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‘In the Heights’ opens to low numbers
NEW YORK Just when a party was poised to break out in movie theaters, the below-expectation debut of “In the Heights” last weekend dampened Hollywood’s hopes of a swift or smooth recovery at the summer box office.
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Dr. Linwood Jacobs who opened doors for Black Greek organizations at UVA, dies at age 90
Additional roles included community college dean and Gilpin Court mental health provider
Dr. Linwood Jacobs is credited with spearheading the establishment of Black fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia. And later he focused on student development as the dean of students at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and helped start a mental health services company based in Gilpin Court.
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Parker on par for record books
Golfer Addie Parker is adept at making pars, birdies, eagles and, yes, history. The 15-year-old daughter of Flotilla and Tracy Parker of Chesterfield County has blazed her name into the Richmond Golf Association (RGA) record books.
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Huguenot senior hurdles to state champion
Huguenot High School senior Shaunté Harris has a passion for fashion. But if there’s one thing she relishes more than a sporty, chic look, it’s running the high hurdles — an event famous for its thrills — and also its spills. Therefore, don’t be surprised to see Harris wearing distressed denims to school, rather than a trendy shirtdress. “My legs aren’t the nicest,” she says with a wide smile. “I’ve taken plenty of spills, lots of hard falls. My legs have cuts and scratches. It kind of never stops.”
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Honeymoon over?
Plans afoot to limit mayor’s spending decisions
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s honeymoon with Richmond City Council appears to be coming to an end. Asserting that the council needs greater control over spending, two of the newest members, Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, and Kristen N. Larson, 4th District, are planning to introduce legislation that would slap fiscal handcuffs on the mayor and his administration.
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Fight for $15
Low-wage workers bring message, movement
Laura Clark is a home care worker, yet she has no income. The 53-year-old Caroline County resident cares for her 83-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia and COPD, but doesn’t qualify to receive pay as a family caregiver because her mother has life insurance. She said her daily struggle to keep things going in her own household makes her understand the plight of others working for minimum wage — $7.25 an hour.
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Righting grave wrongs
Virginia General Assembly approves funds for 2 area historic African-American cemeteries; state has been paying for upkeep of Confederate graves for 100 years
Two historic, but largely abandoned and bedraggled African-American cemeteries on Richmond’s eastern border with Henrico County are about to get state support.
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No $ to fix schools
The same rundown buildings that many Richmond students attend are likely to be the same buildings where a new crop of students will be attending class 10 years from now.
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CIAA legend to be inducted into Hall of Fame
Abraham “Ham” Mitchell has wowed audiences at the CIAA Basketball Tournament for more than four decades with his dazzling attire, engaging personality and stylish strut. Known as “Mr. CIAA,” he has entertained thousands of appreciative fans with the dapper tailor-made suits he wears during games that often reflect the official colors of the teams playing at the time on the basketball court.
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Va. inmate wins religious freedom lawsuit
For more than three years, Alfonza H. Greenhill has persisted in battling Virginia prison policies that blocked him from practicing the strict Sufi branch of Islam.
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RVA Night League for Safer Streets builds life skills, relationships along with basketball
RVA Night League for Safer Streets is set to start its second season of night basketball with more jumps shots and lifestyle workshops.
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Rap scores Grammy breakthrough while girl power rules awards show
“This is America,” Childish Gambino’s searing indictment of police brutality and racism, scored a breakthrough for rap on Sunday at the Grammy Awards by winning both record and song of the year and becoming the first hip-hop track to win either of the top Grammy categories in 61 years.
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COVID-19 must be addressed through the lens of equity, by Rep. Donald McEachin
The last few weeks have been difficult for us all. And in these incredibly challenging and scary times, we all are having to make great sacrifices to ensure that we defeat COVID-19 as quickly as possible.As non-essential workers across Virginia are working remotely, children are distance learning for the remainder of the academic year and families isolate from one another to conquer this viral enemy, we all are discovering new ways to come together.
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Black people and COVID-19, by Sa’ad El-Amin
As the United States is trying to reopen after a nearly total shutdown caused by COVID-19, one of the major questions is whether it is too early to re- open and, by doing so, whether there will be a second round of infections and deaths.
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Kaepernick draws fire again — this time over Nike ad
Controversy continues to surround former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick two years after he first took a knee during the national anthem to protest the oppression of people of color and continuing police brutality against African-Americans.
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Stanton slugging it all the way to the bank
Giancarlo Stanton is Major League Baseball’s top slugger. He also claims No. 1 status going to the bank. The Miami Marlins’ mountainous right fielder had 57 home runs through Saturday, Sept. 23, and was bidding to be just the sixth man in history to enter the exclusive club of players with 60 or more home runs in a single season.
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Local chef-caterer turns empty church kitchen into a busy business
On weekdays, the kitchen at Faith Community Baptist Church in Richmond’s East End is a beehive of activity six hours a day.
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Questions raised as council shifts money to help departments get through June 30
Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving has gained the $2.13 million she needs this month to issue paychecks every two weeks to her deputies.