Efforts start to reconnect parts of Richmond
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg promoted a new program to spend $1 billion to reconnect neighborhoods torn apart by the construction of the interstate highway system 66 years ago during a visit to and tour of Richmond last Friday, Dec. 3.
Sources: $12.8M city budget error found by outside auditor
Richmond’s outside auditor has uncovered a $12.8 million error that has inflated the amount of surplus the city has reported for several years, the Free Press has been told.
Herring: ‘No evidence of recklessness’ warranting indictment in Lawhon death
The decision not to bring criminal charges against two Richmond Police officers and two paramedics in connec- tion with the fatal smothering of Joshua L. Lawhon three years ago was made by Michael N. Herring, former Richmond commonwealth’s attorney.
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.
New VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion to open Dec. 6
After more than four years of design and construction, opening day is finally arriving for the new Adult Outpatient Pavilion on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Hanging around
City still mulling offers for city-owned Confederate statues removed last year from Monument Avenue and other Richmond locations.
Richmond removed in 2020 almost all of the city-owned Confederate statues that marred the landscape with their white supremacist message. But getting rid of the statues is proving to be harder.
VUU to start 2 new schools and 2-year degree program
A new school is being launched a Virginia Union University to train students to be activists.
New courts, new spirit
Call it Sharmar “Simba” Hill Jr.’s new house. Last Saturday, a huge, colorful basketball court was dedicated in honor of the 3-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet in February 2020 while playing outside his family’s home in the Hillside Court public housing community in South Side.
Full-time City Council voted down
Forget about it. That’s what a suddenly balky Richmond City Council has decided about a proposal to take control of setting their own salaries so they could be full time.
Making an impact
Dr. Lillie R. Bennett has been caring for Richmond children in her medical practice for nearly 50 years
Joyce Carter happily drives 40 miles from Caroline County to Richmond so her three adopted children can see one doctor.
Richmond awarded federal planning grant for Gilpin Court renovation
Richmond has been awarded a $450,000 federal grant to assist with planning for a major redo of the Gilpin Court public housing community, which sits just north of Downtown.
City plans new Park and Ride-type initiative
Instead of driving into Downtown and searching for parking, how about parking and catching a bus or van that would link you to the Pulse rapid transit to ride to your destination?
City Council poised to transfer money for new George Wythe design
A funding snafu over design money for a new high school in South Side appears to be heading for a relatively quick resolution.
GRTC bus operators picket over safety, security concerns
Active drivers and retired bus operators hold up signs to passing vehicles Nov. 10 as they conduct informational picketing in front of GRTC’s headquarters at 301 E. Belt Blvd. in South Side.
Recount in 2 House races portends change in political dynamics
Two Hampton Roads-area Democrats are holding on to long-shot hopes that recounts will keep them in the House of Delegates — and prevent a full Republican takeover of the General Assembly’s lower chamber.
$6.8M: Richmond’s share from opioid manufacturers’ national settlement
Richmond is poised to gain at least a $6.8 million share of a national settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors for the harm caused and the expense dealing with the addiction epidemic they unleashed.
Legal or not?
Texas Hold ‘em poker games taking place in South Side at Pop’s Bar & Grill, whose co-founder is chairman of the Virginia Charitable Gaming Board
Casino-style gaming is still going strong in Richmond even after voters turned down an actual casino-resort in the Nov. 2 referendum.
City Council takes step towards full-time job with full-time pay
Full-time City Council members? For the first time, Richmond’s governing body is planning to seek authority from the General Assembly to hike the pay of members so they could become full time.
Retired teacher Vivian Hawkins dies at 80
Vivian Wilnette Johnson Hawkins was involved in the education of hundreds of Richmond schoolchildren for 35 years.
More dollars possible for certain neighbor associations
Money to fund an anti-litter program is expected to be shifted to civic and neighborhood associations in Carver, Jackson Ward, The Fan and other neighborhoods with restricted parking districts.
City and state to benefit from $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill
Richmond could see at least one new bridge and an expansion of the Pulse bus rapid-transit system as benefits of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law Monday.
Head of Monroe Park Conservancy charged with assault; VCU students may face discipline in case
The volunteer president and director of the group that operates Monroe Park has been charged with assault stemming from a confrontation Sunday, Oct. 31, with two Virginia Commonwealth University students.
Casino defeat raises questions about what’s next
Alfred C. Liggins III is firmly committed to making casino gaming a key part of Urban One, the Black media conglomerate he runs with his mother, Cathy Hughes.
