Story
Natural gas getting cheaper in Richmond
Heating and cooking with natural gas just got a little cheaper in Richmond. Effective with February’s bills, the cost of the fuel is being lowered again, saving the average residential customer about $6 a month, the city Department of Public Utilities just announced. It’s more good news for consumers who also are enjoying cheaper gasoline prices to fuel their vehicles.
Story
60th Anniversary
Members of the Richmond 34 remember their historic lunch counter protest in Downtown
On Feb. 22, 1960, more than 200 Virginia Union University students protested the whites- only policy at the restaurant and lunch counter at Thalhimers department store in Downtown, challenging its segregationist dining policy in solidarity with similar student efforts taking place across the country.
Photo
Students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria on Dec. 12, 2022, at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz. A bill that would …
Published on January 25, 2024
Story
Henrico CARES aims to strengthen youth mental health services
Henrico County and Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) are implementing the Henrico CARES plan with the goal to increase availability of mental health services in schools and to expand efforts of prevention, support, and early and intensive intervention for youth mental health, substance abuse and violence.
Story
‘Tough times for many’ in early U.S. history
As a new resident of Virginia coming from the North, I am amazed at how the “PC” revisionists are defaming 200 years of history and tradition with bands of the Confederate flag. Their total lack of knowledge and perspective is incredible.
Story
$3M plus to former inmate
Stefan Woodson nearly died from a heat stroke in July 2012 while serving time in the old Richmond City Jail. Left mentally and physically disabled, the former Marine has agreed to accept more than $3 million from the City of Richmond and Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. to settle his federal lawsuit that charged the damage he suffered resulted from inadequate care that amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.” The settlement disclosed by Mr. Woodson’s attorneys ranks among the largest ever in a Virginia case involving inmate health issues. The city has not issued any comment, nor has the Sheriff’s Office.
Photo
Members of the Richmond 34, from left, Raymond B. Randolph Jr., Elizabeth Johnson Rice, Wendell T. Foster and Dr. Leroy M. Bray Jr., talk about …
Published on February 28, 2020
Story
School day care?
Empty public school buildings may be central to city task force plan to help parents with day care as they return to work
Sharonda Robinson hoped against hope that Richmond Public Schools would reopen this fall so her sons, ages 6 and 8, could be in school taking classes while she went to work.
Story
Black people and COVID-19, by Sa’ad El-Amin
As the United States is trying to reopen after a nearly total shutdown caused by COVID-19, one of the major questions is whether it is too early to re- open and, by doing so, whether there will be a second round of infections and deaths.
Story
Megapastor tries to defend himself after Hurricane Harvey
Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston is helping Texans cope in the wake of Hurricane Harvey — and trying to counter a flood of comments on social media accusing the church of turning its back on storm victims. The church took in about 400 people from the overflow at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, a Red Cross shelter, church spokesman Don Iloff said last week.
Story
GRTC’s planned Bus Rapid Transit already $11.5M over projection
Richmond’s Bus Rapid Transit system is going to cost an additional $11.5 million to develop. But the state — and not Richmond — will pick up the extra expense, GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose Pace disclosed Tuesday. “Under the project agreement, the Commonwealth of Virginia will cover any costs that exceed the estimated project budget,” she stated in an email to the Free Press.
Photo
Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy speaks to the crowd during a candlelight gathering May 14 to counter a demonstration by white supremacists carrying torches and …
Published on July 7, 2017
Photo
Chef Jean-Marc Tachet of Lyon, France, slices goose liver Sunday as students in Richmond Public Schools’ culinary program watch closely. The students are, from left, …
Published on March 13, 2020
Story
City offers amnesty for past-due parking ticket penalties
Good news for people with old, unpaid Richmond parking tickets: City Hall will waive the penalties if the tickets are paid by Monday, Sept. 12.
Story
Small nonprofit makes big impact on lives, health of people
Josselyn Aguirre-Cabrera went to see a doctor about her nagging headaches and learned she had diabetes.
Story
Mayor’s $836M proposed budget includes major pay hikes for public safety workers
Soaring property values and a continuing boom in new development in Richmond have given City Hall the money to propose major pay increases for police officers, firefighters and other city employees.
Story
Jazz pianist, professor and family patriarch Ellis Marsalis Jr. dies at 85 of complications from coronavirus
Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, professor and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, died late Wednesday, April 1, 2020, from pneumonia brought on by coronavirus, leaving six sons and a deep legacy. He was 85.
Story
No fear of KKK
Charlottesville leaders, including clergy and NAACP, plan positive activities for Saturday in response to Klan protest
Charlottesville residents refuse to buckle under fear in the face of a Ku Klux Klan rally planned for Saturday in a public park.
Story
Group proposes $350M development to replace city's old Public Safety Building
Richmond’s old Public Safety Building on 9th Street near City Hall would be replaced by a $350 million office development under a plan that has been submitted to the city administration.
Story
Know your HIV status
I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the past eight years. Here and around the world, over 18 million people are receiving the treatment and care they need — millions of infections have been prevented. What once seemed like an impossible dream, the dream of an AIDS-free generation, is within our grasp. But we know that there’s work to do to banish stigma, save lives and empower everyone to reach their potential…Today we remember those we’ve lost, and reflect on the extraordinary progress we’ve won. We give thanks to the heroes on the front lines of this fight and tomorrow we get back out there, because together, we can do this.” — President Obama’s video message for World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control published its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report. The report, which described five cases of previously healthy, young gay men in Los Angeles infected with a rare lung infection, eventually would become recognized as the first official report on HIV/AIDS in the United States.
