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.
Former Monroe Park Conservancy head acquitted in assault
Alice M. Massie, the former president of the Monroe Park Conservancy, has been acquitted of assaulting a Virginia Commonwealth University student.
Evelyn H. Price, retired teacher and church leader, dies at 85
Evelyn Louise Harris Price, a retired Richmond educator and active churchwoman, has died.
New book reveals details about Mary Lumpkin and the slave jail that became VUU
The stories of enslaved Black women largely have been erased from American history.
RAA warns service in jeopardy without greater city subsidy
Richmond has long boasted of having one of the best ambulance services in the country. But the Richmond Ambulance Authority is warning City Council that the ability to maintain quality emergency response is being jeopardized by Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s decision to limit the city’s financial support.
Transit union calls for assaulted GRTC driver to be reinstated
GRTC is facing pushback for firing a driver who subdued a passenger after he refused to don a mandatory mask and hit the driver on the arm when he called for assistance.
Gurtha ‘Gil’ Gilchrist Jr., longtime Armstrong phys ed teacher, dies at 83
Gurtha “Gil” Gilchrist Jr., who taught physical education and health at Armstrong High School for 30 years, has died.
Richmond Public Schools moves out of 14th floor in City Hall
Richmond Public Schools is starting to give up floors in City Hall.
City Council gives green light to new $13M apartment development at former funeral home site
The historic home of the A.D. Price Funeral Home at 212 E. Leigh St. in Jackson Ward will soon gain more apartments.
Brenda Howlett Melvin, retired educator, dies at 76
Brenda Eulalia Howlett Melvin, a retired educator described by her family as “a ray of sunshine” and a person “who loved to celebrate everything and everyone,” died Monday, March 21, 2022, in a local hospital.
Signs of the times
University of Richmond campus buildings honoring slaveholders and segregationists are getting new names after years of pushing Board of Trustees to make changes
Six buildings on the University of Richmond’s campus are being cleansed of the names of slaveholders and champions of segregation, including a building named in honor of the university’s founding president, the Rev. Robert Ryland.
City Council rejects turning over design funding for new George Wythe High
Will a new George Wythe High School ever get built?
Training program for released convicts faces shutdown
Rodney Brown had just served a six-year sentence in prison in 2018 when he found his way to the nonprofit Adult Alternative Program at 4929 Chamberlayne Ave. in the city’s North Side.
Dr. Robert L. Pettis Sr., longtime pastor or Zion Baptist Church, dies at 67
Dr. Robert Lee Pettis Sr., a well-regarded minister who was in his fifth decade of leading Zion Baptist Church in South Side, has died.
RPS data show middle schools under capacity, as controversy over new high school size continues
Richmond Public Schools enrollment data are undermining claims from members of Richmond City Council that surging enrollment would require a future George Wythe High School to be built to accommodate 2,000 students to prevent overcrowding when it opens.
Study may help reverse shut out of Black businesses from city contracts
City Hall spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year to buy goods and services and pay for construction and renovation of its buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure. But only a tiny fraction of that money is spent with Black- and minority-owned companies.
Rodney L. Lofton, LGBTQ advocate, community leader, author, succumbs at 53
Rodney Lamont Lofton was a force in changing Richmond’s attitudes toward gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer people.
Credit union members’ participation in governance hampered by rules
Credit unions are supposed to be owned by the members who have opened accounts.
Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground to receive historic designation
A long lost Black Richmond cemetery that has an interstate highway and rail- road tracks running through it is about to gain designation as a state and federal historic site.
City seeks court order authorizing 2nd casino referendum
City Hall is rushing to secure a Richmond Circuit Court order to authorize a second casino referendum in November before the General Assembly can block it through budget language, the Free Press has learned.
‘Toothless’
Critics assail Mayor Stoney’s proposal to give a new civilian review board only limited authority in handling complaints against city police
Richmond could soon have its first civilian board to review serious complaints against police officers.
New studies boost claims that nasal flushing may help protect against COVID-19
New studies support a Richmond man’s claims that flushing your nose daily can protect against COVID-19 and other diseases that develop in the nose and sinuses.
Mayor’s $836M proposed budget includes major pay hikes for public safety workers
Soaring property values and a continuing boom in new development in Richmond have given City Hall the money to propose major pay increases for police officers, firefighters and other city employees.
Dr. Dietra Trent to lead White House HBCU initiative
President Biden has tapped a Virginia education veteran to work with and advocate for historically Black colleges and universities in the halls of government.
Creation of police oversight panel among 3 critical items City Council to consider
Richmond City Council is heading to decision time on three significant items on its agenda—creation of a civilian review board to oversee police discipline, collective bargaining for employees and redistricting.