The next big thing?
City officials are turning to the planned development of 60 acres of city-owned property in North Side around The Diamond for a big return
What’s the next big thing for Richmond now that the $565 million casino-resort project for South Side and the $1.5 billion Navy Hill project for Downtown are kaput?
Sabrina Joy-Hogg named city’s deputy CAO for finance and administration
In 2018, Mayor Levar M. Stoney boasted that his new administration had accomplished a feat that his predecessor could not — complete the city’s audited comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR, on time.
A shampoo, cut and voter information
Barbers and beauticians in the Richmond area did their part to encourage voting Tuesday.
Richmond Police school resource officer balances helping kids with rising gospel career
The world is starting to listen to Mervin D. Mayo sing.
Dems defeated
In a nail-biting race, Republicans sweep Tuesday’s election for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, and flip the Democratic-controlled House of Delegates from blue to red
So much for Virginia turning blue.
Casino referendum fails in close no vote
The people have spoken: Richmond will not become a gambling mecca.
Republicans flip seven House seats, winning chamber control
The red tide on Election Night washed away Democratic control of the House of Delegates after a brief two years of progressive reform.
New city-backed shelter open 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., regardless of weather
November is ushering in a dramatic expansion of shelter services for the homeless in Richmond.
Mayor strikes conciliatory tone on design funds for new George Wythe High
A speedy resolution? That may be on the way for a funding roadblock that could disrupt the Richmond School Board’s plan to hire an architectural firm in mid-November to begin the design for a replacement George Wythe High School.
Traffic concerns lead to removal of several curb planters on Brookland Park Boulevard
A battle over traffic safety measures in North Side has ended in at least a partial win for supporters of on-street vehicle parking in business districts.
Vacancies continue to rise in Richmond Police Department
The Richmond Police Department is continuing to shrink in size.
Artist vows to restore vandalized Ashe mural in Battery Park
“We’re planning to make it bigger and better,” vowed Sir James Thornhill, the lead artist in creating a mural honoring to the late tennis great, humanitarian and Richmond native Arthur Ashe Jr. in Battery Park in North Side.
Turnout expected to be key in race for governor
Virginia is for lovers of close elections, as one wag put it, and one more is just about to happen.
2 women of color battling it out to become next lieutenant governor
History will be made on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, when the race for lieutenant governor is decided.
Herring seeks third term, battles challenger Miyares in attorney general race
Do Virginia voters want an activist attorney general who is ready to use the office’s legal firepower to battle housing discrimination, protect workers’ rights, defend abortion rights for women and pursue criminal justice reform?
City Council Oks plan for $155M in federal American Rescue Plan funds
Richmond is preparing to pour $64 million into the develop- ment of new and improved community recreation centers in the East End, South Side and Gilpin Court.
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.
Study estimates slavery museum would cost up to $220M
A hefty price tag would be attached to creating a national slavery museum on the site of the “Devil’s Half Aacre,” a once notorious slave jail that Richmonder Robert Lumpkin operated before the Civil War and that later became the birthplace of Virginia Union University.
With legislative control at stake, House of Delegates races take on more urgency
Can Democrats hold the Virginia House of Delegates after two years of control?
$3.4M in federal rent relief has aided families in RRHA housing
Virginia’s rent relief program is providing real relief to public housing tenants in Richmond who have fallen months behind in paying rent due to the pandemic.
RRHA board begins process to redevelop Mosby Court South
Dr. Basil I. Gooden is the new chairman of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s nine-member Board of Commissioners.
Retired pediatrician Dr. Cynthia Charity succumbs at 73
Dr. Cynthia Anne McClennon Charity sought to keep a generation of Richmond children healthy.
Crackdown
Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights goes after possible housing discrimination by filing 13 lawsuits against 29 area companies that allegedly refused to accept renters using federal housing vouc
Owners and operators of apartment complexes in Richmond and across the state commonly have rejected rental applications from people using federal government-backed Housing Choice Vouchers to pay.
Va. redistricting commission fails to agree on boundary changes for state legislative districts
The Virginia Supreme Court will do it. The state’s highest court has been handed the constitutional task of redesigning the boundaries of the 100 state House of Delegates and 40 state Senate districts.
3 City Council districts likely to see boundary changes
Redistricting could end up being a breeze for Richmond City Council.
Wrinkle in process means RPS doesn’t have access to city-managed school construction money
Richmond Public Schools has hit an unexpected roadblock on its way to hiring an architectural team to design a replacement for decaying George Wythe High School.
