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Jury still out
After a year on the job, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith has not won over many officers or residents either through style or substance
A year ago, Gerald M. Smith was introduced to the city as an “innovator” and a “reform-minded change agent” as Mayor Levar M. Stoney introduced him as Richmond’s new police chief.
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Afghanistan: To go, to stay; either way, many are likely to pay
President Biden has announced that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Aug. 31.
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Personality: Dr. Cyrillene ‘C.C.’ Clark
Spotlight on board chair of Voices for Virginia’s Children
With school about to begin for many of Virginia’s youths, and the COVID-19 pandemic still posing a danger to public health, the work of Voices for Virginia’s Children and its board chair, Dr. Cyrillene “C.C.” Clark, is more important than ever.
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“Respect:” A musical masterpiece that captures Aretha Franklin’s essence
“They want to hear you sing,” says the Rev. C.L. Franklin (played by actor Forest Whitaker) to his 10- year-old daughter, Aretha (played by Skye Dakota Turner).
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Building a race car from the wheels up revs up learning process for RPS students
Vroom.... Vroom...Vroom. That’s the sound Armstrong High School students yearn to hear as they build the interior of a Dodge Daytona 500R STEM car in a summer program at Richmond Raceway.
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No wrongdoing
Mayor Levar M. Stoney cleared in special prosecutor’s probe of the city’s awarding of $1.8 million contract to remove Confederate statues
No bribes. No kickbacks. No evidence of corruption in the use of taxpayers’ dollars. That’s the conclusion of a six-month probe to determine if Mayor Levar M. Stoney engaged in any wrongdoing in the award of a $1.8 million contract to a contractor to take down the city’s Confederate statues in July 2020.
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For Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, eviction fight is personal
Roughly two decades before she was elected to Congress, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri lived in a Ford Explorer with her then-husband and two young children after the family had been evicted from their rental home.
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Woman unaware she had $39M lottery ticket in purse for weeks
Lottery officials say a woman in Germany carried a winning ticket in her purse for weeks without realizing it was worth about 33 million euros, or roughly $39 million.
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Personality: Ronnie Hicks
Spotlight on board president of the Woodland Restoration Foundation
For years, Woodland Cemetery languished in neglect.
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Hundreds arrested in D.C. at faith-led protest for voting rights
As police escorted a demonstrator in a wheelchair away from the chanting throng descending on the U.S. Capitol on Monday, fellow protesters turned to watch the person go. The group paused for a moment, then altered their call. They screamed in unison: “Thank you! We love you!” The lone protester nodded, fist raised. The crowd erupted in applause. It was a moment that played out again and again over the course of the afternoon.
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Biles makes comeback, wins bronze on balance beam
Simone Biles isn’t going home with a fistful of gold medals. A mental block — one brought on by exhaustion or stress or something the American gymnastics star still can’t quite grasp — that forced her to pull out of four Olympic finals saw to that.
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Blanche Moore named Henrico County Christmas Mother
Blanche Moore has been selected to a very exciting and much needed Henrico County volunteer position – the 2021 Henrico County Christmas Mother.
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New TV show ‘Johnson’ offers glimpse into Black male perspective
Deji LaRay remembered when television shows like “Sex in the City” and “Insecure” captured the essence of friendships among women, but then realized hardly any male-driven stories were being told in the same manner.
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A way forward for Haiti, by Dr. Ron Daniels
Tragedy and triumph is a recurring theme in the history of Haiti, the world’s first Black Republic.
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Cori Bush is ‘my hero!’, by Julianne Malveaux
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush was once homeless. She wrote movingly about sleeping with her babies in her car, with no place to go, nowhere to wash except a McDonald’s restroom, nowhere to exhale.
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More than gold
Gymnast Simone Biles stuns the world, her teammates and her competitors by withdrawing from Olympic team and individual all-around competition to focus on her mental health
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles was expected to again helped lead the American team to gold medal glory at the Tokyo Olympics just as she had at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, the reigning queen of the sport help draw attention to the stresses that top athletes face Tuesday after she voluntarily withdrew from further competition, citing concerns about her mental fitness to continue.
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Racism of rioters takes center stage in Jan. 6 hearing
It had only been hinted at in previous public examinations of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection: Scores of rioters attacked police officers not just with makeshift weapons, stun guns and fists, but with racist slurs and accusations of treason.
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Personality: Betty L. Squire
Spotlight on president of Engine Company #9 and Associates
For nearly 30 years, Engine Company #9 and Associates has recognized the trailblazing path of the first African-American firefighters and police officers in Richmond. And now, the organization’s president, Betty L. Squire, is overseeing the group’s latest effort to showcase the pioneers in a new and big way.
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Black women and the pay gap, by Julianne Malveaux
It takes Black women until Aug. 3, or 19 months after the start of the previous year, to earn what a white man earns in a year. Most years, Pay Equity Day happens in March—this year on March 24—when all women finally make as much as white men.
