Plans call for $5M James River Center on newly purchased conservation site
A $5 million center is being envisioned that would provide Richmond youths with hands-on learning experiences on the shores of the James River.
Tax dollars at work
Cityscape: Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
John Williams, center, a 13-year veteran of the city Department of Public Works, is part of a crew replacing sidewalks in the 3800 block of McGuire Drive in South Side.
Jury still out
After a year on the job, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith has not won over many officers or residents either through style or substance
A year ago, Gerald M. Smith was introduced to the city as an “innovator” and a “reform-minded change agent” as Mayor Levar M. Stoney introduced him as Richmond’s new police chief.
Doris H. Causey among four African-Americans named to Virginia Court of Appeals
In a historic first, the Virginia Court of Appeals will have five Black members reviewing lower court decisions.
Richmond casino referendum approved for fall ballot
A Richmond judge has signed an order putting the casino referendum on the Richmond ballot, ensuring city voters will have the final say on whether Virginia’s capital city adds a gambling mecca to its attractions.
RRHA quietly changes trespass policy; list of the banned grows unwieldly
Kevin Lamont Hicks can once again visit his mother and now grown daughter in Whitcomb Court, if they still live there.
Possible deal for new horse stable for Richmond Police
New life apparently is being breathed into a plan to build a new stable for the four horses of the Richmond’s Police Department’s Mounted Unit, thanks to an anonymous private donor.
No wrongdoing
Mayor Levar M. Stoney cleared in special prosecutor’s probe of the city’s awarding of $1.8 million contract to remove Confederate statues
No bribes. No kickbacks. No evidence of corruption in the use of taxpayers’ dollars. That’s the conclusion of a six-month probe to determine if Mayor Levar M. Stoney engaged in any wrongdoing in the award of a $1.8 million contract to a contractor to take down the city’s Confederate statues in July 2020.
State still has $788M available to help families facing eviction
Confronted by the prospect of a flood of evictions, President Biden’s administration acted Tuesday to of- fer temporary relief that will impact struggling renters facing ouster for overdue payments, including those in Richmond and most of Central Virginia.
Annie Giles Center to have grand reopening ceremony July 31
It has been a soup kitchen and a shelter for the homeless during the winter.
Casino gets green light from Richmond City Council
Richmond is moving closer to achieving its dream of having a gambling resort in South Side.
Dr. James Edward Leary, who pastored churches for more than 60 years, dies at 86
Dr. James Edward Leary, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in civil rights protests in the 1960s and provided pastoral services for 60 years to at least 12 churches in Richmond and other states, died Friday, July 23, 2021.
City wants to know residents’ wish list for spending $77M
“How would you spend $77 million on your city?”
Wrinkle in removal: City doesn’t own Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill’s statue
The City of Richmond apparently never has owned one of the Confederate monuments it is trying to get rid of, and that could add a new complication to its removal.
VSU eliminates debt for 1,200 students
At least 1,200 students attending Virginia State University no longer have to worry about the money they owe the school.
Concerns raised over lack of diversity among regional grand jury members
A regional grand jury vested with sweeping powers to investigate and issue indictments appears to have been exempted from the push to ensure racial equity in criminal justice.
License plate campaign pays homage to Richmond Planet
Reginald L. Carter is within striking distance of scoring another victory for his campaign for Black history and racial justice.
Sewer system upgrades may result in bills tripling for city customers
Richmond faces many challenges, but one of the biggest and most expensive lies underground in the sewer system.
Elections Board chair says state law was followed in certifying House candidates
The chairman of the Virginia Board of Elections defended the June 30 board action to allow some late-filing Republican nomi- nees for House of Delegate seats to make the Nov. 2 ballot. Chairman Robert H. Brink also rejected any claim that racial preference was involved in the decision-making.
Barbers strike at Fort Lee and Fort Pickett after attempts to cut pay
Military personnel at Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia are struggling to get haircuts.
Court ruling allows handgun sales to 18- to 20-year-olds
If you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to own a handgun, a panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Tuesday.
Goldman files challenge to November House of Delegates elections
Instead of being elected for two years, winners of the 100 Virginia House of Delegates seats in November would only get one year in office if Paul Goldman has his way.
Councilman Michael Jones blasts ‘blatant discrimination’ by state Board of Elections
In a stunning reversal, the state Board of Elections has voted 2-1 to allow seven white candidates extra time to file missing paperwork needed to qualify for the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
Not so fast
Richmond City Council informed that planned ONE Casino + Resort opening will be delayed 9 months or more, with casino opening in late 2024 and hotel not opening until late 2025
The 2024 campaign for Richmond’s next mayor will be in full swing before the planned ONE Casino + Resort will welcome the first players to try their luck at the slot machines, roll the dice on a craps table or play blackjack.
