Family fun // Jamal Marshall and his children, Zuri, 2, left, and Jamal Jr., 4, take advantage of the springlike weather to enjoy family time on the swings at the George Mason Elementary School playground in Church Hill. Temperatures in Richmond are to soar into the 70s through Saturday.

Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press Concrete rubble blocks the doors to the gym at the old Armstrong High School in the 1600 block of North 31st Street near Nine Mile Road in the East End. The school building is being torn down to make way for more than 270 apartments, townhouses and single-family homes on the 21-acre property. It is all part of the city-supported Church Hill North Revitalization project. Conceived under former Mayor Dwight C. Jones, razing the school is the first step toward replacing the Creighton Court public housing community located about a block away across Nine Mile Road. Some residents will move into the new apartments as work begins in Creighton Court. The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and a Boston-based nonprofit, The Community Builders, are spearheading the development. Just a few blocks south on Nine Mile Road, the city also is supporting development of new grocery, retail and residential project that is designed to complement the housing development.

Victims mourned // From left, LaTanya, China and Dequalla Walker join family, friends, neighbors and others at a candlelight vigil Monday evening to remember their sister, Shaquenda Walker, 24, and their mother, Deborah Walker, 55.

The bodies of the mother and daughter were found Thursday, Feb. 16, inside their home at the Oliver Crossing Apartments near Mosby Court in the East End. Police said the women were the victims of a double murder-suicide in which Walter Gaines III, Shaquenda’s 23-year-old estranged boyfriend, shot and killed them before turning the gun on himself. In addition to her sisters, Ms. Walker is survived by her two young children, who may have witnessed the fatal shootings.

Celebrating 150 years // Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson preaches during the Founder’s Day Program at Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Jackson Ward as the church marked its 150th anniversary last Sunday and celebrated its founder, the Rev. John Jasper. Dr. Richardson, pastor of Grace Baptist in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and chairman of the National Action Network and the Virginia Union University Board of Trustees, was the keynote speaker for the program that highlighted the church’s history and paid tribute to three people for community service.

The 2017 Jasper Trailblazers are, from left: Dr. John Moeser, a retired university professor and demography expert who has worked to highlight and find solutions to poverty in Richmond; Richmond Police Sgt. Carol Adams, who has been a leader in the fight against domestic abuse and violence against women; and former Richmond City Councilwoman Willie Dell, a retired social worker who fought for equal rights in Richmond and volunteers in Haiti.

Camellia in the East End

Visiting diplomat // Jesús “Chucho” Garcia, general consul of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in New Orleans and founder of the Afro-Venezuelan Network, discusses international relations and the connection between people of color in Venezuela and the United States at a reception Feb. 16 at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. The program was hosted by the African Awareness Association.

Ready to ride // Landon Johnson, 4, left, gets a few pointers about choosing the right ride from his 10-year-old brother, Elijah, as they check out the interior of a sporty 2017 Toyota Corolla XSE last Saturday at the Virginia International Auto Show. The event that features hundreds of vehicles from various manufacturers, test drives and family fun was held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Downtown.