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Pressure grows for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving Jan. 6 insurrection probe
Suspicions are growing that the lone Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court used his
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VCU’s Heartbeats program races for better maternal health outcomes
For the last several months, a new program at Virginia Commonwealth University has been working to prevent sometimes fatal complications such as domestic violence, racial inequality and medical bias that come with pregnancy.
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50th anniversary of historic 1970-71 Rams basketball team
What’s commonplace today in college basketball — an all-Black lineup—was head spinning a half century ago.
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Black excellence
We often hear the expression “Black excellence,” particularly when Black people, individually or collectively, achieve the seemingly impossible.
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‘No one handed out medals’
Retired Richmond fireman recalls heroic work saving elderly residents in fire 44 years ago
As the firetrucks roared up, an elderly woman was screaming for help out of a half-open window as smoke billowed around her. She would be the first person that firefighter William“Junie” Bullock would rescue that day from the ninth floor of the Boxwood Building at Imperial Plaza, a five-building complex for retirees located on Bellevue Avenue in North Side that had opened 11 years earlier.
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Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, whose activism led to diversity on state boards and commissions, dies at 83
Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison championed Black inclusion in government and public contracting while also opening her heart and her home to children and adults who needed a helping hand.
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Good riddance
68 law enforcement officers have been decertified in Virginia since a new state law took effect last March expanding the grounds for which they can be disqualified to work.
Two years ago, the only reasons police officers could be decertified in Virginia were if they tested positive for drugs, were convicted of certain crimes or failed to complete required training.
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Dr. Melissa Viray steers local health departments through changing state COVID-19 policy
In the midst of shifts in Virginia’s COVID-19 policies, Dr. Melissa A. Viray is looking to continue the evolution and expansion of Richmond and Henrico County’s public health response as the new acting director of the Richmond and Henrico health districts.
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Bold beginnings
RPS pilots new program at 2 schools
It was bright and sunny Monday morning when Angela Swafford brought her sons, Zarkarin and Zionyah, back to school. While other Richmond students and parents are still in the middle of the summer break, Ms. Swafford was one of the first of many parents escorting their children to Fairfield Court Elementary School this week as part of a pilot program extending the school’s semester from 180 to 200 days.
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City Council backs year-round homeless shelter, approves master plan
Rhonda Sneed has gained City Council support after a year of pleading for City Hall to create a year-round shelter for the homeless.
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After Roe’s fall, Black churches support some or all reproductive health options
For Evangelist Lesley W. Monet, the weeks since the fall of Roe v. Wade has been a time of praise and preparation.
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It’s a deal
City and RVA Diamond Partners finalize $2.44B agreement; council vote comes next
The Diamond District – Richmond’s biggest ever development – is now at the starting gate after seven months of negotiations between the city and RVA Diamond Partners LLC (RVADP), the private developer.
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Virginians lend helping hand after Mississippi storms
When storms tore through Mississippi and the surrounding states of Texas and Alabama last month, the devastation made national news. At least 25 people were killed, and hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed.
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The sophisticated soul of Will Downing
Will Downing has been around long enough to be one of the few Grammy-nominated singers left in his lane. After 26 albums, (including his latest, “Pieces”) the R&B singer is fine with where his career, which began in the 1980s, has put him.
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Richmond Free Press founders receive City Hall honor and recognition
Black-owned weekly saluted for its ‘leadership, service, dedication and prominence in the community’
Jean P. Boone and the late Raymond H. Boone, founders and publishers of the Richmond Free Press newspaper, received recognition from City Council on Monday night to honor their journalistic contributions to the city.
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Hanover residents hopeful after Virginia Supreme Court’s Wegmans ruling
A recent decision by the Virginia Supreme Court means residents are being given a second chance to make their case against a Wegmans distribution center — even though construction on the 1.7 million-square-foot facility located in Ashland is nearing completion.
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Faith and fate of affirmative action
It’s a different colorblindness than the one envisioned in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina comes in a year of 60th anniversaries in American civil rights history.
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Parents, teachers question Holton elementary’s leadership, environment
When Richmond’s Linwood Holton Elementary School opened in 1999, it did so with the intention of reflecting the philosophy of its namesake, former Gov. A. Linwood Holton, who supported civil rights and school integration.
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Candidates chip away at Mayor Stoney’s record during Chamber RVA forum
Candidates vying to unseat Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney in November’s general election tried to chip away at his record during a candidates forum Tuesday night sponsored by Chamber RVA.
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School Board insists on going it alone on Wythe
Construction of a new George Wythe High School is still in limbo as the Richmond School Board needs to work out some design decisions for the request for proposal, or RFP, in order to move the construction process forward.
