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Strange fruit?
Critic: Oak evokes lynching image at Walker statue site
The fight over the tree in the planned Maggie L. Walker plaza isn’t over. Gary L. Flowers, a Richmond native and national political and civil rights operative living in Jackson Ward, has jumped into the fray with a petition drive opposing the live oak that now dominates the gateway into Jackson Ward where the monument to the great lady is to stand.
Hilbert to mayor: Don’t veto City Council budget
Money allocated to fix potholes or plow streets cannot be used for picking up trash unless Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney secures approval to shift the funds from Richmond City Council.
Shift in city procurement practice hurt black-owned businesses
After nearly a decade of using its own pricing list to purchase supplies from local companies and save money, Richmond City Hall last year shifted to using the state’s electronic purchasing system, known as eVA, after Mayor Levar M. Stoney took office.
State may force city to replace voting machines
Richmond, Henrico County and 27 other localities might be forced to immediately buy new voting machines for use in upcoming elections. The reason: The state Board of Elections is considering banning the wireless touch-screen machines the city and the other localities successfully have used for 10 years.
Free van service helps public housing residents get to work
Myra Griffin has found the biggest problem placing people in jobs is transportation.
Perry L. Briggs Sr., member of the Walker Sports Hall of Fame, dies at 92
Perry Lee Briggs Sr., a former football star at Maggie Walker High School and Virginia Union University, has died.
When tenants don’t pay, eviction is the price, says one landlord
Landlords are in trouble, too, according to Bobby L. McIntosh, who is in charge of 109 units in Richmond through his company, Bayside Properties and Management.
City Council setting up procedures for public meetings online
The Richmond City Council is moving to set up processes and procedures for holding online public meetings, including ways to gain resident comments on legislation, it was announced Tuesday.
$1M upgrade at Main Library in Downtown
Every day, dozens of people flood into the Main Library in Downtown to use public computers. They come to check emails, seek employment, do research and handle other activities in the online world, including paying bills and applying for visas.
Locked out
Report: Fewer mortgages approved in predominately African-American, Latino areas
The greater the number of African-Americans and Latinos living in a Richmond neighborhood, the tougher it is for home buyers in the neighborhood to get a mortgage approved or for existing owners to get their home loans refinanced. That’s the rule of thumb that prevails among banks and online mortgage lenders, according to a new report from the Richmond-based fair housing watchdog group, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia.
Budget dispute may slow plans to redevelop Boulevard
A little noticed budget dispute in the General Assembly could slow Richmond’s rush to transform 61 acres of largely vacant city property on North Boulevard into retail stores, a hotel, offices and apartments. The House of Delegates and the Senate appear to be split over approving Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposal to authorize the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to spend up to $105 million to buy land and develop a new headquarters and warehouse complex.
Questions raised as council shifts money to help departments get through June 30
Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving has gained the $2.13 million she needs this month to issue paychecks every two weeks to her deputies.
Retired teacher Joyce Johnson dies at 73
Teaching children was Joyce Cole Johnson’s mission in life, according to her family. For 33 years, Ms. Johnson helped Richmond first- and second-graders learn to read, write and do arithmetic, first at Woodville Elementary and then at John B. Cary Elementary schools.
Case against VUU president in Florida appears stalled
Bethune-Cookman University in Florida appears to have halted its legal effort to hold former top officials accountable for their alleged role in saddling the Daytona Beach school with an overly expensive dormitory.
City tax bills go out without amnesty details
Richmond residents have until Friday, Aug. 14, to pay city taxes on their real estate and vehicles without being hit with a penalty and interest for late payment under a recently approved ordinance.
City housing director, church leaders discuss shelter options
$3M on the table for homeless
Ninth District City Councilman Michael J. Jones hopes a network of churches can be developed to provide shelter for the homeless during inclement weather, particularly during winter cold.
Obamacare still vital
Signature health care law remains intact despite GOP assaults
Don’t panic if you bought individual or family health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The ACA, a.k.a. Obamacare, is struggling but still alive and will continue to operate, according to experts in the field, despite President Trump’s decision last week to cut off premium subsidies to insurance companies.
Vote on Navy Hill project expected on Feb. 24
Monday, Feb. 24. That’s the date on which City Council President Cynthia I. Newbille wants the governing body to take a vote on the controversial $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and Downtown development plan.
Mayor Stoney unveils a $1.92 billion budget plan for 2020-21
Mayor Levar M. Stoney wants to increase total city spending an additional $135 million — or nearly $600 per resident — to beef up investments in street paving, public education, city worker pay, affordable housing and other priorities.
Creighton Court redevelopment project seeks $4.9M city bailout
The project to transform the poverty-stricken Creighton Court public housing area in the East End into a mixed-income development has run into a glitch — the master developer can’t raise all the money needed to construct the first 105 apartments.
