All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus

Money available for one-time help with overdue city utility bills
Behind on your utility bill? For city residents, there is help.

RPS would need $44M to cover Gov. Northam’s proposed teach pay hike
If Gov. Ralph S. Northam’s proposal to increase teacher and school staff pay by 10 percent over the next two years wins support from the General Assembly, Richmond taxpayers could feel the impact.

Former RPS warehouse to become furniture building center
Call it a $1.6 million windfall for Richmond Public Schools to use to upgrade some of its schools. The money is to come from the sale of the school system’s former warehouse on Arlington Road near The Diamond to Richmond-based McKinnon and Harris, an outdoor furniture manufacturer.

First Baptist Chesterfield project lacks black participation
First Baptist Church of South Richmond has poured nearly $6 million into buying land and developing its long-planned satellite sanctuary in Chesterfield County.

RRHA, Club 533 seek rezoning for new development
The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” appears to be at work in Jackson Ward. Six years after the collapse of a plan to build an eight-story hotel on North 3rd Street next to the interstate, a new effort is being mounted to make it happen.

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.

GRTC officials seek to limit ridership to essential trips
Teens and younger children might have a harder time taking advantage of free rides on GRTC. On Tuesday, the bus company announced that unaccompanied minors no longer can ride the public transit buses unless they are dressed in work uniforms or can show proof of employment, such as a badge.

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.

Agency questions city’s plan to destroy historic warehouse
The fate of a landmark warehouse in the East End that was supposed to be transformed into Stone Brewing’s destination bistro and beer garden remains in limbo.

Fulton oral histories to be accessible on the Internet
Stone Brewery is unwittingly giving a helping hand to people who want to call attention to historic Fulton. The brewery’s decision to locate its East Coast home in Fulton is focusing public attention on the area and potentially raising interest in the once African-American community that was bulldozed into oblivion nearly 45 years ago in the name of urban renewal. That’s good news for those who are now engaged in posting on the Internet interviews with people who knew the area before the community was razed. The interviews with former residents are being digitized and soon will go online with help from the Valentine Richmond History Center and Virginia Commonwealth University’s library system, according to Spencer E. Jones III, chair of the Legacy Committee of Greater Fulton’s Future.

Better Housing Coalition to develop affordable apartment complex in Jackson Ward
Another piece of a grand 30-year-old urban renewal plan for Jackson Ward is moving closer to development.

Pandemic puts city assessments, financial picture on hold
New valuations of Richmond homes and businesses have yet to be issued.

Plans in the works to create several 24-hour homeless shelters
Frizzell Stephens wishes he had a roof over his head.

No answers yet on why new Richmond schools costs to be higher than many other locales
Richmond is preparing to spend $140 million to build three new schools financed by an increase in the city’s meals tax — $30 million more than the school system first projected and far in excess of what most school divisions are paying for new buildings.

Dr. Reavis to retire as seminary president
Fifteen years ago, Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr. went to Lynchburg to save his alma mater, Virginia University of Lynchburg. Now the former Richmond pastor is preparing to step down as president of the historically black Baptist college and seminary that he believes has been restored to full health — with more than 10 times the enrollment than when he started. “When I got here, there were only 32 students on campus,” Dr. Reavis said. Today, more than 400 students are taking courses on the campus, online or in a satellite program on the Northern Neck in Eastern Virginia.

Local groups announce back-to-school giveaways
Are you or someone you know struggling to buy school supplies for your children?

General Assembly request holds up Boulevard development project
The General Assembly wants more information before allowing the state’s liquor agency to borrow $104 million to develop a new headquarters and warehouse in a new location.

Stone Brewing bringing jobs, craft beer to Richmond
More beer, please. That’s what Richmond is getting after California-based Stone Brewing Co. agreed to make Virginia’s capital city the home of its first East Coast brewery and restaurant operation.

Richmond Ambulance Authority sounds funding alarm
A sea of red ink. That is what the Richmond Ambulance Authority warns it is facing.

Company believes it can attract more than 600,000 patrons to new Coliseum
John Page’s company, Spectra, is betting its management can turn Richmond’s proposed 17,500-seat Coliseum into one of the busiest and most successful entertainment centers in the world, if Richmond City Council approves allocating more than $300 million in taxpayer dollars over 30 years to build it.