City's interim HR director enticed out of retirement with high salary
City Hall’s new interim director of human resources has been hired at a salary far above that paid to the most recent director or interim director, Mayor Levar M. Stoney confirmed.
Black-owned health companies claim insurers are forcing them out of business
Small companies that are largely African-American-owned are fighting against an effort that they claim will put them out of business by stopping them from providing mental health and substance abuse services to Medicaid patients.
Sen. Kaine speaks out to restore aid to HBCUs
A powerful Republican senator is holding up millions of dollars in federal aid to historically black colleges and universities in Virginia and elsewhere and to other minority-serving institutions.
School Board member seeks to protect school funding in costly Coliseum plan
The Richmond School Board could weigh in on the debate over the controversial $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and Downtown redevelopment plan.
Holiday gift assistance programs ready to give
Angel Tree, Silver Bell and other holiday gift assistance programs are now in full swing in the Richmond area.
House Dems elect women to top posts
Fresh from sweeping enough seats in the Nov. 5 election to take the majority in the House of Delegates, Democrats plan to install two women in the top posts for the first time in state history.
City Council bids Agelasto adieu with award and tough new ordinance
City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto got a rousing sendoff from his colleagues after joining them Tuesday night in votes to maintain the real estate tax rate at $1.20 per $100 of assessed value and to approve a public safety measure Mayor Levar M. Stoney spearheaded to fine residents who fail to report a lost or stolen gun within 24 hours.
McEachin, Jewett score big wins without opposition
Voters made it official that Colette W. McEachin will be Richmond’s first elected female commonwealth’s attorney. Voters also gave Edward F. Jewett a second eight-year term as clerk of Richmond Circuit Court.
4 school rezoning plans are up for final consideration
Four school rezoning plans — two of which include proposals for pairing some elementary schools and all of which keep Bellevue Elementary open — are now considered finalists.
Dems win control
For the first time in 24 years, Democrats will hold the majority in the state Senate and House of Delegates
For the first time in 24 years, Virginia voters handed Democrats control of both houses of the General Assembly in Tuesday’s election.
ACA health insurance enrollment deadline Dec. 15
More choices in health insurance that will cost less. That’s the good news for people who have until Sunday, Dec. 15, to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Will history be made with next speaker of the House?
Will the next speaker of the House of Delegates be the first woman or the first African-American to hold the post in Virginia history?
Company believes it can attract more than 600,000 patrons to new Coliseum
John Page’s company, Spectra, is betting its management can turn Richmond’s proposed 17,500-seat Coliseum into one of the busiest and most successful entertainment centers in the world, if Richmond City Council approves allocating more than $300 million in taxpayer dollars over 30 years to build it.
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor handily wins re-election
In a suburban locale that now favors Democrats, Shannon L. Taylor easily won her bid for a third term as Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney.
Contentious state NAACP election gives Barnette 2-year term
Robert N. Barnette Jr., who has led the Virginia State Conference NAACP since August when the previous presi- dent was removed, will hold the top post in the civil rights organization for the next two years after emerging victorious in a controversial election.
City Council approves 1% pension hike for retirees starting Jan. 1
As anticipated, Richmond City Council unanimously approved a 1 percent pension increase for retired city employees, beginning Jan. 1, during a special meeting on Monday.
Wilder says VCU panel cleared him in probe; VCU spokesman says that's 'premature'
L. Douglas Wilder has maintained for months that a former Virginia Commonwealth University student made up a story that he made sexual advances toward her and propositioned her to be his mistress nearly three years ago.
Free rides to polls on Election Day
GRTC once again will provide free bus, Pulse and CARE van rides on Election Day within the city limits, it has been announced.
Stakes high for Tuesday’s General Assembly races
The future direction of Virginia will be on the line when voters in Richmond and across the state go to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 5, to elect a new legislature.
Henrico commonwealth’s attorney’s race hit with allegation of special treatment
The case of John J. Trak, who has been convicted of two felony drug possession charges and two other felonies since 2011, is roiling the election contest for Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney as the Nov. 5 election approaches.
Battle over Dominion Energy’s sponsorship leads to demonstrations at state NAACP events
Instead of leading a protest, the Virginia State Conference NAACP will be the target of demonstrations at its state convention this weekend because of the organization’s ties to Dominion Energy.
Navy Hill ship sinking?
Scrutiny of Coliseum replacement plan reveals major gaps
The grand plan Mayor Levar M. Stoney is pushing to replace the Richmond Coliseum with $1.5 billion in new Downtown development does not appear to include enough affordable housing to meet a City Council requirement.
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor faces challenge by C. Owen Inge Conway
One of the standout local races is the contest for Henrico commonwealth’s attorney, where the winner is certain to be a woman.
City shelter didn't open in last week's cold
City Hall never opened its homeless shelter last week even as temperatures plunged below 40 degrees for the first time this fall.
Get out
Court-ordered RRHA evictions raising alarms in Creighton Court
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has quietly stopped leasing apartments in the Creighton Court public housing community in the East End that is earmarked for future redevelopment.
