Enrichmond groups may receive City Hall funding
City Hall has tucked $250,000 into that proposed 2023-24 budget that could help dozens of nonprofits groups that lost money when the Enrichmond Foundation collapsed last year.
Rev. Clifford B. Chambliss Jr. dies at 81
The Rev. Clifford Boss Chambliss Jr. was just 25 when he was tapped to lead a new job training initiative that more senior Black min- isters were organizing to help people find work and escape poverty.
Is popular PAL program ‘in limbo’?
Will the Richmond Police Athletic League offer spring and summer programs for the city’s youths?
Bettye Jean Branch Bragg, former Head Start aide, dies at age 80
Bettye Jean Branch Bragg touched the lives of hundreds of Richmond children during her 34 years as a teacher’s aide in Head Start, a program to prepare 3 and 4-year-olds for kindergarten and higher grades.
Richmond jazz legend has new release
William F. ‘Bill’ McGee has performed with The O’Jays, Fred Wesley, Patti LaBelle and more
Richmond-based jazz legend and civil rights leader William F. “Bill” McGee is releasing his latest CD, “Tree of Life,” Friday, March 17, through music streaming services and the website he owns and operates, 804jazz.com.
Malinda S. Jones, who worked to spread faith, dies at 88
For 24 years, Malinda Smith Jones organized weekly revivals in Richmond in church parking lots and other open spaces from June through August.
Council members link truancy to increased violence involving city youths
Richmond Public Schools needs to do more to ensure students are in class rather than roaming the streets, according to concerned members of City Council.
Richmond city attorney to retire
City Attorney Haskell C. Brown III will immediately leave City Hall’s top legal post in the wake of his arrest for drunken driving, the Free Press has learned.
Special education troubles continue for Virginia
VDOE labeled ‘deficient’ in its efforts to curtail learning loss
The Virginia Department of Education continues to shirk its responsibility to ensure students with mental and emotional disabilities secure a free, appropriate public education, or FAPE in educational jargon, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Gandy name may be eliminated by Hanover School Board
The Hanover School Board is moving to eliminate the name of John M. Gandy, the only Black person for whom a county school is named.
Richmond Fire Department blazing through recruiting
When it comes to recruiting, the Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services stands head and shoulders above the rest of the city’s public safety departments.
RRHA’s eviction rate increases
Housing unit applies ‘tough love’ to collect tenants’ back rent
Richmond’s public housing landlord continues to proceed more slowly than private landlords in seeking to oust residents who have built up large, unpaid rent balances.
City Council approves solar program grant
A nonprofit group that has sought to prepare people to work in the burgeoning solar power field has gained financial help from City Hall.
Stoney’s $3B proposal
Funding designed to make Richmond more liveable, despite increased gas, water bills
Record pay increases for Richmond city employees, along with hikes in spending on youth programming, affordable housing, public education and street paving.
American Federation of Government Workers union officials removed
Turmoil in the 2,500-member union representing workers at the Richmond Veterans Administration Medical Center in South Side is offering a cautionary tale for city employees who are now in the process of unionizing.
DPU expects to soon restart disconnection of services
Thousands of Richmond families could lose water service, sewerage and/or natural gas service in the coming months for failing to pay their bills.
Henrico woman’s invention provides clearer thermometer reads
Where do ideas for inventions come from? For Henrico County resident Casaundra L. Pugh, the eureka moment came during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Janet Rainey retires after 47 years of keeping records vital
Keeping records of the births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in Virginia may seem like dull work. Don’t tell that to Janet M. Rainey.
Emergency communications graduates 13 dispatchers to improve services
More dispatchers have joined Richmond’s 911 staff, reducing vacancies in a critical element of public safety.
Environmental Film Festival multiple showings, venues
The RVA Environmental Festival will feature 21 feature films during its upcoming two-week run, with all films free and open to the public.
Karl E. Bren, housing advocate, dies at 78
Tennessee transplant Karl Ellis Bren is being remembered for his influence and impact on affordable housing, environmental policy and homelessness during his 38 years in Richmond.
Bagby wins ‘firehouse’ primary in quest for Senate seat
Henrico Delegate Lamont Bagby has made a fast start in his quest to succeed Jennifer L. McClellan in the state Senate.
All adjourned
Lawmakers end session with lean budget and no mention of casino
Richmond casino advocates rejoiced as the General Assembly adjourned without blocking the city’s authority to hold a second referendum in November on whether the state’s capital city should host a casino-resort.
Embattled RPS employee continues fight for her job
A 14-year Richmond Public Schools teacher and social worker is battling a second attempt to fire her — this time for failing to show up to work in a position that apparently never was offered to her.
Council raises percentage of vehicle tax owners must pay
Richmond vehicle owners can expect to see bigger personal property tax bills for their cars and trucks this year.
3 candidates vie for McClellan’s seat
The race to replace Congresswoman-elect Jennifer L. McClellan in the state Senate could be decided this weekend, with a quick Democratic firehouse primary or convention to choose between three candidates. Details were unsettled at Free Press deadline.
House Republicans kill two historic resolutions
Two resolutions expressing profound regret for past wrongs to Black people in Virginia have been killed in the Republican-dominated House of Delegates.
North Side health hub planned
A nonprofit pharmacy and offices for medical specialists and behavioral health and job development services could be coming to a former Bank of America building in North Side.
Victory
Jennifer L. McClellan elected Virginia’s first Black congresswoman
“I’m ready to fight for you in Congress for as long as you’ll have me,” State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan declared Tuesday night.
