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Trammell, Spinks and Lambert squeeze out victories in City Council races
Tavarris J. Spinks, a specialist in information technology for health care, appears to have eked out a 26-vote victory to claim the vacant 2nd District City Council seat, according to unofficial results released Wednesday.
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Richmond Circuit Court clears way for ballot initiative on schools vs. Coliseum
The Richmond Circuit Court this week cleared the way for political strategist Paul Goldman to launch a challenge to a brewing $1.2 billion proposal to replace the 47-year-old Richmond Coliseum.
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RPS releases initial details of online reopening
When school starts Tuesday, Sept. 8, for Richmond Public Schools students, their online lessons will begin at 9:15 a.m. and end at 4:20 p.m. Students in pre-school through third grade will start earlier — at 9 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m.
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‘Gun control has nothing to do with guns; it is people control’
Letters to the editor
The purpose of this letter is correct myths surrounding the AR-15 rifle, the most popular rifle in America.
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2-year-old teaches cashier lesson on beauty of all skin colors
Brandi Benner and her husband, Nick, took their 2-year-old, Sophia, to Target last week to let her buy a special gift for a major milestone — pooping on the potty for one month straight.
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GRTC to pilot on-demand service for elderly, disabled
Taxicab, Uber and Lyft drivers soon could be taking elderly and disabled people shopping, to the doctor and to other places in Richmond and Henrico County.
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Thomas Jefferson High School valedictorian Amia Graham, who graduated with a 4.9677 GPA, poses outside her home for a Free Press series of “Front Porch …
Published on January 7, 2021
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Coliseum review panel stalled after attempt to add VUU president
New twists occurred this week in the ongoing saga of the Navy Hill District Corp. proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum.
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Cleared
Allegations dismissed that Mayor Dwight C. Jones used city resources to benefit his church
Mayor Dwight C. Jones is off the hook. Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring announced Wednesday that Mayor Jones has been cleared of allegations that he used city resources to benefit the South Side church where he also is senior pastor.
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Paradox of selling water cheaply to Chesterfield
Re: “Mayor seeks to lease part of park to Chesterfield for county drinking water,” June 1-3 edition: Richmond Free Press staff writer Jeremy Lazarus deserves an award for his investigative reporting on the city’s plan to allow Chesterfield to build a water facility in a Richmond city park and charge Chesterfield a fifth of what Richmond customers must pay for a unit of water.
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Student loan forgiveness application website goes live
President Biden on Monday officially kicked off the application process for his student debt cancellation program and announced that 8 million borrowers had already applied for loan relief during the federal government’s soft launch period over the weekend.
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Ambulance charges may dramatically increase
$600 trips to medical centers could more than double
City Hall is pressuring the Richmond Ambulance Authority to nearly triple its charge for transporting patients to hospitals or other treatment centers based on a consulting firm’s recommendation, the Free Press has learned.
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Gray still questions cost of taking statues down
City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, who is challenging Mayor Levar M. Stoney for the city’s top elected job, said this week that the Associated Press interview with contractor Devon Henry has not changed her view that an investigation is needed into the $1.8 million contract he received to remove the city’s Confederate statues from Monument Avenue and other public property in early July.
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Fire destroys former governor’s home
A Wednesday fire destroyed the Northern Virginia home of former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb and his wife, Lynda, who is the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Bettye Jean Branch Bragg, former Head Start aide, dies at age 80
Bettye Jean Branch Bragg touched the lives of hundreds of Richmond children during her 34 years as a teacher’s aide in Head Start, a program to prepare 3 and 4-year-olds for kindergarten and higher grades.
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Free Press wins NNPA award
The Richmond Free Press continues to be recognized with national awards. The Free Press placed second for the Armstrong-Ellington Best Entertainment Section at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual convention June 20 through 24 at the National Harbor outside Washington.
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Gray candidacy announcement set for Sunday; another mayoral challenger expected
Richmond City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray plans to formally announce her challenge to Mayor Levar M. Stoney this weekend.
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Dr. S. Dallas Simmons, late VUU president, to be inducted into CIAA Hall of Fame
The late Dr. S. Dallas Simmons, former president of Virginia Union University, is among seven people chosen for induction into the 2019 John B. McLendon CIAA Hall of Fame.
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Diversity and the Federal Reserve Board, by Marc H. Morial
“The Federal Reserve is our country’s most powerful economic policy institution. Twelve Fed leaders meet every six weeks to make decisions that include how many people should be unemployed and whether wages should be going up. Most of those leaders are white men who come from Wall Street. We want the leadership of the Fed at all levels to be more diverse so it looks and thinks like the working people it is supposed to represent, not Wall Street.” — The Fed Up Campaign
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Teacher raises, central office cuts are key to Kamras’ proposed 2022-23 RPS budget
Richmond teachers would get a 5 percent raise, the largest in years, while 33 new people would be added to the Richmond Public Schools payroll.