New RPS teachers to earn $51,182 annually; bus drivers will earn $23 per hour
Starting pay for Richmond schoolteachers will top $50,000 for the first time after July 1.
Unsheltered
Plans to house the homeless in Shockoe Valley disappear
Plans for a year-round shelter open around the clock for the homeless have suddenly evaporated seven months after being announced.
Gun buyback is on track
Richmond is on track to sponsor its first gun buyback program — despite substantial evidence that such programs are largely public relations gimmicks that do not affect gun violence.
Federal court issues July deadline for new elections lawsuit
A new lawsuit seeking to force new elections for the House of Delegates this November is on the fast track.
A helping hand is just a call away
Need help with housing or utility costs? Want to learn about child care options? Looking for employment? So many people say they don’t know where to start to get the answers they need.
Federal judges deny bid for House elections, but a new suit may change that
There is still a slim prospect that elections for the Virginia House of Delegates could be held this year.
GRTC’s ad policy struck down
When an animal rights group wanted to pay GRTC to carry its message opposing publicly funded experiments on dogs and other animals, the company said, “No way” in rejecting it as too political.
Former city nursing home to become 86 apartments
Ground was finally broken on June 1 to officially start the conversion of Richmond’s former nursing home into 86 units of housing for low-income individuals who also receive on-site supportive services from Faith Community Baptist Church and other partners.
Strategist suggests Richmond voters will support casino funds earmarked for schools
Political strategist Paul Goldman sees a path for Richmond to recover from the stinging political defeat it has suffered at the General Assembly after a bipartisan coalition rejected the state capital city’s plans for a second vote to bring a $565 million casino-resort to South Side.
Youngkin snubs lawmakers’ efforts to support tenants
Landlords have always held the upper hand when it comes to evicting people. Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin is keeping it that way, according to advocates for tenants.
Making moves
Delegate Don Scott Jr. new Democratic House leader
In just two years, Democratic Delegate Don Scott Jr. has done the extraordinary— leaping from novice legislator to House Minority Leader.
Probe ends of Richmond Electoral Board members
The two Democratic members of the Richmond Electoral Board are keeping their posts following a lengthy probe into their handling of the 2000 presidential election during the COVID-19pandemic. They are James M. Nachman, who chairs the board, and Joyce K. Smith, vice chair, who was re-elected in February.
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.
System failure
RPS loses thousands of laptops
Richmond Public Schools wasted millions of federal support dollars buying 20,000 extra Chromebook laptop computers it didn’t need after going virtual during the pandemic, an internal audit has found.
Richmond’s chance of landing a casino still awaits Petersburg report
Richmond could still hold a second vote in November seeking authorization to bring a casino-resort to South Side, but the outcome appears likely to be meaningless even if a majority of those who cast ballots back the proposed $565 million project this time around.
New names recommended for Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Pickett Army bases
The names of slavery-defending Confederate military leaders who fought to destroy the U.S. government could finally start disappearing from military installations.
School Board questions its role in Ashe Center’s site plans
Another battle appears to be looming between City Hall and the School Board.
New stable for police horses
Richmond’s four police horses, Aslan, Samson, Scooter and Toby, are finally getting a new home.
City council greenlights coliseum’s replacement
The vacant and closed Richmond Coliseum is headed for redevelopment.
City cuts tax bills on vehicles 20 percent
The value of used vehicles has soared, but the rising prices will have far less impact on the yearly tax that Richmond residents are required to pay on their cars and trucks.
Richmond Ambulance Authority sounds funding alarm
A sea of red ink. That is what the Richmond Ambulance Authority warns it is facing.
Homeless concerns persist despite efforts to assist people lacking shelter
Doorways, bus benches and even city sidewalks are once again sleeping pads for some unsheltered people in Richmond now that the inclement weather and COVID-19 shelters have shut down.
City Council approves new 2022-23 budget
The new blueprint for City Hall spending after July 1 that includes significant pay jumps for city employees is now in place.
2nd casino referendum to proceed regardless of state budget language, city official says
The question of whether Richmond should have a casino-resort in South Side will once again be on the November ballot, according to the city’s director of economic development.
History marker going up for Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground; mixed results on Confederate markers
A new state history marker to a long forgotten Black cemetery in Richmond is on the way, while two highway markers to the city’s Confederate past have been removed.
Richmond’s last Confederate monument to come down – A.P. Hill on North Side
The last standing Confederate monument in Richmond is on the way out.
True calling
Kiara S. Thompson, Richmond’s Teacher of the Year, followed her heart and turned to teaching more than six years ago
Kiara Shenae Thompson was on her way to becoming a biologist and health care worker when she volunteered at a community center tutoring elementary and middle school students in science concepts and found what she considers her true calling — teaching.
City Council wants more time to study, consider collective bargaining
City Council hit the pause button Monday on authorizing collective bargaining for city employees.
