All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
State Jails Board creates improvement plan for City Jail
Investigation cites 6 deaths, inconsistent inspections and other unmet standards
Only a small staff of deputies is working in the Richmond City Justice Center on any given day, the Free Press is being told, as the number of sworn officers under the command of Sheriff Antionette V. Irving continues to fall.
Heads up for a head start?
$19M from projected Casino revenue proposed for child care needs
An already short supply of child care operations could soon grow worse in Richmond and across the country, experts say. But the good news is City Hall has a solution, even though it could take three years to fully come to fruition.
City’s new homeless services plan includes opening North Side shelter, working with Salvation Army
City Hall has rolled out a revamped plan for helping people who have no shelter. The plan includes opening a housing resource center to better connect the homeless with housing options, expanding year-round shelter beds and providing a temporary space for people to sleep during winter, summer and heavy rains.
Council: Sheltering the unsheltered during Ophelia did not work well
Richmond is rated by the National Weather Service as a storm-ready community. But when Tropical Storm Ophelia was about to hit, the city’s emergency shelter seemed less than prepared to provide a refuge for people like Robert Harrison, 23, and Ron Thomas, 38, who are homeless.
$5M payday?
Tentative agreement said to be reached in Arthur Ashe controversy
City Hall and the Richmond School Board appear to be on the verge of settling a 17-month dispute over control of the aging Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, a basketball arena and convocation center that the school system managed since it opened in 1982. As the Free Press previously reported, both sides claimed ownership of the 4.1-acre property that occupies a key corner of the planned 67-acre, $2.44 billion Diamond District redevelopment initiative — and until now, an ugly and embarrassing court battle appeared to be looming to settle which entity holds title to the building.
JLARC report shows the cost of child care adds up in Virginia
Most Virginia families, particularly single-parent households, currently spend far more than 7% of household income on childcare, or well above the percentage the federal government defines as affordable, according to a new state report.
Voters may get second chance for casino vote
Will Richmond voters support a casino the second time around?
The need for food and shelter grows for city’s homeless
“The need has tripled,” Rhonda Sneed said. “More and more people are experiencing a crisis at this time, and so many with food insecurity. I am seeing more people seeking some form of nourishment from a trash receptacle.”
Richmonders want funding for schools, housing, less gas
Fund the full request for Richmond Public Schools. Improve our parks. Fully fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and fund repairs for decaying mobile homes. Protect the environment by planning for elimination of the city’s gas utility. Those were among the ways that least 20 speakers urged City Council to amend the 2023-24 budget plan at a public hearing Monday night.
City’s first Black pastor of a ‘megachurch’ and others still largely unknown
The Rev. James Henry Holmes remains one of the unsung notables of Jackson Ward who has not been recognized with a City Council resolution and honorary street sign.
City betting millions on brewery
In its California hometown, Stone Brewery is a standout in San Diego’s burgeoning craft beer market, with Stone’s two beer gardens ranking as important tourist lures. The company boasts that only the renowned San Diego Zoo and the LEGOLAND amusement park attract more visitors to the Navy port city with 4 million people in the metropolitan area or four times the population of metro Richmond.
Morrissey strikes out in court
Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey is striking out on his own again to run as an independent in his bid to win a state Senate seat. On Tuesday, a Richmond judge rejected Mr. Morrissey’s request for court intervention to allow him to challenge his disqualification from the June 9 Democratic Party primary election in the 16th Senate District. that stretches from Richmond’s East End to Petersburg. Mr. Morrissey gave up his Henrico seat in the House of Delegates and moved into an apartment in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom with plans to challenge the 16th District’s current senator, Rosalyn R. Dance of Petersburg, for the party’s nomination.
Governor ‘bans the box’ for state job applications
A small change that Gov. Terry McAuliffe just made in the state’s job application form could have a big impact on thousands of job seekers like Genevieve Carter of Richmond. As a result of the governor’s executive order, Ms. Carter no longer will have to disclose she has been convicted of a crime in filling out an application for a state position.
Plenty of jobs, not enough workers
Commission recommends aligning training with opportunities
Talk about a huge surprise: Four job openings exist in Richmond for every job seeker in the city, according to government data. In fact, more jobs in the city go begging for qualified workers than anywhere else in the Richmond region, which overall has 1.5 job openings for every job seeker, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated in its December report.
CAO scraps plan to use energy savings for upgrades
Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration has killed a plan to use energy savings to finance critical improvements to more than 30 aging city buildings, the Free Press has learned. The city’s chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, quietly made the decision in the past few weeks. She did so after Siemens, the company the city hired to provide a detailed proposal, offered to undertake $13 million in improvements to city buildings that would be repaid over time from savings the city achieved from cutbacks in electricity and natural gas use.
Voter supression or simple snafu?
City man given wrong ballot in Nov. election
Edward A. Adams went to the polls Nov. 3 eager to cast his ballot for Dan Gecker, the Democrat who ultimately lost in the hotly contested race in the 10th Senate District. But the 59-year-old postal worker wound up casting a ballot for unchallenged incumbent Sen. A. Donald McEachin in the 9th Senate District — even though Mr. Adams’ residence at 612 W. Franklin actually is listed on the poll books as being in the 10th Senate District.
Coffee shop business grinds to a halt
A combination coffee and bike shop was supposed to be a first step in breathing fresh life into a neighborhood business strip in North Side. But four months after the ceremonial, high-profile ribbon-cutting, only the nonprofit bike shop remains in operation at 10 E. Brookland Park Blvd. — and just a few days a week.
Voter registrar explains plan to stop poll problems
Mistakes happen. That, Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter told the state Board of Elections, is the reason why some voters were given the wrong ballots and had trouble being checked in to vote during the Nov. 3 election. However, she said changes are being put in place to ensure that the problems that led to numerous complaints do not recur in upcoming elections.
New park named for city police lieutenant
A new city park is being named for the late Richmond Police Lt. Ozell Johnson, a pioneer in community policing in the city. City Council voted unanimously Sept. 28 to designate city-owned property at 241 E. Ladies Mile Road in the Providence Park neighborhood in North Side as a park and name it for Lt. Johnson. “As a lifelong city resident, I’m very excited about this honor being bestowed on my late father,” said Richmond Police Maj. Odetta Johnson.
