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Washington Football Team returns to Richmond training camp
Welcome back, burgundy and gold, even if it’s only for a quick pit stop.
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2 groups step up to manage city’s motel shelter program for homeless
More than 300 homeless men, women and children will continue to stay in motels in South Side after Saturday, July 31, rather than being discharged to the streets as some feared would happen.
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RRHA board begins process to redevelop Mosby Court South
Dr. Basil I. Gooden is the new chairman of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s nine-member Board of Commissioners.
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Va. court says lease agreements can’t override landlord’s duty to keep property ‘habitable’
In a case involving a flea infestation of an Alexandria rental, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, March 12, that lease agreements can’t override state law requiring that landlords keep their properties “in a fit and habitable condition.”
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A new deal
City pitches special bonds for stadium project
The Richmond city government is pushing the idea of using special revenue bonds to finance the new Diamond Stadium and the first phase of infrastructure work in the Diamond District.
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Brown decision’s negative side
May 17 was the 63rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision declaring that legally sanctioned and enforced school segregation is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
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Overby-Sheppard Elementary School set for 6-month overhaul
A North Side elementary school is about to get a $4 million overhaul — complementing the housing developments that have begun reshaping the Highland Park community.
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Recommit to rid nuclear weapons
On May 27, President Obama became the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, where, at the end of World War II, the United States became the first and only country to drop an atomic bomb. The president used the occasion to revive attention on the need to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
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Fill schools, not jails
More than 200 demonstrators call for more school funding
Kevin Lauray resolutely marched across the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge late Monday afternoon with his 4-year-old daughter, Aiyanna Lauray, on his shoulders as she held high a sign, “Support Our Schools.” His girlfriend, Shaira Maravilla, and their four other children walked the distance — from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in the East End, across the bridge, to City Hall — with a crowd of about 200 to demand more money for Richmond Public Schools.
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RPS rezoning plans with pairings criticized as too costly
Parents and community members voiced opposition to several proposals to rezone Richmond Public Schools attendance districts, saying the plans are too costly and diversity in schools can be achieved in other ways.
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Pay them, but not her
RPS spends extra to win bill dispute
The Richmond School Board paid a white law firm $31,000 in legal fees to avoid paying a Black professional’s $27,000 bill for doing consulting work in the case of a disabled student, half of which was to be paid by the state.
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Affordable housing for whom?
Next week, City Council plans to declare an affordable housing crisis in Richmond as rents and house prices soar, leaving many with below average incomes unable to afford housing. However, neither the council nor Mayor Levar M. Stoney who has pushed the resolution to be voted on Monday, April 10, plan to mention the ways he and the governing body have quietly reduced funding to support development of housing for families with incomes of $40,000 or less a year.
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Republicans file suit to rescind rights restoration to 206,000 Virginians
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is facing a court fight over his April 22 order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons who have completed their sentences, including about 40,000 people convicted of violent offenses. In a case filed Monday, Republican leaders in the General Assembly and four voters have asked the Virginia Supreme Court to find the governor acted illegally and to order him to rescind the blanket restoration of rights that allowed the affected individuals to vote, serve on juries and run for office.
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Harlem churches see gospel tourist boom
The stern warning issued from the pulpit was directed at the tourists — most of whom had arrived late — a sea of white faces with guidebooks in hand. They outnumbered the congregation itself: A handful of elderly black men and women wearing suits and dresses and old-fashioned pillbox hats.
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Winston-Salem removes Confederate statue from old courthouse
The city of Winston-Salem, N.C., removed a Confederate statue Tuesday from the grounds of an old courthouse, drawing applause from onlookers for the rare move in a state where such monuments are largely protected by law.
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HOME to begin eviction diversion program
Richmond’s first ever program aimed at helping people avoid eviction is about to get a home base.
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Divine sounds: Foote family celebrates gospel radio station's first anniversary
Foote family celebrates gospel radio station’s first anniversary
Richmond radio station WQCN is marking its first anniversary of delivering gospel to fans in the area on 105.3 FM. Better known as “The Choice,” the station is the growing broadcast arm of the 150-member Faith & Love Fellowship Church based on South Side.
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City Council recommends big pay raises for city employees
Coming this year: A major pay increase for city employees.
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After winning 2 court cases, Henrico tenant may face a third
‘I pay my rent like clockwork every month. I don’t know why they won’t let me alone.’
Donald J. Garrett is a rare figure among the sea of Richmond-area residents being hauled into court for eviction proceedings.
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City Hall cracking down on false burglar, fire alarms
City Hall is about to crack down on false alarms at homes and businesses, including halting police responses to locations that have multiple false alarms. After years of balking, Richmond City Council has given Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration the green light to overhaul the city’s program for dealing with false alarms — with surprising little notice to the public. Among the big changes effective July 1, private property owners with burglar and/or fire alarms will be required to obtain a permit to operate their alarms.