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Public supports police statue move to The Carillon
The votes are in: The public wants a 28-year-old tribute statue to fallen Richmond police officers moved to The Carillon area of Byrd Park.
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Turmoil, charges rock Chesterfield NAACP
The president of the Chesterfield County Branch NAACP is facing a charge of assault in the wake of a bizarre incident in which he sought to block a critic from attending a branch meeting, which usually is open to the public. LaSalle J. McCoy Jr. was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor charge and released on his own recognizance in the case that has embarrassed both the branch and the state NAACP, Virginia’s oldest and largest civil rights group.
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City names North Side park for the late Walter Gaines Jr.
Walter Gaines Jr. was the unofficial “mayor” of the Providence Park community on North Side for nearly 45 years. A gregarious man known for his positive attitude, Mr. Gaines worked to improve public safety and promote neighborliness. Among other things, he helped bring a Boys & Girls Club to the community to improve resources for young people as president of the Providence Park Civic Association. He helped start the association in the late 1960s and led it until his death.
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Carver Elementary recognized, while more Richmond schools lose accreditation
Richmond’s George Washington Carver Elementary School is winning national recognition for its success in student learning at the same time the number of failing schools in the city has increased.
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Creighton Court area transformation continues despite $30M federal loss
Richmond already is signaling it is ready to move ahead with the planned transformation of the Creighton Court public housing community, despite losing out on a $30 million federal grant.
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Ben Wallace removes jersey, photo from VUU over dispute
Pro basketball great Ben Wallace has removed his jersey from its place of honor at Barco-Stevens Hall at Virginia Union University where he was a star, the Free Press has learned.
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Documents show letter carriers’ pay reduced
At least three supervisors in Richmond’s Main Post Office appear to routinely change the time cards of letter carriers — without the carriers’ knowledge or permission — in order to reduce their pay.
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Former RPS warehouse to become furniture building center
Call it a $1.6 million windfall for Richmond Public Schools to use to upgrade some of its schools. The money is to come from the sale of the school system’s former warehouse on Arlington Road near The Diamond to Richmond-based McKinnon and Harris, an outdoor furniture manufacturer.
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Richmond registrar needs money for Jan.10 special election
Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter is gearing up for the Richmond special election Tuesday, Jan. 10, when voters will pick a new state senator to replace A. Donald McEachin, who is heading to Washington to represent the 4th Congressional District.
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Several Democrats seeking party nod in area House of Delegates races
Can Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn fend off her first Democratic primary challenger since she won the 70th House District seat eight years ago?
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Groundbreaking for Capitol Square’s new Native American monument June 24
Virginia’s Native Americans are moving closer to gaining their own monument in Capitol Square.
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Postal service managers, supervisors ready to fight terminations
The battle over pay practices of the U.S. Postal Service in the Richmond area is about to become even more heated.
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City moves to end regional jail arrangement
The City of Richmond wants to end its participation in a regional jail in Caroline County — a move that could save Richmond taxpayers at least $1.2 million a year.
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Slew of candidates translated into flood of work
The 73 candidates who filed to run for Richmond office submitted 1,835 pages of petitions with 25,060 signatures of purportedly registered voters, according to city Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter. Every one of the signatures had to be checked against the state database of registered voters to ensure they were valid, Ms. Showalter said.
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Runoff election for mayor will require dollars
Richmond might need a runoff election for mayor if none of the eight candidates wins the Nov. 8 election outright. One problem: No money has been set aside to cover the projected cost.
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Student advocate arrested again
In the face of a federal probe, Chesterfield Public Schools is doubling down on its efforts to keep an advocate for disabled students from taking part in meetings to help develop individualized education programs (IEPs) for students. For the third time in the past 14 months, Kandise N. Lucas has been arrested at a Chesterfield school for trespassing. The latest arrest, on June 10 at Ecoff Elementary School in Chester, occurred when she went to the school for an IEP meeting a parent had invited her attend.
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Performance review team to examine city operations
Mayor Levar M. Stoney came into office promising to undertake a comprehensive performance review of City Hall departments with the goal of improving accountability, efficiency and the delivery of services.
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Va. Supreme Court to hear voting rights restoration challenge July 19
The Virginia Supreme Court will not rush to hear a Republican challenge to Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s April 22 order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons. In an order issued Wednesday, the seven-member court announced it would sit in special session on Tuesday, July 19, to hear arguments in the case aimed at deciding the governor’s authority to issue a blanket restoration of rights rather than acting on a case-by-case basis.
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City budget deficit pegged at $4.1M
The City of Richmond is facing a $4.1 million deficit and likely will have to dip into savings to avoid being in the red when the books close June 30 on the current 2015-16 fiscal year. That’s according to Lenora Reid, the city’s chief financial officer.
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Customers left hanging after dry cleaner shuts down
Lonnie McLaurin took two jackets, two shirts and two pair of pants to a dry cleaner in Highland Park at the end of April. When he returned a week later to pay his bill and pick up his clothes, he hit a surprising roadblock — a padlock on the front door of the shop. He could see his clothes covered by plastic hanging on a rack in the front of the store, but no one was there to let him in.
