All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
City receives grants for lead paint abatement, workforce development
Richmond has been awarded grants totaling $4.6 million that will enable the city Health District to do more to reduce lead poisoning of children and to beef up the city’s workforce programs that seek to reduce poverty. The biggest grant, $2.7 million, is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
More help requested at Evergreen, East End cemeteries
More help, please. That’s the plea from Marvin Harris, founder and president of the nonprofit Evergreen Restoration Foundation that is dedicated to improving the historic 60-acre Evergreen Cemetery on the border between Richmond and Henrico County in the East End.
Gravely resigns NAACP post
After three weeks of mulling the decision, Jack Gravely is stepping down as interim executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. He delivered his resignation Monday via email to state NAACP President Linda Thomas and other members of the executive board.
City Council starts process to rename Lee Bridge and other Confederate memorials
Legal tangles continue to block removal of state-owned statues honoring Confederate Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue and in the State Capitol.
VCU silent on questions about 'Jabo' Wilkins' retired jersey and number
Silence. That’s the response from Virginia Commonwealth University to several Free Press inquiries on what happened to the formal recognition for one of its greatest basketball players, the late Charles “Jabo” Wilkins.
Goldman to pursue new City Charter change
Should Richmond’s top priority be modernizing obsolete public school buildings or replacing the 47-year-old Richmond Coliseum? Veteran political strategist Paul Goldman wants to give city voters the opportunity to weigh in on that issue.
Henrico woman wins settlement in $1M discrimination lawsuit against county
Jeanetta Lee appears to have secured a signal victory in her lawsuit claiming that Henrico County engaged in racial discrimination in bypassing her in 2017 to promote a less qualified white man to manage the county’s in-house insurance office known as the Risk Management Division.
Budget blowup splits mayor, City Council
Relations between Mayor Levar M. Stoney and City Council disintegrated Wednesday as council poised to make a modest cut in departmental spending and reject his proposed 9-cent increase in the property tax rate.
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.
History marker going up for Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground; mixed results on Confederate markers
A new state history marker to a long forgotten Black cemetery in Richmond is on the way, while two highway markers to the city’s Confederate past have been removed.
Legal weapon
City’s plans for Ashe Center unlikely to win in court, says pro bono lawyer
City Hall would violate state and city laws if it moves to tear down the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center and sell the site without the permission of the Richmond School Board.
Re-entry training program locked out of former school building
The shutdown has come for a Richmond-based program that linked people released from jails and prisons to training for construction jobs.
Faith leaders issue BHM book challenge to Richmond area residents
Challenge to Richmond area residents: Spend February reading award-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s widely praised book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” then participate in a Zoom discussion of the book 7 p.m. Monday, March 1.
Youngkin partnership pushes Petersburg’s economic health
Majority-black Petersburg is getting special treatment from Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin.
RPS plans for Fox Elementary to rise from ashes
A virtually identical Fox Elementary School building can rise from the ashes, without additional cost to Richmond Public Schools.
RPS students show minimal progress with math, reading scores
Richmond public school students in the third to eighth grades continue to struggle with reading comprehension and with understanding math concepts, according to results from the state-mandated Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA).
Council says ‘no’ to ‘warehouse creep’ proposal
City Council on Monday night rejected a nonprofit housing group’s plan to build a warehouse in South Side to assemble affordable modular replacements for worn-out mobile homes that mostly Latino residents occupy in the city.
Judge rules against Sa’ad El-Amin entering Lee statue lawsuit
“Black lives still don’t matter,” former Richmond City Councilman Sa’ad El-Amin said as he left a Richmond courtroom last Friday.
Virginia Supreme Court hears arguments in Lee statue cases
Can a group of landowners block the governor and the legislature from removing a giant symbol of white supremacy?
Pressure mounts on city voter registrar to resign or be fired
J. Kirk Showalter continues to lead the voter registration operation in Richmond, just as she has for 25 years.
