All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus

City acts to secure local cemeteries
City Hall has quietly signed a letter of intent to take over abandoned, but historic Black cemeteries in the East End and a far smaller and less well known burial ground on Forest View Drive in South Side, the Free Press has learned.

Jones to revive effort for city control over Confederate statues
Richmond City Councilman Michael J. Jones is going to try again to get City Council support for removing state control of the Confederate statues that litter Richmond’s landscape.

New RRHA chief takes over March 25
The new chief executive officer of the 79-year-old Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority is scheduled to arrive Monday, March 25, to take charge of the independent agency that manages more the 4,000 public housing units.

Federal judge upholds city ambulance monopoly
Richmond has won its legal fight to maintain a monopoly over providing emergency and non-emergency ambulance service after Richmond City Council forced Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration to mount a vigorous defense.

Power to vote
Gov. McAuliffe boldly restores voting rights of 206,000 Virginians, including disenfranchised African-Americans
David Mosby no longer feels like a second-class citizen. After years of being barred from the ballot box because of his criminal record, the 46-year-old home improvement contractor is finally able to vote and fully take part in the life of his community.

City worker unionization efforts begin as police coalition calls for Chief Smith’s ouster
Should City Hall follow the lead of the Richmond School Board and authorize its employees to organize and collectively bargain over wages and working conditions?

Top prosecutor stepping down
Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael N. Herring has quietly left his mark on the criminal justice system in Richmond.

Bessie E. Hundley, salon owner, travel agent and day care operator, dies at 99
Frustrated by low wages, Bessie Mercell Eddleton Hund- ley went into business for herself.

Walker statue to rise above Downtown plaza
The bronze statue of Richmond businesswoman Maggie L. Walker is to be the centerpiece of a 3,000-square-foot circular plaza made of granite. The preliminary design was unveiled last Saturday to an audience of about 100 people at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch in Downtown.

GOP surprise
Cuccinelli then McCullough poised for Va. high court
Ending a long-running dispute with the governor, the Republican majority in the General Assembly will cap the legislative session by filling a vacant state Supreme Court seat with their own choice. However, as has been traditional, the choice will be a seasoned jurist — Stephen R. McCullough of the Virginia Court of Appeals, GOP leaders in the House and Senate announced Wednesday.

Jackson Ward resident starting Wall of Love to help those in need
Richmond is about to join the Walls of Love movement that seeks to provide basic necessities to the homeless and needy without any questions or judgments.

City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto out of the woods?
Pressure appears to be lifting for Richmond City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto to resign his seat despite moving from the 5th District he represents to the city’s 1st District. Two key city officials, the Richmond voter registrar and the city attorney, have backed away from the issue of whether Mr. Agelasto’s move disqualifies him from remaining on City Council, leaving it uncertain whether any mechanism exists to enforce a requirement in the Virginia Constitution and state code that he, like other state and local officials, must live in the district he serves.

Fewer, higher paid school liaisons would replace RPS’ 17 attendance officers under Kamras plan
Jason Kamras is rejecting initial criticism of his plan to try a new approach to ensure Richmond students attend school daily.

Turnout may prove key in Va. gov. race
Now it’s up to the voters. Tuesday, Nov. 7, is Election Day — when ordinary citizens will troop to polls in Richmond and across Virginia to decide who will become the commonwealth’s 73rd governor and succeed the current chief executive, Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The main choices: Democrat Ralph S. Northam, 58, a pediatrician who specializes in children’s nerve diseases, a military veteran and the current lieutenant governor; and Republican Ed Gillespie, 56, a corporate lobbyist and former Republican Party chairman.

Ulysses Kirksey, longtime music director and conductor of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, succumbs after illness
Ulysses Kirksey grew up in Richmond, traveled the world with his cello and landed back in Petersburg, where he led the community’s symphony orchestra for 32 years.

Dr. Thelma Bland Watson, who was dedicated to advancing the needs of the elderly, dies at 70
Dr. Thelma Bland Watson was 9 when she began providing assistance to her maternal grandmother. That experience turned Dr. Watson into a champion for the elderly.

PayPal names new award for Richmond legend Maggie L. Walker
Trailblazing businesswoman Maggie L. Walker sought to empower women in her pioneering efforts in business and banking in Richmond at the turn of the 20th century.

The spirit of giving
Meadowbridge market offers free groceries to local residents
Dark and silent most days, the Meadowbridge Community Market comes alive on Saturdays.

Ignoring call to duty
Failure to sign up for Selective Service hurts thousands
Register for Selective Service. Otherwise, you could ruin your life. Jacquel Parker wishes he could tell that to every young man turning 18.