All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
Wilder says VCU panel cleared him in probe; VCU spokesman says that's 'premature'
L. Douglas Wilder has maintained for months that a former Virginia Commonwealth University student made up a story that he made sexual advances toward her and propositioned her to be his mistress nearly three years ago.
Unsheltered
Plans to house the homeless in Shockoe Valley disappear
Plans for a year-round shelter open around the clock for the homeless have suddenly evaporated seven months after being announced.
Into the future
Heading into 2022, Mayor Stoney details his focus for Richmond’s growth and opportunities in the coming years
Mayor Levar M. Stoney is bullish on Richmond as he prepares to begin his sixth year in the city’s top elected office.
Crackdown
Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights goes after possible housing discrimination by filing 13 lawsuits against 29 area companies that allegedly refused to accept renters using federal housing vouc
Owners and operators of apartment complexes in Richmond and across the state commonly have rejected rental applications from people using federal government-backed Housing Choice Vouchers to pay.
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.
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.
Property values up in city
For the third year in a row, rising property values in Richmond will put Richmond City Council on the spot when it comes to collecting property taxes from owners of real estate.
Lydia M. Jiggetts, prayer warrior and activist, dies at 70
Dr. Lydia Mercedes Jiggetts sought to help people in multiple ways. In the 1970s, she was part of a team of activists that helped force Richmond area radio and television stations to end their whites-only employment policies and open their doors to African-American talent.
Richmond-Petersburg to become central to U.S. critical drug manufacturing and stockpile
Richmond has just become the national headquarters for a government effort to resolve a long-festering problem — American dependence on overseas supplies of life-saving medications.
Hot and unhoused
Councilwoman urges city to open shelter for disabled people, families and children; Efforts to ‘expand the safety net’ for homeless coming early September, says official
Staying outdoors in the summer heat “is no fun,” said Thomas Bateman, a disabled factory worker. The bedraggled 63-year-old Richmonder hasn’t been able to find an affordable place to stay in the city, and his only income, a government disability check, allows him to pay for a motel stay just one night a month.
Despite defendants’ inability to pay court fees, many still incur costs
“Anyone charged with a crime that can result in jail or prison time is entitled to legal representation. In the familiar line from the Miranda warning, “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.”
Senate race may prove crucial in chamber control
Richmond will be in the center of the high-profile political fight to replace retiring Republican state Sen. John Watkins in the General Assembly. Both major political parties are expected to go all out to capture the 10th Senate District seat that appears to be the key to control of the closely divided state Senate where Republicans now hold sway. The GOP already has selected its candidate, Glen H. Sturtevant Jr., an attorney and a member of the Richmond School Board since 2013.
Sisters act to save home
Nuns rally support to block sale of historic St. Emma’s, St. Francis property
Defying their superiors, four nuns are fighting to save the historic 2,265-acre property in Powhatan County that was once home to two Catholic boarding schools for African-American youths.
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.
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.
State lawmaker calls for tax on marijuana to pay for reparations
If marijuana is legalized in Virginia, Democratic Delegate Lee J. Carter of Manassas wants all of the tax revenue generated to be devoted to paying reparations to Black people and Native Americans in the state for their suffering.
Stoney gets high marks on first on-the-job task
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney appears to have passed the first big test for his new administration — clearing away the 8 inches of snow that fell on the city by last Saturday afternoon.
Skipping school
Data show that 40% to 60% of Richmond area teachers are absent from the classroom 11 or more business days a year
Students always seem to be the focus of concern when the discussion centers on the ill effects of class-cutting, truancy and chronic absenteeism on education.
Adele C. Johnson, Black History Museum executive director, succumbs at 70
Adele C. Johnson pushed to ensure the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia lived up to its name during her four-year tenure as executive director.
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.