Brig. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace takes command
Brig. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace just became the first female leader of the Army Reserve’s 80th Training Command, one of the largest educational operations in the Army.
Conservancy buys New Market segment where Black troops attacked Confederates
Another 49-acre parcel of a Civil War battlefield in Eastern Henrico County in which Black troops played a major role is now protected from development.
Court OKs 4th District Feb. 21 special election
The election of a new representative from the 4th Congressional District will go on as scheduled.
Grant funds to benefit babies, ex-inmates and low-wealth families
City Hall is planning to provide $115,000 to help low-income families gain baby supplies under ordinances that City Council is scheduled to approve next Monday, Jan. 23.
GRTC names new CEO
Sheryl Adams, who has been interim chief executive officer of GRTC since September, is now the company’s new leader.
Longtime Richmond educator remembered
Bessie Patricia Carter Brown loved being involved with education, her family said.
‘Paul Nichols Way’ to recognize former minister, VUU dean
The late Dr. Paul Nichols, a once prominent minister in local, regional and national religious affairs, will be remembered with an honorary street sign at P and 28th streets in Church Hill.
Legislators told to ‘buckle up’ for fast-paced session
Abortion, gun control and voting rights among top issues
A sharply divided General Assembly was gaveled back into session Wednesday for a potentially contentious 46 days.
Council green-lights permit allowing Northside church to house homeless
More beds are opening for the homeless.
Finally
Bon Secours opens new East End medical facility
A battered Bon Secours Mercy Health is promising increased investments in health care in Richmond’s East End in pushing back against critics claiming the giant health care system has diverted savings on expensive drugs away from the community to wealthier areas.
Status of upcoming congressional election still unknown
A federal judge could decide next week whether to halt the snap election to replace the late Congressman A. Donald McEachin.
New year, new leadership
Michael Jones succeeds Cynthia Newbille as City Council president
City Council shook up its leadership Tuesday afternoon.
New book chronicles civil rights advocate Curtis W. Harris Sr.
Seeking racial justice, the late Hopewell minister and mayor walked the frontlines with Martin Luther King Jr.
Born in 1924 during the harsh racial segregation regime, the Rev. Curtis White Harris Sr. rose to become a key figure in the fight for Black equality in Virginia and the country.
Earle P. Taylor, photographer and cultural arts innovator, dies at 94
Beneficiaries of his work included Last Stop Gallery and Pine Camp
Earle Palmer Taylor, a renowned Richmond photographer who ran a nonprofit Shockoe Bottom art gallery for two decades and taught hundreds of people the art of taking and de- veloping pictures at the city’s Pine Camp art center, has died.
City hires attorney Keith D. Greenberg to handle labor relations
Richmond police officers, firefighters and City Hall employees have moved a step closer to having labor unions.
Maryland artist will create Capitol statue of Barbara Johns
Steven Weitzman, a leading figure American public art, has already sculpted abolitionist Frederick Douglass and former Washington Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. Now the 71-year-old Maryland-based artist has been chosen to immortalize Black teenage activist Barbara Rose Jones in a bronze statue in the U.S. Capitol.
Preservation Act provides research funding for burial grounds
A. Donald McEachin’s legacy as a Richmond congressman will live on in the African-American Burial Grounds Preservation Act that he sponsored in February with others in the U.S. House and Senate.
Ready to serve
Jennifer McClellan defends rushed primary after landslide victory
Richmond state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan is on the fast track to Washington.
Minimum wage going up; sales tax cut on groceries
Most of Virginia’s lowest paid workers will ring in the New Year with a $1-an-hour pay hike, while grocery shoppers will see a smaller tax bite on their purchases.
City councilwoman wants to revive apartment inspections
Apartment buildings in Richmond would have to undergo a city inspection at least once every four years and more often in the case of violations under a proposal that 5th District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch plans to introduce in January.
City wins $11M grant from Mellon Foundation for heritage center
Richmond has scored an $11 million grant to help launch the long-stalled Shockoe Heritage Campus, whose key purpose is to remember Richmond’s role as a center of the slave trade before the Civil War.
Slow but steady
Larger than expected voter turnout delays election results
Eleven volunteers were still hand-counting ballots at Free Press deadline to determine the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic “firehouse” primary in the 4th Congressional District.
GRTC continues free bus rides through June 2024
GRTC will retain zero fares for at least 18 more months – saving regular riders $1,000 or more in yearly transportation costs.
Local charity to open shelter for deadly cold spell
Commonwealth Catholic Charities was to open an additional 30-bed temporary shelter in Richmond on Thursday, Dec. 22, to keep homeless adults from freezing to death in the Arctic air blast expected to hit Richmond two days before Christmas.
Council honors six with honorary street signs
Virginia’s first full-time Black judge and a coach who has been a mentor to Richmond youths for decades are among the latest group of people City Council has approved for recognition with honorary street signs.
Housing authority buys Grace Place
The city’s housing authority has purchased a failing 11-story apartment building in Downtown in a bid to keep it as an income-restricted property offering lower than market rents.
