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Henrico officer’s trial starts Monday for motorist shooting

Beautician Kimberly McNeil is still recovering from the four gunshots she suffered nearly a year ago. Next week, the man who nearly killed her, Henrico Police Officer Joel D. Greenway, will go on trial in one of the rare instances of a local law enforcement officer facing charges for shooting someone.

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10 groups interested in leading Boulevard redevelopment project

At least 10 groups have responded to Richmond’s call for companies to redevelop the 60 acres of mostly cleared city property that includes The Diamond baseball stadium and the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center on North Boulevard. “This is the kind of response that we wanted,” Lee Downey, the city’s chief development officer, said as the city begins the process of selecting a master developer to transform the area into a potential $300 million complex of offices, retail stores and residential units.

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Petersburg official involved in water meter problems put on leave

A Petersburg official who played a key role in the city’s water meter snafu has been placed on administrative leave, the Free Press has learned.

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Scholarship aimed at helping former inmates

A new scholarship has been set up to help former inmates at Richmond’s jail gain work in the building trades, attend community college or secure a high school equivalency degree, or GED. Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. announced the program as part of a partnership with a Richmond area nonprofit that provides re-entry services to released offenders, OAR, which stands for Opportunity, Alliance, Re-Entry.

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Richmond Police to revive Midnight Basketball

The once popular Midnight Basketball League is about to be revived in Richmond. The city police department is bringing back the program as a softer element of its crime-fighting strategy.

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GRTC plans speedier service

Plans for speedier GRTC bus service that would slash 15 to 30 minutes from trips Downtown and other parts of the city were introduced to passengers and the public this week.

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Religious order reviewing bids on former Powhatan boarding school property

The future of a historic 2,200-acre property in Powhatan County, where thousands of African-American children once were educated in long-closed Catholic boarding schools, remains in limbo.

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Free Press wins VPA awards

The Richmond Free Press continues its award-winning tradition. The newspaper was recognized with six awards at the annual Virginia Press Association competition in writing, photography, news presentation and advertising.

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Sheriff Woody answers federal ADA lawsuit

Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. plans to vigorously defend his office against a federal lawsuit accusing him of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to find a civilian position for a deputy suffering from a disabling heart condition. Tony Pham, the in-house lawyer for the Sheriff’s Office, stated that the sheriff followed the law and “vehemently denies that the former employee was discriminated against under the ADA” as the U.S. Justice Department alleged in its suit filed March 3 in federal district court in Richmond.

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Highland Park dry cleaners to reopen under new ownership

Good news for Lonnie McLaurin and up to 30 other people. They will soon be able to get their clothes back from a closed dry cleaners in Highland Park. As the Free Press described in the June 9-11 edition, Mr. McLaurin has been trying to get his clothes since the business at 1311 E. Brookland Park Blvd. shut down in late April. He, like others, had been required to pay in advance for the dry cleaning service.

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National commission to commemorate arrival of Africans in America approved by House

A federal commission to recognize the trials, tribulations and contributions of African-Americans since 1619 is one step closer to becoming a reality.

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Free oral history workshop at Black History Museum

Historian Lauranett L. Lee has devoted her life to uncovering the lost stories of African-American women and men to help spotlight their contributions both locally and nationally. Now Dr. Lee wants to inspire people to preserve their own family histories to expand appreciation and knowledge of where they come from.

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Second chances

‘Ban the box’ has opened door for city employment

Richmond City Council’s decision to “ban the box” has helped hundreds of people with criminal records gain a second chance at employment in city jobs during the past four years.

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Petersburg pays bond bill ahead of deadline

Dironna Moore Belton appears to be getting a handle on struggling Petersburg’s finances — although she has yet to find a way to secure the short-term loan she has called essential to keeping the city’s government afloat.

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Natural gas price rising for Richmond customers

The cost of natural gas — the fuel most Richmond residents cook and heat with and that many businesses use — is going up for the first time in more than two years.

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City seeking developers for the Boulevard project

City Hall finally is ready to seek developers for its biggest economic development project — the redo of the 60-acre city property on North Boulevard where The Diamond baseball stadium and Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center now stand. Two months behind schedule, Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration expects to issue its request for qualifications (RFQ) this week seeking deep-pocket bidders interested in transforming the property over 20 years into apartments, condos, retail outlets and office space.

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City’s energy savings plan didn’t pan out

Earlier this year, City Hall rejected a proposal to use energy savings to pay for $13 million in improvements to an array of city buildings, including replacing old boilers, aging windows and outdated lighting.

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Gravely still in at state NAACP

Jack Gravely is still the interim executive director of the 16,000-member Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. “I am not planning to resign this week,” Mr. Gravely said Monday, denying a Free Press report published in the June 23-25 edition in which a source indicated Mr. Gravely was poised to depart.

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Petersburg’s interim city manager back on her transit job

Robert C. Bobb took control of the Petersburg city government Tuesday after being handed an opportunity to turn around the municipality that is drowning in unpaid bills.

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Gravely out at state NAACP?

Jack W. Gravely appears poised to resign as executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, the Free Press has learned. Mr. Gravely, a radio talk show host and former state NAACP executive director who returned to the leadership position in April 2015, was not immediately available for comment.