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Dr. Walton M. Belle, longtime Richmond surgeon and team doctor for VUU Panthers, dies at 91
Dr. Walton McNeil Belle Sr. combined surgery with a flair for business.
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$3.4M in federal rent relief has aided families in RRHA housing
Virginia’s rent relief program is providing real relief to public housing tenants in Richmond who have fallen months behind in paying rent due to the pandemic.
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City Council Oks plan for $155M in federal American Rescue Plan funds
Richmond is preparing to pour $64 million into the develop- ment of new and improved community recreation centers in the East End, South Side and Gilpin Court.
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VUU to start 2 new schools and 2-year degree program
A new school is being launched a Virginia Union University to train students to be activists.
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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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Virginia voters approval constitutional amendments, local referendums
Yes, to allowing a 16-member commission to undertake the chore of drawing new political maps. Yes, to exempting totally disabled veterans from the local personal property tax on one vehicle. Yes, to casino gambling in four cities located near the border with North Carolina. No, to removing Confederate statues from their locations outside courthouses in six counties, including Charles City County, with a population that is 57 percent people of color.
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RPS Chromebooks missing?
A major share of the estimated 20,000 Chromebooks that were distributed to Richmond students last year to help them connect to virtual classes have yet to be recovered or accounted for, the Free Press has been told.
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City moves access revenue that results in $12.6M surplus
The city of Richmond’s financial team moved $30 million in excess revenue from the 2022-23 fiscal year to the city’s savings account to refund expenses and then officially announced a $12.6 million surplus from the fiscal year that ended June 30.
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Brig. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace takes command
Brig. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace just became the first female leader of the Army Reserve’s 80th Training Command, one of the largest educational operations in the Army.
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Rail agency begins historic cemetery review for estimated 22,000 souls
It took nine months, but the Federal Railroad Administration is keeping its promise to take a fresh look at a historic Black cemetery in Richmond and its potential impact on proposed rail improvements between Richmond and Washington.
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Election Day votes likely to boost state’s Black legislators
The General Assembly is guaranteed to have a record number of Black members after voters cast their ballots on Election Day next Tuesday, Nov. 7.
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New plans in place for 2 Richmond cemeteries
Richmond is getting a thumbs up from the community for its plan to take over the historic Evergreen and East End cemeteries on the city’s East Side, but only if volunteer groups are kept in the loop.
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City’s switch to VRS approved
Richmond city employees could soon have the option of becoming members of the Virginia Retirement System.
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Funds available for groups hurt by Enrichmond’s collapse
A promised $250,000 bailout fund for more than 80 community groups that lost most of their money in the 2022 collapse of the Enrichmond Foundation is finally available.
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Councilman says city ‘not equipped’ for safer streets
“Completely miffed.” That is 1st District City Councilman Andreas Addison’s reaction to City Hall’s efforts to reduce speed and the likelihood of more fatal accidents in the wake of highly publicized traffic deaths of two Virginia Commonwealth University students since January.
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New state funding for RPS school construction
Millions of dollars are heading to Richmond Public Schools to support school construction projects, including the rebuild of burned-out Fox Elementary School in The Fan, and the development of a new career and technical education high school in South Side, according to information provided to the Richmond School Board.
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Council raises percentage of vehicle tax owners must pay
Richmond vehicle owners can expect to see bigger personal property tax bills for their cars and trucks this year.
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Richmond jazz legend has new release
William F. ‘Bill’ McGee has performed with The O’Jays, Fred Wesley, Patti LaBelle and more
Richmond-based jazz legend and civil rights leader William F. “Bill” McGee is releasing his latest CD, “Tree of Life,” Friday, March 17, through music streaming services and the website he owns and operates, 804jazz.com.
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Local input sought on Shockoe Bottom
Wanted: Community involvement in creating a new development plan for Shockoe Bottom. An activist group is seeking public input now that Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ plan for a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom appears to be going nowhere. The mayor’s combo baseball-development plan has been on hold for 10 months after failing to win City Council support. The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, which battled the mayor’s plan as an effort to erase the history of slavery in Richmond, announced it would hold several brainstorming sessions in the next few days to solicit public suggestions for the historical and commercial development of Shockoe Bottom, an epicenter of the slave trade before the Civil War.
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Southside Ducks, Battery Park big winners in city rec league play
Sheyheim Harris ran over tacklers for five touchdowns and Kevin Gayles punched in four extra points to lead the undefeated Southside Ducks to victory last Saturday in the Richmond Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ Youth Tackle Football Championship.
