All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
Moving on up or out? Mayor Stoney submits to City Council $1.5B Coliseum replacement and Downtown development plan
Five months ago, Mayor Levar M. Stoney was singing the revenue blues as he introduced his latest budget. He told city residents that revenue was growing too slowly to keep up with the overwhelming demand for resources, and without a major increase in the property tax, the city couldn’t adequately address major challenges ranging from fixing city streets to funding public education and replacing worn-out police cars and fire trucks. Mayor Stoney now has changed his tune as he introduces his long-awaited grand development plan for Downtown.
Contract approval expected for GRTC drivers
Ending a stalemate, GRTC and its union have reached an agreement that will boost pay for drivers of regular and Pulse buses by 12.5 percent over three years. The contract also will upgrade pay for other blue collar employees and improve benefits.
Chief Durham refutes claims that smell of weed falsely being used for searches
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said he has sought to hold his department to high standards and to impose discipline when he finds officers fail to uphold them.
Richmond Public Library ends fines for overdue materials
Forget being hit with a fine for the late return of a book, recording or other item borrowed from the Richmond Public Library.
City Council votes to move $9M from fund to help cover budget shortfall
Three months ago, City Hall was happily stuffing $12 million into savings accounts while enthusing about how the city’s economy in the 2019-20 fiscal year had proven more robust and resilient than anticipated during the pandemic.
City alleys now to receive maintenance on regular schedule
The roar of heavy equipment over a backyard fence signals the start of work on another alley. Suddenly, with little publicity, city alleys are starting to get regular attention and care.
Slow but steady
Larger than expected voter turnout delays election results
Eleven volunteers were still hand-counting ballots at Free Press deadline to determine the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic “firehouse” primary in the 4th Congressional District.
State Police to probe handling of city contract to remove rebel statues
Did Mayor Levar M. Stoney violate the state’s procurement law when his administration provided a sole-source emergency contract worth $1.8 million to remove city-owned Confederate statues?
Affordable housing for whom?
Next week, City Council plans to declare an affordable housing crisis in Richmond as rents and house prices soar, leaving many with below average incomes unable to afford housing. However, neither the council nor Mayor Levar M. Stoney who has pushed the resolution to be voted on Monday, April 10, plan to mention the ways he and the governing body have quietly reduced funding to support development of housing for families with incomes of $40,000 or less a year.
We shall overcome
Charleston church massacre spurs removal of racist symbols
Charleston church massacre spurs removal of racist symbols
Proposed city budget includes help for aging mobile homes and examination of real estate taxes
For the first time, Richmond will help pay for fixing up aging trailers and mobile homes.
Casino contenders now down to 2; Bally’s out
Just two contenders are left in the competition to build a casino-resort in Richmond, and one already has corralled the support of a majority of City Council.
NAACP aids education advocate in Henrico trespass case
With help from the Henrico Branch NAACP, education advocate Kandise Lucas no longer is facing a charge of trespassing at Glen Allen High School. She also can go to other Henrico County schools without fear of arrest after a ban on entering school property was lifted.
Supplies surprise: $200 shopping spree helps teachers get ready for school
Wednesday was a big day for about 200 teachers from the three city public schools that sit along Forest Hill Avenue in the 4th Council District.
Meter fees go up July 5 Downtown
Motorists will pay an extra 50 cents an hour to park at a street meter in Downtown beginning Tuesday, July 5, it has been announced.
Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr., pastor, author and former president of Virginia University of Lynchburg, dies at 80
The private Virginia University of Lynchburg was teetering on collapse when Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr. left the pulpit at Riverview Baptist Church in Richmond to respond to a call to save his undergraduate alma mater.
80¢ cigarette tax goes up in smoke at City Council
Richmond smokers will not have to pay an extra 80 cents for a pack of cigarette. After hearing from more than 50 speakers and nearly an hour of debate, Richmond City Council, with a 6-3 vote, killed a proposal to impose a city tax on cigarettes that Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, 5th District, had spearheaded.
And they're off: More than 1,200 race into Rosie's Richmond Gaming Emporium for the first day of betting
Slot machines are illegal in Virginia. But don’t tell that to Shannon Bratson, 52, or many of the 1,200 others who piled into the new Rosie’s Richmond Gaming Emporium in South Side Monday morning to try out the 700 new machines following speeches and a ribbon cutting.
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.
GRTC to pilot on-demand service for elderly, disabled
Taxicab, Uber and Lyft drivers soon could be taking elderly and disabled people shopping, to the doctor and to other places in Richmond and Henrico County.
