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House of Delegates to become more diverse
The Virginia House of Delegates will be more diverse and more Democratic in January as a result of Tuesday’s elections. Voters in districts across the state produced shocker after shocker as Democrats unexpectedly won at least 15 new seats in the 100-seat House to come close to controlling the General Assembly’s lower chamber.
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City voters overwhelmingly approve schools referendum
“The people have spoken. Now we can only hope that City Hall and the Richmond delegation to the General Assembly were listening.”
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It’s a sweep!
Virginia elects Democrats to top posts, other offices
In a result seen as a wholesale rejection of a president many see as unfit, and a message to the political party that has backed him, fired up Virginia voters ensured Democrats retained control of the top tiers of state government and replaced at least a dozen seasoned Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly to boot.
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Former GRTC CEO, 2 others appointed to GRTC board
Eldridge F. Coles, retired chief executive officer of GRTC, is Richmond’s newest representative on the bus company’s board of directors.
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St. Luke Building tagged with graffiti
The owner of the vacant St. Luke Building is furious after a brick annex attached to the historic Gilpin Court structure was vandalized with graffiti.
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Turnout may prove key in Va. gov. race
Now it’s up to the voters. Tuesday, Nov. 7, is Election Day — when ordinary citizens will troop to polls in Richmond and across Virginia to decide who will become the commonwealth’s 73rd governor and succeed the current chief executive, Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The main choices: Democrat Ralph S. Northam, 58, a pediatrician who specializes in children’s nerve diseases, a military veteran and the current lieutenant governor; and Republican Ed Gillespie, 56, a corporate lobbyist and former Republican Party chairman.
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3 of city’s 5 reps in House of Delegates face challengers
Richmond voters will help fill five of the 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates that will be up for grabs on Election Day.
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Hilbert critical of city’s handling of St. Luke project in Gilpin Court
Richmond City Council President Chris A. Hilbert is “utterly distressd” at City Hall’s handling of the proposed $3.6 million redevelopment of the historic, but vacant St. Luke Building in Gilpin Court.
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City tax amnesty program to reap nearly $2.8M
Richmond expects to collect nearly $2.8 million in delinquent taxes as a result of a tax amnesty program, Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced this week.
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4th Circuit renders decision in battle over Md. cross
For 92 years, a four-story-tall cross has stood at a major intersection in Prince George’s County, Md., paying silent tribute to members of the American military who died fighting in World War I. Now, in the latest church-state battle over public memorials, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond has ruled that the massive memorial violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on the government imposition of a religious faith.
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4 contenders in open sheriff’s race
Four months ago, Antionette V. Irving made the headlines with her stunning upset of longtime Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. in the Democratic primary.
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Candidates bring ideas, passion to School Board race
Four candidates are vying for the 3rd District seat on the Richmond School Board. The election is to fill the unexpired term of Jeff Bourne, who was elected to the House of Delegates in February. In March, the School Board appointed Cindy Menz-Erb, a recent transplant from New York whose older child is in pre-kindergarten, to represent the district until the special election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
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3 vying for city treasurer
City treasurer is an office with a big name, but little to do in Richmond. With City Hall’s finance department in charge of collecting and paying taxes, the treasurer has been left to sell hunting and fishing licenses, pay Richmond jurors, notarize legal papers, help people fill out tax forms and collect overdue state taxes. While it is unclear why the elected position continues to exist, three people are battling to succeed Treasurer Eunice M. Wilder, who is retiring from the office after nearly 25 years.
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Richmond Police spent tax $ at Henrico County establishments for rally food
Will Richmond have to shell out another $570,000 if supporters of Confederate statues come back in six weeks to hold another rally in Richmond?
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Criminal probe in lewd, racist Henrico middle school video
Shocked, appalled, horrified, disgusted. Take your pick of the responses to a graphic video showing white football players at Short Pump Middle School simulating the homosexual rape of at least two black teammates in the locker room amid the gleeful shout of one perpetrator that “we’re gonna to f*** the black outta these African-American children from Uganda.”
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Training camp fails to score finances, developments for city
After five football seasons, the Washington pro football team’s training camp at 2401 W. Leigh St. apparently is failing to generate enough income to pay off the cost of its construction.
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St. Luke Building permits still elusive
Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration is blocking the first major development in decades in poverty-stricken Gilpin Court, the Free Press has learned.
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Richmond Christian Center to be sold
Will it remain a church, but under a different name? Or will it be sold for development? These questions will soon be answered about the property in the 200 block of Cowardin Avenue in South Side where the Richmond Christian Center has made its home for 32 years.
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Virginia’s CHIP funding in jeopardy
Overshadowed by the uproar of President Trump’s attempt to defund government support of the Affordable Care Act for adults, 65,000 children in Virginia and 9 million children across the country are now threatened with the loss of their health insurance.
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Confederate rally in Richmond exceeds $500,000 in police spending
“The cost of monitoring First Amendment assemblies is not cheap.” That’s the view of Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham. And that certainly proved true for Richmond, which spent $570,000 on crowd control and other services on the Sept. 16 protest over the city’s Confederate statues, according to figures the city reported last Friday. Chief Durham was the biggest spender.
