All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
Annual checkup
A year after scathing New York Times article, Bon Secours’ prescription for East End community includes jobs, training, upgraded facilities
Richmond Community Hospital continues to buzz with construction as its owner, Bon Secours, builds up operations at the East End health care center.
Dr. Linwood Jacobs who opened doors for Black Greek organizations at UVA, dies at age 90
Additional roles included community college dean and Gilpin Court mental health provider
Dr. Linwood Jacobs is credited with spearheading the establishment of Black fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia. And later he focused on student development as the dean of students at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and helped start a mental health services company based in Gilpin Court.
Virginia becomes abortion haven for out-of-state women
It is no longer unusual for a pregnant Alabama woman with two kids to be parked overnight outside a Virginia League for Planned Parenthood (VLPP) clinic, waiting for the doors to open. Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the protection of abortion rights in this state means that women who live where the procedure is banned are making their way to VLPP facilities in Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Hot and unhoused
Councilwoman urges city to open shelter for disabled people, families and children; Efforts to ‘expand the safety net’ for homeless coming early September, says official
Staying outdoors in the summer heat “is no fun,” said Thomas Bateman, a disabled factory worker. The bedraggled 63-year-old Richmonder hasn’t been able to find an affordable place to stay in the city, and his only income, a government disability check, allows him to pay for a motel stay just one night a month.
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.
Dr. Cora S. Salzberg, a state, national and international champion of education, dies at age 81
Dr. Cora Slade Salzberg, a leader in promoting higher education in Virginia and the leader of The Links’ national program aimed at aiding underachieving K-12 students to become more successful in school, has died.
Former MCV researcher LaVerne Wingo Cooper dies at age 92
LaVerne Amelia Wingo Cooper devoted her life to trying to find cures for diseases as a clinical researcher at the Medical College of Virginia – most notably sickle cell anemia, a genetic blood disorder that is most prevalent among African-Americans.
New plans in place for 2 Richmond cemeteries
Richmond is getting a thumbs up from the community for its plan to take over the historic Evergreen and East End cemeteries on the city’s East Side, but only if volunteer groups are kept in the loop.
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.
City’s new homeless services plan includes opening North Side shelter, working with Salvation Army
City Hall has rolled out a revamped plan for helping people who have no shelter. The plan includes opening a housing resource center to better connect the homeless with housing options, expanding year-round shelter beds and providing a temporary space for people to sleep during winter, summer and heavy rains.
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,
State Jails Board creates improvement plan for City Jail
Investigation cites 6 deaths, inconsistent inspections and other unmet standards
Only a small staff of deputies is working in the Richmond City Justice Center on any given day, the Free Press is being told, as the number of sworn officers under the command of Sheriff Antionette V. Irving continues to fall.
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.
Shielding from responsibility?
City mum on funds diverted to police
Mayor Levar M. Stoney joined community partners Tuesday to announce the city is all for trying to prevent the killings that leave bodies in the street and families in mourning. However, during his City Hall press conference, the mayor didn’t mention that just a few weeks ago his administration gained approval from
Second gun buyback program for city targeted
City Hall plans to continue to invest in gun buyback programs despite clear evidence that the program has not worked, which studies have shown is the case in virtually every locality offering to pay people to turn in their guns.
Richmond church burns
A devastating fire Jan. 9 appears to have dashed the hopes of the congregation of Seventh Street Memorial Baptist Church of returning to their long vacant “home location” in the Highland Park neighborhood in North Side.
Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get
Council changes housing zoning policies
Richmond is taking a swing at boosting the supply of housing in hopes of stabilizing the soaring costs that are making it hugely expensive to rent or own.
City to open new temporary shelter
Richmond will have a far bigger temporary shelter if another tropical storm hits or the weather plunges below freezing in the next two months.
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.
