National commission to commemorate arrival of Africans in America approved by House
A federal commission to recognize the trials, tribulations and contributions of African-Americans since 1619 is one step closer to becoming a reality.
City faces $1M bill from storm damage
Rosie Lee Woods, like dozens of city residents, has a reminder of the powerful storm that roared through the city June 16, knocking out power, felling trees and creating havoc. She can look out at the remains of the giant oak that stood in front of her North Side home, one of hundreds of city-owned trees toppled by the storm. Fortunately, her home didn’t suffer a scratch as the tree fell parallel to the street. After the storm, city workers came to the 3500 block of Hazelhurst Avenue and removed the massive branches that blocked the street, she said.
Highland Park dry cleaners to reopen under new ownership
Good news for Lonnie McLaurin and up to 30 other people. They will soon be able to get their clothes back from a closed dry cleaners in Highland Park. As the Free Press described in the June 9-11 edition, Mr. McLaurin has been trying to get his clothes since the business at 1311 E. Brookland Park Blvd. shut down in late April. He, like others, had been required to pay in advance for the dry cleaning service.
City moves to end regional jail arrangement
The City of Richmond wants to end its participation in a regional jail in Caroline County — a move that could save Richmond taxpayers at least $1.2 million a year.
Interim president named at VUU
A former senior vice president of Virginia Union University is returning to serve as interim president. The VUU Board of Trustees on Tuesday tapped Dr. Joseph F. Johnson, 69, to take over from President Claude G. Perkins, who will start a yearlong paid sabbatical Friday, July 1, before retiring.
Mayor proposes tax hikes to fund improvements
Richmond has monster needs. Most of its schools are decaying, its streets are falling apart, its parks and public buildings need renovation — but it has maxed out its credit card and can’t afford to borrow any more money.
Help in the wings for Evergreen, East End cemeteries
Two historic, but neglected cemeteries where renowned African-Americans such as Maggie L. Walker and John Mitchell Jr. are buried may get a huge boost from the state.
Meter fees go up July 5 Downtown
Motorists will pay an extra 50 cents an hour to park at a street meter in Downtown beginning Tuesday, July 5, it has been announced.
Gravely still in at state NAACP
Jack Gravely is still the interim executive director of the 16,000-member Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. “I am not planning to resign this week,” Mr. Gravely said Monday, denying a Free Press report published in the June 23-25 edition in which a source indicated Mr. Gravely was poised to depart.
Creighton Court area transformation moving forward
Gov. Terry McAuliffe is pitching in $2.5 million to assist Richmond in transforming the impoverished Creighton Court area of the East End into a model, mixed-income community. The governor went to the East End on Wednesday to announce Richmond as a winner of a Vibrant Community Initiative grant.
In clear: VSU accreditation
Virginia State University is back in the good graces of its accrediting agency. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) voted June 16 to remove VSU from “warning” status and restore the Petersburg area university to unblemished accreditation.
Student advocate arrested again
In the face of a federal probe, Chesterfield Public Schools is doubling down on its efforts to keep an advocate for disabled students from taking part in meetings to help develop individualized education programs (IEPs) for students. For the third time in the past 14 months, Kandise N. Lucas has been arrested at a Chesterfield school for trespassing. The latest arrest, on June 10 at Ecoff Elementary School in Chester, occurred when she went to the school for an IEP meeting a parent had invited her attend.
E-book purchasers may be due refund
Electronics giant Apple Inc. has begun coughing up refunds to e-book buyers in a price-fixing settlement. According to Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring, the company began distributing $11 million to $15 million in account credits and checks Tuesday to state residents who purchased e-books, or electronic books, through the company’s site.
Gravely out at state NAACP?
Jack W. Gravely appears poised to resign as executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, the Free Press has learned. Mr. Gravely, a radio talk show host and former state NAACP executive director who returned to the leadership position in April 2015, was not immediately available for comment.
City Council to deal with budget deficit
Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants Richmond City Council to allow him to tap the city’s piggy bank to keep red ink from staining the city’s books.
Pinkney Eppes fails to qualify for Nov. School Board election
The Richmond School Board is losing another incumbent member. Tichi Pinkney Eppes, who represents the 9th District, was notified this week by the city Electoral Board that she had too few signatures on her candidate petitions to qualify for the November School Board election.
