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Supply and demand
City’s ‘housing crisis’ calls for 23,000 affordable living spaces
Seeking to put fresh emphasis on an issue that has been on the agenda for at least a decade, City Council on Monday followed through and joined Mayor Levar M. Stoney in “declaring a housing crisis in the city of Richmond.”
Thousands of protesters hit the streets
A white Minneapolis police officer’s killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 minutes was the final straw.
New VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion to open Dec. 6
After more than four years of design and construction, opening day is finally arriving for the new Adult Outpatient Pavilion on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Free physical therapy clinic to help those who cannot afford service
A free physical therapy clinic run by students will open at Virginia Commonwealth University on Wednesday, Sept. 21, it has been announced.
Problems with paths, grass persist at Monroe Park
Add Monroe Park to the list of troubled projects for the city Department Public Works.
New city shelter for the homeless?
For the past four winters, men and women who lack shelter have streamed into the shabby and increasingly vacant Public Safety Building near City Hall to spend the night when temperatures fall below 40 degrees.
Roadblock: Mayor’s $1.4B Coliseum plan hits a financing snag
The plan to replace the Richmond Coliseum with a new arena in Downtown appears to be running afoul of the Virginia Public Finance Act.
City plans to add shelter space
City Hall is moving forward to acquire a 57,000-square-foot office-warehouse at 10 W. Belt Blvd. in South Side to expand shelter capacity for the homeless.
Second gun buyback program for city targeted
City Hall plans to continue to invest in gun buyback programs despite clear evidence that the program has not worked, which studies have shown is the case in virtually every locality offering to pay people to turn in their guns.
Richmond Ambulance Authority sounds funding alarm
A sea of red ink. That is what the Richmond Ambulance Authority warns it is facing.
Mayor seeks to change definition of emerging small business
For more than 15 years, City Hall has sought to use its purchasing power to boost start-up and fledgling companies, often with minority ownership, that generally bring in less than $500,000 a year in revenue and have 10 or fewer employees.
Growing rift
City Council members angered by their colleagues’ action on Coliseum replacement proposal
The divisions among City Council members over the Coliseum replacement plan appear to be hardening.
Creation of police oversight panel among 3 critical items City Council to consider
Richmond City Council is heading to decision time on three significant items on its agenda—creation of a civilian review board to oversee police discipline, collective bargaining for employees and redistricting.
10 groups interested in leading Boulevard redevelopment project
At least 10 groups have responded to Richmond’s call for companies to redevelop the 60 acres of mostly cleared city property that includes The Diamond baseball stadium and the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center on North Boulevard. “This is the kind of response that we wanted,” Lee Downey, the city’s chief development officer, said as the city begins the process of selecting a master developer to transform the area into a potential $300 million complex of offices, retail stores and residential units.
Finally
Bon Secours opens new East End medical facility
A battered Bon Secours Mercy Health is promising increased investments in health care in Richmond’s East End in pushing back against critics claiming the giant health care system has diverted savings on expensive drugs away from the community to wealthier areas.
Mayor’s revised police review board proposal gains support
Richmond appears to be moving closer to establishing an advisory Civilian Review Board to make recommendations in cases of alleged police misconduct that result in residents being killed, injured or suffering unwarranted physical or verbal abuse.
Petersburg jail closure to cost taxpayers $
Instead of saving money, the closure of the Petersburg Jail will cost city taxpayers at least $1.2 million extra each year, a Free Press analysis has determined. Figures from Petersburg’s government confirm the newspaper’s finding that closing the jail is more expensive than keeping it open, belying claims from Mayor W. Howard Myers and three other council members who supported the jail’s shutdown. That extra cost is embedded in the proposed budget that Petersburg City Manager William E. Johnson III presented recently to the seven-member Petersburg City Council. His proposed budget also provides no raises for city employees and no increase in city contributions to the public schools.
NSU scores with SACS, state audit
Norfolk State University is finally getting some good news. Interim President Eddie N. Moore Jr. this week indicated that NSU is on its way to having its accrediting agency remove the school from probation and restore it to unqualified accreditation.
Green light shines on Diamond District
The huge plan to redevelop 67 acres of publicly owned land around The Diamond baseball stadium has a green light — despite questions about the soundness of its financial structure.
Strange fruit?
Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site
The fight over the tree in the planned Maggie L. Walker plaza isn’t over. Gary L. Flowers, a Richmond native and national political and civil rights operative living in Jackson Ward, has jumped into the fray with a petition drive opposing the live oak that now dominates the gateway into Jackson Ward where the monument to the great lady is to stand.
