Compensation

By Scott Kennedy and Mark Coffman
VCU InSight
RICHMOND, Va.- Many students and faculty have been meeting VCU’s President-elect Michael Rao, who will take over as VCU’s President on July first.
His current salary is $302,357 a year as President of Central Michigan University, which has 27,354 students. In comparison, VCU has 32,284 students.
In the midst of an [...]

VCU Soul Food Café Honors Historic Richmond

By Mark Coffman and Brittany Allen
VCU InSight
RICHMOND,Va.– The combination of home-style cooking and the energy of local musical acts is a hard combination to beat. It was a recipe for success for VCU’s annual Soul Food Café, the culmination of VCU’s Black History celebrations.
VCU senior Tiffany Townsend started the event when she started thinking of [...]

VCU Faculty Leader Talks About Rao Selection

By Jeremy Hirsch and Nurah Majeed
VCU InSight
VCU Insight’s Jeremy Hirsch interviews Faculty Senate president Dan Ream. Ream discusses the selection of VCU President-Elect Michael Rao.

VCU President-Elect Speaks

By Jeremy Hirsch and Brittany Grove
VCU InSight
RICHMOND,Va–Virginia Commonwealth University’s President-Elect Dr. Michael Rao sat down with VCU InSight’s Jeremy Hirsch for one of his first official interviews since being named VCU’s next leader.
Dr. Rao, currently president at Central Michigan University, discussed his excitement over joining his new school and his vision for what he plans [...]