Judge rules against Coliseum referendum
Any lingering hopes that a referendum to allow Richmond voters to weigh in on the Coliseum replacement project have been swept away by Judge Joi Jeter Taylor, chief judge of the Richmond Circuit Court.
Home testing encouraged to eliminate lead paint hazard
Richmond has eliminated the lead paint hazard from 32 homes so far using a $2.3 million federal grant and has 13 more residential units that will be worked on, data show.
City Council approves use of Giles Center for winter overflow shelter
Homeless people once again will find shelter on bitter cold days at the Annie Giles Community Resource Center in Shockoe Valley, if they can get there.
RPS halts tough absence policy
A new policy requiring Richmond students to be marked absent for the day if they arrive more than 80 minutes after the start of classes without a written excuse is being abandoned.
Policy Pathways to host Fall Celebration and Fundraiser Oct. 24
Richmond Delegate Delores L. McQuinn and five students will be honored next week at the debut of a new nonprofit organized to enable young people of color to understand and become involved in shaping public policy.
City awarded $20,000 grant for new financial literacy program
A national group plans to assist Richmond City Treasurer Nichole Richardson Armstead and City Hall in creating a center to provide professional one-on-one financial counseling to low- and moderate-income city residents, it was announced Wednesday.
Social Security benefits to increase by 1.6% in 2020
Retirees in Richmond and across the country might have a little more money in their pockets come January.
Questions swirl about state NAACP's relationship with Dominion Energy
Is the Virginia State Conference NAACP starting to cozy up to Dominion Energy after more than two years of attacking the utility company’s push to construct a natural gas pipeline?
VCU Health System offers relief to certain patients with overdue bills
The VCU Health System, Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical arm, is taking steps to ease the financial stress on thousands of patients and their families struggling to pay their VCU hospital and doctors’ bills.
Banks' Coin Laundry in Jackson Ward closes
Banks’ Coin Laundry has closed after more than 80 years in Jackson Ward following the Sept. 19 death of the owner, Arlington R. Banks, 81.
City Council works on plan to divvy up $17M surplus
Retired city employees are virtually guaranteed to gain the first cost-of-living increase in their pensions in at least a decade.
Mayor to initiate gun reporting and distracted driving legislation
Mayor Levar M. Stoney wants to fine people who fail to report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours and also crack down on drivers who are paying too much attention to their mobile phones.
Independent commission to redraw City Council districts?
An independent commission might redraw the boundaries of City Council districts following the upcoming 2020 Census.
Mayor Stoney throws over Columbus to proclaim Oct. 14 Indigenous Peoples' Day
Richmond has long refused to recognize the annual federal Columbus Day holiday that will fall on Monday, Oct. 14, to remember the European explorer Christopher Columbus who “discovered” America.
$15M repaving effort underway in city
Cityscape: Slices of life and scenes in Richmond
The promised extra money is starting to flow into repaving streets across the city.
In city, state money for street maintenance used for more than streets
Every year, Richmond receives about $28 million from the state for street maintenance. But it turns out virtually all of that money goes to maintain everything about a street but the asphalt, according to Bobby Vincent, director of the city Department of Public Works.
Carver Elementary students get new footwear
Carver Elementary School in Richmond had a banner day on Sept. 19. A cadre of businessmen surprised an assembly of the school’s 80 third-graders with new sneakers.
Memo goes out to city workers in wake of federal overtime suit
An ongoing lawsuit alleging City Hall failed to pay Department of Finance employees overtime has begun ushering in change.
Coliseum referendum appears doubtful for Nov. 5 ballot
A nonbinding referendum on the $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement plan more than likely will not be on the Nov. 5 ballot despite claims that the city’s voter registrar wrongly disqualified the signatures of hundreds of registered Richmond voters who signed petitions seeking to allow the vote.
Food fight
Highland Springs-based food ministry scrambles to generate new food sources after being shut out by Feed More
For the past year, Brian Purcell has stopped by the Kroger store in Mechanicsville four days a week to pick up unsold prepared food and bakery items the store otherwise would have thrown away.
2020 early voting requiring city registrar to think outside the ballot box
Lines of voters wrapped around City Hall waiting to cast ballots? That’s a distinct possibility, according to Richmond Voter Registrar Kirk Showalter as she looks ahead to the 2020 presidential election.
Grand Illumination gets the bah humbug
For 34 years, the Grand Illumination has been a major part of Richmond’s official launch of the holiday season and a prelude to the Christmas Parade along Broad Street to escort Santa Claus into Downtown. But that’s about to change.
State backs Dominion Energy plan for electric school buses by 2030
Gov. Ralph S. Northam announced Tuesday that the state would contribute $20 million to help replace diesel-powered school buses with cleaner, but more expensive electric buses in Richmond and across the state.
Family matters
Inspector general’s report details how 5 relatives of former CAO Selena Cuffee-Glenn were hired, but finds no evidence she was involved directly in their hiring
Lenora Reid is officially in charge of Richmond city government — for now. City Council voted 9-0 on Monday to confirm Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s request that Ms. Reid, the city’s chief financial officer, serve as interim chief administrative officer in the wake of her predecessor being fired because of nepotism.
Lewis family relocates to new home
Celieto L. and Janice F. Lewis have finally found a place to call home.
