All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus

Scott co-leader of bipartisan effort to curb federal prison spending
From Virginia to California, states are pushing change to cut their ballooning prison costs that collectively approach $60 billion. Instead of automatically locking up people, 32 states have put in place reforms during the past five years that have reduced the numbers of people imprisoned without increasing crime rates. The efforts have saved at least $4 billion. That includes reserving prison cells for the most serous offenders and doing more to divert lower-level offenders to supervised support programs outside prison.

Proposals to build 2 schools, redo George Wythe under review
Richmond Public Schools might provide incoming Mayor Levar Stoney with a potential blueprint for addressing the problem of outdated and increasingly worn-out school buildings.

McEachin, Wade on Nov. ballot
Richmond’s next congressman will either be Democrat A. Donald McEachin or Republican Michael L. “Mike” Wade. As expected, both men easily overcame rivals to win their respective party’s primary election Tuesday. They gain the right to carry their party’s banner into the November general election to represent the refashioned 4th Congressional District in Washington.

Hospital Street burial ground gets support as new historic district
Lenora C. McQueen’s three-year crusade to gain recognition for the long forgotten and largely destroyed Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground at 5th and Hospital streets in Richmond is starting to secure results.

Concerns raised over NAACP official's close ties to state political party
Has the Virginia State Conference NAACP crossed into partisan territory by naming the No. 2 officer of the state Democratic Party as its chief lobbyist?

4 school rezoning plans are up for final consideration
Four school rezoning plans — two of which include proposals for pairing some elementary schools and all of which keep Bellevue Elementary open — are now considered finalists.

City Council calls for Washington team to pay its way or end relationship
Will Washington’s pro football team continue to run a summer training camp in Richmond after 2020? That question is expected to be decided after Mayor Levar M. Stoney and team representatives hold talks, likely in May, on a potential extension of the current agreement.

Medicaid expansion to be key in state budget battle April 11
The high-stakes battle over Virginia’s next two-year budget resumes next Wednesday, April 11. On the line: Expansion of health care to 300,000 to 400,000 low-income Virginians, pay raises for state workers and teachers, and increased state support for education, mental health and workforce development.

Court rules denomination can be sued over child sexual abuse by church employee
One of the nation’s largest Pentecostal denominations can be sued for failing to protect one of its child members from a pedophile who worked closely with the children in a member church, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled.

Church merger leads to new roles for Rev. Whitehead, Dr. Cardwell
After 25 years at the helm of New Canaan International Church that he founded in Eastern Henrico County, minister and educator Dr. Owen C. Cardwell, 72, has passed the pastoral baton to a younger protégé, the Rev. Dwayne E. Whitehead.

Fired
Kirk Showalter, Richmond’s voter registrar, is dismissed by the Richmond Electoral Board after multiple complaints surrounding the Nov. 3 general election
J. Kirk Showalter’s 25-year reign as Richmond’s voter registrar is over.

Elkhardt’s closing signals harsh reality for mayor, City Council
Elkhardt Middle School is a fresh reminder of the increasingly shabby and dilapidated condition of most of Richmond’s school buildings — a condition that the mayor’s office and City Council have yet to seriously address despite repeated reports and warnings in recent years. Set to be shut down this Thursday night, with students, teachers and staff moving 10 miles north across the James River into the vacant Clark Springs Elementary building, Elkhardt on South Side reflects the stark reality the city is facing — the need to provide big money to keep Richmond’s school buildings usable, a reality that no longer can be papered over with rosy talk about bike races, baseball stadiums and football training camps.

A resurrection story
Richmond Christian Center climbing back from bankruptcy with entrepreneurial efforts
Richmond Christian Center climbing back from bankruptcy with entrepreneurial efforts

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.

Thousands of protesters hit the streets
A white Minneapolis police officer’s killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 minutes was the final straw.

Who are we?
Richmond’s population grew by 11 percent, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. But the number of city residents who identify solely as Black slides, while the white population rises slightly.
The 2020 U.S. Census did not surprise anyone when it confirmed what everyone can see with their own eyes— Richmond’s population is on the grow.

3 ousted in Richmond Police shakeup
Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith overhauled his command staff this week in his first big personnel shakeup since taking office seven months ago.

Nonprofits urged to file complaint against defunct umbrella foundation
Richmond City Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch is encouraging organizations whose funds disappeared after the collapse of the Enrichmond Foundation to file a complaint with the Richmond Police Department.

Kirby Carmichael honored with Richmond street sign bearing his name
For several decades Kirby David Carmichael spun the plat- ters at Richmond radio stations, first at WANT-AM and then at WRVQ-FM, ran Sunday night skate parties that were safe havens for area youths, held holiday turkey and toy drives and promoted events, festivals and other beneficial activities.

Police union up for a vote
Hundreds of officers in the Richmond Police Department are voting on whether to make the Richmond Coalition of Police their union bargaining agent, the Free Press has learned.