Marijuana on track for legalization July 1
In landmark action Wednesday, the General Assembly put Virginia on track to legalize possession of a small amount of marijuana on July 1.
City Council still undecided on Confederate statues
Twenty-two organizations and individuals have submitted bids to own and relocate one or more of the city’s now stored Confederate statues.
UR suspends building name change; fundraiser halted with alumni boycott
Students are pulling out of campus organizations. Alumni, including a 7,300-member alumni Facebook group, are halting donations. And the faculty Senate has censured the board chair or rector.
South Side churches merge, with Pastor Alexander ‘Jay’ Patrick as new head
Celebration Church and Outreach Center, formerly the Richmond Outreach Center, ap- pears to have merged with the nearby Liberation Church, with Pastor Alexander “Jay” Patrick of Liberation named the pastor of the newly merged church.
Richmond Police records show 84 complaints filed against officers in 2020
How well are Richmond Police policing themselves to prevent the kind of hugely expensive and horrific mess created by former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin in his fatal arrest of George Floyd?
Jones misses filing deadline, canceling primary challenge to Delegate Carr
Veteran Richmond Delegate Betsy B. Carr will not face a challenge in the June 8 Democratic primary.
State Board of Elections investigation continuing into city Electoral Board
The state Board of Elections is to meet Tuesday, April 20, to determine whether allegations involving two Democratic members of the Richmond Electoral Board are to be referred to the Richmond Circuit Court for further action.
Confederate chair held ransom
White Lies Matter group threatens to turn stolen $500,000 chair into a ‘toilet’ unless the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Richmond posts banner on anniversary of Confederate surrender
It started with the March theft of an ornate stone chair dedicated to Confederate President Jefferson Davis that has been a fixture for more than a century in a cemetery in Selma, Ala.
State elections board investigating allegations involving city Electoral Board’s handling of Nov. 3 election
Did theDemocratic-controlled Richmond Electoral Board break state law in trying to produce results after the Nov. 3 election amid challenges from COVID-19?
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.
RRHA board leadership turnover may be in the works
Veronica G. Blount appears to be on her way out as the chair of the RRHA Board of Commissioners, the Free Press has learned.
$3.7B deal paves way for better rail service from DC to RVA
Hourly passenger train service between Richmond and Washington is still years away. But the vision for faster and more frequent service took a big step forward Tuesday in Alexandria.
McEachin launches new program to help people clear police record
Richmond residents have a new cost-free way to clear their police records of charges that resulted in acquittals or dismissals or were not prosecuted, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin has announced.
Environmentalist Dr. Charles K. Price dies at 82
Dr. Charles Kemper Price, who led the effort to transform an ignored North Side area long used as a dumping ground into a walking and biking trail and spearheaded efforts to preserve natural areas in Richmond, has died.
New coalition offers blueprint for more affordable housing
A coalition of Richmond groups is advancing a policy agenda they hope can be a blueprint for City Hall’s efforts to reduce evictions and make affordable apartments and homes more available.
City Public Defender’s Office gets award, no pay supplement
The Richmond Public Defender’s Office received high praise Monday night from City Council.
Lela Saberna Morris, longtime RPS personnel specialist, succumbs at 97
Lela Saberna Morris spent more than 40 years as a teacher and personnel specialist with Richmond Public Schools, but her road to a career in education was harder than most.
PayPal names new award for Richmond legend Maggie L. Walker
Trailblazing businesswoman Maggie L. Walker sought to empower women in her pioneering efforts in business and banking in Richmond at the turn of the 20th century.
Advocates hope to speed up state legalization of marijuana
Wednesday, April 7, could be a big day for advocates of marijuana legalization.
High cost of defense
Everett L. Bolling Jr. tries to piece his life back together after winning in court but losing everything in a murder case
Eight months ago, Everett L. Bolling Jr., 37, seemed to have it all.
City to pay $350,000 settlement in employee overtime lawsuit
City Hall has agreed to collectively pay $57,371 to 11 mostly former city Finance Department employees who alleged they were forced to work overtime without being paid.
Gov. restores rights of nearly 70,000 felons
Nearly 70,000 formerly incarcerated felons in Virginia can now register to vote, serve on juries and run for public office.
Councilman Jones: Anxious residents want the vaccine
Across the country, polls continue to find a share of the population continues to be hesitant or outright opposed to getting a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Mayor Stoney unveils $770.23M proposed city budget for 2021-22
Full funding for Richmond Public Schools. Enhanced pay for City Hall employees, including police officers and firefighters. No new taxes but an average hike of $5.70 month in the cost of utility services. Those are among the highlights of the $770.23 million general fund budget that Mayor Levar M. Stoney presented to City Council last Friday for fiscal 2021-22 that is now under review.
Record number of Black candidates enter statewide races
A record 11 Black candidates are competing for the Democratic or Republican nomination for statewide office.
Calls for investigation into historic Black cemeteries’ operation
Halt the transfer of public money to the Richmond-based Enrichmond Foundation until an investigation can be conducted into the foundation’s ownership and operation of two historic Black cemeteries on the city’s eastern border with Henrico County.
