REAL LIFE program expanding
A Richmond-based nonprofit that provides services for the homeless, recovering addicts and former inmates returning to the community from jail and prison is expanding its housing operations.
Mayor to deliver State of the City address Feb. 11
First, let’s get the vaccine out to everyone so we can get rid of the virus and the disruption it has caused. Then, let’s craft a recovery that promotes healing and unity and pursues social and economic equity. That’s the message Mayor Levar M. Stoney plans to deliver in his State of the City address, the first of his second term, according to a City Hall official who spoke with the Free Press on the condition of anonymity.
Salvation Army delays move to new headquarters
The Salvation Army Central Virginia is keeping its headquarters and shelter at 2 W. Grace St. and has no immediate plans to move to North Side.
Opponents to Fourth Baptist Church’s incorporation tie up names with SCC
The rush to incorporate Fourth Baptist Church apparently has slowed after opponents temporarily claimed the church’s name along with eight variations.
Virginia is poised to eliminate the death penalty
The death penalty has been a staple of Virginia law since the first English settlers arrived in Jamestown.
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.
Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, whose activism led to diversity on state boards and commissions, dies at 83
Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison championed Black inclusion in government and public contracting while also opening her heart and her home to children and adults who needed a helping hand.
Faith leaders issue BHM book challenge to Richmond area residents
Challenge to Richmond area residents: Spend February reading award-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s widely praised book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” then participate in a Zoom discussion of the book 7 p.m. Monday, March 1.
Fired
Kirk Showalter, Richmond’s voter registrar, is dismissed by the Richmond Electoral Board after multiple complaints surrounding the Nov. 3 general election
J. Kirk Showalter’s 25-year reign as Richmond’s voter registrar is over.
Sheila K. Mandt, fundraising consultant and wife of former Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, succumbs at 55
Sheila Kavanagh Mandt, wife and political adviser to former 3rd District City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert and a fundraising guru for nonprofits, has died.
City facing potential $15M deficit?
Is there a big hole developing in Rich- mond’s budget? And could spending be proposed to shrink in the new 2021-22 budget that Mayor Levar M. Stoney will present in March?
3 ousted in Richmond Police shakeup
Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith overhauled his command staff this week in his first big personnel shakeup since taking office seven months ago.
Judge O’Berry apparently out
Judge Pamela O’Berry’s 12-year tenure on theChesterfieldCountyGeneralDistrictCourt likely will end Wednesday, March 31.
City Council approves new tax amnesty programs
Wait until March to pay any overdue taxes on homes and other real estate to avoid paying interest and penalties as well.
City General Assembly reps to face primary challengers
Three of the Democratic delegates representing Richmond in the General Assembly will have to get by challengers in the upcoming June 8 primary to keep their seats.
Skipping school
Data show that 40% to 60% of Richmond area teachers are absent from the classroom 11 or more business days a year
Students always seem to be the focus of concern when the discussion centers on the ill effects of class-cutting, truancy and chronic absenteeism on education.
Algenon L. Brown, longtime educator and member of the Capital Region Airport Commission, dies at 95
Algenon L. Brown, a career educator in Richmond for 36 years who also fought for Black business inclusion in the operation and development of the Richmond International Airport, has died.
Chesterfield Judge Pamela O’Berry in jeopardy of losing seat on bench
Judge Pamela O’Berry, currently the longest-serving Black judge in Chesterfield County, is facing removal after 12 years on the bench in Chesterfield General District Court.
Doris E. Day, a longtime educator and librarian, dies at 71
Doris Day influenced the lives of thousands of children as a teacher and school librar- ian for more than 40 years in Richmond and Chesterfield County.
State Police to probe handling of city contract to remove rebel statues
Did Mayor Levar M. Stoney violate the state’s procurement law when his administration provided a sole-source emergency contract worth $1.8 million to remove city-owned Confederate statues?
Thomas H. Francis, whose political skills aided candidates in Chesterfield and elsewhere, dies at 77
For decades, Thomas Henry Francis pushed to make inroads for Democrats in Republican-controlled Chesterfield County where he lived most of his life.
America’s new day
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris are sworn into office in an uplifting ceremony
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a ringing call to the nation and began throwing out the damaging, corrosive policies of his predecessor after being sworn into office Wednesday along with his history-making vice president, former U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
Fourth Baptist Church tumult raises concern among congregation
Started in 1859 before the Civil War, Fourth Baptist Church is now a venerable beacon of Christian faith in Church Hill and the fountainhead from which nine other area churches have sprung. But a major dispute between the current pastor and a large portion of the membership over the church’s organizational structure is threatening to tear apart the 300-member congregation as Fourth Baptist prepares to mark its 162nd anniversary.
City Council votes to acquire more land for slave memorial
Despite objections from the landowner, Richmond City Council cleared the way for Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration to buy 1.75 acres of private property in Shockoe Bottom to provide extra space for a proposed Enslaved African Heritage Campus.
