Mayor Stoney ruffles council members with remarks
Mayor Levar M. Stoney, frustrated by City Council opposition to his plan to raise the city property tax rate and impose a new cigarette tax to raise new revenue, is taking verbal shots at council foes, riling them.
Questions raised about charity status of Navy Hill entities
Now stumping for tax increases that he claims will go to pave streets and repair aging schools, Mayor Levar M. Stoney has clearly put a proposal to build a new, larger Richmond Coliseum on the backburner.
Hip-Hop Poetry Slam on April 24
A Hip-Hop Poetry Slam will be held next week to allow Richmond area youths to speak out on preventing substance abuse, it has been announced.
Community Easter egg hunt April 22 in Highland Park
An Easter egg hunt and other activities will offered for children age 12 and under 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, April 22, in Highland Park, it has been announced.
Family Easter at Maymont and Easter on Parade highlight season this weekend
Two of Richmond’s most popular seasonal events are being held this weekend — the Dominion Energy Family Easter at Maymont on Saturday, April 20, and Easter on Parade on Monument Avenue on Sunday, April 21.
Clem Daniels, AFL’s leading rusher, dies at 83
Clem C. Daniels Jr., the leading rusher in American Football League history, died Saturday, March 23, in Oakland, Calif. He was 83. Mr. Daniels rushed for 5,138 yards — the most ever by an AFL back — while also catching passes for 3,314 yards and scoring 54 touchdowns.
Local couple in Paris bears witness to Notre Dame fire
George K. Martin of Mechanicsville and his wife, Anita, arrived in Paris on Sunday night and made a sightseeing list that included some of the top tourist spots in the City of Lights, including Notre Dame Cathedral.
Personality: Vanessa Myers Mason
Spotlight on founder and president of MOMS Inc.
She was grief-stricken when her mother passed away two years ago. Now Vanessa Dale Myers Mason has wiped away her tears and come up with a positive way to honor her mother.
Tiger Woods roars back to win Masters Tournament
Tiger’s back! The fallen hero and crippled star is now a Masters champion again. The 43-year-old Tiger Woods thrilled viewers — and himself — as he rallied to win the Masters Tournament for the fifth time on Sunday in a comeback that goes well beyond the two-shot deficit he erased before a delirious audience that watched memories turn into reality at Augusta National.
Parent’s FOIA request shows more to RPS 2018 toilet paper debacle
Richmond Public Schools expects to finish the current school year with plenty of toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies at each of its buildings, according to Michelle Hudacsko, chief of staff to RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras.
Shake-up
10 RPS principals out, 7 others on warning, sources report
Ten Richmond schools will have new principals next fall as part of a leadership shake-up that Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras is undertaking as part of his schools improvement plan, the Free Press has learned.
Medical marijuana dispensaries to open in Va.
Virginians with a doctor’s recommendation soon will have access to medical marijuana through CBD and THC-A oil dispensaries throughout the state. The Virginia Board of Pharmacy has approved five companies to open the dispensaries — one in each of the commonwealth’s five health service areas.
‘Put our children first’ when it comes to education
As a native of Prince Edward County, I think the number of folks using the Brown v. Board of Education decision to perpetuate their respective narratives regarding the state of our public schools, specifically Richmond Public Schools, is appalling.
History marker dedicated to Charles City County lynching victim
Virginia’s first history marker to a lynching victim now stands near the historic courthouse in Charles City County. The new marker recalling the brutal hanging of Isaac Brandon was dedicated Sunday, April 7, 127 years almost to the day when it happened.
RRHA negotiating plan to turn over 11 properties to private company
The city’s housing authority is on the verge of giving a New Jersey-based company control of 11 smaller apartment complexes that house families and the elderly as part of its larger plan to modernize public housing by turning over ownership to private companies.
Rental car scene blows up to jail time for city man
Arthur H. Majola went to pick up a rental car his insurance company was providing after his vehicle, which had been damaged in an accident, went into a repair shop. But he wound up spending 54 days in jail where he became celebrated for engaging in a hunger strike that nearly killed him but forced his release.
School Board mounts effort to contain school construction costs
The Richmond School Board is taking a series of steps in seeking to get a handle on the soaring cost of school construction. The ballooning cost is undermining any hope of modernizing city schools for $800 million over 20 years — the amount the city has promised to provide.
New legal effort launched to remove Agelasto from office
Parker C. Agelasto is facing a new legal attack seeking to remove him from his 5th District City Council seat since he moved his residence outside the district. Just two months after former City Councilman Henry W. “Chuck” Richardson filed a lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court seeking Mr. Agelasto’s ouster, another former City Council member, Sa’ad El-Amin, is seeking a separate removal action in the same court.
New D.C. archbishop poised to become first African-American cardinal
Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has been tapped to head the influential Archdiocese of Washington, filling a slot left vacant in October after its previous archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, was accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse by priests during his time in Pittsburgh.
Investigators probing cause of fires at 3 black churches in La.
About 100 investigators are working to find out who is behind a series of church fires that have struck rural areas of Louisiana in recent weeks. The fires, which have prompted calls for prayer by the state’s governor, destroyed three predominantly African-American churches in St. Landry Parish, around Opelousas, in late March and early April and caused minor damage to a mostly white Pentecostal church in Vivian, about 200 miles north in Caddo Parish.
