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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.
Mayor Stoney details plans for using $155M in American Rescue Plan funds
Mayor Levar M. Stoney on Monday called for using the $155 million inAmerican Rescue Plan funds pouring into City Hall coffers to increase the inventory of homes and apartments that are more affordable for lower-income residents; beef up recreation facilities and improve access to the James River; invest in child care programs and in health programs; improve public safety; and provide $3,000 bonuses for first re- sponders.
RPS lists 5.5 percent fewer students since 2019
Enrollment in Richmond Public Schools continues to decline amid population growth in the larger community.
Public safety on front burner in mayor’s budget plan
Mayor Dwight C. Jones is proposing to pour millions of dollars into wage increases for city employees, most notably police officers and firefighters. He also wants to equip the police with body cameras and modernize the 911 emergency communications system at a cost of more $50 million.
Savings vs. service
City’s 2014 audit shows millions sent to rainy day fund despite critical needs
Is Mayor Dwight C. Jones saving too much money while starving City Hall of the monetary resources needed to provide services to Richmond residents?
No more money for school maintenance
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras is alarmed. He just found out that, as of March 31, RPS has only $881,143 left through June 30 to spend on school maintenance needs.
Henry L. Marsh III to introduce his memoir
He had his sights set on making his living as a truck driver. Then Henry L. Marsh III went with a group of high school buddies to hear a school desegregation case in Richmond, and that experience changed his life.
RRHA begins major move to turn over public housing to private interests
Residents of public housing can expect to see their apartment complexes come under the control and management of private landlords.
Coliseum’s success raises new questions about need to replace it
The 13,500-seat Richmond Coliseum has been the busiest arena in Virginia during the past six years, according to a Chicago-based consulting company that was paid $500,000 by the city to review a proposal to replace the facility.
City Council to take up affordable housing and homeless issues at Dec. 17 meeting
Richmond’s governing body is planning to provide a $1 million increase to a City Hall loan pool that assists developers in generating affordable housing and to boost the city’s role in tackling the issue of homelessness.
Top prosecutor stepping down
Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring has quietly left his mark on the criminal justice system in Richmond.
Former Mayor Walter T. Kenney Sr., who worked across racial, political and regional lines, dies at 88
Former Richmond Mayor Walter T. Kenney Sr. would have been out of step in today’s polarized politics. Mr. Kenney, a proud Richmond native who died Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in a local hospital at age 88, is being remembered as the “consummate gentleman” of city politics who would talk with everyone, no matter their political leanings.
Full-court press
Navy Hill District Corp. is pulling out all stops as Feb. 24 vote by City Council on $1.5B Coliseum replacement and Downtown development nears
From robocalls to press conferences, the Navy Hill District Corp. that Dominion Energy top executive Thomas F. Farrell II heads is pulling out all the stops to generate public support for the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum replacement plan ahead of the scheduled vote by City Council in late February.
Lost cause
Richmond City Council rejects resolution requesting General Assembly approval for authority over city’s Confederate monuments
The racist Confederate past has maintained its stranglehold on Richmond’s future.
A resurrection story
Richmond Christian Center climbing back from bankruptcy with entrepreneurial efforts
Richmond Christian Center climbing back from bankruptcy with entrepreneurial efforts
Paydazed in RVA
High-fee payday loan traps Henrico man
Running short of money to pay bills, Donald Garrett did what many people do — he turned to a payday lender. He borrowed $100 from a small loan company called Advance ‘Til Payday on Nine Mile Road near his Henrico County apartment in order to catch up. Four months later, he had wracked up $320 in fees and still was unable to pay off the original $100. Until a friend stepped in and paid off his debt, he faced paying $80 each month. To pay the loan off, $100 had to be added to the $80 payment.
Lead poisoning endangers Richmond children, too
Amid the public outcry over the lead-contaminated public water supply in Flint, Mich., it is easy to forget that lead poisoning remains a threat to children across the country — even in Richmond. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 500,000 young children nationally suffer from lead poisoning that can affect development of their mental capacity, their bones and their organs.
RPS school construction costs, process criticized
Richmond School Board members Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, and Jonathan Young, 4th District, used Monday’s School Board meeting to express concern that the bidding process Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration used to choose contractors to build three new district schools has added tens of millions of dollars to the cost.
Robertson pushes plan to fix aging schools
Ellen F. Robertson is frustrated after a year of trying and failing to win School Board support to replace Overby-Sheppard Elementary School in the North Side section of the 6th District she represents on City Council.
Richmond jail staffing shortage blamed for rise in injured deputies, inmates
In the past four weeks at the Richmond City Justice Center, one deputy had his shoulder dislocated after he was thrown to the ground while trying to stop two prisoners from assaulting another inmate. Another deputy was head-butted by an inmate after refusing to provide the inmate with another prisoner’s food tray, according to information provided to the Free Press. In addition, the Free Press has learned another inmate was stabbed during this period, apparently the fourth this year. And early Monday, the jail reported to Richmond Police the third death of an inmate this year, though the identification was not released. For the second time since late October, an inmate who was transported to the John Marshall Courts Building was found to be carrying a concealed blade, according to information provided to the newspaper.
