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$1 City selling home sites for low, moderate income families
Vacant property for $1. That’s the price that City Hall is setting to clear out its inventory of home sites and to help cut the future purchase price of the houses to be built on them. This effort also will help finish partially completed developments that have been on hold since the economic recession began in 2008. In a first step, at least 16 lots are being prepared for sale, primarily in Southern Barton Heights. A few lots in Swansboro on South Side and in Newtowne West near Virginia Union University also are part of the sale. The board of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the properties’ nominal owner, helped clear the way by approving the transfer of the properties to the city at its meeting last week.
Political newcomer Rae Cousins upsets opponents for House bid
Rae Cousins, a lawyer and fourth-generation Richmonder, handily won Tuesday’s primary in Richmond to become the Democratic nominee for the 79th House of Delegates District. Ms. Cousins, 43, bested 3rd District City Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert, 47, and criminal justice crusader Richard Walker, 65, in the their contest in the L-shaped district that is anchored in the East End and takes in portions of South Side and North Side. The district is one of three that includes portions of the city and the only one in which there was a party nomination contest. Incumbent Delegate Betsy B. Carr is unopposed in her bid for
Changing the trajectory
RRHA ushering in new initiatives for jobs, health and safety
Steven B. Nesmith promised to transform the operation of Richmond’s public housing and the opportunities for residents when he assumed leadership of the authority last fall.
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.
State vital records now online
Millions of individual records of births, deaths, marriages and divorces in Virginia in the past 100 years are now available online, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced this week.
Construction of new city schools didn’t meet deadline, goal for minority participation
Richmond has built three new school buildings, but can teachers and students use them if the School Board decides to restart in-person learning?
School Board taking control of new building construction
The Richmond School Board is taking back control of the design, development and construction of new schools, potentially blocking a City Hall plan to fast-track design and development of a replacement building for worn-out George Wythe High School.
Child care a major issue as RPS officials grapple with reopening plan
A 3-foot change could help working parents — most notably single mothers — keep their jobs or avoid the cost of expensive day care.
Dems win Va. House, Senate
Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin went all in on winning Republican majorities in the state House and Senate — and lost. Unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections show Virginia Democrats again will be in charge of both houses of the General Assembly.
After two-year derailment, Jackson Place apparently back on track
The city’s housing authority is poised to revive a potential $35 million development project for Jackson Place at 2nd and Duval streets in Jackson Ward.
City Council members file legislation to halt bike lanes in North Side
Two City Council members want to kill City Hall plans to turn one travel lane on both sides of Brook Road over to bicycles between Azalea Avenue and Charity Street.
City Public Defender’s Office gets award, no pay supplement
The Richmond Public Defender’s Office received high praise Monday night from City Council.
Church to become regional private school for children with disabilities
A former church is about to become the new home of a regional private school that serves children with autism and other mental challenges.
Petersburg employees credited with helping during city’s crunch
Two Petersburg Public Works managers are being credited with repairing trucks and equipment for their department that the city could not afford to fix.
City council extends tax deadline, provides winning formula for babies
Richmond residents have gained a 60-day extension on the deadline to pay vehicle taxes and the city license fee on vehicles, and hundreds of Richmond mothers frantically seeking to buy baby formula will gain significant help through a new initiative.
‘We can no longer remain silent’
Coalition wants Bon Secours to increase investments in area’s poor communities
Sparked by a New York Times expose, a new coalition hopes to rally the East End community to pressure nonprofit Bon Secours Mercy Health to rebuild critical care services at Richmond Community Hospital and better meet the health needs of low-income communities.
‘It is immoral to profit off the backs of Black and Brown residents under the guise of health care’
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s response to New York Times report on Bon Secours
Calling the practice “immoral,” Mayor Levar M. Stoney this week called on the federal government to crack down on nonprofit hospitals’ diversion of savings on medications away from the low-income communities it was designed to benefit. Mayor Stoney issued his call for reform of the program known as Section 340B in reaction to a stunning New York Times article citing Bon Secours Mercy Health’s Richmond operations as a prime example of the misuse of the revenue from the drug pricing program.
New program to create jobs, new homes and opportunity
Buy vacant lots in depressed sections of Richmond. Then have small, black-owned construction firms fill the lots with modern, affordable homes that can sell quickly while creating jobs for nearby residents.
Councilwoman hopes proposed changes to City Charter find support
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution, City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi- fying zoning. Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain unanimous support from her eight colleagues at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for the changes she has negotiated with Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration. If passed by the council, the package would be sent to the General Assembly for approval in the upcoming 2024 session. Many of the changes follow recommenda- tions that a council-created Richmond City Charter Review Commission submitted Aug. 2 after a year of study. As the most significant package of charter changes proposed since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend- ments do not address the current relationship between the council and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elections for the governing body and chief executive. The biggest proposed change could well be the tax and housing initiatives that the charter review commission did not address. The proposed Section 2.09 amendment would allow the city to defer property taxes and tax increases for qualifying low or moderate income property owners, using the definition of such individuals established by the Virginia Housing Development Authority, now known as Virginia Housing. Such a program could allow the taxes to accumulate over time to be paid off from proceeds after the property is sold. In addition, the proposed charter change would authorize the city to create a program that could help such qualifying individu- als buy a home or receive rental subsidies. The city also could use state or federal funds to advance such initiatives. The charter amendment also would declare the creation of programs that could provide funds directly to individuals for housing to be “in the furtherance of a public interest” to get
Old Moore Street School continues to deteriorate during inaction over future
Jerome Legions is preparing to go on the warpath over the condition of historic Moore Street School.
