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U.S. appeals court strikes down prayer practice before government meeting
Government officials who lead Christian prayers to open meetings are violating the U.S. Constitution, a divided federal appeals court in Richmond has ruled.
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Personality: Antonio ‘Toby’ Mendez
Spotlight on sculptor of the Maggie L. Walker statue
Antonio “Toby” Mendez did not know much about Maggie L. Walker when he first began working on the statue that now stands at Adams and Broad streets in Downtown Richmond. But as the process of making the statue progressed, he learned more about her life and works.
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Wells Fargo to give $4M to HOME to expand black home ownership
Five years ago, banking giant Wells Fargo paid more than $200 million to settle documented government allegations that it deliberately charged African-American borrowers higher fees and interest rates on home loans.
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City Hall’s most feared man is out
For 11 years, he was considered the most feared man at Richmond City Hall as he led a staff of 14 in ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. But that time is over for City Auditor Umesh Dalal.
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Resolving conflict focus in youth camp this Saturday
The Richmond Department of Juvenile Justice Services and the Capital District of the Virginia Juvenile Justice Association are sponsoring the W.E.B. Football and Life Skills Camp from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 22, at John Marshall High School, 4225 Old Brook Road, on North Side.
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Honoring greatness
Statue of Richmond pioneer Maggie L. Walker unveiled to cheers at gateway to Jackson Ward
Richmond residents and officials rejoiced Saturday morning as the long-awaited statue of hometown hero Maggie Lena Walker was unveiled.
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Faith group opposes Trump on voting data request
A national network of progressive faith organizations is rallying support for officials in Virginia and 43 other states and the District of Columbia who have rebuffed a Trump administration effort to collect detailed personal information on voters as part of a probe of alleged voter fraud.
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RRHA ‘missed a golden opportunity’ to help people become homeowners
Re “Prospect of home ownership escapes 70-year-old Randolph resident,” Free Press June 29-July 1 edition: I was appalled reading the Free Press front page story about Charlene Harris, the 70-year-old Randolph resident. Is the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s management becoming aloof and unfeeling towards the residents they serve? To think that the RRHA would move a 70-year-old lady from a house she has lived in and called home for 49 years and relocate her into a less desirable house and neighborhood is inconceivable.
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Stop the madness
We are tired of President Trump and his lies. And we are particularly aggravated by his hubris and deceit when it comes to his connections with Russia and his collusion with the Kremlin to win the November 2016 presidential election.
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Riverside defeats the Blue Sox in RBI Tournament
Some talented, teenage baseball players have completed the Richmond area portion of their season. Now they’re ready to hit the road.
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Broadcast legend ‘Tiger Tom’ Mitchell dies
“Tiger Tom” Mitchell built his life on the spoken and written word. For more than 30 years, the celebrated broadcaster entertained untold thousands of listeners with his radio show on long-gone WANT AM 990.
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City auditor facing criticism of his own
Umesh Dalal has put many of the bureaucrats at Richmond City Hall in the hot seat during his 11 years as city auditor. Now, it’s his turn.
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KKK in Charlottesville outnumbered
Klan rally draws more than 1,000 counterprotesters
More than 1,000 people turned out to shout down a group of Ku Klux Klan members last Saturday at a Charlottesville park where a few dozen hate group members and supporters waving Confederate flags and signs with anti-Semitic messages held a rally.
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Death sentence?
Virginia inmate files federal class action lawsuit to make Hepatitis C treatment available to prisoners
Terry A. Riggleman went to prison as a convicted robber. But 11 years into his 20-year sentence, he is working to change an alleged state practice of withholding life-saving medicine from Virginia prison inmates like him who are afflicted with the liver-destroying viral infection known as Hepatitis C.
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Sprint to give RPS students 6,000 tablets with internet service over 5 years
At least 1,000 Richmond high school students will receive free computer tablets this fall that are connected to the internet.
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Virginians to be impacted by new laws now in effect
New state laws went into effect Saturday, July 1, that could impact how Virginians drive, what kind of alcohol they buy and what they wear when they go hunting.
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City receives grants for lead paint abatement, workforce development
Richmond has been awarded grants totaling $4.6 million that will enable the city Health District to do more to reduce lead poisoning of children and to beef up the city’s workforce programs that seek to reduce poverty. The biggest grant, $2.7 million, is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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State ABC seeking new headquarters, warehouse space
The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is beginning its hunt for a new headquarters and warehouse site to replace its current space in North Side.
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Richmond mom takes action after teen deaths
Candice Walker, like many people in Richmond, was appalled and outraged by the recent slayings of five teenagers.