All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus

Saving the past
Bradford family descendants, supporters work to protect old Sons and Daughters of Ham Cemetery
Dense woods fill much of a largely uncelebrated and essentially abandoned African-American burial ground in Henrico County that had been best known in recent years as a practice area for University of Richmond runners.

Gold rush
Urban One wins nod to operate a casino-resort in South Richmond with a contract based on high expectations and promises of payouts
As the Virginia General Assembly considered legislation in winter 2020 to authorize casino gambling in Richmond and four other cities, Alfred C. Liggins III spent time buttonholing House and Senate members.

‘No one handed out medals’
Retired Richmond fireman recalls heroic work saving elderly residents in fire 44 years ago
As the firetrucks roared up, an elderly woman was screaming for help out of a half-open window as smoke billowed around her. She would be the first person that firefighter William“Junie” Bullock would rescue that day from the ninth floor of the Boxwood Building at Imperial Plaza, a five-building complex for retirees located on Bellevue Avenue in North Side that had opened 11 years earlier.

Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, whose activism led to diversity on state boards and commissions, dies at 83
Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison championed Black inclusion in government and public contracting while also opening her heart and her home to children and adults who needed a helping hand.

City Council backs year-round homeless shelter, approves master plan
Rhonda Sneed has gained City Council support after a year of pleading for City Hall to create a year-round shelter for the homeless.

It’s a deal
City and RVA Diamond Partners finalize $2.44B agreement; council vote comes next
The Diamond District – Richmond’s biggest ever development – is now at the starting gate after seven months of negotiations between the city and RVA Diamond Partners LLC (RVADP), the private developer.

Richmond Free Press founders receive City Hall honor and recognition
Black-owned weekly saluted for its ‘leadership, service, dedication and prominence in the community’
Jean P. Boone and the late Raymond H. Boone, founders and publishers of the Richmond Free Press newspaper, received recognition from City Council on Monday night to honor their journalistic contributions to the city.

RPS offers plan to boost student literacy
Nearly half of all Richmond students cannot read proficiently when they enter high school, leading to high dropout rates and a host of other ills, Richmond Public Schools acknowledges.

City Council gives greenlight to casino project
Richmond easily leaped the first hurdle in its quest to become a casino city — City Council approval.

Virginia is poised to eliminate the death penalty
The death penalty has been a staple of Virginia law since the first English settlers arrived in Jamestown.

2nd District surprise
Katherine L. Jordan declared winner of City Council seat after election night miscount
Katherine L. Jordan is in, and Tavarris J. Spinks is out.

City registrar takes heat for delay in opening satellite voting locations
Keith G. Balmer, Richmond’s new voter registrar, was rushing to start early in-person voting next week at two satellite locations—City Hall in Downtown and the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side.

State NAACP, others lodge criticism of proposed redistricting lines
Flawed data and too little assurance of fair representation for Black voters in Richmond, Hampton Roads and other sectors of the state.

Rev. Clifford B. Chambliss Jr. dies at 81
The Rev. Clifford Boss Chambliss Jr. was just 25 when he was tapped to lead a new job training initiative that more senior Black min- isters were organizing to help people find work and escape poverty.

Mayor to propose $35M to fix schools
Mayor Dwight C. Jones will propose spending $35 million to pay for major fixes for Richmond’s decaying school buildings when he delivers his two-year budget plan to City Council. While the mayor is keeping mum, Norman Butts, the city’s chief financial officer, disclosed at a City Council committee meeting Mayor Jones’ plan to address school maintenance in the budget he is scheduled to present Friday, March 13. Mr. Butts, who is involved in the budget preparation process, described the impending proposal as “a high priority” for the mayor.

Election Tuesday
Candidates in final swing
Now it’s time for the voters to speak. Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day.

Coalition to City Council: Slow your roll on rapid transit
Slow down the rush to install bus rapid transit (BRT) in Richmond and take the time to ensure that the service will not become an expensive boondoggle.

Chief Durham decries drop in police force
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham is tired of hearing he should be doing more to stem the bloodshed in Richmond. He hears that refrain every time there’s another killing — and there have been 52 already this year, up nearly 27 percent from a year ago when 41 people were reported slain.

Finally — City Council ready to vote on new budget May 15
Veteran Richmond police officers and firefighters are in line for major raises after July 1 in a bid to slow their departure to surrounding localities that pay more.

City Council continues to wrestle over budget
More than 60 people trooped to the microphone Monday to plead with Richmond City Council not to cut programs they need.