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State mandates COVID-19 vaccinations for state workers; Richmond School Board to follow suit

First came the universities. Then came the City of Richmond. Then Gov. Ralph S. Northam followed their lead in imposing a mandate on most state employees to get vaccinated against coronavirus.

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City Council gives greenlight to casino project

Richmond easily leaped the first hurdle in its quest to become a casino city — City Council approval.

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Nikole Hannah Jones

There’s nothing better than the warm embrace of family.

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Answers to COVID-19 questions

With eligibility for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine expanded to children ages 12 to 15, and updates to mask mandates nationally and statewide, the Free Press has gathered answers from experts to common questions about these new developments:

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Joye B. Moore hits the area’s sweet spot with Joyebells Sweet Potato Pies

Joye B. Moore is a sixth-generation baker whose sweet potato pies based on an old family recipe may be making their way into countless homes throughout Metro Richmond.

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Mayor’s challengers go on the offense during candidates forum

Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney was roundly criticized during a forum last week by four challengers seeking to unseat him for what they said is his administration’s lack of transparency.

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Youngkin inaugural plans include pricey dinner, music acts

Incoming Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin is planning a celebratory inaugural weekend that will include a mix of high-dollar ticketed events and other functions open to the public, according to a program that also touts an appearance by an unspecified Grammy-winning musical artist.

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Almanac, coin found in Lee monument time capsule

A rust-colored 1875 almanac, a cloth envelope and a silver coin were found Wednesday in a time capsule that had been buried beneath a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue for more than 130 years.

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Can Coach Deion Sanders help restore the HBCU-to-NFL pipeline?

An impressive total of 33 HBCU alumni have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. But will there ever be another? Or even another first round draft choice? Or All-Pro?

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Crackdown

Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights goes after possible housing discrimination by filing 13 lawsuits against 29 area companies that allegedly refused to accept renters using federal housing vouc

Owners and operators of apartment complexes in Richmond and across the state commonly have rejected rental applications from people using federal government-backed Housing Choice Vouchers to pay.

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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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Jason Mott, Tiya Miles win National Book Awards

Jason Mott’s “Hell of a Book,” a surreal meta-narrative about an author’s promotional tour and his haunted past and present, has won the National Book Award for fiction—a plot twist Mr. Mott did not imagine for himself.

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Archaeologists uncover remnants of one of nation’s first Black churches in Williamsburg

The brick foundation of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches has been unearthed at Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum that continues to reckon with its past storytelling about the country’s origins and the role of Black Americans.

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New programs at George Wythe and John Marshall aimed at boosting student achievement

George Wythe and John Marshall high schools are big winners of the Virginia Department of Education’s 21st century Community Learning Center grants.

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NMAAHC religion exhibit features Little Richard’s Bible, Rev. Ike’s suit

Musician Dizzy Gillespie embraced the Baha’i faith and its belief in universal humanity — a concept he saw reflected in jazz, which he viewed as a blending of musical elements from Africa and Europe. Activist Angela Davis, faced with the horror of bombings by white supremacists as a youth in Birmingham, Ala., took part in interracial discussion groups at her church. Singer Tina Turner practiced both recitations of the Lord’s Prayer and chants of Buddhist Scripture. The religion and resiliency of Black Americans are featured in “Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism and Popular Culture,” a new exhibition of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Slow but steady

Larger than expected voter turnout delays election results

Eleven volunteers were still hand-counting ballots at Free Press deadline to determine the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic “firehouse” primary in the 4th Congressional District.

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Robinson triplets turn 10

Three times the charm

A decade ago, Deirdre Harris welcomed three of her daughters, Kali’Co, Keri’Co and Koh’Co Robinson. Triplets, the girls were delivered two months prematurely by Cesarean section on Oct. 21, 2013, and required medical support.

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Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support

Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get

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Biden calls ‘surge’ in antisemitism ‘sickening’ during White House Hanukkah reception

President Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday night, vowing to continue to stand with Israel in its war with Hamas while saying that a “surge of antisemitism” around the globe “is sickening.”

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No, Donald, you’re not being persecuted like the Scottsboro Boys, by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan

The Scottsboro Boys were victims of racism; Donald Trump, conversely, has long been known for his racism

“War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength.” So wrote George Orwell in 1984, his famous dystopian novel about authoritarian- ism. The book gave us the term “Orwellian,” describing situations where facts are ignored, truth is turned on its head, and 2+2=5. Now, almost 75 years after its publication, the United States is confronting its own brush with authoritarianism, by prosecuting former President Trump for his attempt to seize power after losing the 2020 election.