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Navy Hill ship sinking?
Scrutiny of Coliseum replacement plan reveals major gaps
The grand plan Mayor Levar M. Stoney is pushing to replace the Richmond Coliseum with $1.5 billion in new Downtown development does not appear to include enough affordable housing to meet a City Council requirement.
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Sickle cell advocate wins fight for high-dose opioids
George H. Carter appears to have won his fight to ensure that people like himself who suffer from sickle cell disease can get the high dosages of opioids needed to control the excruciating pain.
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Put Schools First offers $650M plan to modernize city schools
The volunteer Put Schools First committee is rolling out a plan that calls for spending $650 million to modernize all of Richmond’s public schools — with a goal of having 19 completed within seven years and the remaining buildings done within 12 years.
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City Council vote on meals tax hike set for Feb.12
Proving more adept at corralling a majority of City Council votes on a big issue than former Mayors L. Douglas Wilder and Dwight C. Jones, Mayor Levar M. Stoney is rushing to gain quick approval of his plan to raise the city’s current 6 percent meals tax by 1.5 cents.
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Councilman Agelasto’s move out of 5th District puts seat in jeopardy
A giant question mark now hangs over 5th District City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto. His continued service on Richmond’s governing body appears to be in jeopardy after a constituent who is a former state elections official disclosed to the media that the councilman and his family now live in the 1st District.
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Fairfax battles sexual assault allegation
Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, a 39-year-old rising star in the state Democratic Party, is battling to save his political career after being hit with a shocking allegation of sexual assault that dates back 15 years.
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Community organizer and strategist Lillie A. Estes succumbs at 59
Lillie Ann Estes set the standard for community organizing in Richmond.
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National NAACP suspends Frank J. Thornton, Henrico Branch president
In an extraordinary action, national NAACP President Derrick Johnson has suspended for a year the membership of Frank J. Thornton, president of the Henrico Branch NAACP and son of Frank Thornton, chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors.
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A bishop till the end
New Deliverance’s Gerald O. Glenn dies of COVID-19
Bishop Gerald Otis Glenn vowed to keep his Chesterfield County church open during the coronavirus pandemic “un- less I am in jail or in the hospital.” Just three weeks later, the respected leader of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church joined the list of people who died from the coronavirus.
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‘Deeply disappointing’
RPS superintendent reacts to city SOL scores showing 2 of every 5 students unable to pass one or more tests
The good news: More than half of Richmond’s public school students passed one or more state Standards of Learning tests in 2018 and are meeting state objectives in the core subjects of reading, writing, math, science and history/social studies.
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Grim: State accreditation and dropout data, recent audits reveal problems that have long plagued Richmond Public Schools
Educating all students remains a tough challenge for Richmond Public Schools. While the data show the majority of students complete 12 years and leave with a diploma to start careers or begin additional study, Richmond seems unable to make classroom education meaningful for a substantial minority who end up dropping out.
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Enrollment begins Nov. 1 for Medicaid expansion
Shanté Williams is among tens of thousands of Virginians patiently waiting for Thursday, Nov. 1, to arrive. That’s the start date for enrollment in the state’s expanded Medicaid program.
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ACLU calls for prohibition of ‘marijuana smell’ warrantless searches
Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring is aware that police officers are using the claim of “I smell marijuana” to justify pat-downs of people and car searches, particularly “in poor communities of color.”
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City Council approves expansion of real estate tax relief
Elderly and totally disabled homeowners won increased relief from real estate taxes beginning in January 2020.
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More taxes
Mayor Stoney proposes tax hikes on real estate, cigarettes and utility rates to generate more money for city needs
More money, more money, more money.
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Stand by your plan
Mayor Levar M. Stoney pushes his proposed tax hikes despite opposition and criticism
Mayor Levar M. Stoney plans to take his case for tax hikes to Richmond residents in coming weeks, even as his plan draws resistance and foes express gratitude to one of his outspoken opponents, 8th District City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, by showering her with bouquets of flowers.
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Overcharged? 4 Richmond School Board members question surging costs to build new schools in city
The projected cost of the three new schools that Richmond is preparing to build has jumped an average of $107 per square foot in just five months, adding tens of millions of dollars to the cost, according to four members of the Richmond School Board.
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Evergreen Cemetery receives international recognition
Evergreen Cemetery, the historic burial ground of such Richmond greats as businesswoman Maggie L. Walker and crusading newspaper editor John Mitchell Jr. as well as thousands of other African-Americans, has just garnered international recognition.
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Tuesday’s primary elections feature Dance-Morrissey contest
Voters on the east side of Richmond will play a big role next week in what has become one of the state’s hottest primary contests.
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Rev. Curtis W. Harris, civil rights activist, 1st black Hopewell mayor, dies at 93
The Rev. Curtis W. Harris Sr. devoted his life to battling the racism and bigotry that oppressed African-Americans in Hopewell and across Virginia.
