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City Council continues talks on school funding

Richmond City Council appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place as it seeks to craft a balanced $709 million operating budget that would become effective July 1. On one side are passionate supporters of Richmond’s public schools who want the council to shift more local tax dollars into public education to avoid the potential shutdown of Armstrong High School and four elementary schools. Find the money, they say.

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Morgan Bullock stands out in Irish dance

Morgan Bullock is starting to make a name for herself in the fast-growing arena of Irish dance. In late March, the Richmond area teen placed 50th for her solo dancing in her first foray into World Irish Dance Championships, becoming the only Virginian to be ranked among the 200 competitors in the age 15-16 category. She qualified to participate in the competition in Glasgow, Scotland, by placing among the top 15 dancers in regional competition in Dallas.

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Power to vote

Gov. McAuliffe boldly restores voting rights of 206,000 Virginians, including disenfranchised African-Americans

David Mosby no longer feels like a second-class citizen. After years of being barred from the ballot box because of his criminal record, the 46-year-old home improvement contractor is finally able to vote and fully take part in the life of his community.

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Maggie Walker statue project almost ready to roll

It’s official. No tree will overshadow the future Downtown statue of Richmond civic and business leader Maggie L. Walker. The Richmond Planning Commission this week ended the debate over the rare live oak tree that now stands at Broad and Adams streets and Brook Road.

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Metro Richmond air quality improves

Thousands of adults and children in the Richmond metropolitan area are breathing easier because the air is cleaner, although still far from pristine, according to the American Lung Association. The area improved to its best values on key measures of air pollution, the ALA reported in its annual national “State of the Air” report released Wednesday.

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HOME wins settlement for disabled

Landlords cannot turn away prospective tenants because their income is from government disability payments, according to the fair housing watchdog agency Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia. Richmond-based HOME brought attention to that restriction attempt after bringing change to a Chesterfield County apartment complex.

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Comments cause temperatures to rise at city School Board meeting

The Richmond School Board, like many public bodies in Virginia, has long barred speakers during its public comment period from engaging in “personal attacks of any individual” or expressing criticism of an administrator, a staff member, a principal or a teacher by name.

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Price of first class stamp drops by 2¢

A postage stamp now costs 47 cents — a drop of 2 cents for a first class letter.

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Faith-based group out to change world for homeless students

More than 1,600 students in Richmond Public Schools are considered homeless because they lack a traditional place to live. They live in shelters with their families, bunk with relatives or on the couches of friends or find space in group homes or motels.

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Petersburg shakeup continues

Irvin M. Carter Jr. has been dismissed as director of the Petersburg Finance Department in the latest city government shakeup.

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General Assembly backs plan allowing anonymity for suppliers of lethal injection drugs

Death row prisoners will continue to be executed in Virginia. In a blow to death penalty foes, the General Assembly on Wednesday approved Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposal to allow the state to secretly purchase lethal drugs for executions from small drug manufacturers that would remain unidentified.

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July 3 riverfront fireworks canceled

Richmond will have two fireworks shows to celebrate In- dependence Day on July 4th — the city’s traditional show in Byrd Park and the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ annual blast at The Diamond baseball stadium.

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GRTC’s planned Bus Rapid Transit already $11.5M over projection

Richmond’s Bus Rapid Transit system is going to cost an additional $11.5 million to develop. But the state — and not Richmond — will pick up the extra expense, GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace disclosed Tuesday. “Under the project agreement, the Commonwealth of Virginia will cover any costs that exceed the estimated project budget,” she stated in an email to the Free Press.

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Four candidates to run in primaries for 4th District congressional seat

The election for the 4th Congressional District seat that now includes Richmond is beginning to shape up. Two Democrats and two Republicans have qualified to run for their respective political party’s nomination in a June 14 primary. The winners of the primaries then will face off for the seat in the November general election.

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State NAACP election results upheld

After months of uncertainty, Linda Thomas is officially the president of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. She replaces Carmen Taylor of Hampton, who lost a close election last fall at the state convention. “I’m feeling pretty good. I’m anxious to get started, and the other members of the executive committee are anxious to get started,” said Ms. Thomas, a Caroline County resident whose husband, Floyd W. Thomas, serves on the Caroline Board of Supervisors

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Unsold food is ‘a godsend’

Boxes of tomatoes, peppers and other fruits and vegetables fill four tables in the basement social hall at Zion Baptist Church on South Side, creating the look of a small grocery store. “This is a pretty small load,” said John Thombs, who had brought the cornucopia to the church at 2006 Decatur St., where his wife, Betty, set it up with a few helpers.

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Petersburg works to filter water meter debacle

Petersburg failed to upgrade its billing system so it could accept and use the data collected from the new digital water meters, despite Mayor W. Howard Myers and the Petersburg City Council making that a condition in approving the switch to the new meters.

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Free Press wins big

The Richmond Free Press continues its 24-year tradition of award-winning excellence. The newspaper was recognized with 10 awards — including five first-place awards and runner-up for the Journalistic Integrity and Community Service Award — at the annual Virginia Press Association competition in writing, photography, news presentation and advertising.

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Marching for dollars

City Council takes first steps to give more to RPS

Before dozens of students, parents and teachers began pleading, berating and challenging Richmond City Council to beef up funding for city schools, the nine members of the governing body had already taken the first step. In a 9-0 vote Monday night, in front of a packed council chamber of school supporters, the council approved an ordinance requiring the city administration to give to the schools real estate tax money collected from surplus property previously owned by the school system.

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Council to CAO: Create plan to aid businesses impacted by BRT

Restaurants and other businesses along Broad Street could receive financial help to survive the expected 15 months of construction of the GRTC’s Bus Rapid Transit system.