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City Council vote on meals tax hike set for Feb.12
Proving more adept at corralling a majority of City Council votes on a big issue than former Mayors L. Douglas Wilder and Dwight C. Jones, Mayor Levar M. Stoney is rushing to gain quick approval of his plan to raise the city’s current 6 percent meals tax by 1.5 cents.
‘Deeply disappointing’
RPS superintendent reacts to city SOL scores showing 2 of every 5 students unable to pass one or more tests
The good news: More than half of Richmond’s public school students passed one or more state Standards of Learning tests in 2018 and are meeting state objectives in the core subjects of reading, writing, math, science and history/social studies.
Creighton Court residents left in the cold
Florence Washington knows how to deal with the bitter cold when she goes outdoors. On a walk to the store, she was bundled up with a hat, earmuffs, heavy coat and several layers of clothing.
Opponents fear Main Street Station plans will run over slave memorial
Hopes of creating a memorial park in Shockoe Bottom recalling Richmond’s role as a center of the slave trade appear to conflict with efforts to make Main Street Station a more significant passenger rail stop.
Mayor pushes private development of new Coliseum
A pie-in-the-sky fantasy or a realistic prospect for overhauling the Coliseum area of Downtown? That question remains to be answered in the wake of Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s call for companies to provide plans for revitalizing the 10-block area from 5th to 10th streets between Marshall and Leigh streets.
Mayor Jones’ final bow
Richmond’s chief executive reflects on his 8 years in office
Mayor Dwight C. Jones entered City Hall in 2009 amid the worst recession in 75 years. He sought to be “a unifier” who would end the turmoil between the Mayor’s Office, City Council and the School Board and would create a Richmond people were proud of.
‘Toothless’
Critics assail Mayor Stoney’s proposal to give a new civilian review board only limited authority in handling complaints against city police
Richmond could soon have its first civilian board to review serious complaints against police officers.
Richmond sheriff’s race heats up
Sheriff Antionette V. Irving wants voters to re-elect her to a second four-year term based on her track record operating the Richmond City Justice Center and handling other duties of the office.
New ‘Emancipation and Freedom Monument’ unveiling draws crowds, tears
“Overwhelming!” “Excited!” “Proud!” Those were some of the comments from onlookers as they viewed the state’s new “Emancipation and Freedom Monument” that was unveiled Wednesday on Brown’s Island on the James River in Richmond’s Downtown.
Full-court press
Navy Hill District Corp. is pulling out all stops as Feb. 24 vote by City Council on $1.5B Coliseum replacement and Downtown development nears
From robocalls to press conferences, the Navy Hill District Corp. that Dominion Energy top executive Thomas F. Farrell II heads is pulling out all the stops to generate public support for the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum replacement plan ahead of the scheduled vote by City Council in late February.
Mayor eschews status quo, urges city to think bigger in State of City address
Stop being afraid to do something great. That’s Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s response to the opposition to the $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement plan that so far has failed to gain widespread public support.
Virginia playing central role in high-stakes Nov. 6 election
Call it a high-stakes referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency and the Republican agenda that includes proposals to slash spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and anti-poverty programs to pay for tax cuts, appoint conservative judges to roll back voting rights and affirmative action, eliminate environmental protections and end abortions.
Final stanza
Larry Bland, director of The Volunteer Choir, is calling it quits as group reaches 50th anniversary
A local gospel music group that has been generating sounds of joy and inspiration for 50 years could soon be no more. Larry Bland & The Volunteer Choir is scheduled to make three appearances this year to mark its golden anniversary milestone, and then Mr. Bland said he will retire as the group’s director and chief organizer.
New housing honcho
RRHA’s leader Damon Duncan outlines priorities that will impact city’s 10,000 public housing residents
The new chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority is vowing that the agency will move “expeditiously” to redevelop the city’s decaying public housing.
Broken promises end legacy at 17th Street Farmers’ Market
They have been fixtures at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market in Shockoe Bottom for decades, just like their parents and grandparents before them. Now, sisters Evelyn Luceal Allen, 84, and Rosa L. Fleming, 80, have closed their stand beside the market from which they daily sold greens, tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes and other produce grown on their land in Hanover County.
RPS school construction costs, process criticized
Richmond School Board members Kenya Gibson, 3rd District, and Jonathan Young, 4th District, used Monday’s School Board meeting to express concern that the bidding process Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration used to choose contractors to build three new district schools has added tens of millions of dollars to the cost.
Area meal programs feed first responders, help restaurants
City Hall is planning to pump more than $500,000 over the next two months into Richmond-based restaurants that serve meals to Richmond police officers, firefighters and ambulance staff.
Former city worker and union advocate: ‘I had no one to go to bat for me’
Andrew Thomas hoped to build a career in the Richmond Department of Public Utilities. Instead, the 49-year-old Jamaica native has quit the department after seven years.
Casino proposals offer a range of sweeteners for city
First there were six. Now there are three companies competing for the Richmond license for a casino after a city panel discarded three other proposals last week. Soon there will be just one.
Turning back time
Thousands of people attended last Saturday’s inauguration of Virginia’s new GOP leaders – Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares
“The spirit of Virginia is alive and well,” Glenn Allen Youngkin declared as after being sworn in as Virginia’s 74th governor.
