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Baker School building eyed for conversion into apartments

A vacant school building at 100 W. Baker St. in Gilpin Court is being eyed for conversion into 55 one-bedroom apartments for the elderly and disabled.

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$1M upgrade at Main Library in Downtown

Every day, dozens of people flood into the Main Library in Downtown to use public computers. They come to check emails, seek employment, do research and handle other activities in the online world, including paying bills and applying for visas.

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Richmond NFL Hall of Famer donates $500,000 to Morgan State University

Morgan State University was good to Willie Lanier. Now Mr. Lanier is being good to Morgan State. The historically black university in Baltimore announced that Mr. Lanier has given a $500,000 gift to establish the Willie E. Lanier Sr. Endowed Lectureship in Business Ethics.

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Federal appeals court gives workers greater protection against racial harassment

A Maryland waitress who was fired after reporting that a manager twice called her “a porch monkey” has become a key figure in bolstering protections for workers who face racial harassment and abuse on the job. A federal appeals court in Richmond is using the civil rights lawsuit that Reya C. Boyer-Liberto filed against the resort hotel where she worked in 2010 to bolster efforts of workers who seek legal redress for a hostile workplace — even when their complaint involves only one or two incidents.

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Henrico hires Petersburg deputies

Henrico County Sheriff Michael L. Wade spotted a personnel opportunity when he learned that Petersburg was closing its jail.

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5th Street traffic detour expected through mid-August

A portion of North 5th Street was closed Wednesday to start the second phase of work on the bridges beside the Richmond Coliseum.

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New city CAO gets $5,700 raise before job start

Selena Cuffee-Glenn just received a $5,700 salary bump — from $203,000 a year to $208,700 — though she will not start work as the city’s top administrator until Monday, May 18.

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No charges filed against Wisconsin police officer in teen’s death

A Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot an unarmed biracial teenager in March, prompting several days of peaceful protests, will not be charged, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Officer Matt Kenny used justified lethal force in the March 6 shooting of Tony Robinson, 19, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said.

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Giles hopes to boost services to troubled teens

Shunda T. Giles has been preparing for her transition from lawyer for the Richmond Department of Social Services to its top manager. On Monday, the 41-year-old attorney took over the leadership role of the department of more than 400 staffers and a $74.5 million annual budget, all aimed at strengthening families and providing services to meet essential human needs.

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Plenty of jobs, not enough workers

Commission recommends aligning training with opportunities

Talk about a huge surprise: Four job openings exist in Richmond for every job seeker in the city, according to government data. In fact, more jobs in the city go begging for qualified workers than anywhere else in the Richmond region, which overall has 1.5 job openings for every job seeker, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated in its December report.

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Slavery memorial to gain in capital budget plan

The battle over the ballpark in Shockoe Bottom apparently is over. At the same time, hopes are fading for Richmond Public Schools to gain funding to develop essential new schools on South Side to relieve overcrowding.

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Services sacrificed in council’s $ plan

Richmond Public Schools is on track to gain an extra $9 million to help meet critical needs in the coming year. Police officers and firefighters also are on track to gain bigger raises of roughly 2.5 percent to help reduce turnover in public safety.

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$1 City selling home sites for low, moderate income families

Vacant property for $1. That’s the price that City Hall is setting to clear out its inventory of home sites and to help cut the future purchase price of the houses to be built on them. This effort also will help finish partially completed developments that have been on hold since the economic recession began in 2008. In a first step, at least 16 lots are being prepared for sale, primarily in Southern Barton Heights. A few lots in Swansboro on South Side and in Newtowne West near Virginia Union University also are part of the sale. The board of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the properties’ nominal owner, helped clear the way by approving the transfer of the properties to the city at its meeting last week.

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Richmond schools to get boost from state

Higher than expected enrollment is helping Richmond Public Schools avoid falling into a deficit. Richmond reported 128 more students than expected on March 31, boosting total enrollment to 21,973 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to a report to the School Board. The extra students should result in a $1.6 million boost in the state’s contribution, according to the report from Ralph L. Westbay, assistant superintendent for financial services. The state contribution previously had been projected at $121.7 million.

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VSU, NSU still facing cutbacks

Cutbacks. That’s what Norfolk State and Virginia State universities are facing because of surprisingly steep enrollment drops. Enrollment at both of the state-funded, historically black institutions peaked in 2012 and then began a sharp decline. Based on current projections, both schools expect to enroll at least 25 percent fewer students in the fall than in 2012. That means less income and more need to reduce spending on staff and programs.

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Spotty CARE van service leaves riders in limbo

Roderyck Bullock has somewhere to go almost every day, but he doesn’t always make it. His ride sometimes arrives late. Occasionally, it doesn’t show up at all.

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Fight over Richmond Christian Center property on South Side continues

Henrico County-based Mountain of Blessings Christian Center still wants to acquire the property of the bankrupt Richmond Christian Center in South Richmond. In a suit filed this month, Mountain of Blessings is requesting that U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Keith L. Phillips either enforce an order he signed in December authorizing Mountain of Blessing’s purchase of the RCC property in the 200 block of Cowardin Avenue or order RCC to pay Mountain of Blessings at least $2.7 million in damages.

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Samuels to run for mayor?

Is Charles R. Samuels adding his name to the list of City Council members and others eyeing a run for mayor in 2016? While the six-year council representative insists that’s not the case, others are less certain about his intentions as potential candidates begin to line up. That includes council members Jonathan T. Baliles and Chris A. Hilbert, who both have indicated they are making plans to run. There also is talk that Council President Michelle Mosby also is interested. Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn and state Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar M. Stoney also are being mentioned as potential candidates.

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Henrico to replace voting machines

Henrico County is joining Richmond in replacing its voting machines to comply with new state requirements. Ahead of the June 9 primary, the county inked a deal this week to pay $1.2 million to buy new optical scan machines, Voter Registrar Mark J. Coakley announced.

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City Council green lights projects for 2nd Street, North Side, East End

New apartments finally could rise on the site of the former Eggleston Hotel at 2nd and Leigh streets in Jackson Ward. City Council gave a thumbs up Monday by voting 9-0 to allow the long-stalled project to receive a grant of $250,544 over seven years through the city’s Economic Development Authority. Developer Kelvin Hanson, who initially proposed Eggleston Plaza five years ago, said he hopes to have the $5.8 million project underway this summer.