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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.
Painting contractor still waiting for payment on work at River City Middle School
Months after Richmond’s new River City Middle School was completed and turned over to Richmond Public Schools, William Bullock is still waiting to get paid nearly $200,000.
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.
Former School Board member mounts campaign to oust principal
How much influence should parents and the community wield in deciding who should run a public school? That question is at the heart of a dispute over the leadership of Blackwell Elementary School on South Side.
RRHA leadership changes under cloak of silence
Adrienne E. Goolsby was described as a “proven leader ... with a remarkable track record” when she was lured from Chicago in 2012 to take over as the chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. But less than three years into her tenure, the 45-year-old Atlanta native is out and a retired Richmond development expert, T.K. Somanath, 69, has been installed temporarily as RRHA’s top official as the search for Ms. Goolsby’s successor begins.
Wilder in legal brawl with his former lawyers Goldman, Morrissey
Richmond residents now have a front row seat on a heavyweight legal fight between former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and former Delegate Joe Morrissey.
City eliminates $240,000 admissions tax debt of Richmond Jazz Festival
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has quietly eliminated the estimated $240,000 in admissions taxes that the popular Richmond Jazz Festival owed the city, three highly placed sources have told the Free Press.
War continues over statues
The war of words over Confederate statues in Richmond appears to be just getting started. In the weeks and months ahead, Richmond City Council is poised to consider a nonbinding resolution from 9th District Councilman Michael J. Jones that aims to put the governing body on record as favoring removal.
More bad news
As consultant points out flaws, City Council majority gives Mayor Stoney a choice to withdraw the $1.5B Coliseum and Downtown development plan or have it stricken
The bad news just keeps coming for the doomed $1.5 billion proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum and develop an area of Downtown around it.
Center ordered to sell Cowardin Avenue parcel
Pastor Stephen A. Parson has spent more than 16 months fending off a lender’s attempt to foreclose on the current South Side home of the Richmond Christian Center he founded more than 30 years ago.
Decision day looms for employees’ union choices
Once stalled, unionizing of City Hall employees has begun to move forward after Labor Relations Administrator Keith D. Greenberg ruled that crew leaders with the title of supervisor cannot be part of employee bargaining units, the Free Press has learned.
Petersburg council to revisit jail closure plan
Will the Petersburg City Jail close as Mayor W. Howard Myers has announced? Stay tuned. Mayor Myers is facing a Petersburg City Council revolt over his announcement last week that the jail closing is a done deal and that arrestees would be housed outside the city at Riverside Regional Jail beginning March 1.
Councilwoman to challenge Stoney for mayor, sources say
For months, City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, has been the only person mentioned as a possible opponent to Mayor Levar M. Stoney in his November re-election bid.
More dollars possible for certain neighbor associations
Money to fund an anti-litter program is expected to be shifted to civic and neighborhood associations in Carver, Jackson Ward, The Fan and other neighborhoods with restricted parking districts.
Virginia Organizing challenges Youngkin’s voting rights move
The Charlottesville-based grassroots group Virginia Organizing plans to lead a public march and protest in Richmond at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, to protest Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s rollback of the virtually automatic restoration of voting rights for released felons, it has been announced
VSU enrolls 1,000 students in freshman class
Virginia State University is reporting that nearly 1,000 freshmen enrolled for the fall semester, a rebound from 2015 when
City tackling polluted water
Richmond’s most heavily polluted watersheds that drain into the James River will get some extra attention, thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, it has been announced.
New bridge named for longtime school volunteer
Robert S. “Bob” Argabright II is receiving special recognition for his volunteer service to Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School in South Side.
Woodland Restoration Foundation hopes descendants will help with continuing cemetery upkeep, plans
Call him the headstone hunter.
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.
