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No clues yet on Trump’s Africa policy
If President Trump has an Africa policy in the works, he’s keeping the details close to his chest. So far, there is neither an assistant secretary of state for Africa nor an ambassador. The incumbent secretary, Linda Thomas Greenfield, retired on Friday, March 10. Peter Pham, vice president and Africa director of the Atlantic Council in Washington, reportedly is seeking a position.
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Graduation rate for African-American players on NCAA Tournament teams lower than white counterparts
The graduation rate of African-American men’s basketball players from teams participating in the NCAA Tournament is 74 percent compared with 93 percent for white players.
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VUU returns from CIAA in trail of tears
Virginia Union University rode a wave of well-earned optimism to the CIAA Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. Its return to Richmond was amid a trail of tears.
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Gravely out at state NAACP?
Jack W. Gravely appears poised to resign as executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, the Free Press has learned. Mr. Gravely, a radio talk show host and former state NAACP executive director who returned to the leadership position in April 2015, was not immediately available for comment.
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U.S. Supreme Court upholds newly redrawn congressional boundaries
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Virginia Republican efforts to overturn redrawn congressional district lines Monday, completing a sweep of this year’s major high court redistricting cases by Democrats and minorities. The justices ruled unanimously that three GOP House members challenging lines drawn by a federal district court lacked standing to bring the case because they could not show they were directly affected.
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GRTC’s planned Bus Rapid Transit already $11.5M over projection
Richmond’s Bus Rapid Transit system is going to cost an additional $11.5 million to develop. But the state — and not Richmond — will pick up the extra expense, GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace disclosed Tuesday. “Under the project agreement, the Commonwealth of Virginia will cover any costs that exceed the estimated project budget,” she stated in an email to the Free Press.
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School Board approves $293M budget plan
Even as the Richmond School Board approved its $293 million budget proposal on Monday, some members expressed serious concerns that the school system wouldn’t receive all the money being sought. “I think we’re going to have more discus- sions about what happens if we get one penny less than what we’re asking for,” board Chair Jeffrey M. Bourne told his board colleagues minutes before they approved the budget by a 6-2 vote at their City Hall meeting.
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Opportunity time
The 2020 Virginia General Assembly session started on Wednesday with several historic markers of note.
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ASWAD conference to bring hundreds of scholars to area next week
Nearly 1,000 people from 30 different countries are expected in Williamsburg next week for the 10th Biennial Conference of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide Diaspora, or ASWAD.
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Memories of Kobe Bryant flood All-Star Game
Team LeBron won the game. Anthony Davis scored the game-clinching point. Kawhi Leonard was MVP. But memories of Kobe Bry- ant garnered people’s attention and thoughts the most at last Sunday’s 69th NBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
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Cathy's Camp
The Bible tells us, “The poor will always be with you.” But Richmond has got to find a better way to help people in need. Latest case in point: The people living in the Cathy’s Camp tent city.
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DACA program also impacts black immigrants
The Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the nation’s largest black-led organization championing racial justice and immigrant rights, blasted the Trump administration for rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that has allowed 800,000 immigrant youths to live in the United States without fear of deportation.
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LeBron banks on Lakers
The Golden State Warriors may have won the NBA championship, but now the Los Angeles Lakers clearly have the biggest prize in the offseason.
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General Assembly approves city charter change for school modernization
By Jeremy M. Lazarus 40-0 in the state Senate.
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4 area teams heading to LA for Snoop Youth Football League Nationals
Four area youth football teams are heading to Los Angeles for the Snoop Youth Football League Nationals Dec. 14 through 16. The Snoop League was founded by rapper and entertainer Snoop Dogg in 2005 in Southern California. The league now has about 20 teams throughout California.
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Bennett College meets fundraising goal
Bennett College, a historically black all-women’s college in North Carolina that was facing loss of accreditation and possible closure because of financial problems, has exceeded its $5 million fundraising goal.
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City’s hourly ‘living wage’ to rise to $12.07 under mayor’s proposed pay plan
More than 3,800 employees at City Hall, from janitors to executives, will be affected by the long-awaited overhaul of the city’s pay plan that Mayor Levar M. Stoney is expected to introduce Monday, Jan. 7, to Richmond City Council.
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Cheryl Burke wins Richmond School Board seat
Cheryl L. Burke, who was appointed in 2017 as the interim 7th District representative to the Richmond School Board, was elected Tuesday night to fill the seat for the rest of the term through 2020.
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Local quilt guild makes face masks for VCU health workers
Naima Wares-Akers and her legion of Richmond area quilters are filling a deep gap in keeping hospital employees and other health care workers safe from the coronavirus.
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General Assembly green-lights preference for Pamunkey tribe in local casino
The General Assembly, eager for a flood of green from casino gambling, gave a Virginia Indian tribe with a well-documented history and continuing practice of racial bigotry, a leg up in two cities — Richmond and Norfolk.