Old forgotten cemeteries dot the city
Peggy Stoots made an urgent call to the Richmond City Attorney’s Office just two days before a vacant quarter-acre parcel in South Side was to be auctioned off to recover more than $2,000 in past due property taxes. Ms. Stoots, who has lived near the property for 60 years surprised a staff member by saying, “You can’t auction that property. It’s a cemetery.”
Hundreds of RRHA families may face eviction after moratorium ends July 31
Hundreds of people living in public housing in Richmond could be at risk of eviction in the coming months as the last moratorium on tenant ousters for nonpayment expires July 31.
Fulton family receives unexpected blessing of mortgage payoff
It began as a casual conversation. Then it quickly turned into what Travis L. and Latarsha F. Woods can only call “a blessing from God.”
Slot machine-style ‘skill games’ end July 1, taking away some people’s ‘joy’
James E. Henson is not going to wear black. But he will join in mourning the loss of the so- called “gray machines” that are on the way out of convenience stores, truck stops and a host of other retail establishments with Virginia ABC licenses to sell beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages.
‘Lifeguard legend,’ city swim instructor Horace A. ‘Bubba’ Carter III dies at 81
Horace Alfonso “Bubba” Carter III wanted everyone in Richmond to learn to swim and to be safe doing it.
Dr. Thelma Bland Watson, who was dedicated to advancing the needs of the elderly, dies at 70
Dr. Thelma Bland Watson was 9 when she began providing assistance to her maternal grandmother. That experience turned Dr. Watson into a champion for the elderly.
Church’s tax-exempt status restored
The Community Church of God in Christ is once again being recognized by the city as an active, functioning church, according to 2nd District City Councilwoman Katherine Jordan.
14 African-Americans connected to Jackson Ward to be recognized with honorary street signs
Honorary brown street signs soon will go up in Jackson Ward to call attention to 14 deceased Black men and women who made a lasting imprint on Richmond and often on the nation.
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.
RPS career educator and principal Fred A. Cooper dies at 91
Fred Adolphus Cooper sought to inspire students to learn during his nearly 60-year career as an educator that included service as principal of Richmond’s former Armstrong-Kennedy High School complex and later as co-owner of a student tutorial business in Chicago.
COGIC church gets whopping tax bill after city revokes tax-exempt status
A Richmond church that has been in operation for 112 years has been hit with a surprise $46,128 property tax bill from City Hall after its tax-exempt status was revoked.
City Hall to be draped in 16-story art project ‘Freedom Constellations’
Huge, dramatic banners soon will cover two sides of City Hall.
City rejects painting contractor’s claims of non-payment
City Hall is pushing back against claims from a Richmond contractor who has alleged that he has not been paid nearly $200,000 for painting work he did on the new River City Middle School last year.
Eva Davis Brinkley, Armstrong High guidance director, dies at 91
Eva Davis Brinkley went above and beyond for Richmond students at Armstrong High School.
History marker to be placed at Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground
A historic but forgotten Black cemetery in Richmond will soon be recognized with a state history marker.
The dope on marijuana
Here’s what’s legal and what’s not in Virginia beginning Thursday, July 1
Potheads, rejoice. Smoking a joint will be legal in Virginia beginning next Thursday, July 1.
Ambulance Authority struggling to keep up with calls
The Richmond Ambulance Authority has long boasted of being a role model in emergency response.
Mayor Stoney turns up the heat, orders RFP for new George Wythe to be issued
Mayor Levar M. Stoney is moving to hire an architectural firm to design the new George Wythe High School whether the Richmond School Board likes it or not – even as he acknowledged that City Hall would need the board’s consent to actually build the school.
City Council gives greenlight to casino project
Richmond easily leaped the first hurdle in its quest to become a casino city — City Council approval.
Richmond’s banking desert grows
Outside of Downtown, the eastern half of Richmond – which tends to be largely African-American and Latino—has increasingly become a banking desert, bereft of branch banks that are more commonplace in the Downtown and western half of the city.
My’chael Jefferson-Reese to head new Chesterfield Public Defender’s Office
My’chael D. Jefferson-Reese relishes being a champion for people facing legal trouble.
Michael Paul Williams wins Pulitzer Prize
Michael Paul Williams was at home writing his latest column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch when the newspaper’s managing editor called him with the stunning news: He had just been awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for commentary – journalism’s equivalent of an Oscar.
Plans proceed to put federal money toward homeless services, affordable housing
City Council is recommending that the administration pour $5.6 million in new federal dollars into homeless services and pump $7.1 million into a city fund to boost assistance to developers creating apartments and homes with reduced rents and price tags.
RRHA board eyes reopening of Calhoun Center pool
A fix may be on the way for the long-closed indoor swimming pool at the Calhoun Center that the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority owns in its Gilpin Court public housing community.
PayPal buys carbon credits from Enrichmond Foundation
PayPal, the well-known electronic payment and money transfer company, agreed to buy carbon credits from the Enrichmond Foundation to support the Richmond-based nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to restore two historic Black cemeteries, Evergreen and East End, it has been announced.