New charter commission established
It took nearly a year, but a nine-member commission to review the City Charter, the city’s state-approved constitution, is finally set up and starting work.
City Council votes for tax rebate, other spending
Richmond property owners will receive a 4.2 percent rebate on the real estate taxes they paid earlier this year, equal to $50 for each $100,000 of property value.
RPS employee acquitted
The former director of an after-school program at Fox Elementary School has been acquitted of assault and battery of an unruly second-grader in the program.
After winning 2 court cases, Henrico tenant may face a third
‘I pay my rent like clockwork every month. I don’t know why they won’t let me alone.’
Donald J. Garrett is a rare figure among the sea of Richmond-area residents being hauled into court for eviction proceedings.
Alphonso H. ‘Al’ Bowers Jr., who fought for construction diversity, dies
Alphonso Hugo “Al” Bowers Jr., a veteran Richmond contractor who was outspoken in promoting Black inclusion in government building projects and promoted construction trades training program for unemployed adults, has died.
The Race Is On
Candidates for Rep. McEachin’s seat in Congress rush to meet filing deadline
Five Democrats are preparing to run in a “firehouse” primary Tuesday, Dec. 20, to choose the party’s candidate to replace 4th District U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, who died Nov. 28.
Woman seeks to visit deceased son’s daughter as holidays near
All that 69-year-old Richmonder Yolanda D. Fox wants for Christmas is to see her granddaughter, Mariah.
Richmond jail staffing shortage blamed for rise in injured deputies, inmates
In the past four weeks at the Richmond City Justice Center, one deputy had his shoulder dislocated after he was thrown to the ground while trying to stop two prisoners from assaulting another inmate. Another deputy was head-butted by an inmate after refusing to provide the inmate with another prisoner’s food tray, according to information provided to the Free Press. In addition, the Free Press has learned another inmate was stabbed during this period, apparently the fourth this year. And early Monday, the jail reported to Richmond Police the third death of an inmate this year, though the identification was not released. For the second time since late October, an inmate who was transported to the John Marshall Courts Building was found to be carrying a concealed blade, according to information provided to the newspaper.
Richmond area toy drives and distribution
Christmas drives are underway to try to ensure that children in struggling families receive gifts.
Jennifer McClellan and Lamont Bagby likely contenders for vacant U.S. House seat
Two Richmond-area Democratic members of the General Assembly are preparing to run for the vacant 4th Congressional District seat, the Free Press has learned.
Lawrence Hugh ‘Larry’ Everette, social worker and popular singer, dies at 74
Lawrence Hugh “Larry” Everette was passionate about helping people and singing.
RPS lists 5.5 percent fewer students since 2019
Enrollment in Richmond Public Schools continues to decline amid population growth in the larger community.
‘Truth Tellers’ chronicles careers of 24 Black women journalists since 1960
A new book calls attention to the Black women editors, columnists and reporters who have brought change since the Civil Rights Movement to the previously mostly male and mostly white newsrooms of mainstream news outlets.
RPS employee faces firing for incident she, others deny
Robin Spears previously had a spotless record during her 14 years as a teacher and social worker with Richmond Public Schools.
No response from City officials about shelter on North Side
Has City Hall shelved plans to open to additional shelters in North Side for homeless people that would add 90 additional beds for the winter?
City council members Jones, Lambert eye House seats
Two members of City Council will be seeking Richmond seats in the House of Delegates in the upcoming 2023 election cycle in which the 100 seats in the lower chamber as well as the 40 seats in the state Senate will be in play.
Hospital donates $30K to Friends of the Homeless
36-year-old food distribution program among city’s largest
Shawnee Hansen knew she had to do something after watching a boy happily eating the meat off a turkey carcass two men had pulled from a trash can to feed him. “I couldn’t bear it,” said Ms. Hansen.
Climate of fear
Trammell seeks City Jail investigation amid reports of deaths, injuries
As Crishawn Hickman headed to his long-delayed murder trial in the John Marshall Courts Building, deputies escorting him noticed, as one put it, that he appeared to be “walking funny,” the Free Press has been told. A search disclosed why—the 21-year-old had a knife hidden in his underpants that had cut him. The upshot: The trial had to be postponed for two days while he received medical treatment at a nearby hospital.
Jackson Place, Mosby South advance
A proposal to bring a new hotel, apartments and for-sale townhomes to Jackson Ward now has a green light, as does the redevelopment of another portion of public housing, the 106-unit Mosby South in the East End.
New law hopes to quiet loud music, noise
Artist and composer Paul Rucker long has been frustrated by the loud music that blasts into his Downtown residence from nearby clubs. He is among those thrilled that City Council on Monday unanimously approved a major overhaul of the city’s noise ordinance that will allow police officers armed with sound meters to start issuing costly tickets to businesses and residents that are disturbingly loud.
Matthews, Omega Psi Phi and Armstrong-Walker honored
Joseph E. “Joey” Matthews received City Council’s recog- nition award Monday night for his volunteer efforts to collect and distribute food, clothes and household items to people in Richmond.
Free van service helps public housing residents get to work
Myra Griffin has found the biggest problem placing people in jobs is transportation.
