Story
Va. redistricting commission fails to agree on boundary changes for state legislative districts
The Virginia Supreme Court will do it. The state’s highest court has been handed the constitutional task of redesigning the boundaries of the 100 state House of Delegates and 40 state Senate districts.
Story
Cold meals another hot topic at School Board meeting; new vendor sought
Most students in Richmond elementary schools started receiving hot meals on Monday, just hours before the Richmond School Board met and voted unanimously to rescind the $12.9 million food contract awarded during the summer to Illinois-based Preferred Meals to provide breakfast and lunch.
Story
Doubling down
Alfred C. Liggins III and Urban One go all in to win voter approval of the $565M casino project proposed for South Side. The referendum is Nov. 2, with early voting going on now.
Do you want a gambling casino built on a 100-acre commercial property in the South Side?
Story
City Council signals support for plans for American Rescue Plan money
As Mayor Levar M. Stoney proposed, four community recreation centers will get a major chunk of the $155 million flowing into Richmond’s treasury from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Story
RPS students testing positive for COVID-19 told to quarantine for 21 days
Richmond students who have tested positive for COVID-19 are being kept away from in-person learning for up to 21 days – at least a week longer than the 14 days that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, the Free Press has been told.
Story
Story
School Board, administration thwarted own tenets set up for RPS food service
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras appeared to have undermined a key tenet of the School Board’s approved three-year-old school improvement plan, Dreams4RPS, with decisions about the cafeteria operation and the delivery of food that were made before schools reopened earlier this month.
Story
Hickory Hill and City Hall now open for early voting
In-person early voting is now being offered at City Hall in Downtown and at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side, as well as the city Voter Registrar’s Office in North Side.
Story
RPS Chromebooks missing?
A major share of the estimated 20,000 Chromebooks that were distributed to Richmond students last year to help them connect to virtual classes have yet to be recovered or accounted for, the Free Press has been told.
Story
RRHA transfers 204 apartment units to private company
The city’s housing authority is launching a new phase of its plan to turn over all of its public housing to private ownership.
Story
Natural gas price hike expected with Oct. bills
Richmonders who cook and heat with natural gas are about to be hit with a sharp jump in the cost of the fuel heading into winter.
Story
David N. Smith, former banking executive and state official, dies at 66
David Nathaniel Smith wanted to be a journal- ist but found his road to success in commercial sales and banking.
Photo
Henry K. Myers crafts his screenplays at his Henrico County home.
Published on September 23, 2021
Story
New ‘Emancipation and Freedom Monument’ unveiling draws crowds, tears
“Overwhelming!” “Excited!” “Proud!” Those were some of the comments from onlookers as they viewed the state’s new “Emancipation and Freedom Monument” that was unveiled Wednesday on Brown’s Island on the James River in Richmond’s Downtown.
Story
BlackTop youth program loses gym space
A private South Side youth program that won plaudits and a $500,000 city grant for its virtual school operation that served more than 80 students daily during the 2020-21 school year has been evicted from its home in a church gymnasium and is scrambling to find a new location for its operations.
Story
Local screenwriter hopes next stop will be Academy Awards
Henry K. Myers is realizing the dream of every amateur screenwriter – to see his words turned into a film.
Story
City registrar takes heat for delay in opening satellite voting locations
Keith G. Balmer, Richmond’s new voter registrar, was rushing to start early in-person voting next week at two satellite locations—City Hall in Downtown and the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side.
Story
Driver, mechanic shortages could lead to GRTC service cuts
Offering bonuses of $5,000 to $8,500, GRTC is seeking to lure more drivers to its ranks and avoid cutting service.
Story
Commonwealth Catholic Charities to lead city’s winter overflow shelter efforts
Homeless people needing shelter in Richmond beginning Friday, Oct. 1, through mid-April will have a place to stay if the private shelters are full during cold weather.
Story
City Addresses problems in three new school buildings
City Hall is blaming manufacturing defects for flaws in three new school buildings that opened for in-person classes on Sept. 8.
