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Gold rush
Urban One wins nod to operate a casino-resort in South Richmond with a contract based on high expectations and promises of payouts
As the Virginia General Assembly considered legislation in winter 2020 to authorize casino gambling in Richmond and four other cities, Alfred C. Liggins III spent time buttonholing House and Senate members.
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Former city worker and union advocate: ‘I had no one to go to bat for me’
Andrew Thomas hoped to build a career in the Richmond Department of Public Utilities. Instead, the 49-year-old Jamaica native has quit the department after seven years.
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Published on September 29, 2022
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Examine racism from within
The recent violence perpetrated upon Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina was sickening. It seems as though our country is constantly regressing instead of progressing. Acts such as these continue to pour salt on the gaping gash of racial tension. Individually, we must ask ourselves if we are the ones “buying the salt” to pour on the wound. Indeed, this particular act was racially motivated. But all of us must bear in mind that evil is colorblind.
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Hampton's Blue Thunder cheerleading squad turns to online tryouts
The coronavirus pandemic is affecting every aspect of athletics, even cheerleading. Hampton University has conducted a virtual tryout for its Blue Thunder spirit squad.
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Published on August 20, 2020
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Former Chesterfield NAACP head wins libel suit
LaSalle J. McCoy Jr. said he never took a dime from the Chesterfield County Branch NAACP during the 10 years he served as president, and a county General District Court judge has agreed with him.
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ACA eliminates barriers to health care
The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) promised to improve the delivery of health care services in America — especially for historically disadvantaged communities that suffer high rates of chronic illness. The ACA has begun to deliver on that promise, but work still remains to ensure all who need healthcare in the most prosperous nation on earth can receive it. Healthcare.gov is now available for the open enrollment period through Sunday, Jan. 31. It’s imperative that members of the African-American community take advantage of this opportunity to access the coverage and care they need.
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Florida votes to replace Confederate statue in Congress with one of Mary McLeod Bethune
Florida could soon help diversify the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall by replacing a Confederate general’s likeness with the hall’s first statue honoring an African-American woman.
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Obamas choose 2 African-American artists for official presidential portraits
Artist Kehinde Wiley, known for his large, edgy paintings of top music and hip-hop performers such as Michael Jackson, LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., Ice T and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been commissioned to paint the official presidential portrait of former President Obama for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
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Mayor uses ‘fake news’ moniker for media reports on Coliseum project
Is Richmond’s mayor adopting President Trump’s habit of labeling media reports he dislikes as “fake news”?
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Half of Ferguson City Council now black
Two black candidates were among three people elected to the Ferguson City Council on April 7, tripling African-American representation in the St. Louis suburb where poor race relations have been a focal point since the August shooting death of an 18-year-old black youth by a white police officer. The election means that half of the six-member city council in Ferguson, a town where two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black, now will be African-American. The lone black incumbent councilman was not up for re-election. The mayor, who would break any tie votes, is white.
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School Board voices support for collective bargaining; opts for committee
Eight members of the Richmond School Board vocally expressed support Monday night for authorizing collective bargaining of a new contract between Superintendent Jason Kamras and his staff and a union that secures majority support from teachers and other employees.
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Use stimulus aid for summer jobs for youths, by Marc H. Morial
“The Harlem Youth Action Project was a city-funded attempt to keep some of the smarter kids off the street ... the next time I saw JET magazine there I was, all the way in the top left-hand corner of a news photo, leaning over Dr. King with my trusty tape recorder in my hand, looking for the last word. I was anything but a Power Memorial junior; I was starting to feel like what I thought of as a man.” — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Placing profits over people by Julianne Malveaux
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Who would have thought that amid the Christmas holidays we would learn that billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is using convicted prisoners to make calls for his campaign?
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Teachers, police make impassioned plea for more $
Put more money into public education. Provide better pay for police officers. Advocates for both gave Richmond City Council members an earful at a public hearing Monday night as the governing body considers amendments to Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ two-year budget. Whether their appeals are successful remains to be seen, but the council may have little wiggle room. The budget plan council members are reviewing provides virtually no new revenue over the current year’s spending, limiting the governing body.
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City DPW head quits over Harvard dispute
Since he arrived in 2011, James A. Jackson has pushed for change in the Richmond Department of Public Works. Instead of top-down leadership, he has spearheaded a team approach, worked to replaced outdated equipment and sought to address the backlog of citizen complaints about services.
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Mayor Stoney at midterm
Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s victories and foibles are up for public review and discussion this week as he offers the annual State of the City address on Jan. 31.
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‘Straight’ No.1 for second week
“Straight Outta Compton” continues to connect with movie audiences. It is the No. 1 movie in North America for the second week.