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CIAA champs head to NCAA (Pt 2)

Lady Panthers celebrating title; Johnson clinches MVP

Kiana Johnson and Lady Walker may be the best celebration combination since ice cream and cake. They’re the life of a Virginia Union University basketball party that’s just spreading it wings under first-year Coach AnnMarie Gilbert.

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Jesse Owens had backup

17 other black athletes competed on 1936 U.S. Olympic team

Adolf Hitler’s bigoted theory on “Aryan supremacy” took a terrible beating at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. A talented band of African-American athletes led by Jesse Owens blew up Hitler’s hateful propaganda and kicked the rubble in his face.

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Telfair: I was never consulted on Petersburg water contract

Two years ago, cash-strapped Petersburg jumped at a deal that Johnson Controls Inc. was offering. As it has done across the country, the energy and industrial giant offered to pay for installing automated water meters to replace Petersburg’s 11,500 old and outdated meters. The new meters would transmit water usage data to a passing truck and eliminate the need to send staff to physically check meters every two months.

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VUU’s Chaz McKenzie named MVP of CIAA field events

Chazton McKenzie is the master of multitasking at Virginia Union University. The recent CIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., served as a showcase for his versatility. “Chaz isn’t some average athlete. He’s a great athlete,” said VUU track Coach Wilbert Johnson. McKenzie’s academic major, business management, is apropos. He meticulously took care of business Feb. 14-15 at Winston-Salem’s JDL Fast Track.

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Lady Panthers seeking first title since 1982

There is inspiring history associated with Virginia Union University women’s basketball. The problem is it’s mostly “ancient” history. First-year coach AnnMarie Gilbert, scintillating transfer Kiana Johnson and towering Lady Walker have helped freshen up the team’s résumé.

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VCU on the rise

Virginia Commonwealth University’s offensive efficiency is on the rise under first-year basketball Coach Will Wade. The Rams are shooting better and scoring more than during former Coach Shaka Smart’s sparkling six-year run (180-65 record, five NCAAs).

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Petersburg roils with turmoil

There’s trouble in Petersburg. Petitions are being circulated to remove Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers. Separately, a majority of the Petersburg City Council has voted to begin talks to remove Petersburg City Manager William E. Johnson III and City Attorney Brian K. Telfair, although some are questioning whether the action came at a legal meeting. All of this comes as residents are venting over the way the city is being managed, over sky-high water bills and about property tax bills that are arriving close to the deadline for payment.

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Kendrick Lamar wins big at Grammy Awards

Hip-hop ruled the stage Monday night at the Grammy Awards in performances that put racial tension back in the national spotlight and where some of music’s biggest stars failed to deliver, or in the case of Rihanna, failed to show up at all. Rapper Kendrick Lamar went into the awards with 11 nominations and looked to be on course to win album of the year for his critically acclaimed “To Pimp a Butterfly.” While he led Grammy winners with five wins, he lost album of the year to country-turned-pop artist Taylor Swift, who won with “1989,” the best selling album of 2014.

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Pi Lambda Theta gala honors 4 students

Romance and education mingled at the annual Valentine Gala of the Virginia Area Chapter of the Pi Lambda Theta International Honor Society and Professional Association in Education. More than 200 people dined and danced at the benefit event Saturday night on the eve of Valentine’s Day at a Henrico County hotel.

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Personality: Enjoli Moon

Spotlight on founder of Richmond’s Afrikana Independent Film Festival

Enjoli Moon first contemplated the idea of starting the Afrikana Independent Film Festival in 2014. “I was planning to attend black film festivals in other areas and began to wonder why Richmond didn’t have one,” the Richmond native recalls.

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Kiana Johnson breaking records for Lady Panthers

Kiana Johnson is rewriting the women’s basketball record book at Virginia Union University. The senior guard from Chicago eclipsed two standards in VUU’s 85-68 win over Lincoln University of Pennsylvania last Saturday at Barco-Stevens Hall.

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Thompson hopes to take Saints to championship

Eric Thompson Sr. has left his son, Eric Jr., with a tough act to follow on the basketball court. The elder Thompson was on two State Group AAA championship teams at Marshall-Walker High School, and on two CIAA championship teams for Virginia Union University. Eric Sr. was all about defense and ball handling and still holds several records for assists for the state high school and CIAA tournaments.

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VCU’s Melvin Johnson mirroring former Rams star Calvin Duncan

Melvin Johnson grew up in New York, first signed a scholarship offer with a Florida program and then changed his mind and came to Virginia Commonwealth University. Sound familiar?

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Black History Month Expo to highlight Petersburg events

Petersburg is planning an expo, movie viewings, spokenword and other dramatic presentations, a bus tour and read-in as part of its Black History Month commemoration.

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Maggie Walker among local schools receiving an NFL Golden Football

The former Maggie L. Walker High School has been awarded an NFL Golden Football for being among the high schools that contributed to the first 49 years of Super Bowls. Willie Lanier, a member of the Maggie L. Walker Class of 1963, helped the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970, in New Orleans. From Walker, Lanier went on to star at Morgan State University in Baltimore before embarking on a Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs.

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Area high school basketball standouts racking up points in college

The University of Kansas has won three NCAA basketball tournaments —1952, 1988 and 2008. If the Jayhawks are soon to add No. 4, look for Frank Mason III at center stage.

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VCU eyeing 11th straight win Friday

From mid-December to mid-January, it would be hard finding a more dominant college basketball team than the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. Since Dec. 15 when the record was 5-5, Coach Will Wade’s squad has won 10 straight games with an average victory margin of 17.2 points.

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VCU Rams prevail in overtime against UR

Anyone who has ever played the arcade game Whac-A-Mole can understand the frustration of Virginia Commonwealth University’s basketball foes. Each time you knock down one mole — in VCU’s case, containing one high scorer — another pops up. Consider:

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Pistons retire ‘Big Ben’ Wallace’s No.3

Ben Wallace wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school in Alabama. Nor was his name called in the NBA draft following a career at Virginia Union University. Despite that, he goes down as one of basketball’s all-time greats on the low post.

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Seek solutions to today’s problems in working to realize Dr. King’s dream

“I came to help keep his memory and his dream alive. This is the least I can do after what he did for us,” said Barbara Moon after attending the 38th Annual Mass Meeting on Monday that honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The retired Richmond Public Schools teacher was among a few hundred people who braved sub-freezing temperatures to attend the inspiring community gathering at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in the East End on the national holiday honoring Dr. King.