Two Richmond properties being eyed for redevelopment
GRTC is shopping for a buyer for its former headquarters in the Fan District — five years after the bus company moved to South Side.
Martin ends historic tenure as U.Va. rector
As George Keith Martin nears the end of his historic tenure as rector of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, he is reflecting on his efforts and those of the board to broaden diversity at the Charlottesville school.
Children’s hospital plan evaporates
Richmond will not be gaining an independent, free-standing children’s hospital — at least not in the near future. Two of the area’s largest hospital systems, Bon Secours and VCU, have pulled out of the huge project — just seven months after signing an agreement to participate in creating the projected $600 million children’s health center. The participation of the two systems, which handle about 75 percent of all pediatric hospitalizations in the region, was seen as key.
Baker School building eyed for conversion into apartments
A vacant school building at 100 W. Baker St. in Gilpin Court is being eyed for conversion into 55 one-bedroom apartments for the elderly and disabled.
Gospel singer, songwriter plans nonprofit to help women returning from incarceration
Rhonda Aiden knows the obstacles many women experience when they are released from incarceration back into society. “It’s an overwhelming feeling,” said Ms. Aiden. The 44-year-old South Side resident said she spent a total of five years behind bars in three separate stints for writing bad checks, beginning in 2003. Her last time was from 2011 to 2012 at Deerfield Correctional Center in Southampton County.
20 Richmond Public Schools students chosen as Altria College Opportunity Fund scholars
Twenty Richmond Public Schools students will receive scholarships totaling up to $800,000 from Altria during a program Thursday, May 21, at the historic Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward.
Foster care project gets $100,000 boost
Two Richmond-based nonprofits just got a huge boost in their efforts to provide support for young people who are mandated to leave the foster care system in Virginia at age 18. The Children’s Home Society of Virginia, led by president and CEO Nadine Marsh-Carter, learned May 13 it had been selected to receive a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 Richmond to aid the “Possibilities Project,” an initiative first featured in the May 14-16 edition of the Free Press.
City Council approves 2016 budget, cuts funds for 379 vacant positions
Call it the big shrink at City Hall. Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond City Council have combined to eliminate funding for at least 379 vacant jobs, essentially positions funded by taxes paid into city coffers
Huguenot soccer team has a world of talent
It is fitting Huso Hasanovic teaches world geography at Huguenot High School. His global awareness ties in nicely with his other Huguenot duty — coaching Falcons soccer. With an international cast of athletes, Hasanovic, a native of Bosnia, has guided his fledgling program to championship caliber in just two seasons.
Felony record shouldn’t be red flag forever
I was released from prison approximately three years ago, but my past has stifled any and all progress. I have served my time, but I feel as if I am still being punished.
Immigrants or invaders?
Do we have an immigration problem? Immigrants come here legally. They come here to benefit from the advantages of living in a nation of freedom and opportunity. They are eager to learn the language and American customs and become productive American citizens. The problem we have is an invasion. True, the invaders aren’t coming here militarily. If they were, they would be summarily repelled. Rather, they are allowed to walk in with impunity.
City officials lost their way on housing
Re “Mobile home residents allege city’s actions discriminatory in HUD complaint,” May 7-9 edition: The saga of Rudd’s trailer park off Jeff-Davis Highway is the tip of the iceberg of failed building maintenance inspection that goes back long before I began tracking it 25 years ago. In 1990, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated there were 20,000 substandard houses in Richmond.
Legalized torture of prisoners
Freddie Gray is neither the first nor will he be the last person to die in police custody. According to a 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Justice, 4,813 people died in police custody between 2003 and 2009 (the most recent data, reported in 2011). However, not every state reports their data, so the number is probably higher. A new report is scheduled to be released this year or next.
Take back our schools
Take back our schools We applaud Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s initial response to a startling national report by the Center for Public Integrity. That report found that Virginia’s public schools refer students to police and courts more often than other states.
Texas thugs
What color is a thug? The Wild West shootout last Sunday in Waco, Texas, by five rival motorcycle gangs proves what we’ve known all along — thugs come in all colors, ages, shapes and sizes.
Students win state, national awards
Students from Richmond-based schools have won awards in state and national competitions. High school and middle school students from the city scored in the annual Technology Student Association competition in Hampton earlier this month.
Teaching healthy eating at Woodville Elementary
Free Press executive Raymond H. Boone Jr. talks up healthy foods Monday at Woodville Elementary School to an audience of students, and has plenty on display for them to see and taste.
Delver Woman’s Club hosts 70th luncheon
The Delver Woman’s Club hosted its 70th annual luncheon May 16 at Ebenezer Baptist Church’s Fellowship Hall. The theme: Entrepreneurship: Overcoming Obstacles.j
Golf tournament benefits MetroCare program to help families with heating bills
Al Scott is by his own admission a golf addict. “I golf religiously,” Mr. Scott, the new deputy director of the Richmond Department of Public Utilities, told the Free Press Tuesday.