Lucille A.B. Roane, voting proponent, former detective, dies
Richmond voter advocate and former city police detective Lucille Aurelia Brown Roane has died. Mrs. Roane, who was the first Black president of the Richmond Metropolitan Area Chapter of the League of Women Voters and the third Black woman to serve on Richmond’s police force, succumbed to illness Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. She was 94.
Leroy Mason, a voice for prison reform, dies at age 83
Leroy Mason is being remembered for helping to change the Virginia prison system where he spent most of his adult life and for helping other prisoners make a successful transition after their release.
Labor unions ready to represent City employees
City Hall is closer to having four unions represent employees — although two unions are now facing off in a bid to represent the city’s 475 labor and trades workers.
Delegate Jeff Bourne to leave legislature
After six years in the legislature, Delegate Jeffrey M. Bourne wants to spend more time with his family rather than run for a fourth two-year term in the House of Delegates or seek a Richmond state Senate seat.
City names new HR director
City Hall has named Tyrome Alexander director of human resources as part of efforts to rebuild the department and rev up efforts to recruit and retain employees. Mr. Alexander, director of human resources for Toledo, Ohio, for the past four years, will take over Monday, Feb. 27.
Approval of budget amendments before state lawmakers adjourn still uncertain
For the first time in two decades, the Virginia General Assembly could adjourn Saturday, Feb. 25, without approving amendments to the current two-year budget, a potential boon for Richmond’s casino backers.
Enrichmond’s remaining assets headed for receivership, sources say
A deal that could resolve issues related to the collapsed Enrichmond Foundation is in the works, the Free Press has learned.
City’s annual financial report shows $35 million surplus
City Hall has completed its annual financial report, although it comes three months behind schedule and the first to come in late since 2016.
Reapply
Most of City’s HR employees’ jobs no longer guaranteed - ‘We’ve been told our department is the heartbeat of City Hall, but we’ve been left in the dark’
Richmond continues to struggle to fill vacant positions in multiple City Hall departments, ranging from police to finance. The situation could soon be more difficult as the city’s key recruiting and employee services department, Human Resources, undergoes upheaval.
William L. Prentiss Jr., local and regional band director, musician and educator, dies at 58
William Leon “BB” Prentiss Jr., who molded thousands of student musicians as the director of high school marching bands in Richmond, Chesterfield County, Norfolk and four other localities, has died.
A race to the finish
4th Congressional District voters will choose McClellan or Benjamin on Feb. 21
Jennifer L. McClellan’s campaign to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress will culminate next week in a special election she is heavily favored to win — and most aptly during Black History Month.
VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance
Virginia Union University can keep its logo shining at night from the top of a historic 60- foot tower on its campus.
Senate committee’s ‘no’ vote for Morrissey casino bill may mean ‘yes’ for Richmond
With two weeks to go in the 2023 General Assembly session, Richmond appears to be on track to retain the right to hold a second vote on hosting a casino in November. While it could all change, Richmond gained much needed help from a slim majority of the Senate Finance Committee. Last week, the committee voted 8-7 to kill Petersburg Democratic state Sen. Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey’s bill to add the Cockade City to the list of cities allowed to have a casino and authorize that city to host a referendum before Richmond made a second attempt to get voters to approve after a majority rejected a casino plan in 2021. If the majority holds in the Senate Finance Committee, the same fate would await an identical bill that Petersburg Repub- lican Delegate Kim Taylor successfully pushed through the House on Tuesday. Petersburg believed it had a good chance to win after sign- ing an agreement with The Cordish Companies of Baltimore to deliver a casino and related developments worth $1.4 bil- lion. Despite the setback, that city is still is likely to hold a November referendum seeking approval from its voters for the Cordish proposal. Richmond is not guaranteed to retain the right to hold a referendum. With Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin seeking to lift up Petersburg, the Free Press has been told that some of those who opposed Sen. Morrissey’s bill in the committee could use the Petersburg casino measure as a bargaining chip when the House and Senate conferees meet to finalize the budget. A year ago, after Sen. Morrissey’s bill appeared to be dead after losing 9-7 in the Finance Committee, budget language re- vived it. The legislature followed Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan’s
City seeks to battle climate, continue using fossil fuel
When it comes to battling climate change, Richmond wants to reduce public and private emissions of greenhouse gases while still allowing its natural gas utility to keep pump- ing out fossil fuel to power homes and buildings.
A new George Wythe High School will cost a record $86,111 per student, data show
The cost of replacing George Wythe High School has ballooned to $154.6 million, far more than anticipated.
Capital of compassion
Mayor Stoney’s upbeat agenda: Increased home ownership, public safety, enhanced learning
As he launched his seventh year in office, Mayor Levar M. Stoney painted a rosy picture of a thriving city “filled with promise and hope ... and purpose” Tuesday in delivering his State of the City address.
Push for rental inspection program appears to gain traction
Properties yielding high-volume complaints, code violations would be targeted
Maybe the third time is the charm when it comes to a rental inspection program for Richmond.
City jail deputy shortages continue
“This feels like an emergency situation. It feels like we are in a crisis.”
Rail agency begins historic cemetery review for estimated 22,000 souls
It took nine months, but the Federal Railroad Administration is keeping its promise to take a fresh look at a historic Black cemetery in Richmond and its potential impact on proposed rail improvements between Richmond and Washington.
It’s complicated
Beleaguered foundation’s last member determined to maintain Black cemeteries, despite ongoing obstacles
The last board member of the collapsed Enrichmond Foundation is working to turn over to City Hall control of two historic Black cemeteries as well as other properties and assets still in the foundation’s name.