Settlement details expected in death of South Side man involving police, ambulance personnel
A settlement is being worked out in the $25 million federal civil lawsuit alleging that two Richmond Police officers and two Richmond Ambulance Authority emergency medical personnel fatally smothered city resident Joshua L. Lawhon three years ago.
Richmond Public Library unveils plan for $70M reno at Downtown facility
A $70 million facelift is being proposed for the Richmond Public Library’s Main Library in Downtown.
Volunteers to help RRHA families late with rent to file for state relief
Next week, scores of volunteers will be going door to door in public housing communities seeking to help 1,700 families avoid eviction because their rent is past due.
Efforts advance for state, federal funding for historic Black cemeteries
The General Assembly, with bipartisan support, is preparing to beef up its efforts to financially support volunteers and organizations seeking to restore long-neglected Black cemeteries and to support efforts to preserve Black historical sites.
Virginia’s HBCUs received more than $141M collectively from ARP
Big bucks. That’s what Virginia’s five historically Black colleges and universities have received from the federal American Rescue Plan.
City Council reaches consensus on redistricting map
The redistricting work of setting boundaries for the nine Richmond City Council and School Board districts appears to be complete.
Richmond Planet license plate, with its symbol of Black empowerment, may be ready to go July 1
A tribute to Black empowerment will be on display on a Virginia license plate for the first time.
Faster legal sales of marijuana snuffed out; Black advocates cheer
The rush to start legal retail sales of marijuana next September has been snuffed out.
Carol Swann-Daniels, a trailblazer integrating Richmond schools in 1960, dies at 73
Sixty-one years have passed since Carol Irene Swann, 12, and her friend, Gloria Jean Mead, 13, blasted an opening in the racially segregated schools of Richmond.
RPS plans for Fox Elementary to rise from ashes
A virtually identical Fox Elementary School building can rise from the ashes, without additional cost to Richmond Public Schools.
8,000 potential gravesites identified at East End Cemetery using drone and hydrology mapping software
Finding unmarked graves in neglected cemeteries has always been a challenge.
Mayor: She said ‘yes’
Mayor Levar M. Stoney, one of Richmond’s most eligible bachelors, is about to hear wedding bells.
Bon Secours breaks ground on new $11M medical office building in East End
Coming soon: A new Bon Secours Mercy Health medical office building in the East End that will house up to 100 doctors, nurses and other staff and include space to provide group therapy for mentally ill addicts.
Minor shifts expected in city redistricting
The majority of Richmond residents, as anticipated, will not experience any impact from the boundary changes made once every 10 years to City Council and School Board districts.
City Council to consider design funding for new George Wythe on Feb. 28
Despite meeting on Valentine’s Day, Richmond City Council passed on an opportunity to end its feud with the Richmond School Board over the size of the proposed replacement for the aged and decrepit George Wythe High School.
Majority of families in public housing are behind on rent
More than half of the renters in Richmond’s public housing communities — 55 percent — are now behind on rent, according to a report provided Monday to City Council.
State NAACP executive director resigns citing hail of allegations
The executive director of the Virginia State Conference NAACP has abruptly quit after 14 months.
2nd Richmond casino referendum not a done deal
So far, the General Assembly has sided with a Richmond plan to hold a second referendum in a bid to win approval for a gambling casino and resort in South side.
Ezell Royal Lee, ‘Fashion King of Hull Sreet, dies at 66
Hull Street became the runway where Ezell Royal Lee would display his personal clothing creations while walking his dog, Miss Cleo.
The Rev. Charles Williams Jr., director of the Office for Black Catholics, dies at 70
The Rev. Charles Williams Jr., who led the Catholic Diocese of Richmond’s Office for Black Catholics for three years, has died.
HOME to receive $1.1M from landmark multimillion-dollar bias settlement with Fannie Mae
It took six years, but a national mortgage company has finally agreed to accept responsibility for its racial bias in handling foreclosed property.
Move toward collective bargaining for city employees on pause
Richmond City Council hit the pause button on collective bargaining Monday in a bid to gain answers to questions about the potential cost.
State of the City
Mayor Levar M. Stoney outlines plans to boost public safety, health, affordable housing, job creation, violence prevention to improve the quality of life for Richmonders
Bigger investments in public safety – including the creation of a gun buyback program as part of a strategic effort to quell the surge in gunfire and violence.
Without federal, state dollars, city residents may pay higher sewer bills
Richmond residents could potentially see their bill for sending wastewater to the city’s treatment plant skyrocket to $170 a month or more in the coming years, officials with the city’s Department of Public Utilities are warning.
