Latest news with #Chaney
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Former LSU hoops star joins HBCU coaching staff
Grambling, La. - Grambling State just made a power move. Former LSU women's basketball star and high school coaching standout Quianna Chaney is officially joining the GSU Lady Tigers as an assistant coach for the 2025–26 season. With deep Louisiana roots and a résumé that blends elite playing experience with proven coaching success, Chaney's arrival is a big boost for Grambling State - and a major win for HBCU hoops. "When you surround yourself with winners, the conversations are just different," said Grambling head coach Courtney Simmons. "Coach Quianna brings experience, a wealth of knowledge, and an edge I've been missing. GSU Women's Basketball definitely got better today." That's not just talk. Quianna Chaney comes to Grambling after a dominant seven-year run at Southern University Lab School. There she built one of Louisiana's top high school girls basketball programs. Her teams claimed the 2022 Louisiana State Championship, finished as 2023 State Runner-Up, and secured back-to-back district titles. Along the way, she racked up Coach of the Year honors - including District Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023, and the 2022 Stars of Stars Coach of the Year. But her legacy started long before the sidelines. As a player, Chaney was a certified bucket at LSU from 2004 to 2008. Guiding the Tigers to make four straight NCAA Final Four runs. She left Baton Rouge second in school history in three-pointers made and attempted, tallying 1,345 career points. Her list of accolades includes All-SEC and All-Louisiana honors, Academic All-SEC selections, and a reputation as one of the most lethal shooters in program history. After college, Chaney was drafted 19th overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky before taking her talents overseas to play for Bota? SK in Turkey. Now, she's bringing that championship DNA back to the college ranks - this time at a proud HBCU. "I am truly excited and blessed to join the Grambling State University Women's Basketball coaching staff," Chaney said. "When God opens new doors, I walk through them with faith and purpose. I look forward to contributing to the continued success of this historic program - it's all about the SWAC now!" The post Former LSU hoops star joins HBCU coaching staff appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Black Mecca' no longer? Atlanta prices cause families to move out of the city
The City of Atlanta is not considered 'The Black Mecca' any longer, according to a national study. The reason - Black people can't afford to live in the city anymore or don't want to pay inflated prices. We spoke to several Atlanta natives and those who moved here for college and didn't want to leave. They all feel forced out of the city, like Latresa Chaney. 'I grew here – I wasn't trying to leave OK ... Hey if you ain't rich – you can't live here – you got to go somewhere,' said Latresa Chaney. She told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes that for the first time, she had to move her family out of the city - to Decatur. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'I'm transitioning my children from school to school behind trying to have stable housing,' said Chaney. She lived in the Forest Cove Apartments until city officials condemned the complex and tore it down. She told Fernandes, elected officials promised to relocate her in the city using her Section 8 voucher, which she says never happened. 'You displaced 300 families ... I felt so let down – like I've invested my life here,' said Chaney. Civil Rights Activist Devin Barrington-Ward says people who made up the Black Mecca didn't move out to the suburbs because they wanted to. He said a lack of policy displaced them. For the past two decades, Ward says elected officials have made it easier for out-of-state investors to afford homes, rather than homegrown people. He says it's the reason why investors own 30% of single-family homes in the city. 'When we see what type of money is being given to corporate developers – as far as tax breaks from the city and the county - of course Black folks would no longer be able to afford to live in the city of Atlanta. These are policy decisions being made by people who are in elected office,' said Ward. According to data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition - Atlanta had the second highest amount of census tracks to flip from majority Black to white between 1980 - 2020. Only Washington, D.C had more. 'Everything that I liked, everything that I could see myself in, it was just impossible,' said Clark Atlanta Graduate Jahmel Terrell. Jahmel has a different situation, but the same struggles owning a home in Atlanta. 