All results / Stories / Jeremy M. Lazarus
Richmond Bandits leave it on the field
Three youth football teams from the city-based Richmond Bandits made it to title games in their age brackets, but none came away with a title.
Mayor-elect Stoney to take oath of office Dec. 31
Richmond’s Mayor-elect Levar Stoney is to take the oath of office at City Hall on New Year’s Eve, according to his staff, with a public inauguration expected two weeks later. Mr. Stoney is scheduled to take the oath at noon Saturday, Dec. 31, in the City Council chambers, according to his press secretary, Jim Nolan.
Hot and unhoused
Councilwoman urges city to open shelter for disabled people, families and children; Efforts to ‘expand the safety net’ for homeless coming early September, says official
Staying outdoors in the summer heat “is no fun,” said Thomas Bateman, a disabled factory worker. The bedraggled 63-year-old Richmonder hasn’t been able to find an affordable place to stay in the city, and his only income, a government disability check, allows him to pay for a motel stay just one night a month.
‘When is enough enough?’
Slaying of Va. State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter grips Mosby Court
At an April community meeting, residents of Mosby Court pleaded with Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham for a crackdown to end the violence in the section of the public housing community located off Accommodation Street in the East End.
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.
Coliseum’s success raises new questions about need to replace it
The 13,500-seat Richmond Coliseum has been the busiest arena in Virginia during the past six years, according to a Chicago-based consulting company that was paid $500,000 by the city to review a proposal to replace the facility.
City Councilwoman says rumors of eminent domain in North Side ‘not true’
A hoax that created a small uproar over the Richmond leg of the $266 million regional Fall Line Trail is being dispelled.
Trammell, Spinks and Lambert squeeze out victories in City Council races
Tavarris J. Spinks, a specialist in information technology for health care, appears to have eked out a 26-vote victory to claim the vacant 2nd District City Council seat, according to unofficial results released Wednesday.
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.
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.
William C. Smith named interim police chief in Richmond
For now, William C. Smith is in charge of the Richmond Police Department. The 23-year department veteran took over as interim chief on Tuesday, New Year’s Day, following the official retirement of former Chief Alfred Durham.
Richmond Circuit Court clears way for ballot initiative on schools vs. Coliseum
The Richmond Circuit Court this week cleared the way for political strategist Paul Goldman to launch a challenge to a brewing $1.2 billion proposal to replace the 47-year-old Richmond Coliseum.
An overview
Nov. 7 election will determine state’s direction on abortion, taxes and environment
Next week, voters across Virginia will fill 100 seats in the House of Delegates and 40 seats in the state Senate — and determine whether Democrats or Republicans hold a majority in each house of the General Assembly.
Double down
City Council's yes vote is still a gamble for South Side casino
If at first you don’t succeed, ...
Black History Museum project becomes a career changer
For Rickey Young and Teimon Phillips, the new Black History Museum and Cultural Center in Richmond’s Jackson Ward will always be a special place. Both men got their first experience in the construction field in working to transform the long vacant but historic Leigh Street Armory into the museum’s new home.
Hammond to VSU: Bye
Interim president out of consideration for top job
Virginia State University soon may have a new president, but it won’t be Dr. Pamela V. Hammond, VSU’s interim president. Dr. Hammond unexpectedly has pulled her name from consideration for the university’s top job — notifying the head of VSU’s board of visitors that she no longer is interested and would be leaving when her current contract expires Dec. 31. In a four-page letter to VSU Rector Harry Black dated Oct. 14, Dr. Hammond provided the required 60-day notice that she did not want the board to “renew my current contract” and was “formally withdrawing my name for further consideration as a candidate for the presidency.”
Richmond School Board will have nearly complete turnover
Jeff M. Bourne will be the only holdover when the Richmond School Board starts a new four-year term in January. The board’s current chairman and a deputy Virginia attorney general, Mr. Bourne, 40, received 63 percent of the vote in the 3rd District in North Side to easily defeat two challengers, Kevin A. Starlings and Jessee M. Perry and secure a second term. However, Richmond voters swept out three other incumbents and filled five vacant seats, ensuring eight new individuals — four African-Americans and four white people — will join Mr. Bourne in overseeing Richmond Public Schools when the board convenes for the first time next year.
Super Tuesday
Virginians to vote in presidential primaries March 1
Now it is up to the voters. Next week, Virginians will help pick the Democratic and Republican nominees for president. The presidential primary elections for both parties are scheduled for Tuesday, March 1, in the Old Dominion, with polls open from 6 a.m to 7 p.m. in Richmond and across the state.
Wronged
Retired factory worker Leonard Mc Millian had his home invaded by a police squad and spent more than an hour in handcuffs when police responded to calls about crimes at his home that proved bogus. Actor and songwriter Jerome Arrington spent a miserable seven weeks in jail after Richmond police arrested him for a street robbery he did not commit. Both men are African-American. Neither has received an apology for their ordeals, which appear to be relatively rare in a city where officers respond daily to dozens of calls. Still, their stories suggest that things can go dismayingly wrong even when police and prosecutors believe they are going by the book.
Chief Smith embraces police reform, but wants to control it from the catbird seat
New Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith is raising a yellow caution flag for those pushing to reform the department and support budget cuts to “defund the police.”
