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Justice groups press for independent police oversight panel
A coalition of justice groups is calling for the Richmond Police Department to create a civilian review board with the authority to investigate complaints against police officers.
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Virginia is for ‘Loving’
Six years after Mildred Loving’s death in Caroline County outside of Richmond, people from all over the world still post messages on a website with her online obituary.
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Neo-Confederates cost city another $30,000
The Richmond Police Department spent a little more than $30,000 in overtime and other costs for the rally last month by neo-Confederates at the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue.
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Mayor seeks to change definition of emerging small business
For more than 15 years, City Hall has sought to use its purchasing power to boost start-up and fledgling companies, often with minority ownership, that generally bring in less than $500,000 a year in revenue and have 10 or fewer employees.
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Growing rift
City Council members angered by their colleagues’ action on Coliseum replacement proposal
The divisions among City Council members over the Coliseum replacement plan appear to be hardening.
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Creation of police oversight panel among 3 critical items City Council to consider
Richmond City Council is heading to decision time on three significant items on its agenda—creation of a civilian review board to oversee police discipline, collective bargaining for employees and redistricting.
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10 groups interested in leading Boulevard redevelopment project
At least 10 groups have responded to Richmond’s call for companies to redevelop the 60 acres of mostly cleared city property that includes The Diamond baseball stadium and the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center on North Boulevard. “This is the kind of response that we wanted,” Lee Downey, the city’s chief development officer, said as the city begins the process of selecting a master developer to transform the area into a potential $300 million complex of offices, retail stores and residential units.
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Biden’s student loan plan needs more reforms, by Marc H. Morial
“By forgiving up to $20,000 in burdensome student loan debt, President Biden is giving working and middle class families the financial breathing room the desperately need. Buying a home, founding a business, starting a family, and so much more will now be a financial possibility for millions more Americans. But we cannot stop there. The Congressional Black Caucus remains committed to achieving additional reforms to ensure current, and future borrowers are not subjected to this cycle of burdensome debt.” – Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty
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Finally
Bon Secours opens new East End medical facility
A battered Bon Secours Mercy Health is promising increased investments in health care in Richmond’s East End in pushing back against critics claiming the giant health care system has diverted savings on expensive drugs away from the community to wealthier areas.
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Abrams, Georgia Dems call midterms ‘unfinished business’
Four years ago, Georgia Democrats had a contested primary for governor because the party’s old guard didn’t believe in Stacey Abrams. She routed their alternative and, in a close general election loss, established herself as de facto party boss in a newfound battleground state.
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SPCA’s 2024 Rock the Block Party
The Richmond SPCA’s signature Dog Jog, 5K and Block Party drew dog lovers from near and far on Saturday, March 23, at the nonprofit’s humane center on Hermitage Road.
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Mayor’s revised police review board proposal gains support
Richmond appears to be moving closer to establishing an advisory Civilian Review Board to make recommendations in cases of alleged police misconduct that result in residents being killed, injured or suffering unwarranted physical or verbal abuse.
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Dr. Irving P. McPhail, president of St. Augustine’s University, dies from COVID-19 complications
Dr. Irving P. McPhail, president of St. Augustine’s University, died Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, of complications from COVID-19, just three months after taking the helm of the historically Black university in Raleigh, N.C.
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Petersburg jail closure to cost taxpayers $
Instead of saving money, the closure of the Petersburg Jail will cost city taxpayers at least $1.2 million extra each year, a Free Press analysis has determined. Figures from Petersburg’s government confirm the newspaper’s finding that closing the jail is more expensive than keeping it open, belying claims from Mayor W. Howard Myers and three other council members who supported the jail’s shutdown. That extra cost is embedded in the proposed budget that Petersburg City Manager William E. Johnson III presented recently to the seven-member Petersburg City Council. His proposed budget also provides no raises for city employees and no increase in city contributions to the public schools.
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NSU scores with SACS, state audit
Norfolk State University is finally getting some good news. Interim President Eddie N. Moore Jr. this week indicated that NSU is on its way to having its accrediting agency remove the school from probation and restore it to unqualified accreditation.
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Free community testing for COVID-19 continues
The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:
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America does not value the lives of black people
There is no stronger proof of the truth of that statement than the 10-minute cell phone video showing the ghastly death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
