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‘Straight’ No.1 for second week
“Straight Outta Compton” continues to connect with movie audiences. It is the No. 1 movie in North America for the second week.
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Wow! What a week for Jackie Bradley
If Baseball Hall of Fame credentials could be based on just a week instead of a career, Jackie Bradley Jr. might already be preparing his Cooperstown acceptance speech. The 25-year-old Boston Red Sox outfielder with Richmond-Petersburg area ties was almost other worldly in hitting during the week of Aug. 9 through 15.
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2 fundraisers split by race
Segregation appears to be rearing its head in an unlikely place — in two fundraisers a trio of progressive women’s groups are hosting for female Democrats seeking office in Central Virginia. Intentionally or not, the first fundraiser, to be held this weekend, will feature four white candidates and the other, set for next month, will be for three African-American candidates.
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Highland Park women offer children ‘safe haven’
The sounds of happy children fill the air behind the two-story home of Lena Robinson and Loretta Wallace in Highland Park. Sixteen neighborhood children — ages 6 to 10 — alternately are playing board games and basketball and reading in the backyard of the home at 2000 Fourth Ave.
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Schools to stay open during bike races
Richmond Public Schools is not going to shut down during the international bike races that will engulf much of the city next month. Assistant Superintendent Tommy Kranz told the School Board on Monday night that he is anticipating “business as usual” during the upcoming 2015 UCI Road World Championships, scheduled to run from Saturday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 27.
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Loss of a legend
Julian Bond, warrior in the struggle for equality, dies at 75
Through the relentless struggles of the Civil Rights Movement, Julian Bond always kept his sense of humor. His steady demeanor helped him persist despite the inevitable difficulties involved, his wife recalled. Mr. Bond “never took his eyes off the prize — and that was always racial equality,” his wife, Pamela Horowitz, said Sunday. “He always ... in that hard struggle kept a sense of humor, and I think that’s what allowed him to do that work for so long — his whole life really,” his wife added.
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Vision to return Gilpin Court to beacon of black enterprise
The decrepit four-story building at 900 St. James St. has been vacant for decades. However, plans are afoot to transform this former beacon of black enterprise into a centerpiece of new development in Gilpin Court, an underserved, untapped section of the city that lies just north of Downtown, split off by the interstate highways that carve their way through the city.
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VCU enrolls record freshman class
A record 4,050 freshmen started classes this week at Virginia Commonwealth University, with a remarkable 51 percent being African-American, Asian, Latino and other minority students, the school has reported.
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Lumpkin’s Jail site to get new life
After years of neglect by the city, the site at Lumpkin’s Jail is headed toward a multimillion-dollar makeover. The jail site was a holding pen for enslaved people in Shockoe Bottom that later served as the launching ground for Virginia Union University.
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BUCKS FOR BOOKS - Tyshawna Hankerson, right, is all smiles as she and Tracey Oliver, vice president for administration at the Richmond Free Press, hold …
Published on August 14, 2015
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Free school supplies for RPS teachers
Free school supplies will be available to Richmond Public Schools teachers when classes begin, thanks to a nonprofit called HandsOn Greater Richmond (HOGR).
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‘Dialogue’ pages create feedback for School Board
Richmond Public Schools wants to make it easier for parents, students, teachers and the public to ask School Board members questions, make suggestions, express concerns or compliment their work — and get responses in a timely manner.
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Another black justice?
Political power play may lead to third African-American on Va. Supreme Court
Virginia is on its way to having a record three African-American judges on the state’s highest court — courtesy of the frayed relationship between Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican leaders who control the General Assembly. In a slap at Gov. McAuliffe for apparently ignoring them, top GOP legislators announced this week that House and Senate Republicans would take the virtually unprecedented step of rejecting the person the governor had appointed to the Virginia Supreme Court, in this case an experienced white female judge.
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Henrico church hosts Friday night ‘Spiritual Renewal’ series in August
Anointed New Life Baptist Church in Henrico County is hosting a monthlong series of Friday night services in August called “A Community Spiritual Renewal.”
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Personality: Shakera K. Vaughan
Spotlight on Richmond’s youth mayor
Unbeknownst to many Richmonders, another “mayor” has been serving in the city other than Mayor Dwight C. Jones.
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Dr. Bedden gets $12,579 raise
That’s the new salary for Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dana T. Bedden. With the start of the 2015-16 fiscal year on July 1, he is eligible to receive another $23,758 — up to 10 percent of his salary — based on performance incentives and $28,500 in a deferred compensation plan.
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Self-published author turns work into play
Raymond Goode is a self-made author. The 37-year-old Chesterfield County resident broke from the traditional publishing scene. He writes, then self-publishes and markets his books, selling them on street corners and in barber and beauty shops.
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Bagby handily wins 74th House District seat
Lamont Bagby just jumped from the Henrico School Board into the General Assembly. The 38-year-old Democrat was sworn in this week to the House of Delegates after winning a smashing victory over challenger David M. Lambert, an independent candidate, in Tuesday’s special election for the 74th House District seat.
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Eye opening
There is no question that the Confederate battle flag stands for white supremacy, intolerance and oppression. The Stars and Bars, as the flag is known, was birthed in the days when Virginia and other Southern states separated from the United States and created a country built on the perpetual right to buy and sell human beings into slavery. Our bloody Civil War secured our union and abolished human bondage while uplifting millions of people to the rights of citizenship. The Confederate flag then was reborn as the symbol of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups whose missions are to ensure black people forever submit to third class status.