Pastor Anthony Franklin Sr. sees his mission as giving back where a community has needs
For years, Pastor Anthony Franklin Sr. struggled to pay the rent and keep the lights on for the small non-denominational Richmond church he founded called Truth Ministries.
Arthur D. ‘Art’ Toth Jr., owner of the former La Grande Dame, dies at 65
For nearly 30 years, Arthur David “Art” Toth Jr. was the go-to person in Richmond for full-figured women who wanted to dress well.
Artist William R. ‘Junie Red’ Johnson Jr. succumbs at 70
“Junie Red” cut steel for a living. But in his free time, the Richmond native let his creative juices flow in transforming metal pieces into abstract sculptures and painting a variety of subjects, most notably imagined landscapes of other worlds.
Proposed city budget includes help for aging mobile homes and examination of real estate taxes
For the first time, Richmond will help pay for fixing up aging trailers and mobile homes.
Rev. Wilbert D. Talley reaches 50th anniversary milestone at King William church
“I never expected to reach this kind of milestone.”
Former city worker and union advocate: ‘I had no one to go to bat for me’
Andrew Thomas hoped to build a career in the Richmond Department of Public Utilities. Instead, the 49-year-old Jamaica native has quit the department after seven years.
City Councilman Michael J. Jones files again to run for House of Delegates
Pastor and City Councilman Michael J. Jones will try again for a seat in the House of Delegates.
BlackTop youth program reopens in new location
The BlackTop Kings and Queens Sports Academy, a private youth basketball program, is back in action, though in a much reduced capacity.
City Council approves design funds for a new George Wythe
Full speed ahead for a new George Wythe High School.
RRHA may start eviction proceedings this summer; homeless have little alternative
More than half of the 3,084 households currently living in public housing in Richmond are still $51 or more in arrears on rent, according to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
City Council poised to approve $838.7M general fund budget for 2022-23
Major salary increases for police officers and firefighters, along with a 5 percent increase for other city employees and a city minimum wage of $17 an hour.
Dr. Delores R. Greene, longtime educator and former VUU and VSU dean, dies at 86
Dr. Delores Ann Richburg Greene felt the call to be a teacher when she was just 4 years old and in pre-school. She would play school in the backyard of her Petersburg home, where she would provide instruction on reading to her neighborhood friends. From that beginning, Dr. Greene would follow her dream. In a career that spanned 57 years, she rose from a classroom teacher to become a dean in the College of Education at Virginia State University, her alma mater.
Church Hill Academy student selected for weeklong leadership academy in Greece
Scholar-athlete Javon A. Brooks will spend a summer week in Athens, Greece, building his leadership skills.
Fight to preserve historic New Market Heights Battlefield from development wins white flag
Around 7 a.m., Sept. 29, 1864, five regiments of U.S. Colored Troops charged Confederate defenses under withering fire and dislodged troops dug in at New Market Heights in Eastern Henrico — about a mile east of what is now Interstate 295. Fourteen Black soldiers and two of their white officers ultimately were awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor in the savage fight that cost 161 Union lives and left another 666 soldiers wounded.
More fresh regionally grown produce headed to school cafeterias
More fresh lettuce, tomatoes and other regionally grown produce could be headed to the cafeteria meals served to students in schools in Richmond and Henrico and Chesterfield counties.
Charles ‘Baby Charles’ Jones Jr., promoter, manager and producer for entertainers, dies at 47
Charles “Baby Charles” Jones Jr. managed, promoted and produced recordings for new and up-and-coming singers and hip-hop artists during his 30 years in the entertainment field. But the Richmond native was proudest of his work guiding and mentoring the music career of his oldest son, Charles Jones III, better known as Young Prince Charles in the rap world.
Hampton University announces new president
A former three-star Army general has been tapped to become the next president of Hampton University.
City Council wants South Side homeless shelter to remain open temporarily
Could there be a spike in homelessness in Richmond?
Council member Katherine Jordan submits plan for ranked-choice voting for City Council
Richmond voters for the first time could cast their ballot for more than one candidate in the 2024 City Council elections.
William Hugo Van Jackson Jr., musician and music educator, dies at 86
William Hugo Van Jackson Jr., a jazz performer who spread his love of music to thousands of Richmond students through his music teaching and directing of high school bands, has died. Mr. Jackson, who was living in Ellicott City, Md., died on Sunday, April 3, 2022. He was 86.
Family at Fourth Baptist Church sues pastor, two deacons
The pastor of historic Fourth Baptist Church is facing another legal challenge, this time from a Richmond family that claims he and two deacons wrongly removed them from the active membership rolls.
Re-entry training program locked out of former school building
The shutdown has come for a Richmond-based program that linked people released from jails and prisons to training for construction jobs.
