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Fixing our broken drug pricing system, by Dr. Greg Gelburd
As a recently retired physician, I felt relief for patients across the commonwealth when Virginia legislators recently passed bipartisan measures, Senate Bill 274 and House Bill 570, to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board would be empowered to finally rein in skyrocketing prescription drug costs that make medicine inaccessible to too many patients. By signing this legislation into law, Gov. Glenn Youngkin can prioritize the health and well-being of Virginians.
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Prisoners in the U.S. are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
A hidden path to America’s dinner tables begins here, at an unlikely source — a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country’s largest maximum-security prison.
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Gen Z’er takes advantage of once-low interest rates to purchase first home
In 2021, Raven Moseley needed a place to stay, but she could not afford an apartment that she felt comfortable in without splitting the bill with a roommate. Plus, she could not find a suitable roommate. That is when her mother gave her the idea to buy a home.
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RRHA prepares to launch home-buying initiative
Richmond is preparing to become the first place in the country to test a revamped federal regulation aimed toward making it easier for people who hold housing vouchers or live in public housing to buy homes. Describing it as a “groundbreaking and historic ini- tiative” that would build wealth for those who qualify, Steven B. Nesmith, the chief executive officer for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority,
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Needed: A better deal
Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration hoped to expand a program that helps city employees to buy homes in the city.
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To save lives, lawmakers must seek common ground on gun legislation, by Roger Chesley
Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly, now in charge in both chambers in the session that opened last week, hope to pass several gun-control bills. The wish list includes legislation to ban the sale of new assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, The Washington Post reported.
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Some striking UAW members carry family legacies
As Britney Johnson paced the picket line outside Ford’s Wayne Assembly plant, she wasn’t just carrying a sign demanding higher pay and other changes. Autoworker jobs have long been a pillar of the Black middle class in America, and the strikes and the fight for higher wages have had even deeper significance for workers like Johnson.
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New weed-sales bill would include minority vendors
Prospects for the General Assembly to approve the retail sale of marijuana could get a big boost from a deal to guarantee Virginians of color gain a significant share of the business opportunity. Unveiled Jan. 18 at a State Capitol press conference, the agreement is between state lawmakers, advocates and the state’s four medical marijuana companies.
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A new generation of readers embraces bell hooks’ ‘All About Love’
In the summer of 2022, Emma Goodwin was getting over a breakup and thinking hard about her life and how to better herself. She decided to try a book she had heard about often, bell hooks’ “All About Love: New Visions.”
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Approval looms for city’s revamped budget
Plan includes retiree bonuses, overtime pay for firefighters
Thousands of City Hall retirees will receive a one-time 5 percent bonus. And the city is setting up a fund to buy property for development.
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More baseball players are foreign-born, says Forbes
Baseball, “The National Pastime,” is getting more and more international.
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Ohio votes to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, becoming 24th state to do so
Ohio voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who failed to pass the proposed law.
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More states are teaching financial literacy
Inside a high school classroom, Bryan Martinez jots down several purchases that would require a short-term savings plan: shoes, phone, headphones, clothes, and food. His medium-term financial goals take a little more thought, but he settles on a car — he doesn’t have one yet — and vacations. Peering way into his future, the 18-year-old also imagines saving money to buy a house, start his own business, retire and perhaps provide any children with a college fund.
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Arthur Ashe Center agreement reached
A potential roadblock for the projected $2.4 billion Diamond District development appears to have been cleared, the Free Press has learned, though questions remain on other aspects.
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Let consumers make their own food buying choices, by John Burnett
Amid Congress’ best efforts to keep the government open, it’s also hard at work to re-authorize affordable food, farmers’ ability to insure their crops, and ranchers being able to export their products to foreign markets.
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HumanKind’s direct cash funds may soon dry up
Concern is growing over the dwindling money in a family crisis fund that Richmond created to provide direct cash payments.
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Spurs strike gold with ‘Wemby’
And the winner is ... On May 22, the San Antonio Spurs may have won the NBA prize of this century, or perhaps any century, via the NBA Draft Lottery.
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Don’t pull plug on historic hospital, VUU
Without question, it’s good news that Virginia Union University is partnering with New York investor The Steinbridge Group to build about 200 general-use residences along the campus’ north edge.
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Green light shines on Diamond District
The huge plan to redevelop 67 acres of publicly owned land around The Diamond baseball stadium has a green light — despite questions about the soundness of its financial structure.
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