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Changing the trajectory
RRHA ushering in new initiatives for jobs, health and safety
Steven B. Nesmith promised to transform the operation of Richmond’s public housing and the opportunities for residents when he assumed leadership of the authority last fall.
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Coffee shop business grinds to a halt
A combination coffee and bike shop was supposed to be a first step in breathing fresh life into a neighborhood business strip in North Side. But four months after the ceremonial, high-profile ribbon-cutting, only the nonprofit bike shop remains in operation at 10 E. Brookland Park Blvd. — and just a few days a week.
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Hurricanes and public policy
Hurricane Harvey did everything people said it would do and more. It either drowned or swallowed everything it touched in Corpus Christi, Houston and Beaumont, Texas, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and a bunch of other places. Already, estimates say that Harvey may be our nation’s costliest disaster to date, costing at least $190 billion, or about 1 percent of our gross domestic product.
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Court moves closer to declaring Va. law unconstitutional linking court fines to driver’s license suspensions
For more than two decades, people who cannot pay court fines and costs in Virginia automatically have had their driver’s licenses suspended.
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New boss at VSU
Hampton provost to take reins
Pamela V. Hammond is on track to become the first woman to lead Virginia State University in the school’s 132-year history, the Free Press has learned.
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$2.1M federal grant to help acquire new riverfront parkland
City Hall and a regional conservancy group are on track to receive a $2.1 million grant to support the expansion of park space along the James River.
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Housing group acquires Church Hill property for project
A former church social services center known as Citadel of Hope is to be the centerpiece for a new affordable housing development in Church Hill.
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1 vendor? ‘This is ridiculous!’
Re “Only 1 black-owned food vendor at NFL training camp,” Free Press July 27-29 edition: Only one black food vendor at the NFL training camp in Richmond? This is ridiculous!
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FDA finalizes rule expanding availability of abortion pills
The Food and DrugAdministration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, companies.
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City electoral board recruiting 200 new election officers
In anticipation of the November elections, the Richmond Electoral Board is recruiting 200 people to increase the number of sworn officers of election at city polls.
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Hayden is new Librarian of Congress
The U. S. Senate has confirmed Dr. Carla D. Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress. The 74-18 vote for the nominee of President Obama for the key position came on July 13. Dr. Hayden is the first African-American and first woman to hold the position. Her appointment at the Library of Congress is for 10 years.
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Byron E. Howlett Sr., former head of Richmond Heritage Federal Credit Union, dies at 73
Byron E. Howlett Sr. led the modernization of the Richmond Heritage Federal Credit Union during his 19 years as the second president and chief execu- tive officer of the oldest African-American financial institution still in operation in Richmond.
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Nitika and Joshua Achalam may be staying home, but they are staying busy. They are outside their home in Fulton with their chickens, Octavia Butler …
Published on April 16, 2020
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Surviving — and thriving — through the pandemic, by Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack
Before the unimaginable disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Claflin University was teeming with unbridled optimism, buoyed by the recognition the university and the men’s basketball program had received during the 2020 CIAA Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
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Supply and demand
City’s ‘housing crisis’ calls for 23,000 affordable living spaces
Seeking to put fresh emphasis on an issue that has been on the agenda for at least a decade, City Council on Monday followed through and joined Mayor Levar M. Stoney in “declaring a housing crisis in the city of Richmond.”
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Sacrifice for success
Parents of student athletes willingly go, and pay for, the extra mile(s)
Willie Starlings, 50, became a sports parent when his son, Joel Starlings, played flag football as a 4-year-old at Hotchkiss Field Community Center in Richmond.
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It’s still incomplete. But in a few months, the metal beams these men are sitting on will become a bridge that will allow Richmonders to …
Published on May 27, 2016
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Dr. Reavis to retire as seminary president
Fifteen years ago, Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr. went to Lynchburg to save his alma mater, Virginia University of Lynchburg. Now the former Richmond pastor is preparing to step down as president of the historically black Baptist college and seminary that he believes has been restored to full health — with more than 10 times the enrollment than when he started. “When I got here, there were only 32 students on campus,” Dr. Reavis said. Today, more than 400 students are taking courses on the campus, online or in a satellite program on the Northern Neck in Eastern Virginia.
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7-foot senior at The Steward School sees his basketball prospects growing
Efton Reid has grown out of all his old clothes while growing into being one of the nation’s top college basketball prospects.
