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Alexis Johnson leading a repeat for Lady Panthers
You might say Alexis Johnson has become the “Lady Walker Part Two” story for Virginia Union University basketball.
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Training sessions aimed at developing new employees for East End market
A new East End market promises to bring employment and opportunity to a longtime food desert in the city. The Market @ 25th, scheduled to open in March at 25th Street and Nine Mile Road, will fill many voids in the neighborhood, including the need for long-term, large-scale employment.
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Where are the African-American catchers in MLB?
African-American baseball catchers are a vanishing breed.
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Hemp: Virginia’s new big cash crop?
At first glance, it looks like a stoner’s paradise: Acres of plants that resemble marijuana. But this crop is hemp, a relative of cannabis that has commercial uses ranging from textiles and animal feed to health products.
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Charlottesville police chief retires in wake of damaging report
The first African-American police chief of Charlottesville abruptly retired Monday, about two weeks after a scathing independent review criticized his “slow-footed response” to violence at a white nationalist rally this summer.
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Religious conservatives defend Roy Moore
Conservative Christian supporters of former Alabama Judge Roy Moore are defending the U.S. Senate candidate against allegations of molesting a 14-year-old girl decades ago — and one of them used the biblical story of Mary and Joseph to rationalize an adult being sexually attracted to a minor.
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VUU fires football coach
Coach Mark James has been fired after four productive seasons as Virginia Union University’s head football coach. The question now is, “Why?”
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Obama-Trump: Great contrast
President Trump defines his administration as against all things Obama. Beneath his insults, outrages, lies and antics is a remarkably consistent attempt to undo his predecessor’s entire legacy. With Republicans in total control of the White House and Congress, President Trump can dismantle much of what former President Obama accomplished, but he ultimately will fail to overturn President Obama’s legacy. President Obama had the right moral compass; President Trump’s reaction will not be sustained. Consider the contrast: President Obama passed health care reform, enabling 20 million more people to afford health insurance. The centerpiece of his Affordable Care Act was the expansion of Medicaid to cover more than 10 million low-wage workers and their families.
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Some Richmonders on edge following national tragedies
Like many Americans, people around the Richmond area are dazed and distracted, saddened and angered after two mass shootings last weekend in Texas and Ohio left 31 dead and dozens of other wounded.
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Faster legal sales of marijuana snuffed out; Black advocates cheer
The rush to start legal retail sales of marijuana next September has been snuffed out.
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Answers to COVID-19 questions
With eligibility for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine expanded to children ages 12 to 15, and updates to mask mandates nationally and statewide, the Free Press has gathered answers from experts to common questions about these new developments:
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$8.3M RPS mystery
Meeting next month between School Board, City Council and Mayor’s Office to see what happens next
An $8.3 million surplus in the Richmond Public Schools’ budget that was disclosed during a recent Richmond City Council meeting is nothing out of the ordinary, according to Richmond School Board Chair Dawn Page.
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Council members concerned about latest utility rate hikes
Like a steady drip, drip, drip, the cost of utility services is continuing to rise in Richmond at a double-digit pace, outpacing inflation and raising concerns among some about affordability.
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Officials warn of e-cigarette dangers as vaping illnesses, deaths mount
When cases of lung disease linked to vaping began popping up across the country this summer, the Virginia Poison Center in Downtown began receiving calls from people who thought they might have become ill from using e-cigarettes.
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NSU wins bragging rights after Battle of the Bay
Terrance Ervin is among the most successful quarterbacks in state high school football history. Now it seems he has carried that winning spirit to the college campus.
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New brewery coming to the city?
Bring us your cold brewed beer.
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Study: Harsh policies liked if black people are target
A new study suggests that public support for harsh criminal justice policies rises if those policies ensure more black people are kept behind bars.
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Appeals court ruling keeps Biden student debt plan on hold
President Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers was handed another legal loss Monday when a federal ap- peals court panel agreed to a preliminary injunction halting the program while an appeal plays out.
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Settlement details expected in death of South Side man involving police, ambulance personnel
A settlement is being worked out in the $25 million federal civil lawsuit alleging that two Richmond Police officers and two Richmond Ambulance Authority emergency medical personnel fatally smothered city resident Joshua L. Lawhon three years ago.
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Hurray for compromise
Good news. Virginia lawmakers are reportedly on the verge of a budget deal that would ensure increased funding for public schools and mental health services, while restoring a subsidy that will protect against a projected leap in health insurance premiums.