Petersburg police chief ousted
Dironna Moore Belton may carry the title of interim Petersburg city manager, but she’s using her authority to shake up the city government.
Former Petersburg city manager hired by debt collection company
William E. Johnson III has found a new position three months after being fired as Petersburg’s city manager. Mr. Johnson was named senior vice president for governmental affairs for the Credit Adjustment Board Inc., a Henrico County-based debt collection company.
VSU names new provost
Virginia State University President Makola M. Abdullah has found the person he wants to lead academic affairs at the Ettrick campus.
Website launched to help people without attorneys
Thinking of representing yourself in court? The Supreme Court of Virginia wants to help.
Meet the Morrisseys
Attorney Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey took a break last weekend from his campaign to be Richmond’s next mayor to wed Myrna Warren, the young woman he went to jail for 17 months ago.
McEachin, Wade on Nov. ballot
Richmond’s next congressman will either be Democrat A. Donald McEachin or Republican Michael L. “Mike” Wade. As expected, both men easily overcame rivals to win their respective party’s primary election Tuesday. They gain the right to carry their party’s banner into the November general election to represent the refashioned 4th Congressional District in Washington.
Polls open Tuesday for 4th District primaries
Who will represent Richmond in Congress? Next week, voters will take the first step toward choosing a new representative to Washington. They will do so by selecting standard-bearers for the Democratic and Republican parties in a state-run primary election. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.
Dr. Jones drops out
Dr. Derik E. Jones is not going to seek four more years on the Richmond School Board — opening the door to other candidates.
Customers left hanging after dry cleaner shuts down
Lonnie McLaurin took two jackets, two shirts and two pair of pants to a dry cleaner in Highland Park at the end of April. When he returned a week later to pay his bill and pick up his clothes, he hit a surprising roadblock — a padlock on the front door of the shop. He could see his clothes covered by plastic hanging on a rack in the front of the store, but no one was there to let him in.
Inmates to mow 4 public parks
City Hall is getting some help to mow down the high grass in its parks, street medians and an array of other public property.
City budget deficit pegged at $4.1M
The City of Richmond is facing a $4.1 million deficit and likely will have to dip into savings to avoid being in the red when the books close June 30 on the current 2015-16 fiscal year. That’s according to Lenora Reid, the city’s chief financial officer.
Va. Supreme Court to hear voting rights restoration challenge July 19
The Virginia Supreme Court will not rush to hear a Republican challenge to Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s April 22 order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons. In an order issued Wednesday, the seven-member court announced it would sit in special session on Tuesday, July 19, to hear arguments in the case aimed at deciding the governor’s authority to issue a blanket restoration of rights rather than acting on a case-by-case basis.
City goes dim on solar streetlights
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has boasted many times during the last seven years about the solar streetlights that were installed in a West End neighborhood with taxpayers’ dollars.
No $ to fix schools
The same rundown buildings that many Richmond students attend are likely to be the same buildings where a new crop of students will be attending class 10 years from now.
Hundreds to benefit from payday loan settlement
Hundreds of low-income Richmond area residents will benefit from the settlement of a lawsuit challenging the lending practices of Advance ‘Til Payday, a company that charges up to 960 percent interest on loans of $100 to $300. The settlement will result in the dismissal of at least 50 garnishment actions and 800 judgments that Advance ‘Til Payday had obtained in court against borrowers who defaulted on the loans, according to Jay Speer of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, which brought the suit.
Parking, trash collection fees to increase under new city budget
Beginning July 1, Richmond residents will be charged an extra $3.55 a month for trash collection and recycling services, largely to help fund the city’s leaf collection program. That’s an 18 percent bump that will raise the monthly cost from $19.44 to $22.99.
Manchester Courthouse renamed to honor Henry and Harold Marsh
Civil rights was central to the law firm that Henry L. Marsh III organized with the late legal giants Oliver W. Hill Sr. and Samuel W. Tucker.
Republicans file suit to rescind rights restoration to 206,000 Virginians
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is facing a court fight over his April 22 order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons who have completed their sentences, including about 40,000 people convicted of violent offenses. In a case filed Monday, Republican leaders in the General Assembly and four voters have asked the Virginia Supreme Court to find the governor acted illegally and to order him to rescind the blanket restoration of rights that allowed the affected individuals to vote, serve on juries and run for office.
