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RRHA leadership changes under cloak of silence
Adrienne E. Goolsby was described as a “proven leader ... with a remarkable track record” when she was lured from Chicago in 2012 to take over as the chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. But less than three years into her tenure, the 45-year-old Atlanta native is out and a retired Richmond development expert, T.K. Somanath, 69, has been installed temporarily as RRHA’s top official as the search for Ms. Goolsby’s successor begins.
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National Night Out to bring together police, community spirit
The rise in crime in Richmond has Marilyn Olds frustrated. “While you are locked up in your house, criminals are taking over our streets,” said the president of the Creighton Court Tenant Council. “The criminals need to see that we are united and we are not going to give up.”
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Case closed on 1964 murder of 3 civil rights workers
JACKSON, MISS. One day short of the 52nd anniversary of the disappearance of three civil rights workers’ during Mississippi’s “Freedom Summer,” state and federal prosecutors said that the investigation into the slayings is over. The decision, announced June 20, “closes a chapter” in the state’s divisive civil rights history, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said.
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Wilder in legal brawl with his former lawyers Goldman, Morrissey
Richmond residents now have a front row seat on a heavyweight legal fight between former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and former Delegate Joe Morrissey.
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CIAA champs head to NCAA (Pt 2)
Lady Panthers celebrating title; Johnson clinches MVP
Kiana Johnson and Lady Walker may be the best celebration combination since ice cream and cake. They’re the life of a Virginia Union University basketball party that’s just spreading it wings under first-year Coach AnnMarie Gilbert.
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City eliminates $240,000 admissions tax debt of Richmond Jazz Festival
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has quietly eliminated the estimated $240,000 in admissions taxes that the popular Richmond Jazz Festival owed the city, three highly placed sources have told the Free Press.
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War continues over statues
The war of words over Confederate statues in Richmond appears to be just getting started. In the weeks and months ahead, Richmond City Council is poised to consider a nonbinding resolution from 9th District Councilman Michael J. Jones that aims to put the governing body on record as favoring removal.
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Toronto Raptors ready to claw victory from the 76ers
With the slogan “We the North,” the Toronto Raptors threaten to change the NBA’s initials to the IBA — International Basketball Association. The league’s lone Canadian franchise had the NBA’s second best regular season record this season (58-24), behind the Milwaukee Bucs, and is tops overall over the last two seasons (117-47).
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Local players have helped NBA teams make it to the finals
If someone dusted the NBA playoff archives for fingerprints, they would discover ample evidence of Richmond area talent. Local players have played — and even been leading attractions — on NBA championship teams at least seven times. Make that nine times if you fudge the boundaries a tad. Here are a few highlights:
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Missy Elliott honored at MTV Awards
Missy Elliott, the rapper-singer-songwriter-producer-dancer and Portsmouth native whose music videos have moved the needle over the last two decades, was honored at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where Taylor Swift also took center stage with her gay pride anthem, “You Need to Calm Down.”
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City Council shoots down advisory referendum on $1.5B Coliseum project
One week after the Richmond City Council voted to kill a proposed advisory referendum asking Richmond voters whether they support using tax dollars to pay for a new Richmond Coliseum, the referendum’s chief proponent is still tense over the decision.
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Center ordered to sell Cowardin Avenue parcel
Pastor Stephen A. Parson has spent more than 16 months fending off a lender’s attempt to foreclose on the current South Side home of the Richmond Christian Center he founded more than 30 years ago.
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Richmond Community High School graduate receives national scholarship
Morghan Williams, a Richmond Community High School graduate who is a first-year student at North Carolina A&T, is one of 25 students in the United States to be awarded $10,000 through the Sallie Mae Fund’s Bridging the Dream Scholarships for High School Seniors.
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Slyderz shine in Inner-City Classic
Carl Smith has seen baseball from an up-close-and-personal vantage point few can match. Now he’s passing along that wisdom to area up-and-comers.
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YWCA’s 2023 Outstanding Women Awards
Since 1980, YWCA Richmond has honored more than 300 women leaders for their achievements and contributions in the Greater Richmond area.
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Washington rookie proves to be preseason surprise
Surprise! Surprise! Jaret Patterson is that shiny package you never expected.
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‘Don’t believe everything you read ... in the Richmond Free Press’
Re “Jury still out: After a year on the job, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith has not won over many officers or residents either through style or substance,” Free Press Aug. 12-14 edition, and “Vacancies hurting Richmond’s emergency operations,” Free Press Aug. 26-28 edition:
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Naomi Osaka announces hiatus after U.S. Open defeat
Retired athletes voiced their support for four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka last Saturday after she said she would take a break from tennis, having lost her enthusiasm for competition.
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Panthers celebrate 83-62 win against Augusta
Raemaad Wright scores 34 points, makes 16 rebounds
Timberrrr! The nation’s No. 2 team has taken a fall, with Raemaad Wright among those cutting it down to size.
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A look back at football legends and HBCUs
Just for fun, let’s turn back the clock and imagine the greatest college football players of all time.