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SCC bans most utility cutoffs until Aug. 31
Virginians who have fallen far behind in paying their electric bills have gained a two-month reprieve from disconnections.

Shelter in place?
Homeless advocacy group says many unaware of warm housing when temperatures drop
As temperatures plunged into the 30s this week as fore- cast, a reluctant City Hall at the last minute grudgingly opened two overnight shelters – one for 50 single men and one for 50 single women, but none for those with children. Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration quietly sent email notices to some home- less groups about opening, but refused to issue any public statement in an apparent bid to reduce demand — follow- ing the script from the Sept. 30 tropical storm when only 12 homeless people managed to find the unannounced city shelter to get out of the heavy downpour. As was the case Sept. 30, most people who needed a warm place never got the word, ac- cording to a homeless advocacy organization, which decried the fact the city waited until 6 p.m. to announce the two shelters had opened an hour earlier. The shelters at United Na- tions Church, 214 Cowardin Ave. in South Side, and at the

VCU drops Moore Street School day care project
Virginia Commonwealth University apparently has dropped its $5 million plan to transform the historic, but deteriorating Moore Street School in the Carver community near Downtown into a day care and child development center for pre-school children.

Tyler drops out of mayor’s race; new poll shows Morrissey leading
A candidate for Richmond mayor dropped out Tuesday in a bid to help derail the acknowledged frontrunner, former Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey.

Commonwealth Catholic Charities to lead city’s winter overflow shelter efforts
Homeless people needing shelter in Richmond beginning Friday, Oct. 1, through mid-April will have a place to stay if the private shelters are full during cold weather.

City Council gives green light to new $13M apartment development at former funeral home site
The historic home of the A.D. Price Funeral Home at 212 E. Leigh St. in Jackson Ward will soon gain more apartments.

Unemployment rate in Va. drops to 4%
People like Percy Bell appear to be having an easier time finding work as unemployment returns to levels of nine years ago and employers begin to strain to fill openings.

GSK to add 150 jobs at city research center
Richmond is to gain 150 new jobs and an enlarged role as a hub of consumer product research and development for a joint venture of two pharmaceutical giants, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.

Richmond Crusade for Voters endorses diverse slate
The Richmond Crusade for Voters this week, as expected, endorsed the statewide Democratic ticket of Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for governor, Justin Fairfax for lieutenant governor and Mark Herring for re-election to attorney general. But the city’s oldest and largest African-American political group also voted Monday to support the re-election of six-term Republican Delegate G. Manoli Loupassi over his Democratic challenger Dawn Adams in the 69th District.

Shootings and homicides up in city, but major crime down 3% from 2018
Sixty people as of noon Dec. 31, were fatally shot, bludgeoned or knifed to death in Richmond in 2019, according to city Police Department statistics.

Judge approves settlement dropping witness requirement in June 23 primary
As anticipated, a federal judge has approved a settlement that will allow voters to cast mail-in ballots without a witness signature for the June 23 primary elections. The ruling doesn’t apply to local elections taking place on Tuesday, May 19.

Campaign mounts to purchase Woodland Cemetery
Neglected Woodland Cemetery — the final resting place of Richmond-born tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe Jr. and thousands of other African-Americans — soon could have new ownership if money can be raised.

Still standing:
The battle over who gets A.P. Hill statue remains undecided
A legal fight is slowing City Hall’s efforts to remove the last remaining statue of a slavery-defending Confederate military leader.

Woodland Cemetery sale completed to nonprofit Evergreen Restoration Foundation
A new owner has taken over the 104-year-old Woodland Cemetery, the final resting place of tennis great and humanitarian Arthur R. Ashe Jr., celebrated Richmond pastor John Jasper of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church and thousands of others.

Fort Lee barbers win strike for full pay
Unionized barbers at Fort Lee and Fort Pickett are again providing military haircuts after winning a prolonged strike that began in July.

Henrico hotel pays workers with free lodging
An aging hotel in Henrico County has found a way to virtually eliminate wages. Instead of money, employees get a room in exchange for working 40 hours a week checking in guests, doing maintenance work, cleaning rooms or filling other needed roles.

Public school enrollment down 46,000 statewide since pandemic
Richmond Public Schools has reported that 2,700 fewer students were enrolled Sept. 30 as the new school year began than in 2019 before the start of the pandemic.

Finally
Bon Secours opens new East End medical facility
A battered Bon Secours Mercy Health is promising increased investments in health care in Richmond’s East End in pushing back against critics claiming the giant health care system has diverted savings on expensive drugs away from the community to wealthier areas.

Annual checkup
A year after scathing New York Times article, Bon Secours’ prescription for East End community includes jobs, training, upgraded facilities
Richmond Community Hospital continues to buzz with construction as its owner, Bon Secours, builds up operations at the East End health care center.

Richmond-Petersburg to become central to U.S. critical drug manufacturing and stockpile
Richmond has just become the national headquarters for a government effort to resolve a long-festering problem — American dependence on overseas supplies of life-saving medications.