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City employees will pay more for health insurance in 2022
City Hall employees will face an average increase of 17 percent in the cost of health insurance effective Jan. 1, with significant new limits on coverage for retiring workers, according to a report to City Council.
Company believes it can attract more than 600,000 patrons to new Coliseum
John Page’s company, Spectra, is betting its management can turn Richmond’s proposed 17,500-seat Coliseum into one of the busiest and most successful entertainment centers in the world, if Richmond City Council approves allocating more than $300 million in taxpayer dollars over 30 years to build it.
Agelasto’s council fate may rest with hearing
Parker C. Agelasto’s service on Richmond City Council is now in the hands of a Richmond Circuit Court judge after months of controversy over the 5th District councilman’s move to a home outside the district.
Holiday ‘miracle’ may save South Side church
The Richmond Christian Center might not have to sell its sanctuary after all.
Census estimate shows city growth, but lag in people returning forms
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Rich- mond’s population surged past 230,000 on July 1, 2019, for the first time in at least 45 years.
Khalfani returns to Richmond in advocacy role
The former executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP is the newest member of the lobbying team of the Richmond- based Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, a coalition of 750 faith groups that advocates for economic, racial and social justice.
Bike lanes proposed for 1st Street
Busy 1st Street in Jackson Ward would be reduced to one lane for traffic under a city proposal to install bike lanes on the west side of a roadway that is a significant link between North Side to Downtown and routes to South Side.
Council finalizing City budget
Ambulance trip costs rise, City Hall offices primed for upgrades
Richmond Public Schools must live with the $21 million increase from city taxpayers, and retired city employees, for now, will not get an anticipated 5 percent bonus. Also, there will be no new funding to aid the city in battling climate change. However, the Richmond Ambulance Author-
City reverses course on Hickory Hill
In a surprise reversal, City Hall has dropped its plan to build a new training building for the city Fire Department on 2 acres of lawn at the Hickory Hill Community Center in South Side after a two-year effort to make it happen.
Husband and wife retire as credit union leaders
A husband and wife who each ran Richmond-based credit unions have stepped down.
Plans shelved to turn Highland Park school into apartments
A $10 million proposal to convert the former St. Elizabeth Catholic School on North Side into 92 affordable apartments for the elderly and disabled has been sidelined, at least for the time being.
HOME wins settlement for disabled
Landlords cannot turn away prospective tenants because their income is from government disability payments, according to the fair housing watchdog agency Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia. Richmond-based HOME brought attention to that restriction attempt after bringing change to a Chesterfield County apartment complex.
Rankine named new dean at UR
The University of Richmond School of Arts and Sciences will have a new dean June 1. He is Dr. Patrice Rankine, currently dean for Arts and Humanities at Hope College in Holland, Mich. “Dr. Rankine is an experienced and accomplished scholar and administrator who deeply appreciates the importance we, at Richmond, attach to our deans being student-focused and committed to faculty development,” University of Richmond Provost Jacquelyn S. Fetrow stated Tuesday in announcing the appointment.
Walker statue to be shorter than initial plan
Maggie Walker’s statue in Downtown could wind up at least 6 feet shorter than sculptor Antonio “Toby” Mendez first envisioned. Instead of a 14-foot tall statue standing on a 5-foot pedestal as the sculptor proposed, the bronze figure of the much-admired Richmond businesswoman and civil rights leader would be no more than 10 feet tall and stand on 3-foot,4-inch pedestal in the proposed plaza at Adams and Broad streets.
Richmond Justice Center begins COVID-19 testing
More than three months after the coronavirus pandemic began, the Richmond City Justice Center is conducting its first mass testing of inmates, deputies and staff for COVID-19.
City Democratic Committee election overturned
The Richmond City Democratic Committee has been temporarily shut down and its current officers, including its politically connected chairman, James E. “J.J.” Minor III, removed after an arm of the state Democratic Party nullified the recent election, the Free Press has learned.
GRTC officials seek to limit ridership to essential trips
Teens and younger children might have a harder time taking advantage of free rides on GRTC. On Tuesday, the bus company announced that unaccompanied minors no longer can ride the public transit buses unless they are dressed in work uniforms or can show proof of employment, such as a badge.
City Council members call for ban on police use of tear gas, pepper spray as demonstrations continue
Ban the tear gas, pepper spray, flash bangs and rubber bullets that Richmond Police and their law enforcement partners have used repeatedly to disperse protesters clamoring against police brutality and racial injustice. That’s the cry from two Richmond City Council members who have witnessed the demonstrations and choked on the tear gas, and believe its use by police needs to end.
RPS bus drivers choose new union
Richmond Public Schools now has a third union with which to bargain.
