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VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance
Virginia Union University can keep its logo shining at night from the top of a historic 60- foot tower on its campus.

Study estimates slavery museum would cost up to $220M
A hefty price tag would be attached to creating a national slavery museum on the site of the “Devil’s Half Aacre,” a once notorious slave jail that Richmonder Robert Lumpkin operated before the Civil War and that later became the birthplace of Virginia Union University.

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.

Salvation Army delays move to new headquarters
The Salvation Army Central Virginia is keeping its headquarters and shelter at 2 W. Grace St. and has no immediate plans to move to North Side.

Judge suspends incorporation efforts at Fourth Baptist Church
A Richmond judge has temporarily blocked historic Fourth Baptist Church from taking any further steps to incorporate and reversed other actions approved during the pandemic.

Agreement limits low-income housing in redeveloped Creighton Court
Highly visible work is underway along Nine Mile Road in the East End as crews and machines prepare the land for the new townhouses and apartments that eventually will replace the 504 public housing units in Creighton Court.

Public barred from North Side park
It’s called a public park, but, ironically, the public is barred from entering the small grassy space on North Side without buying a city permit.

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.

City’s new homeless services plan includes opening North Side shelter, working with Salvation Army
City Hall has rolled out a revamped plan for helping people who have no shelter. The plan includes opening a housing resource center to better connect the homeless with housing options, expanding year-round shelter beds and providing a temporary space for people to sleep during winter, summer and heavy rains.

18-story apartment tower planned for Belvidere, Grace streets
Richmond is losing another gas station on the edge of Downtown, but is set to gain a $100 million apartment tower in exchange.

Grace Street development plan on hold
Plans to develop nearly a block of city property on East Grace Street into an $86 million office, hotel and residential complex are headed back to the drawing board after Mayor Levar M. Stoney withdrew legislation on the project. Bob Englander of CathFord Consulting, who proposed the project, said

New type of renter’s insurance covers security deposit
When it comes to renting an apartment, one problem people face is the big outlay.

She’s lovin’ it
Former Richmonder’s career with McDonald’s has made her a millionaire
Flipping burgers leads to millionaire status

County official chosen as new city auditor
Richmond City Council this week tapped a veteran of Chesterfield County government to make City Hall operations more efficient and track down waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Louis G. “Lou” Lassiter, deputy Chesterfield County administrator, was approved to be the new city auditor at a special council meeting at Free Press deadline Wednesday night.

Settlement reached in South Side mobile home suit
The war over mobile homes in Richmond appears to have ended in a truce. Under a settlement approved Monday in federal court, the City of Richmond has agreed to modify an aggressive code enforcement program that led to the condemnation of dozens of mobile homes in the past three years, displacing mostly Latino families.

VUU president accused of fraud
Dr. Hakim J. Lucas was supposed to be the ideal fit when Virginia Union University’s board named the 40-year-old as the historic institution’s 13th president in August.

National NAACP suspends Frank J. Thornton, Henrico Branch president
In an extraordinary action, national NAACP President Derrick Johnson has suspended for a year the membership of Frank J. Thornton, president of the Henrico Branch NAACP and son of Frank Thornton, chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors.

Former School Board member mounts campaign to oust principal
How much influence should parents and the community wield in deciding who should run a public school? That question is at the heart of a dispute over the leadership of Blackwell Elementary School on South Side.

City Hall offers some reforms on tax collections
Amid the uproar over meals-tax collections, City Hall is rolling out a multiple-step plan in a bid to ease complaints.

Richmond area toy drives and distribution
Christmas drives are underway to try to ensure that children in struggling families receive gifts.