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City charter school flunks accreditation
A Richmond charter school has been denied accreditation, providing fresh ammunition to foes of a Republican push to open the floodgates to create such schools.
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Stalking, trespass charges against child advocate absolved
The big case is still ahead. But two charges against an advocate for special needs children have been dismissed or absolved. Last month, Kandise N. Lucas was acquitted of trespassing at Falling Creek Middle School.
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Snowstorm plows through city budget
The winter storm that dumped 12 inches of snow on Richmond three weeks ago did more than snarl traffic, stall mail service and close schools.j
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14 authors to engage young readers at Feb.17 library event
In 1970, Clarence “Bucky” McGill joined fellow African-American football players at Syracuse University in a strike against racist conditions at the school — the first action of its kind. Now 66, Mr. McGill plans to use the story of the “Syracuse 8” strike to highlight a discussion with young Richmonders and their parents about conditions today that impact them.
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‘Mardi Bras’ party with a purpose to aid homeless women
It’s Mardi Bras time in Richmond. That’s the program a local ministry is spearheading to collect intimate items for homeless women, including underwear and feminine hygiene products.
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Exhibit highlights early Chesterfield lawyer-activist
He was a pioneering lawyer who also built Chesterfield County roads and oversaw services to the county’s poor during his lifetime. But, today, Cornelius Mimms is largely forgotten. The only notable mention of him in the county are street names in the county’s government complex, Mimms Drive and Mimms Loop.
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City Council on board with Bus Rapid Transit
Let’s roll on this project. That’s the message Richmond City Council sent this week on Bus Rapid Transit, also known as “Pulse.” Envisioning BRT as a start to creating a modern regional public transit system, council members voted 7-1, with one abstention, to give the green light to the $49 million project to speed up transit service primarily along the Broad Street corridor.
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Tree decision expected Feb. 13 on Maggie Walker statue site
That controversial question is expected to be decided this weekend as plans move forward to create a statue of Richmond great Maggie L. Walker at Broad and Adams streets — the Downtown intersection now dominated by a rare live oak tree. The decision on whether to keep or remove the tree is to be made by the Richmond Public Arts Commission’s seven-member Site Selection Committee, the commission disclosed Tuesday.
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Sen. Lucas flip-flops in Va. Supreme Court battle
Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. is still one Senate vote short of winning a General Assembly election that would move him from the Virginia Court of Appeals to the state Supreme Court.
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Probe launched on city-church ties
Did anything illegal take place? Or is there merely a need for stronger policies covering city officials who engage in outside in endeavors on city time?
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Mayor to seek referendum on school funding
Raise taxes or cut services. Those, said Mayor Dwight C. Jones, are about the only options Richmond has if it is to boost spending on public education by the tens of millions of dollars Richmond Public Schools is requesting. And he said he would explore with Richmond City Council “the idea of an advisory referendum on the November ballot to determine whether the public wishes to raise its taxes and by how much.”
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Payday loan victim joins class action suit
Henrico resident Donald Garrett is joining a class action suit seeking to hold Advance ‘Til Payday loan company accountable for allegedly evading state law and charging up to 960 percent interest on small loans of $100 to $300.
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Lead poisoning endangers Richmond children, too
Amid the public outcry over the lead-contaminated public water supply in Flint, Mich., it is easy to forget that lead poisoning remains a threat to children across the country — even in Richmond. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 500,000 young children nationally suffer from lead poisoning that can affect development of their mental capacity, their bones and their organs.
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Energy savings could yield $18M to fix city schools
Energy savings could generate $18 million to fuel an overhaul of heating and cooling systems, windows, lighting and other systems in as many as 10 Richmond Public Schools buildings.
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Weather woes delay leaf pickup
Richmond’s big snow means the city’s leaf collection is going to run further behind. Heavy rains during December pushed back the city’s leaf vacuuming program by two weeks or more, the city Department of Public Works has acknowledged.
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Veterans’ burial postponed
The burial of three veterans who died in Richmond has been postponed due to the snowfall, the office of Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. has announced.
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Voter registrar ‘needs to be replaced’
Kudos to Richmond Free Press reporter Jeremy Lazarus for his recent exposé on Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter. She is incompetent and needs to be immediately replaced.
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Heating woes continue to plague Creighton Court residents
Tina Marie Smith finally has a working radiator on the first floor of her Creighton Court apartment. The only problem: It doesn’t produce much heat. And it hasn’t, she said, since maintenance workers from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority installed it three weeks ago.
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GOP-controlled General Assembly bucks McAuliffe’s choice in court drama
The fate of Virginia Supreme Court Justice Jane Marum Roush is expected to be determined this week, with expectations that she will once again fail to win General Assembly election to remain on the state’s highest court. In the latest twist in this continuing drama surrounding a judicial appointment, the House of Delegates is to vote Thursday, Jan. 28, on whether Justice Roush is to receive a 12-year appointment on the state Supreme Court or be forced to step down by mid-February.
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Bus Rapid Transit would cost $3.6M annually to operate
GRTC would need a larger city subsidy to keep the proposed Bus Rapid Transit service called Pulse in operation, but perhaps not as big as some critics have suggested, according to the company. In a report released Sunday, Greater Richmond Transit Co. estimates that Richmond taxpayers would need to provide between $345,000 to $775,000 a year to cover the city’s share of BRT operations. The actual amount depends on whether BRT is a hit with commuters and attracts additional daily riders.
