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Obama Elementary!
Richmond School Board votes to dump Confederate name at North Side school to honor nation's first African-American president
Richmond School Board votes to dump Confederate name at North Side school to honor nation’s first African-American president
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City plans public awareness campaign about trash fee exemption
Christine Page rents a house in the 1700 block of North 19th Street, and her monthly utility bill has always included $23.79 for trash and recycling collection. She was surprised to learn that she could apply to the city to remove the fee from the bill without any impact on her service.
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Lt. Gov. Fairfax to speak at 62nd memorial ceremony
Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax will be the keynote speaker at Virginia’s 62nd Annual Memorial Day Ceremony from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, May 28, at the Virginia War Memorial, 621 S. Belvidere St. The ceremony honors veterans who gave their lives to preserve America’s freedoms from the Revolutionary War through today.
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Richmond School Board grapples with money issues, school name change
The Richmond School Board and Superintendent Jason Kamras struggled at the board’s meeting on Monday to wrap their arms around continuing daunting budgetary tasks and RPS’ potential future financial shortfall. Mr. Kamras laid out plans to spend $12.5 million that was unused by Richmond Public Schools during the current school year, turned over to the city and is being returned to RPS in City Council’s 2018-2020 budget approved earlier this month.
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Muslims in U.S. working toward greener Ramadan with less waste
Religion News Service Neekta Hamidi usually gets a few strange looks when she sits down for an iftar, the evening meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, at her mosque in Boston.
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Former President Carter launches Liberty University address with jab at Trump
Former President Jimmy Carter took a gentle poke at President Trump at the start of a commencement address to graduates of Liberty University in Lynchburg.
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Personality: Dr. Jacqueline Johnson-Curl
Spotlight on honorary chair of VHEF’s Jazz InsideOut benefit
Dr. Jacqueline Johnson-Curl, a Richmond dentist, believes in helping children achieve their dreams. She is the honorary chair of the 7th Annual Jazz InsideOut, a night of jazz, comedy and good food to benefit scholarships and emergency student aid provided by the Virginia Higher Education Fund.
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Bamba dominates NBA Draft Combine
Mohamed Bamba has set two NBA records, of sorts, without even breaking a sweat.
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Punked
Unrealistic assumptions and overly rosy income forecasts. Those were among the shaky financial footings on which the Leigh Street training camp for the Washington NFL team was built, according a new report from the office of City Auditor Louis G. Lassiter.
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When Rihanna dressed as the pope
Rihanna came as a burlesque pope. Cardi B was a vaguely medieval madonna. Madonna, meanwhile, as a queen draped in black, was strikingly sedate. At the Met Gala on May 7, Catholicism was beyond chic.
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Graduation, with more hurdles to clear
Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther, graduated from Howard University in 2000. His writing partner is also an HU graduate. Mr. Bozeman came back to his alma mater to address the Class of 2018 and to receive an honorary degree. The Howard University graduation on Saturday is one of more than 100 HBCU graduations, and more than 4,000 graduations around the country.
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Smoking and public housing
Like many public housing residents, we were surprised to learn that smoking will be prohibited in all public housing apartments in Richmond beginning Aug. 1. The smoking ban was put in place nationally by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will affect more than 1.2 million households, including 4,000 families living in Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority properties in the city.
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Personal drama overshadows elected service
We were gravely disappointed by news of the arrest yet again of Henrico School Board member Roscoe D. Cooper III. The 43-year-old Mr. Cooper has given a lot to the community in terms of service. He has been pastor of Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church since 2003, serves on the board of the Capital Area Health Network and was elected to represent the people of the Fairfield District on the Henrico School Board.
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Dirty clothes become golden opportunity for local businessman
For many, washing clothes is a chore. But what many people may view as drudgery is Devon Chester’s doorway to opportunity.
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‘Black Panther’ star returns to alma mater to inspire Howard students at graduation
Actor Chadwick Boseman, a Howard University alumnus who starred in the blockbuster film, “Black Panther,” lauded Howard University students for their recent successful campus protests, saying their efforts to spark change will help them as they enter the workforce.
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Hampton University alumna, Hollywood costume designer urges students to be innovators, leaders
Ruth E. Carter challenged Hampton University students to be brave, to be innovators, to be bridge builders and leaders. At the university’s 148th commencement on Sunday, the Hampton alumna and acclaimed Hollywood costume designer for the box office hit “Black Panther” told graduates, “When King T’Challa said, ‘Let’s build bridges not barriers,’ I say good thing Hampton’s got good engineering and architectural programs so they can build bridges that need building once all y’all break barriers in the world with your education.”
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Personality: Jenny M. High
Spotlight on founder and president of nonprofit Go High Center for the Arts
Jenny M. High, founder and president of Go High Center for the Arts, is a visionary and mentor to Richmond area youths.
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Historic city credit union seeks new growth
Amid the recovery from the Great Depression, 10 African-American Richmond educators organized a new credit union for teachers in the city that would provide the personal touch and financial services then largely unavailable to them at most banks in segregated Richmond.
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100 days
New schools chief still energetic, optimistic
Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras has spent the last 100 days engaging with school community while trying to calm the storms from previous administrations.
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$3.4B:City Council approves 2018-2020 spending plan
Richmond high school students will be able to take unlimited free rides on GRTC buses beginning July 1. Organized activities for city youths also will be beefed up starting in July, with city recreation centers operating longer hours and after-school programs at elementary and middle schools being upgraded.