Mistake may prevent hundreds from voting
A flawed list could keep hundreds of felons in Richmond and possibly thousands across the state from being properly registered to vote and having their votes counted in the upcoming June 14 primary election, the Free Press has learned. At least 420 felons in Richmond were still waiting to be put on the voter rolls by Monday’s voter registration deadline even though they believe they are covered by Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s April 22 order restoring rights to 206,000 people who had completed their sentences and any probation or parole requirements.
Yoga behind bars
Relaxation, meditation techniques can help heal inmates
Yoga and meditation are being offered at Richmond’s jail to help prepare inmates for positive re-entry into the community — and help keep them from returning to jail.
Full-service grocery store planned for East End
A new full-service grocery store is headed to Church Hill, it was announced Tuesday. Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, City Councilwoman Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District, and T.K. Somanath, executive director of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, issued a joint statement about the planned market that is expected to bring about 25 full-time and 22 to 30 part-time jobs to this employment-starved area of the city once it opens — likely a year or more from now.
Manchester Courthouse to be renamed for Marsh brothers on May 20
It took 16 months, but the long-awaited public ceremony to rename the Manchester Courthouse for Richmond’s first African-American mayor, Henry L. Marsh III, and his late brother, Harold M. Marsh Sr., will take place Friday, May 20. Mayor Dwight C. Jones, who proposed the renaming, will lead the 4 p.m. rededication of the building at 920 Hull St. in South Side.
Chocolate Chip: A radio treat for 40 years
Chocolate Chip is still spinning records as a Richmond radio disc jockey. Every Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m., he takes listeners on an R&B stroll down memory lane with his oldies show on WCLM-AM 1450.
Gordon to lead Office of Community Wealth Building
Reginald E. “Reggie” Gordon is leaving his leadership post with the American Red Cross to direct Richmond’s anti-poverty initiative.
Recycle old electronic equipment this Saturday
Richmond residents can recycle old and broken computers and other electronic equipment, as well have their sensitive documents shredded, in an E-Cycle event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at 6807 Midlothian Turnpike, the parking lot of a former Kmart.
2 hospitals team up to explore new rehab facility
VCU Health System and Sheltering Arms Hospital have taken the first step to develop a new hospital for people suffering from stroke, brain or spinal cord injuries or other severe physical injuries. The hospitals announced a joint venture Monday to build a new inpatient care center for those needing surgery and other acute treatment for disabling physical conditions. As yet, no site has been identified, although VCU has long preferred to develop this type of facility on its medical campus Downtown.
Coleman not seeking re-election to School Board
The Rev. Donald L. Coleman will not be seeking re-election to the Richmond School Board. The two-term, 7th District representative announced Monday he would be stepping down in December — becoming one of at least three members who will not return.
City Council to strip Mayor Jones’ detail
Will Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones have to handle his own commute to and from City Hall rather than being chauffeured by a police officer when the new budget year begins July 1?
VUU president to retire
After seven years and five months leading Virginia Union University and having a campus building named in his honor, Dr. Claude G. Perkins is ready to retire.
Settlement reached in South Side mobile home suit
The war over mobile homes in Richmond appears to have ended in a truce. Under a settlement approved Monday in federal court, the City of Richmond has agreed to modify an aggressive code enforcement program that led to the condemnation of dozens of mobile homes in the past three years, displacing mostly Latino families.
Sisters act to save home
Nuns rally support to block sale of historic St. Emma’s, St. Francis property
Defying their superiors, four nuns are fighting to save the historic 2,265-acre property in Powhatan County that was once home to two Catholic boarding schools for African-American youths.
City Public Works director revokes alternative work schedules
With rare exceptions, employees in Richmond’s Department of Public Works no longer are permitted to work at home or have flexible work schedules. Effective April 4, the privilege was revoked for employees to telecommute — or work by computer and telephone from another location — or to secure alternative schedules. The action was taken by Emmanuel O. Adediran, the department’s director.
Lower electric bills expected
Warmer winter weather and cheaper natural gas are fueling plans by Dominion Virginia Power to lower electricity costs for residents.
$5.5M more found for city schools
Parents and students may hate it. But Armstrong High School and four elementary school buildings — Cary, Overby-Sheppard, Southampton and Swansboro — are moving closer to the chopping block.
