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Ebenezer marks its 160th
Ebenezer Baptist Church will host a series of public events this week to mark its 160th anniversary as a beacon of faith in Jackson Ward, it has been announced.
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GRTC gears up for route changes effective Nov. 12
Love it or hate it, GRTC is moving ahead with a major revamp of its city bus routes. The proposed changes to routes are expected to be finalized this week and go into effect on Sunday, Nov. 12, Amy Inman, the city’s transportation planner, told a Richmond City Council meeting Monday.
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RPS employee shot in building slated for closure
Delays in closing the A.V. Norrell school buildings in North Side may have helped put Richmond Public Schools staff who work there in harm’s way Monday.
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Operation Streets founder calls recreation programs the key to ending youth violence
On the campaign trail, Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney promised to beef up after-school programs and recreational opportunities for youths.
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Alley blitz underway to fill potholes
Some of the worst alleys in the city are about to get a facelift. The Richmond Department of Public Works this week unleashed a new alley blitz to redo 1,300 alleys from Church Hill to Walmsley Boulevard in South Side and Highland Park in North Side to the Museum District in the West End.
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Essex Village flunks HUD inspection
After years of complaints, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is finally reacting to the deteriorating condition of Essex Village, the largest subsidized housing complex in Henrico County.
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Nonprofit counseling group to move into East End Family Resource Center
A nonprofit with deep roots in Church Hill expects to move soon into the East End Family Resource Center, 2401 Jefferson Ave.
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Richmond Christian Center now home for other churches’ services
The Richmond Christian Center, is living up to its name. After nearly four decades as an independent church, RCC’s congregation has begun sharing its South Side property with four other nondenominational churches.
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Gov. McAuliffe’s lawyers take aim at GOP contempt claim
Attorneys for Gov. Terry McAuliffe are urging the state Supreme Court to throw out a Republican request that he be held in contempt for his new effort to restore the voting rights of felons. Led by Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring, the legal team argues that the unprecedented contempt request from Republican House Speaker William J. Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment is “baseless.”
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Gordon to lead Office of Community Wealth Building
Reginald E. “Reggie” Gordon is leaving his leadership post with the American Red Cross to direct Richmond’s anti-poverty initiative.
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Bond blocks eviction appeal
Janice Wiggins was eager to appeal to Richmond Circuit Court when a General District Court judge sided with her landlord and approved her eviction for nonpayment of December’s rent. Ms. Wiggins believed she could win her case if another judge heard it. She said she had presented a receipt, acknowledged by the landlord, that showed she had paid the rent and late fees before the Jan. 21 court hearing. She wanted a chance to prove Judge Barbara J. Gaden was in error when she ruled the payment was for January’s rent, rather than for the missing December rent.
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3 team up to find new home for Squirrels in Boulevard area
Public pressure to keep baseball on the Boulevard appears to be having an impact. In a new effort, Mayor Dwight C. Jones is teaming up with the Richmond Flying Squirrels and Virginia Commonwealth University to find a site for a new ballpark near The Diamond, but not on the 60 acres of public property the city wants to redevelop.
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Maggie Walker Class of 1967 starting cleanup effort at area cemeteries
A renewed effort is being mounted to clean up four long neglected, but historic African-American cemeteries that sit on the eastern border between Richmond and Henrico County.
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General Assembly backs plan allowing anonymity for suppliers of lethal injection drugs
Death row prisoners will continue to be executed in Virginia. In a blow to death penalty foes, the General Assembly on Wednesday approved Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposal to allow the state to secretly purchase lethal drugs for executions from small drug manufacturers that would remain unidentified.
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Comments cause temperatures to rise at city School Board meeting
The Richmond School Board, like many public bodies in Virginia, has long barred speakers during its public comment period from engaging in “personal attacks of any individual” or expressing criticism of an administrator, a staff member, a principal or a teacher by name.
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Telfair: I was never consulted on Petersburg water contract
Two years ago, cash-strapped Petersburg jumped at a deal that Johnson Controls Inc. was offering. As it has done across the country, the energy and industrial giant offered to pay for installing automated water meters to replace Petersburg’s 11,500 old and outdated meters. The new meters would transmit water usage data to a passing truck and eliminate the need to send staff to physically check meters every two months.
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Worker fired for doing mayor’s church work on the job
The Richmond Ambulance Authority quietly has terminated a high-ranking employee who was doing volunteer work for Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ church during business hours, the Free Press has learned. Pamela J. Branch, the authority’s chief human resources and legal officer for several years, was fired Feb. 24 after officials determined she spent time at the RAA doing work as clerk of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, where the mayor is senior pastor.
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City Electoral Board certifies 6 mayoral candidates, 22 for City Council and 19 for School Board
Incumbent Mayor Levar M. Stoney will have five opponents as he seeks a second term.
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Annual Southeast Community Day Parade to go on with or without permit, organizer says
Newport News has ordered the cancellation of the annual Southeast Community Day Parade that an area chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has staged since 1991 — but the SCLC plans to defy the city and stage it anyway.
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Lee statue to remain under new 90-day injunction
The statue of slavery-defending Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will continue to loom over Monument Avenue for at least 90 more days.