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Jason Kamras must resign
Photos of Shawn Jackson, smiling proudly as he accepts his diploma on the Altria Theater stage, are hard to look at knowing that just minutes later the 18-year old would lay outside the downtown theater gasping for breath before dying from gunshot wounds.
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Richmond native successfully pitches at Black Ambition
For Leslie Winston III, it was a case of the third time is the charm when his company, Monocle, was named HBCU Grand Prize Winner at the 3rd Annual Black Ambition Demo Day on Nov. 9 at Spring Studios in New York.
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Virginia lawmakers approve budget, but Gov. Youngkin warns that changes will be needed
Virginia lawmakers wrapped up their 60-day legislative session Saturday by approving a two-year budget that includes pay raises for teachers and state employees, increases for education funding and extends the state sales tax to cover digital services.
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Faith and family inspire local nursing student
With a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Nursing, Erin Norwood is ready to help others — and set an example along the way.
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Tonsils, talent and newborns
Richmond Community Hospital holds a special place in the hearts of many, including Edwina Richmond, a retired college professor with deep family ties to the city. Born at the hospital 76 years ago, Ms. Richmond has fond memories of the care she received there, from getting her tonsils removed to witnessing the hospital’s integral role in the neighborhood’s welfare, Richmond Free Press reporter George Copeland Jr. reports in this week’s edition.
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Bedden to stay in Richmond
“Everyone should check your emails,” Richmond School Board member Jeffrey M. Bourne eagerly alerted his colleagues late Tuesday afternoon prior to a hastily called board budget meeting. The six other board members in attendance then quickly turned to their hand-held electronic devices and scrolled to an email sent to them by Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden at 5:07 p.m.
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Powered by faith and family, gospel queen Sheilah Belle triumphs over illnesses
Richmond gospel queen Sheilah Belle is “pressing forward” through the health challenges that have dogged her for six months.
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Virginia expresses ‘profound regret’ for history of lynchings
Outlining a “dark and shameful chapter of American history,” state legislators unanimously passed resolutions to “acknowledge with profound regret the existence and acceptance of lynching” in Virginia, where more than 80 people — mostly African-American men — were killed by mobs in the decades after the Civil War.
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Special VCU council offers plan for human remains from old medical research
A proper burial in a historic African-American cemetery, recognition on the Virginia Commonwealth University medical campus and continued research.
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President Obama inspires Class of 2020, adroitly criticizes current leaders for mishandling pandemic crisis
Hours after former President Obama delivered two measured and inspiring na- tional commencement speeches to the Class of 2020 college and high school graduates last Saturday, social media lit up with comments of “Great speech, Mr. Obama. We miss you!” and “That’s what a president should be like. November 2020 can’t get here soon enough.”
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Frank Lloyd Wright synagogue continues 60 years later as work of art
Sixty years ago, just before the Jewish High Holy Days, members of a Conservative synagogue processed into their new sanctuary, marking a new era in their congregational life and in modern religious architecture.
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$6M: Richmond spending much more than Chesterfield on new schools
Richmond apparently will spend at least $6 million more on building two new elementary schools than Chesterfield County is having to pay, according an update report the Joint Construction Team provided to the city School Board Monday night.
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Personality: Shawn A. Cosby
Spotlight on winner of Anthony Award for Best Short Story
It has been almost two months since author Shawn A. Cosby won the prestigious 2019 Anthony Award for Best Short Story during the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Dallas.
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Richmond Area SCLC opposes closing early voting locations
The Richmond Area Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which represents Central Virginia as a chartered member of the national SCLC, would like to express our disappointment with and determination to address the decision by the City of Richmond Electoral Board to close two satellite early voting offices for the upcoming 2023 November election.
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Heisman winner DeVonta Smith has made his way into the history books
For many decades, it seemed wide receivers need not apply for the Heisman Trophy. Then along came DeVonta Smith to change attitudes.
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David N. Smith, former banking executive and state official, dies at 66
David Nathaniel Smith wanted to be a journal- ist but found his road to success in commercial sales and banking.
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Virginia Walmart mass shooting survivor files $50M lawsuit
A Walmart employee who survived last week’s mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter — a store supervisor — “who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior.”
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RRHA eyes Jackson Place for Fay Towers residents
The city’s housing authority is promising a fresh attempt to redevelop a chunk of Jackson Ward that was cleared for urban renewal nearly 25 years ago, but continues to be vacant.
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City Council approves zoning change to spur North Side development
Richmond is rolling out the welcome mat for developers, investors and businesses willing to consider projects in centerpiece commercial districts in majority African-American areas of North Side.
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City names North Side park for the late Walter Gaines Jr.
Walter Gaines Jr. was the unofficial “mayor” of the Providence Park community on North Side for nearly 45 years. A gregarious man known for his positive attitude, Mr. Gaines worked to improve public safety and promote neighborliness. Among other things, he helped bring a Boys & Girls Club to the community to improve resources for young people as president of the Providence Park Civic Association. He helped start the association in the late 1960s and led it until his death.