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Words matter
Renter receives settlement from local landlord following racist, vulgar abuse and discrimination
Winter Whittaker knew what to do when the wealthy white real estate owner called her “a dumb a** n****r” and “a black b***h” after she repeatedly and fruitlessly asked him to fix the leaking roof and other serious problems with the Meadowbridge Road home she rented from him on North Side.
New city protocol irritates City Council members
The days of council members speaking directly to department directors and other City Hall staff to resolve a problem are over.
Coliseum review panel stalled after attempt to add VUU president
New twists occurred this week in the ongoing saga of the Navy Hill District Corp. proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum.
RPS officials fail to explain faulty, fluctuating graduation figures
There has been a sudden surge in the number of students graduating from Richmond Public Schools — and not just from Armstrong High School. RPS officials this week are reporting that 963 seniors received their diplomas during recent graduation ceremonies from the city’s nine high schools.
City finishes fiscal year with surplus
By the numbers
If Richmond City Council approves, retired city employees such as Elmer Seay and Daisy Weaver might receive a 1 percent increase in their city pensions — the first cost-of-living increase since 2008.
City Council rejects turning over design funding for new George Wythe High
Will a new George Wythe High School ever get built?
Shelter in place?
Homeless advocacy group says many unaware of warm housing when temperatures drop
As temperatures plunged into the 30s this week as fore- cast, a reluctant City Hall at the last minute grudgingly opened two overnight shelters – one for 50 single men and one for 50 single women, but none for those with children. Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration quietly sent email notices to some home- less groups about opening, but refused to issue any public statement in an apparent bid to reduce demand — follow- ing the script from the Sept. 30 tropical storm when only 12 homeless people managed to find the unannounced city shelter to get out of the heavy downpour. As was the case Sept. 30, most people who needed a warm place never got the word, ac- cording to a homeless advocacy organization, which decried the fact the city waited until 6 p.m. to announce the two shelters had opened an hour earlier. The shelters at United Na- tions Church, 214 Cowardin Ave. in South Side, and at the
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.
No wrongdoing
Mayor Levar M. Stoney cleared in special prosecutor’s probe of the city’s awarding of $1.8 million contract to remove Confederate statues
No bribes. No kickbacks. No evidence of corruption in the use of taxpayers’ dollars. That’s the conclusion of a six-month probe to determine if Mayor Levar M. Stoney engaged in any wrongdoing in the award of a $1.8 million contract to a contractor to take down the city’s Confederate statues in July 2020.
Gov. restores rights of nearly 70,000 felons
Nearly 70,000 formerly incarcerated felons in Virginia can now register to vote, serve on juries and run for public office.
Rejected casino group threats legal challenge to city selection process
Dennis Cotto has spent much of his adult life fighting legal battles.
City Council to vote on new $772M budget plan May 10
The first ever city pay supplement for public defenders who represent most Richmond residents charged with crimes.
RPS lists 5.5 percent fewer students since 2019
Enrollment in Richmond Public Schools continues to decline amid population growth in the larger community.
Casino vote aftermath
Stoney, Spanberger declare bids for governor; Paul Goldman proposes charter change
Mayor Levar M. Stoney is brushing himself off after Richmond voters for the second time rejected the $562 million casino-resort plan he fully backed and gearing up to run for governor in 2025. Separately, Paul Goldman, who led both successful no casino campaigns, is now focusing on securing public support for a change to the City Charter or constitution that would require the mayor and the City Council to put the city’s children first when it comes to spending tax dollars.
Eureka!
FDA approves milestone treatments for sickle cell disease
Two breakthrough gene therapies can now be used to treat and possibly cure sickle cell anemia, the genetic blood disorder that afflicts 100,000 mostly Black Americans and 20 million people worldwide. But the announcement from the Food and Drug Administration of approval of the treatments — the first use of medicines to address an inherited disease — drew cheers and caution flags from those in the field.
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.
Services sacrificed in council’s $ plan
Richmond Public Schools is on track to gain an extra $9 million to help meet critical needs in the coming year. Police officers and firefighters also are on track to gain bigger raises of roughly 2.5 percent to help reduce turnover in public safety.
No charges filed against Wisconsin police officer in teen’s death
A Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot an unarmed biracial teenager in March, prompting several days of peaceful protests, will not be charged, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Officer Matt Kenny used justified lethal force in the March 6 shooting of Tony Robinson, 19, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said.
Election Day less than smooth for local voter
Eugene M. Price finally has been told his vote will count, six days after the Nov. 8 election. The 73-year-old Richmond auto mechanic said Monday he got a call from the city Voter Registrar’s Office telling him that the provisional ballot he cast was accepted and would be included in the city’s total vote after it was determined that he was properly registered to vote and that his name should have been on the voter rolls.
Pay raise problems resolved
The salary snafu at City Hall has been resolved. Police officers and firefighters are to receive their delayed raises on Friday, Aug. 11, when the next city paychecks are issued, according to Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s press secretary, Jim Nolan.
