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‘We are resilient’
Fox Elementary School parents, students, teachers and administrators vow to bounce back after fire destroys the 111-year-old school on Hanover Avenue, sending students back to virtual learning
Five days after a huge blaze turned Fox Elementary School into a hulking ruin, students, parents, teachers and staff of The Fan school are readjusting to virtual learning.
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Personality: Joanna Heiskill
Spotlight on co-founder of Justice and Change for Victims of Nursing Facilities
When Joanna Heiskill’s mother died in August 2019, she was determined to find the cause of her death.
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DOJ: Buffett company discriminated against Black homebuyers
A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett’s company discriminated against potential Black and Latino homebuyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice said Wednesday, in what is being called the second-largest redlining settlement in history. Trident Mortgage Co., a division of Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeServices of America, deliberately avoided writing mortgages in minority-majority neighborhoods in West Philadelphia such as Malcolm X Park; Camden, N.J.; and in Wilmington, Del., the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in their settlement with Trident.
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New day, new year
Journey of past year filled with health challenges and separations brings Mechanicsville family closer together
During the past 19 months, three generations of the Lewis family have experienced what many families fear – infection with the COVID-19 virus and cancer.
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Welfare scandal highlights contrasts in long-poor Mississippi
In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal anti-poverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation.
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Gates Foundation takes up question of its own power
Does The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have too much power and influence?
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WWII veteran reflects on a century of life
A life that spans a century is a milestone few are privileged to celebrate. Welford Williams of Glen Allen was “blessed” to become a centenarian on Oct. 25. Formerly one of the youngest members of his family, the World War II veteran is now the oldest person in his family.
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Pastor gets the boot
Parson departs amid Richmond Christian Center’s move to survive
More than a year after filing for bankruptcy, the Richmond Christian Center is gaining a fresh shot at survival after seizing financial power from founding pastor Stephen A. Parson Sr. The pastor, who launched RCC in his living room more than 31 years ago, is no longer a member of the church’s ruling Board of Trustees and has been stripped of control of the church’s bank account.
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Two faces of Ben
Ayauna King-Baker loved Ben Carson’s “Gifted Hands” memoir so much that she made her daughter, Shaliya, read it. So when Dr. Carson showed up in town to sign copies of his new book, Mrs. King-Baker dragged the giggly 13-year-old along to the bookstore so they could both meet him.
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Hilbert to mayor: Don’t veto City Council budget
Money allocated to fix potholes or plow streets cannot be used for picking up trash unless Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney secures approval to shift the funds from Richmond City Council.
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Personality: Luis Hidalgo
Spotlight on founder of Richmond’s Latin Jazz and Salsa Festival
Luis “Sweet Lou” Hidalgo dismisses what he says are pop-driven sounds of Latin music often heard on radio and television.
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Mayor proposes tax hikes to fund improvements
Richmond has monster needs. Most of its schools are decaying, its streets are falling apart, its parks and public buildings need renovation — but it has maxed out its credit card and can’t afford to borrow any more money.
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Surprised, no. Sickened, yes.
Is it white privilege, white hubris or just plain arrogance that keeps Gov. Ralph S. Northam in office well after most reasonable Virginians — and people across the nation — believe it is time for him to exit?
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Alvin Ailey troupe marks 60th anniversary
It was March 1958 when an African-American dancer named Alvin Ailey, then making his living on the Broadway stage, gathered up a group of fellow dancers and presented a one-night show of his own works.
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NFL team owner, human trafficking and faith-based communities
The news that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting sex and prostitution in a spa as part of a monthslong investigation into a massive human trafficking ring is dominating headlines for its shocking revelation about a legendary owner and current Super Bowl champion.
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VCU grads urged to turn adversity into strength
This year’s graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University have redefined the American dream, university President Michael Rao told a packed audience in opening VCU’s commencement ceremony last Saturday.
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Gov. McAuliffe, end new Jim Crow voter suppression tactic
Imagine a wonderful parting gift from Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Imagine if Gov. McAuliffe put an end to Virginia’s strange and inexplicable participation in a GOP voter suppression trick that reeks of Jim Crow. Since 2013, this stealth voter purge program has cost tens of thousands of Virginians of color their right to vote. It’s called Interstate Crosscheck.
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Richmond Free Press freelance writer, editor Charles H. Taylor III, dies at age 70
From his earliest days to his twilight years, Charles H. Taylor III was a person of excellence and compassion for those who knew, worked with and loved him.
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'Black history in Virginia is Virginia’s story'
Museum exhibit explores freedom, justice, equality
From a weathered slave auction block used in 19th Century South Carolina, to the military attire, documents and scientific tools of soldiers, teachers and doctors, each item in Jackson Ward’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia tells a story.
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Panthers b-ball hopes to come roaring back
There’s a common thread between one of Virginia Union University’s all-time basketball greats and its current leading man. Both A.J. English II and his protégé, Ray Anderson, hail from the hard courts of Wilmington, Del. The VUU faithful are hoping Anderson, hailed by some as the “Ray of Hope,” can usher the program back to the glory road. English recommended VUU to Anderson and arranged for a visit, recounted the 6-foot-3 junior guard Anderson. “That’s how I got here,” he said.
