All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus

Slave memorial and museum gets jumpstart under mayor’s plan
A long-stalled effort to develop a museum and memorial park in Shockoe Bottom to tell the story of enslaved people in Richmond seems to have gained fresh momentum, but that could quickly evaporate.

City Council bids Agelasto adieu with award and tough new ordinance
City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto got a rousing sendoff from his colleagues after joining them Tuesday night in votes to maintain the real estate tax rate at $1.20 per $100 of assessed value and to approve a public safety measure Mayor Levar M. Stoney spearheaded to fine residents who fail to report a lost or stolen gun within 24 hours.

New VUU president
Dr. Hakim J. Lucas of Bethune-Cookman tapped as school’s 13th president
They’ve been rivals forever, but Virginia Union and Virginia State universities soon will have one thing in common — a first-time president with executive credentials honed at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. Twenty months after VSU hired Bethune-Cookman Provost Makola M. Abdullah as its 14th president, VUU announced that the Florida university’s chief fundraiser, Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, would become its 13th president, effective Sept. 1. Dr. Lucas’ appointment was announced Tuesday by Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, VUU’s board chairman, following a 14-month search to replace former President Claude G. Perkins, who stepped down in June 2016, first taking a sabbatical and then retiring.

City Council poised to revive Human Relations Commission
Richmond soon could have a new Human Relations Commission as a platform to hear and investigate residents’ complaints about bias, bigotry and discrimination in areas ranging from race and religion to gender orientation, disability and pregnancy.

Daily Planet, CAHN and CrossOver clinics provide COVID-19 testing
As the coronavirus arrived in Richmond, the nonprofit Daily Planet Health Services in Downtown was among the quickest to set up a testing operation for its mostly low-income and homeless patients.

VCU researcher asks: Could AR-12 help combat COVID-19?
Dr. Paul Dent is frustrated that a virus-killing compound he spent years investigating is not being used as a treatment in the current coronavirus pandemic.

Court may wind up redrawing lines for House of Delegates districts
Federal judges could end up redrawing the boundaries of 11 districts in the House of Delegates — including four in the Richmond-Petersburg area and seven in Hampton Roads — that were found to be illegally overloaded with black voters.

Jamie Nolan wins city Democratic Committee leadership post
The rising political influence of women is being felt in Richmond. In an unprecedented move, the reorganized Richmond City Democratic Committee elected five women to the top six leadership positions Saturday in undergoing a major shakeup.

Discrimination lawsuit against Henrico County to go to trial Monday
Jeanetta Lee is hoping a federal jury will agree with her that Henrico County engaged in racial discrimination in awarding a plum job promotion to a less qualified white man.

City Council to seek election to replace Agelasto
Richmond City Council set the stage this week for a special election on Nov. 5 to replace Councilman Parker C. Agelasto as the 5th District representative. The council voted Monday to petition Richmond Circuit Court to set the election to coincide with the November general election in which voters will select representatives to the General Assembly.

GOP holds 51-49 edge over Dems in House after election certification
Democrat Joshua Cole fell just 82 votes short of becoming the first African-American delegate to represent Stafford County and end outright Republican control of the House of Delegates, according to the state Board of Elections.
REAL LIFE Community Center extends jail program into the city
Amid his preparations to leave office, Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. opened a new nonprofit center in Downtown this week aimed at helping people address addiction, anger and other challenges to enable them to stay out of jail.

Political control of House will come down to lucky draw
A drawing from a hat will decide control of the Virginia House of Delegates. That random draw will determine the winner of the 94th House District in Newport News — and with it whether Republicans retain a 51-49 majority in the 100-member chamber or whether the chamber becomes evenly split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, requiring a power-sharing arrangement.

Robert M. Davis Sr., founder of construction company, dies at 74
Robert Michael Davis Sr. left his mark on hundreds of homes in Richmond and Washington. For 50 years, he was involved in building, renovating and improving residences with a quality that kept him in demand. His record in home construction and his mentorship of and encouragement to young people who worked for him to

Undeterred
Not to be blocked by court, Gov. McAuliffe restores voting rights of 13,000 felons; creates system to help thousands more
Just a month after the Virginia Supreme Court blocked his attempt to restore the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons, Gov. Terry McAuliffe is once again charging ahead on this “issue of basic justice.”

Dems win control
For the first time in 24 years, Democrats will hold the majority in the state Senate and House of Delegates
For the first time in 24 years, Virginia voters handed Democrats control of both houses of the General Assembly in Tuesday’s election.

Big trouble for schools
Immediate need: $29M to keep buildings usable
Worn-out equipment needs to be replaced, but Richmond Public Schools has no funds to pay for as opening day for the new school year looms.

School Board questions its role in Ashe Center’s site plans
Another battle appears to be looming between City Hall and the School Board.

How many homeless people will be sheltered this winter remains unclear
Finding adequate space also an issue, city officials say
City Hall is moving forward in trying to find nonprofits or churches and other faith-based groups with available space to house homeless people, at least during the winter.

Trailblazer
Bettie Elizabeth Boyers Cooper’s actions spurred City’s full school desegregation
Bettie Elizabeth Boyers Cooper, who helped end Richmond and Virginia’s determined efforts in the 1950s to maintain racially segregated public schools, has died.