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‘Havoc’ to continue under Will Wade
Among Shaka Smart’s first duties upon becoming Virginia Commonwealth University’s basketball coach in 2009 was to hire Will Wade as an assistant. Smart referred to Wade as “my first hire.” After Smart’s resignation for the head coaching job at the University of Texas last week, among the first moves the VCU administration made was to hire Wade as head coach for the Rams.
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Armstrong tennis team ramps up for winning season
George Banks has a powerful hunch there is a potential tennis phenom somewhere within Richmond’s city limits. And if his instincts are correct, Banks is determined to discover him or her, outfit the prospect with a racquet and sneakers and swing open the door of opportunity.
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Dr. Bedden gets 2-year extension
The Richmond School Board presented Superintendent Dana T. Bedden with an early Christmas gift Monday when six of its nine members voted to extend his contract by two years — through June 30, 2019. The extension comes midway through Dr. Bedden’s initial 3½-year contract that began Jan. 13, 2014, and was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2017.
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Tiger at 40
Ten days after Tiger Woods turned 24, he picked up his 16th career PGA Tour victory by beating Ernie Els in an epic battle at Kapalua.
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Henrico High gym becomes ‘Buckingham Palace’
It’s about time for De’Monte Buckingham to be entered into the discussion of the Richmond area’s all-time, high school basketball greats. At least since the 1970s, few players have piled up more points — and more championships — than the Henrico High School megastar.
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Local favorites hitting NBA boards this season
Richmond’s legion of NBA fans will again have local favorites to follow on both sides of the country this season. Former Virginia Commonwealth University marksman Troy Daniels, who holds the Atlantic 10 record for the most three-pointers in a season, is beginning his fourth NBA season and his second with the Charlotte Hornets. Meanwhile, former Hanover High School/Benedictine/University of North Carolina standout Ed Davis will commence his fifth NBA season overall and first season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Dave Roberts first black manager for L.A. Dodgers
Richmond’s legion of NBA fans will again have local favorites to follow on both sides of the country this season. Former Virginia Commonwealth University marksman Troy Daniels, who holds the Atlantic 10 record for the most three-pointers in a season, is beginning his fourth NBA season and his second with the Charlotte Hornets.
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‘Battle of I-95 South
VUU Panthers versus VSU Trojans at Ashe Center on Sunday
Tavon Mealy has become the prince of the paint at Virginia Union University. Despite being vertically challenged at a more guard-like 6-foot-3, the undersized big man has a knack for ruling the painted boards in the shadow of the backboard.
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Sharpton on GOP: ‘They entertain you with foolishness’
“And let us not be weary in well doing!” the Rev. Al Sharpton said. “For in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not!” Moved by those stirring words, more than 1,000 worshippers rose to their feet, cheering and applauding Rev. Sharpton on Sunday during his sermon at the Men’s Day service at historic Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg. “If you give up, think of those ahead of you. If they had given up, where would we be?”
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Republicans make repealing Obamacare ‘first order of business’
President Obama exhorted fellow Democrats on Wednesday to preserve his legacy-defining health care law as Republicans moved ahead with their long-desired bid to scrap it in what Vice President-elect Mike Pence called the “first order of business” of the incoming Donald Trump administration. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate brushed aside unified opposition by Democrats and voted to open debate on a resolution setting in motion the Republican drive to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which has helped upwards of 20 million previously uninsured Americans obtain health insurance. As early as 2018, the millions of people who gained insurance under the law could see their coverage in jeopardy — especially if Congress fails to find a replacement to the law beforehand.
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Chief Durham decries drop in police force
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham is tired of hearing he should be doing more to stem the bloodshed in Richmond. He hears that refrain every time there’s another killing — and there have been 52 already this year, up nearly 27 percent from a year ago when 41 people were reported slain.
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Race central issue in Virginia-Maryland redistricting arguments before high court
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy appears to hold the decisive vote in two cases involving challenges from African-American voters to electoral districts in Virginia and North Carolina.
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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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Rev. Jesse Jackson announces Healing and Rebuilding’ tour in Richmond
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. urged parishioners at Trinity Baptist Church in Richmond to lift the community by voting in Virginia’s statewide election for governor in November.
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VCU basketball roster changes with new coach
Virginia Commonwealth University’s so-called basketball offseason has been anything but “off” in terms of news. There has been a steady flow of traffic — both arriving and departing — at the Atlantic 10 Conference university in Richmond.
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Finally — City Council ready to vote on new budget May 15
Veteran Richmond police officers and firefighters are in line for major raises after July 1 in a bid to slow their departure to surrounding localities that pay more.
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City Council continues to wrestle over budget
More than 60 people trooped to the microphone Monday to plead with Richmond City Council not to cut programs they need.
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A judge’s opinion
Judge Andre M. Davis of Baltimore, a senior judge with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote the following powerful words on April 7, 2017, as he joined in dismissing an injunction barring the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia from halting a transgender youth from using the boy’s bathroom at the county high school.
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GRTC board fires CARE van company
Cora J. Dickerson’s complaints about the CARE van service that GRTC provides to elderly and disabled riders have produced unexpected results.
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Unsold food is ‘a godsend’
Boxes of tomatoes, peppers and other fruits and vegetables fill four tables in the basement social hall at Zion Baptist Church on South Side, creating the look of a small grocery store. “This is a pretty small load,” said John Thombs, who had brought the cornucopia to the church at 2006 Decatur St., where his wife, Betty, set it up with a few helpers.