Charges dismissed against Sen. Morrissey
State Sen. Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey wants a public apology from Attorney General Mark R. Herring.
City voter registrar may be out
Kirk Showalter’s 25-year tenure as Richmond’s voter registrar may be coming to an end.
Day of reckoning
The U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach President Trump for a second time, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol
The reckoning has begun. Even as his followers were being arrested and he prepares to leave office in a few days, President Trump was labeled a “clear and present danger” to the nation’s security in becoming the first chief executive in U.S. history to be impeached twice – this time for the failed Jan. 6 insurrection in which he incited followers to carry out the biggest attack on the U.S. Capitol since 1814 when British troops burned it.
NAACP call for resignation, accountability from elected Trump-backers
The Loudoun County Branch NAACP is calling for Loudoun Republican Delegate David A. “Dave” LaRock to immediately resign for participating in the Jan. 6 rally and insurrection in Washington.
VLBC outlines legislative priorities for new General Assembly session
Buoyed by two legislative sessions last year that ushered in huge reforms in voting and criminal justice, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus is vowing to keep pressing for more change.
Mayor’s new term to focus on transforming city into ‘capital of compassion’
Mayor Levar M. Stoney promised to listen more, engage the community in developing initiatives and push for “justice and equity” as he was sworn in Monday for a second four-year term.
City could have saved $8M on 2 new schools
The new vice chairman of the Richmond School Board wants to end what he sees as overspending on new school buildings.
GRTC, union stalled on new contract for drivers
An unexpected impasse has developed in contract talks between GRTC and its unionized drivers that is creating friction and blocking approval of a new three-year contract to replace the one that expired Sept. 30.
Federal stimulus bill eliminates $1.3B in HBCU debt
In 2012, Virginia Union University was awarded a $17 million federal loan as it began development of a combination conference center and residence hall.
Trump’s mob sparks violence
After spurring violence, chaos and an attempted takeover of the U.S. Capitol, President Trump urged his mob of supporters to go home, telling them, ‘We love you. You’re very special.’
Thousands of President Trump’s supporters — with his encouragement — sought to seize the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday and halt the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from completing the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election as the nation’s next chief executive.
New City Council has history-making membership
Along with welcoming two new members, City Council installed two veterans and allies of Mayor Levar M. Stoney in its top leadership posts Monday and reshuffled committee chairmanships.
Mayor heading strongly into his second term
Mayor Levar M. Stoney sees bright prospects ahead for Richmond if COVID-19 can be defeated quickly.
Coalition pushes Black inclusion in marijuana legalization
Five years ago, after the General Assembly legalized the growing of marijuana’s cousin, industrial hemp, veteran grower Leroy Hardy Jr. sought to be among the people chosen to plant the first test plots to help interested farmers get the most from the crop.
Richmond solicits casino plans
City Hall took its biggest step this week toward bringing a state-approved gambling casino and resort hotel to Richmond.
City expands plans for enslaved African memorial site in Shockoe Bottom
City Hall is moving to expand the space designated for a long talked about memorial to slavery in Shockoe Bottom well before development begins on what the city has dubbed the Enslaved African Heritage Campus.
Money available for one-time help with overdue city utility bills
Behind on your utility bill? For city residents, there is help.
Record mail volume and worker shortage lead to USPS delays
The U.S. Postal Service is struggling to deliver gifts, medications and other mail in a timely fashion.
Lee statue removed in U.S. Capitol; injunction remains keeping Monument Avenue statue
The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed with ease Monday from the U.S. Capitol, but the towering statue of the slavery-defending general will remain on Monument Avenue for now, courtesy of a Virginia Supreme Court ruling.
‘Best gift ever’
Henrico mother receives the gift of life – a liver transplant – from 21-year-old son
Thanks to receiving from her oldest son what she calls “the best gift ever,” Tashawn D. Jones, 41, is enjoying an especially bright holiday season.
Work at historic cemeteries continues during pandemic
Drive into historic Evergreen and East End cemeteries, and it is immediately evident that the 12 years of restoration work is paying off.
Gov. Northam proposes $25M to transform Monument Avenue and historical sites
The state would provide nearly $11 million to repopulate Monument Avenue with figures of heroes to replace the Confederate statues that once dominated the street under a proposal from Gov. Ralph S. Northam.
State watchdog report finds significant flaws in state’s special education efforts
Every year, more than 2,300 special education students — 20 percent — are awarded essentially worthless diplomas when they graduate.
Chesterfield teen receives $10,000 grant to kick-start home-school academy
Watching her younger brother struggle as he started high school through a home-school program, Nasiyah Isra-Ul went online to try to find resources to help.
City Council backs year-round homeless shelter, approves master plan
Rhonda Sneed has gained City Council support after a year of pleading for City Hall to create a year-round shelter for the homeless.
Martha Norris Gilbert, who led the former Virginia Department for Children, dies at 82
Martha Norris Gilbert, who led the first Virginia agency that focused on children and was involved in expanding pre-school programming in public school divisions across the state, has died.
