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It’s not too early to vote
Early voting has begun across Virginia, with locations open as of Friday, May 3, for Democratic and Republican primary ballots ahead of the primary election Tuesday, June 18.
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week of Saturday, April 27, the city of Richmond and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover saw 17 confirmed hospital admissions for COVID-19. Two deaths associated with COVID-19 have been reported statewide for the week of Saturday, May 4.
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
For the week of Saturday, May 11, confirmed hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Virginia dropped 90.4% from the previous week. Three deaths associated with COVID-19 were reported statewide for the week ending Saturday, May 11. COVID-19 wastewater levels in Central Virginia were below detection as of the week of Sunday, May 5. Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.
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From gridiron to president
Willard Bailey shaping minds at new college
Willard Bailey, the CIAA legendary college football coach, has a new role in higher education. He has jumped from the gridiron to college president.
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New program helps youths with jobs
Billie Brown knows about youth unemployment. As the founder and owner of a temporary staffing agency that she began almost 16 years ago, she regularly sees young adults who cannot get work because they lack skills, have a felony record or never earned a high school diploma. Dismayed at how little was being done to help them, Ms. Brown and her company, Excel Management Services, have teamed with Saint Paul’s Baptist Church to try to make a dent in the problem.
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GRTC adding unlimited rides
Pay one fare and get unlimited bus rides for a day, a week or a month. That’s an option that cash-strapped GRTC expects to begin offering by the fall in a bid to pump up ridership. GRTC won a 9-0 vote Tuesday from Richmond City Council to inaugurate what is regarded as the biggest change in fare pricing since the start of public transit in the city.
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A ‘kill-and-cover-up’ police culture?
When public officials refuse to release a video that shows alleged misconduct by a police officer, you should only expect the worst. That’s particularly true in Chicago, where one “bad apple” too often has signaled a bushel of coverups and other problems underneath.
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Under scrutiny, Trump announces plans to dissolve his foundation
President-elect Donald Trump said he intends to dissolve his charitable foundation, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has been under investigation by the New York attorney general. The president-elect gave no timeline for winding down the foundation, but said in a statement released on Dec. 24 that he wanted “to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president.”
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School Board taps RPS COO as interim superintendent
After hashing out the details of outgoing Superintendent Dana T. Bedden’s early departure, the Richmond School Board selected Thomas E. Kranz, the school district’s chief operating officer, to serve as interim superintendent.
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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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Michelle Carter uses ‘diva’ touch in shot put
With crimson lipstick, eyeliner, mascara and a beaming smile, Michelle Carter won a stunning Olympic shot put gold last Friday to sprinkle a little glitz on an event often cruelly ridiculed for the shape of its women athletes.
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Historic aviator inspires others
Jamaica native Barrington Irving moved to Miami with his family when he was 6, excelled on the gridiron and as a student and had several football scholarship offers when his career ambitions suddenly changed from football to flying.
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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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Smithsonian’s new African-American museum focus of forum
Throngs of visitors are expected to view exhibits chronicling the enslavement and emancipation of hundreds of thousands of Africans and African-Americans in the United States when the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opens this fall on the National Mall in Washington. And they will see displays about President Obama’s historic election and leadership as the nation’s first African-American president.
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VSU facing possible $26M deficit, enrollment drop
Virginia State University has become a prime example of the financial hits historically black colleges and universities are taking because of the coronavirus.
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Automatic expungements can help remove barriers by Mayor Levar M. Stoney
Unjust and racist policies continuously serve as a barrier to progress for our Black and brown communities, creating a stifling environment for socioeconomic mobility that makes it less and less likely for each generation to be better off than the last.
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Former Negro League Baseball players to highlight MJBL’s Bonds Symposium
Two former players with Negro League Baseball will speak on a virtual panel as part of the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League’s annual Bobby Bonds Symposium.
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Step up
We are greatly disappointed by Richmond City Council’s failure Monday night to approve a tax on cigarettes. The 80 cents per pack tax, proposed by Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, would have generated $5 million annually that would have been dedicated to the repair and maintenance of Richmond’s aged and dilapidated public school buildings.
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City Council poised to scrap residency requirement for top officials
For nearly three decades, City Hall executives have been required to move into the city within a year of being hired.
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Megapastor tries to defend himself after Hurricane Harvey
Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston is helping Texans cope in the wake of Hurricane Harvey — and trying to counter a flood of comments on social media accusing the church of turning its back on storm victims. The church took in about 400 people from the overflow at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, a Red Cross shelter, church spokesman Don Iloff said last week.