Richmond casino to create jobs, bring $ to city, consultants say
Two thousand new jobs and at least $31 mil- lion in new revenue for City Hall coffers.
Newly approved $1.9 trillion stimulus package to give boost to families, local economy
Percy Bell jumped for joy after learning Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives passed the new stimulus package that provides a new round of direct payments to individuals and families. “I hoped and hoped, and now $1,400 is coming. I could sure use it,” said the Richmond fast food restaurant employee, who is among millions expected to receive the payments. “I’m broke, and this is really going to help.”
Take them down
The UR Black Student Coalition is demanding the University of Richmond remove names of racists from two buildings on West End campus
The University of Richmond is facing accusations of supporting white supremacy as the result of its plan to keep a building named for its slave-holding first president and another named for a newspaperman who championed segregation and Black oppression.
Bienvenidos to VUU
The historically Black university plans to enroll 450 Hispanic students by 2024 to obtain federal designation as a Hispanic-serving institution, according to VUU President Hakim J. Lucas
Within three years, Virginia Union University wants 25 percent of its undergraduate students to be Hispanic, according to university President Hakim J. Lucas.
VCU to get $16M to purchase new stadium site
The General Assembly just gave a big boost to the plan to build a replacement for The Diamond baseball stadium on the stateAlcoholic Beverage Control Authority property at Hermitage and Robin Hood roads.
Conservancy turns up small, Black family cemetery on protected land
Nine years after the Civil War and his enslavement ended, Abraham Truman scraped up the money and bought a 40-acre farm plot for his family in the historically African-American Gravel Hill community in Eastern Henrico.
Public engagement sessions on casino for Richmond start March 9
Richmond residents will be able to voice their opinions at virtual meetings City Hall plans to hold on the prospects of becoming a casino mecca and on the six proposals for casinos an internal committee has begun reviewing.
Richmond and Henrico to get 2 new Black judges
Black female attorneys are continuing to make judgeship gains in Richmond and Henrico County.
City Council OKs $325M development replacing Public Safety Building
It’s official. The decaying Public Safety Building in Downtown is to be transformed during the next four years into a tax-and job-generating $325 million office-hotel-retail-child care complex linked to the Virginia Commonwealth University medical campus.
Marijuana justice groups criticize legalization bill passed by General Assembly
Just wait three years. That’s the message the General Assembly sent after finally passing a bill to legalize recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older.
Names on UR buildings still carry racist stigma
Dr. Ronald A. Crutcher is taking a more nuanced approach to dealing with the racist parts of University of Richmond’s history and the long overlooked Black people who are part of it.
Va. on record: Racism is a public health crisis
Racism is a public health crisis, the General Assembly has declared.
High rollers
6 companies roll the dice in hopes of landing Richmond’s sole casino license
A gusher of tax revenue for Richmond and potentially 1,400 or more new jobs for city residents.
Harry F. Byrd statue to be moved from Capitol Square
The statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., an icon of white supremacy and Black oppression, is to be moved after 45 years haunting the grounds of the Virginia Capitol.
Former Chesterfield NAACP head wins libel suit
LaSalle J. McCoy Jr. said he never took a dime from the Chesterfield County Branch NAACP during the 10 years he served as president, and a county General District Court judge has agreed with him.
City Council votes to move $9M from fund to help cover budget shortfall
Three months ago, City Hall was happily stuffing $12 million into savings accounts while enthusing about how the city’s economy in the 2019-20 fiscal year had proven more robust and resilient than anticipated during the pandemic.
Rev. Kenneth E. Dennis Sr., pastor of Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, dies at 65
The Rev. Kenneth Eugene Dennis Sr., who led Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Jackson Ward for three decades, has died.
Inaction by Senate thwarts Judge O’Berry’s reappointment to bench
At this point, Judge Pamela O’Berry still does not appear to have the support for keeping her seat on the Chesterfield County General District Court for six more years.
Shelter for homeless to be open this weekend
A safety net shelter for the homeless in Richmond is expected to stay open this weekend when heavy rain is expected, according to 5th District City Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch.
Plan to replace Public Safety Building gets greenlight from committee; heads to City Council for approval
City Hall’s proposal to sell off the decrepit, 64-year-old Public Safety Building in Downtown to a private group seeking to create a complex of offices and nonprofit hotels easily cleared a City Council committee Tuesday and is poised for adoption by the full council at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 22.
New $15.3M apartment complex planned for Jackson Ward
A 67-unit apartment complex targeting lower-income residents is now headed for a long vacant block of Jackson Ward that sits across from historic Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Mayor Stoney outlines new plan for city in State of City address
The Pulse lanes on Broad Street and in other parts of Richmond will be painted red thanks to a state grant to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians.
Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr., pastor, author and former president of Virginia University of Lynchburg, dies at 80
The private Virginia University of Lynchburg was teetering on collapse when Dr. Ralph Reavis Sr. left the pulpit at Riverview Baptist Church in Richmond to respond to a call to save his undergraduate alma mater.
City plans $3.5M sale of Public Safety Building for new development
Unveiled nine months ago, a $325 million plan to replace the city’s decaying Public Safety Building in Downtown is gathering steam.
