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Lightning rod Alice Massie to step down from Monroe Park Conservancy
A key figure in the management of Monroe Park who was the focus of much of the criticism of the park’s operation is stepping down.
Virginia becomes abortion haven for out-of-state women
It is no longer unusual for a pregnant Alabama woman with two kids to be parked overnight outside a Virginia League for Planned Parenthood (VLPP) clinic, waiting for the doors to open. Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the protection of abortion rights in this state means that women who live where the procedure is banned are making their way to VLPP facilities in Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Slave memorial and museum gets jumpstart under mayor’s plan
A long-stalled effort to develop a museum and memorial park in Shockoe Bottom to tell the story of enslaved people in Richmond seems to have gained fresh momentum, but that could quickly evaporate.
Nye, Lambert are new council officers
Kristen M. Nye thanked her City Council colleagues “for your vote of confidence” after being elected the new City Council president.
City approves funds to temporarily house homeless
The first major cold snap is forecast to hit Richmond this weekend, but City Hall is still struggling to provide shelter for the homeless who have no where to go.
Southside Hardware closing doors for last time Saturday
Southside Hardware was long a place to find the unusual, from replacement wicks for kerosene heaters to the special keys needed to operate radiators, antique radios and baby buggies.
Old Moore Street School continues to deteriorate during inaction over future
Jerome Legions is preparing to go on the warpath over the condition of historic Moore Street School.
Legal help offers children healthier futures
One silver lining for a parent with a child being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University is access to free legal services.
Pulse driving businesses down
Transit construction has hurt Downtown establishments
By Jeremy M. Lazarus Richmond City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray has been getting an earful from restaurants and businesses along Broad Street that have seen customer numbers fall and revenues shrink during the 20-month construction of Pulse, GRTC’s new bus rapid transit system
Coliseum project expected to be key in mayor’s State of the City address
The currently stalled $1.4 billion plan to have Richmond taxpayers build a new and bigger Richmond Coliseum as a way to attract new development to blocks near City Hall is anticipated to be a centerpiece of Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s second State of the City speech.
$ for schools
Mayor Levar M. Stoney announces $800M plan to fully fund school construction over next 20 years
The mayor announced a plan on Dec. 20 to provide the $800 million that Richmond Public Schools wants to improve and modernize schools, a majority of which are 60 or more years old and seven of which are 100 years old.
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor faces challenge by C. Owen Inge Conway
One of the standout local races is the contest for Henrico commonwealth’s attorney, where the winner is certain to be a woman.
Hammond moving quickly to shore up VSU
Dr. Pamela V. Hammond radiates energy and optimism in her new role as interim president of Virginia State University. “Every day there is something new to celebrate” she tells anyone who will listen.
RRHA resident’s chilly 3-year ordeal
For the past three years, Tina Marie Shaw has had to rely on an electric space heater to keep the winter cold out of her public housing unit in Creighton Court. “I worry about the heater starting a fire,” said Ms. Shaw, who looks after her 9-year-old grandson, Xavia, her pride and joy and an honors student at a Richmond elementary school. To avoid risk to herself and the child, “I unplug (the heater) at night when I go upstairs to bed, and turn it on in the morning.”
Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get
Delegate Jeff Bourne to leave legislature
After six years in the legislature, Delegate Jeffrey M. Bourne wants to spend more time with his family rather than run for a fourth two-year term in the House of Delegates or seek a Richmond state Senate seat.
Some ‘Legacy Vendors’ to have spot at renovated 17th Street Farmers’ Market
Evelyn “Luceal” Allen and Rosa Fleming will be coming back to the 17th Street Farmers’ Market, while Timothy “Tim” Christian likely will not. For now, he will remain by Main Street Station.
Happy Dance moving to state Senate
Democrat Rosalyn R. Dance waltzed to victory in the special election to fill the 16th Virginia Senate District seat that General Assembly veteran Henry L. Marsh III resigned during the summer.
PTA president lives in Henrico, but keeps children in RPS
Every school day, Chastity R. Hise or her husband, James R. Hise, drives the 3 miles from their home to drop their two children off at Linwood Holton Elementary School in the city’s North Side. And at the end of the day, one of the Hises is there to drive the children home.
‘Tear those statues down’
Richmonders decry mayor’s plan to put Confederate statues ‘in context’
Ora Lomax is still fuming over Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s plans for dealing with the stone and bronze figures that have been defining symbols of Richmond for generations — the statues of Confederate defenders of slavery that punctuate Monument Avenue.
