All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
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.
Richmond to get millions under federal American Rescue Plan package
The American Rescue Plan, which provided a $1,400 check to almost every adult in the country, is about to rain even more money on City Hall.
Sabrina Joy-Hogg named city’s deputy CAO for finance and administration
In 2018, Mayor Levar M. Stoney boasted that his new administration had accomplished a feat that his predecessor could not — complete the city’s audited comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR, on time.
New courts, new spirit
Call it Sharmar “Simba” Hill Jr.’s new house. Last Saturday, a huge, colorful basketball court was dedicated in honor of the 3-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet in February 2020 while playing outside his family’s home in the Hillside Court public housing community in South Side.
Woman seeks to visit deceased son’s daughter as holidays near
All that 69-year-old Richmonder Yolanda D. Fox wants for Christmas is to see her granddaughter, Mariah.
Council approves new shelters for homeless
Proposals for two new city-supported homeless shelters – including one at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. that drew fire from area businesses — cleared City Council Monday.
Audit report dings Finance Department
More than a quarter of registered vehicle owners wrongly assessed penalties, late fees
The Richmond Finance Department wrongly hit owners of 66,057 vehicles with late payment fees and interest in 2022 even though the owners paid by the deadline, a new audit has found.
VCU’s rat de-bait
State senator sounds alarm over Monroe Park rodents
Virginia Commonwealth University claims that rats in Monroe Park can rip open metal trash cans to get to discarded food—even though an inspection of the metal cans show that the bottoms are undamaged. The university, which handles maintenance of the park, issued that claim in response to a query from Richmond state Sen. Ghazal Hashmi about VCU’s expenditure of $2,400 a month to spread poison-bait rat traps throughout the city’s oldest park.
Changes in Youngkin administration
Kay Coles James has stepped down as Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Harold W. Clarke is retiring as director of the state’s prison system. The departure of the two senior Black state officials will usher in new leadership at several agencies in Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s administration.
