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Council members concerned about latest utility rate hikes
Like a steady drip, drip, drip, the cost of utility services is continuing to rise in Richmond at a double-digit pace, outpacing inflation and raising concerns among some about affordability.
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Deadline May 30 for city storm drain art competition
The City of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities is seeking five artists who can paint a picture of the importance of keeping the James River, the city’s source of drinking water, clean.
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‘Golden Girl’ returns an Olympic hero in bocce
Mary Davis is Richmond’s newest “Golden Girl.” At 72, she proves it’s never too late to shine athletically.
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Kentucky guard Jada Walker (11) keeps her eye on the ball that was passed by South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, right, during the first half …
Published on February 16, 2023
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Trump’s race-based view of monuments
Not long after the violence over Robert E. Lee’s statue in Charlottesville, President Trump went to great lengths to declare the beauty and importance of Confederate monuments strewn across the former slave-holding states.
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According to the regional Girl Scouts organization, the cookie program teaches youth members key life skills as they raise money to support the operation and …
Published on February 21, 2020
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First African Baptist grew out of First Baptist, which was established in 1780 and included African-Americans among its members. In 1841, white members built a …
Published on April 6, 2023
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GRTC workers strike deal on new contract
GRTC bus drivers and mechanics have approved a new contract that will boost their pay $1.10 an hour over the three-year life of the agreement, or an average of 2.2 percent. Both the transit company’s management and the union representing about 285 hourly workers are hailing the agreement that followed 10 months of quiet, but tough negotiations.
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Trailer park heroine
18-year-old aids neighbors facing eviction
18-year-old aids neighbors facing eviction
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Falwell urges students to pack pistols
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has urged students to carry concealed weapons on campus to counter any possible armed attack, saying that “we could end those Muslims before they walk in.” “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Mr. Falwell told students at the private Christian school Dec. 4. His remarks make him the first president of a Virginia college or university to urge students to arm themselves and put him among the first in the country to do so.
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School Board should focus on education, not school construction
Letters to the editor
Re “School Board taking control of new building construction,” Free Press April 15-17 edition: Members of the Richmond School Board are putting politics over people.
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First Lady tells Tuskegee to ‘rise above’
I hope people who attended Tuskegee University’s commencement May 9 got First Lady Michelle Obama’s message. I hope they paid more attention to what she said than how some news media organizations portrayed the First Lady’s speech to graduates of the historically black Alabama school. I don’t want them to think People magazine got it right when it ran as the headline her dismay over being pictured as a fist-pumping Black Panther on a cover of The New Yorker in 2008. It didn’t. And neither did CNN, which put this headline on its report of that speech: “Michelle Obama says she was held to different standard in ’08 campaign due to her race.” What she told Tuskegee’s graduates was much more profound.
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VUU Panthers to take on VSU Trojans Saturday at Hovey Field
The much anticipated Virginia Union University-Virginia State University “showdown” has lost some of its luster, especially for the host Panthers.
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Adjustments in City’s pension plan may take six or more years
City Hall’s 4,200 retirees likely may wait years before seeing another cost-of-living adjustment in their pensions.
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RRHA eyes Jackson Place for Fay Towers residents
The city’s housing authority is promising a fresh attempt to redevelop a chunk of Jackson Ward that was cleared for urban renewal nearly 25 years ago, but continues to be vacant.
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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
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City Council votes for tax rebate, other spending
Richmond property owners will receive a 4.2 percent rebate on the real estate taxes they paid earlier this year, equal to $50 for each $100,000 of property value.
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Energy numbers shed light on RPS spending, savings
Richmond expects to spend $8 million to $10 million to ensure three new schools meet the standard of a national energy conservation program, according to the Joint Construction Team that is overseeing the work.
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GOP candidate a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’
I was disgusted when I saw the Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, surrounded by Black folks at a recent news conference at Virginia Union University.
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Henrico Public Schools holds free vaccination clinics for middle and high school students
Henrico County Public Schools and the state Department of Health are offering free vaccination clinics for middle and high school students each Wednesday in July.