'It makes you feel unworthy – undeserving – you can't afford this,' said Terrell. After he graduated from Clark Atlanta University, he worked as a civil servant for 25 years and still couldn't afford a home in the city. His plan is to rent outside the city until he can save enough money to buy a home. Maja Sly is an affordable housing advocate and realtor who has been helping Terrell achieve his dream. 'We have home prices that have gone up $100,000 for the same size unit since 2021. In Summerhill a 1,200 square-foot townhome is $600,000,' said Sly. Sly says the prices won't change. However, she says Atlanta is different than other cities because it offers resources people don't know about. 'We have the best programs, not just in the state of Georgia but in the city of Atlanta – to make home ownership affordable. It's gentrification on paper, but there's a bigger story that has to be told about this,' said Sly. A city spokesperson told Fernandes that programs like InvestAtlanta are designed to help legacy residents on a case-by-case basis. Many rights activists say that's not enough to solve the systemic issue of racial and wealth inequality in Atlanta. 'Until we see that the level of funding that is given to invest in people – everyday working class people matches that of what we're giving wealthy out of town developers – it is just a Band-aid on a bullet wound,' said Ward. OTHER RESOURCES: Georgia Dream Homeownership Program Atlanta Housing [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Epic Charter School superintendent resigns after major cuts to staff, facilities
Epic Charter School Superintendent Bart Banfield speaks at a meeting of the school's governing board on Nov. 14 at the 50 Penn Place complex in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Amid mass layoffs of educators, the superintendent of Epic Charter School has resigned. The virtual charter school announced Monday that Bart Banfield has stepped down after six years in charge. Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Justin Hunt will lead the school in the interim while Epic's governing board searches for a permanent hire. Banfield led Epic during multiple turbulent periods while the school weathered criminal investigations, a forensic audit, a threat of closure and up-and-down enrollment. 'Bart Banfield's leadership has helped shape our school and strengthen its mission to provide an exceptional, personalized education for students across Oklahoma,' Ginger Casper, president of Epic's school board, said. 'We are grateful for his contributions and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.' During Banfield's tenure, Epic rapidly grew into the largest school district in Oklahoma in 2020 as families sought online schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Epic, now the state's third-largest district, has experienced declining enrollment ever since, which contributed to pay cuts and layoffs in October. District officials at the time said they overestimated their yearly enrollment by 4,000 students. This month, the school eliminated 357 teaching and administrative jobs in the latest round of staff cuts. It will close its in-person learning centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, as well. Epic's finances have been under the microscope for several years. The school's co-founders, Ben Harris and David Chaney, were charged in 2022 with embezzlement, racketeering and a litany of other financial crimes stemming from their leadership of Epic. Harris and Chaney deny allegations that they wrongfully pocketed millions of taxpayer dollars intended for Epic students. Former Epic CFO Josh Brock also was charged in the case and has agreed to testify against the co-founders in exchange for no prison time. Banfield succeeded Chaney as Epic's superintendent in 2019. He first joined Epic in 2014 as assistant superintendent of instruction. Harris and Chaney, whose company was paid to manage the school, remained intricately linked with Epic until 2021, when the school's governing board cut ties with them and their business. While facing threats of closure from the state, Epic's governing board and Banfield's administration implemented financial, organizational and transparency reforms that converted the school into a self-run entity without an outside company involved in its management. Until 2021, Harris and Chaney's company had run and profited from Epic since they founded the school in 2011. Hunt, who is now interim superintendent, experienced the transition along with Banfield. He was hired in 2017 as managing director of instruction and became deputy superintendent of instruction in 2021. 'Mr. Hunt brings with him a strong commitment to Epic's mission and a deep understanding of our community's needs,' Casper said. 'We are confident that his leadership will ensure continuity and stability as we move forward.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Metro
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The Wire actor Tray Chaney shares update after son is carried away by tornado
