Story

Can Richmond afford 4 planned new schools?
One unanswered question hovers as the Richmond School Board and schools Superintendent Jason Kamras push the city to seek bids for new buildings to replace four aging schools: Can the city afford them?
Story

'Sneakerheads' converge on the city Sunday
"Sneakerheads" will be looking to buy, sell and trade sneakers and clothing accessories from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Peep My Feet Sneaker & Streetwear Convention.
Story

Chesterfield teen receives $10,000 grant to kick-start home-school academy
Watching her younger brother struggle as he started high school through a home-school program, Nasiyah Isra-Ul went online to try to find resources to help.
Story

MBL hosts tour of Small Business Grant contest winners
Get ready for the big reveal. On Thursday, April 11, three African-American-owned Richmond businesses will show off improvements they have made, thanks to grants the Metropolitan Business League and Wells Fargo Bank provided.
Story

Jackson Ward’s restaurant scene helps spur city’s business growth
Richmond has long been a hub for black capitalism — especially in Jackson Ward, once referred to as the Harlem of the South. According to a recent report from Yelp, the online publisher of crowd-sourced business reviews, black business openings in Richmond grew 66% in 2023. Yelp also found that black business openings in Richmond outpace the national black business opening rate of 24% and the national average of 20%.
Story

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.
Story

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.
Photo

Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant, left, and Disney animator Glen Keane accept Oscars for best animated short for “Dear Basketball” at Sunday’s awards show. Social …
Published on March 10, 2018
Story

Unsheltered
Plans to house the homeless in Shockoe Valley disappear
Plans for a year-round shelter open around the clock for the homeless have suddenly evaporated seven months after being announced.
Story

Greening project at South Side church designed to reduce pollution
Nearly 50 trees are now growing in a portion of the parking lot of Branch’s Baptist Church, 3400 Broad rock Blvd. in South Side.
Story

Commanders set training camp dates
How is Eric Bieniemy is fitting in as the new Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator?
Photo

A giant symbol of the times now adorns the facade of the Science Museum of Virginia as it prepares to reopen to the public 9:30 …
Published on September 3, 2020
Photo

These new equipment lockers are among $1.75 million in improvements to Richmond Fire Station 10 at Hermitage Road and West Leigh Street. The view was …
Published on April 9, 2015
Photo

The newly restored bell at historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg can be rung throughout Black History Month by people who register online at www.letfreedomringchallenge.org.
Published on January 29, 2016
Story

Area colleges make changes in wake of omicron variant
Virginia State University is moving its spring semester courses online for the first two weeks because of the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Story

Book has insight, no clear answer on Ralph Northam blackface yearbook photo
A Virginia author’s investigative effort to uncover the origins of a racist photo on Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page has ended inconclusively, according to the author, who has written a book that offers new details about the 2019 scandal and the former governor’s remarkable political survival.
Story

MLB icon Lee Smith almost had basketball career
Before Lee Arthur Smith became one of baseball’s ace relief pitchers, he was affectionately known as “that other guy” back home in tiny Castor, La. Smith, a guest at the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ annual Hot Stove Banquet last Thursday at the Siegel Center, spoke of the day his sporting focus shifted from basketball to baseball.
Story

William DuBois ‘Duke’ Smither leaves a legacy of powerful storytelling
Red Smith, the prominent sportswriter, once said that “writing is easy. Just sit in front of a typewriter, open up a vein and bleed it out, drop by drop.”
Story

The next debate, by Julianne Malveaux
Democrats started this presidential campaign season with more than 20 candidates. Eventually, it dropped to about a dozen, with, so far, only five of those “qualified” to appear on the next debate stage this month.
Story

Preschool transportation plan may be more extensive, expensive than RPS planned
The free bus service Richmond Public Schools will offer to get more low-income parents to enroll their 4-year-olds in a state- supported preschool program is likely to have to be more extensive and potentially more expensive than originally envisioned.