Local man refunded stormwater fees
Are property owners in Richmond getting billed for stormwater fees they do not owe? Ronald Sizemore thinks it could be happening.
Natural gas price to rise in Richmond
Cook or heat with natural gas? Beginning with the February bill, Richmond customers will pay a bit extra for the fuel. Richmond Gas Works, the city’s gas utility, has announced customers will be charged an extra penny for every 10 cubic feet of natural gas used. Ten cubic feet is the equivalent of 75 gallons of gasoline.
VCU to hold spring commencement at Convention Center
Virginia Commonwealth University announced Wednesday that it will hold its spring graduation at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, the replacement site for the now closed Richmond Coliseum.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday
In observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 21, please note the following:
Official: City has fallen short on lead abatement efforts, contractor training
City Hall has confirmed a Free Press report that it has failed to hire a qualified trainer to offer mandatory classes for small contractors seeking to compete to remove poisonous lead paint from Richmond residences.
Frank J. Thornton to seek 7th term on Henrico County Board of Supervisors
Frank J. Thornton plans to seek another four-year term on the Henrico County Board of Supervisors. The retired Virginia Union University French professor announced on Tuesday his bid for his seventh four-year term representing the Fairfield District, adding that it would be his “final term.”
Richmond native Corey Blount hits world music at No.1
Richmond native Corey Blount is a good musician — so good, in fact, that a song he co-wrote, produced and performs on is No. 1 in New Zealand, Australia and Kurdistan. It also hit the Top 10 on the charts in The Netherlands. And on Anghami, a streaming service big in the Middle East and Northern Africa, it soared to No. 1 in Tunisia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.
Richardson gets legal help in action to remove Agelasto from office
Former 5th District City Councilman Henry W. “Chuck” Richardson said Tuesday he has hired an attorney to continue pursuing legal action to remove the district’s current representative, Councilman Parker C. Agelasto.
Failure to deliver: Residents describe litany of problems hampering basic mail service
Jean Morris is tired of having the Forest Hill Post Office refusing to deliver packages to her South Side residence. Donna Royster is fed up with not receiving any of the letters her grandchildren keep sending her from Hawaii at her East End apartment.
‘Pathetic’
School advocate Paul Goldman fumes over mayor’s school funding resolution that he claims does not meet City Charter requirement
Mayor Levar M. Stoney appears to be backpedaling on his pledge to meet a new City Charter requirement to provide “a fully funded plan to modernize” Richmond’s decaying school buildings.
Area commemorations honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A host of speeches and events will take place starting this week honoring the legacy and memory of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tenn. inmate granted clemency credits church-affiliated program with changing her life
Each semester, the LIFE program at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., which is associated with Churches of Christ, pairs traditional students with inmates serving time in the Tennessee Prison for Women.
Kudos to Va. Congress members for protecting the environment
When we drill, we spill. And when we spill off our shores, it can spell disaster for the whales, dolphins and coral that live in our oceans.
Suggestion for King license plate
Re “Proposed King license plate shelved until next year,” Free Press Jan. 10-12 edition: I read where the commemorative license plate plan honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was postponed until next year because only 100 signatures were collected.
Support for NAACP 1st Thursday Town Hall series
The modern-day NAACP is to be applauded for its creativity in developing the NAACP 1st Thursday Town Hall Meeting Series which began in October. The events are scheduled on the first Thursday of every month throughout 2019 and are held at 6:30 p.m. at Third Street Bethel AME Church in Downtown.
Shame, shade in Birmingham
If anyone deserves a civil rights award, Angela Davis certainly does. The activist and scholar has been on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement all of her life. She has been especially active in prison reform matters and other civil and human rights issues.
Trump civil rights assault continues
When new U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked on “60 Minutes” whether she thinks President Trump is a racist, she responded with the candor that makes her a compelling force in Washington: “Yeah, yeah, no question.”
27 years young
The Richmond Free Press turned 27 this week. We are proud to highlight this accomplishment as we remain one of the few independent newspapers still publishing in Virginia.
True Hero
We hope our readers will pause within the coming days to reflect on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an authentic advocate for human rights, justice and peace. His work on behalf of African-Americans, the poor, everyday workers, the neglected and the ignored pricked the conscience of the nation and helped America to start to live up to the ideals of freedom and equality as written in the U.S. Constitution.
Thomas ‘T.C.’ Harrell, co-founder and former owner of Carolina Bar-B-Que, dies at 86
Thomas Christopher Harrell was the barbecue man of Church Hill for 44 years. Known to customers and friends as “T.C.,” the no-nonsense, though kindly Army veteran served up his own creations and family recipes for tangy, vinegar-based pork barbecue, ribs, cole slaw and greens at Carolina Bar-B-Que, the restaurant he started with his brother, Paul, in 1970 at 3015 Nine Mile Road near the Creighton Court public housing community in the East End.