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Wire actor Tray Chaney has shared an emotional update on his 19-year-old son Malachi, who was critically injured after being thrown nearly 300 feet by a tornado that destroyed their home in Georgia last week. The tornado, which hit Locust Grove near Atlanta on May 29, left a trail of devastation. Chaney – best known for playing Poot on the HBO drama – was asleep when the EF-2 storm tore through his neighborhood. He described hearing a sound 'like a train was coming' before his entire room was ripped apart. 'I just remember turning to my right and my walls, and my TVs and my dressers and my bed turned upside down and I levitated in the air,' Chaney said in a new interview with TMZ. 'I just remember covering [my face with my arms], yelling my son's name out.' Chaney was knocked unconscious as the house collapsed around him. When he awoke, he was buried in debris and lying in the mud, unsure where his son had been carried. Neighbours helped pull him from the wreckage, but Malachi was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, Malachi was discovered in nearby woods, having been hurled by the tornado's vortex. Despite being flung the length of a football field, he survived. But the injuries were severe: every bone in his face fractured, broken ribs, and cuts covering his upper body. Remarkably, his legs were largely unharmed. After six days in intensive care, Chaney confirmed Malachi is now in stable condition and has been moved to a less critical unit. 'But it's going to be a long journey and a long road to recovery. We're not out of the hospital,' he said. The tornado struck just days before Malachi's birthday on June 1. Though the celebration was subdued, Chaney managed to surprise his son with a special video message from NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, who wished him a happy birthday. 'The tough part is watching him be stable and respond the best way he can,' Chaney said. 'And every single day, he doesn't know what happened.' More Trending Chaney's wife, Ayesha, had not been home during the storm but returned soon after. The family has since been staying with friends and in temporary housing. 'We went to war with a tornado and came out on top,' Chaney said. 'Everybody in that house could have been killed.' He continued: 'I don't know what's … coming, and I'm not trying to figure it out.' The family has launched a GoFundMe to help rebuild. At time of writing, the fund has raised $99,370 (£77,500). Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: All the easter eggs fans have spotted in the Wicked: For Good trailer MORE: Miley Cyrus takes cheeky swipe at ex-husband Liam Hemsworth after bitter divorce MORE: Alex Cooper's net worth as her podcast empire expands with major new deal
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'The Wire' Actor's Crucial Update After Son, 19, Was Hit by Tornado
'The Wire' Actor's Crucial Update After Son, 19, Was Hit by Tornado originally appeared on Parade. Relieving news from The Wire star Tray Chaney: His 19-year-old son is out of the ICU after surviving a tornado that viciously tore through the family's Atlanta home. Chaney, 43, shared the update with TMZ in a new report that was published on Tuesday, June 3. The actor told the outlet that his son Malachai "moved out of the ICU and into a stabilized room earlier today," the site reported. Malachai's new condition is nothing short of a miracle, given that he was "thrown 300 feet out of his room" as the tornado destroyed the family's home last week, Chaney shared on May 30. Chaney also shared a new post on Wednesday, updating fans on Malachai's new hospital plan. "Did 5 Days in ICU," the actor wrote on Wednesday, June 4. "Still gotta remain in the hospital for a whole other process BUT you talking Progress... LIKE YOU MY HERO!" The family man, who portrayed Poot on The Wire from 2002 to 2008, even quipped that Malachai's grandfather is "Standing Over You Praying While You Snore, LOL" Chaney joked, adding several "ZZZ" emojis. "(Malachai gone get me one when he see this) I'm like dad the boy knocked out," the actor quipped. After the devastating wreckage occurred, Chaney took to social media to post an emotional video about his son's terrifying accident and hospitalization. "I lost my house. I lost everything in it. Thank God, I'm still living. I survived a tornado. My son, he survived. I'm doing a video to let everyone know, cherish life," he said in the May 30 Instagram video, which showed him tearing up. "Cherish life as much as you can." The actor, who shares son Malachai with wife Ayesha Chaney, noted, "I wish he was the one doing the video and I was the one in the ICU." 'The Wire' Actor's Crucial Update After Son, 19, Was Hit by Tornado first appeared on Parade on Jun 4, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
