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Former area football standout signs with Hampton University

Former L.C. Bird High School sensation Yahkee Johnson has signed a full National Letter of Intent to continue football next season at Hampton University.

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Chaise Johnson eyeing options after Steward School

Like many star high school guards, Chaise Johnson has speed, court smarts and a keen shooting eye. Unlike most, he also has a former NBA first-round draft choice as his longtime tutor. The Steward School all-time scorer credits Cory Alexander — San Antonio’s first-round draft pick in 1995 — with advancing his development.

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VUU’s Kiana Johnson leads CIAA all around the ball

Fueled by transfer Kiana Johnson, the Virginia Union University women’s basketball team has taken off like a rocket. The 5-foot-7 dynamo leads the CIAA in scoring (24.8 points per game), assists (8.2 per game) and steals (4.2 per game) while steering the Lady Panthers to an 8-1 takeoff under first-year Coach AnnMarie Gilbert. Inheriting a squad coming off a 9-18 season, Coach Gilbert felt she needed a quality point guard to jump start her inaugural season on Lombardy Street.

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Rams wreak ‘Havoc’ at home and on the road

“Havoc” is alive and well at Virginia Commonwealth University, even though its founder, former Coach Shaka Smart, has left for Austin, Texas. In examining the Rams’ recent basketball statistics, you’d hardly suspect Coach Smart had been replaced by Coach Will Wade.

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2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History honorees

They can only be described as sculptors. They are responsible for the making and shaping of strong communities. They are the 2016 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History who are being honored at a ceremony next month. The honorees were announced this week by Dominion and the Library of Virginia, sponsors of the annual program celebrating the outstanding achievements of African-Americans.

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27% Black-owned businesses gain from Stone Brewing project

Black contractors have quietly played a big role in the development of the Stone Brewing Co.’s new East Coast brewery off Williamsburg Avenue in Fulton, according to city records. For example, Glen Allen contractor Dwight Snead and his employees prepared the land for construction, the city Office of Minority Business Development (OMBD) report shows.

Tree, statue represent positive images

Re “Strange fruit? Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site,” Dec. 24-26 edition: Dr. Kim Coder of the Warnell School of Forestry at the University of Georgia wrote in November 2010 that the “live oak is an ecological and cultural icon of the Southern United States.

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Historic church in Alexandria pledges $1M to Smithsonian

Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, one of the nation’s oldest historically African-American churches in the nation, has pledged $1 million to the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Jackie Robinson statue to grace Dodger Stadium

When fans arrive at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in 2016, they will be treated to a new sight — a statue of baseball icon Jackie Robinson. With the theme “Leveling the Playing Field,” the Dodgers have contracted sculptor Branly Cadet for the assignment. The statue is expected to be between 9 and 10 feet tall.

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Longtime Broad St. business to close

For 70 years, Moore’s Auto Body and Paint Shop Inc. has been a fixture at 401 W. Broad St. But that is about to change as one of the city’s oldest African-American-owned businesses prepares to close. Owner Jesse Moore, 71, disclosed Monday that he has sold the nearly quarter-acre property and will shut down the auto body operation there at the end of the month.

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VSU Coach Lonnie Blow scores 100th CIAA victory

Basketball Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. arrived at Virginia State University with a reputation for success, and he hasn’t disappointed. The veteran coach picked up his 100th CIAA victory Dec. 15 when the Trojans defeated his former school, St. Augustine’s University, 86-63, in Raleigh, N.C.

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Cherished Holiday Memories

Christmas. It’s a time for family, sharing good food, holiday fun and heartfelt blessings. From the smell of dinner cooking for a family feast, to the glow of lights on a decorated Christmas tree, the season is rich with ingredients for wonderful memories that linger long after the holiday is gone. Six area residents shared with the Free Press their cherished memories of Christmases past. We hope their reflections will bring special joy and happy recollections of your own during this season.

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Personality: Keith W. Hicks

Spotlight on the 2015 Astorian of the Year

“To inspire men to a higher moral, intellectual, civic and social standing” through activities that build a better community and promote racial equality.

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Springers bring home the crown

Instead of Highland Springs High School, perhaps it should be Highlight Springs. Forget the slow but sure approach. Coach Loren Johnson’s Springers were fast and sure in sprinting to the State Division 5 football title last Saturday at the University of Virginia’s Scott Stadium in Charlottesville.

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Personality: Altamese R. Johnson

Spotlight on winner of AARP Virginia’s Shaw Advocacy Award

Altamese R. Johnson first met the late Elvira B. Shaw in the early 1990s, when the two attended an AARP meeting with Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Newport News. The two became fast friends, advocating for issues important to AARP, whose stated mission is “leading positive social change and delivering value to people age 50 and over through information, advocacy and service,” according to the organization.

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City Council greenlights Maggie Walker statue at triangle

Forget Monument Avenue and Abner Clay Park. The future statue of Richmond’s great lady, Maggie L. Walker, will stand at the intersection of Brook Road and Broad and Adams streets, the gateway to historic Jackson Ward where Mrs. Walker lived and won acclaim for her entrepreneurial spirit. Richmond City Council voted 6-1, with two abstentions, Monday night to reconfirm that decision for the third time in 15 years, clearing the way for the project.

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AIDS: Getting to zero

“Three decades into this crisis, let us set our sights on achieving the “three zeros” ­— zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. On this World AIDS Day, let us pledge to work together to realize this vision for all of the world’s people.” — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations, World AIDS Day 2010

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Highland Springs hoping for state football crown Saturday

Oozing with momentum, Highland Springs High School has won 13 straight football games and needs just one more victory to claim its first state title since 1961.

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Melvin Johnson brings heart, big numbers to Rams

Melvin Johnson obviously enjoys big cities, big name basketball opponents and national TV cameras. VCU is hoping his sharpshooting trend continues next Tuesday when the Rams travel to Atlanta to play ACC member Georgia Tech in a 9 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2. The Rams are 5-3 after a 76-71 loss Sunday at Atlanta’s Philips Arena to another ACC school, Florida State University, on ESPNU.

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Protests continue after Chicago mayor’s apology

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, under heavy criticism for his handling of a 2014 police shooting that resulted in the death of a black teen, gave an emotional apology Wednesday, hours before angry demonstrators closed city streets while demanding his resignation.