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Police hiring not on fast track
If Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham thought Mayor Dwight C. Jones was going to rush to Richmond City Council to seek approval for a plan to hire 70 more police officers over the next year to beef up his department, he was mistaken.
Morrissey supports new ‘sin’ tax on cigarettes if elected
If Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham thought Mayor Dwight C. Jones was going to rush to Richmond City Council to seek approval for a plan to hire 70 more police officers over the next year to beef up his department, he was mistaken.
City Council approves new tax amnesty programs
Wait until March to pay any overdue taxes on homes and other real estate to avoid paying interest and penalties as well.
Richmond’s banking desert grows
Outside of Downtown, the eastern half of Richmond – which tends to be largely African-American and Latino—has increasingly become a banking desert, bereft of branch banks that are more commonplace in the Downtown and western half of the city.
Newest Soulidifly film, 'Hell on the Border,' to open Friday
Born enslaved, Bass Reeves rose to become a legendary U.S. deputy marshal who helped tame the Wild West, giving rise to speculation that he served as the model for the fictional white Lone Ranger.
COVID-19 testing to begin in high-risk areas of city
The Richmond City Health District plans to ramp up testing for coronavirus in neighborhoods that appear to be the most at risk — low-income areas of the city that are home to many African-Americans.
More left in the cold
Hillside Court residents are plagued by same problem facing Creighton Court — no heat
Kanya N. Nash thinks its fine that some Creighton Court residents have had a chance to stay at a hotel free of charge because the heat failed in their public housing units.
More bad news
As consultant points out flaws, City Council majority gives Mayor Stoney a choice to withdraw the $1.5B Coliseum and Downtown development plan or have it stricken
The bad news just keeps coming for the doomed $1.5 billion proposal to replace the Richmond Coliseum and develop an area of Downtown around it.
U.S. Postal Service shakeup continues
The U.S. Postal Service is continuing to shake up the management of postal stations in the Richmond area as the fallout continues from a scandal over overtime pay, sources have told the Free Press.
Opportunity time
Richmond mayor’s race hit by 11th-hour surprises
The Richmond mayor’s race has been turned topsy-turvy as the days count down to Election Day next Tuesday, Nov. 8. As the apparent front-runner, Joe Morrissey, scrambles to contain a new sex scandal with fierce denials, one of his six rivals, City Councilman Jonathan T. Baliles, announced Wednesday he has ended his bid for the city’s top post. Trailing far behind in recent polls, Mr. Baliles issued a message to his supporters on his campaign website that he was dropping out.
Still standing:
The battle over who gets A.P. Hill statue remains undecided
A legal fight is slowing City Hall’s efforts to remove the last remaining statue of a slavery-defending Confederate military leader.
Contract approval expected for GRTC drivers
Ending a stalemate, GRTC and its union have reached an agreement that will boost pay for drivers of regular and Pulse buses by 12.5 percent over three years. The contract also will upgrade pay for other blue collar employees and improve benefits.
Electoral board chair planning hearing on city registrar’s removal
James M. Nachman, chairman of the Richmond Electoral Board, is planning to hold a board hearing to consider the removal of veteran Richmond Voter Registrar J. Kirk Showalter.
South Side woodland to be turned over to city for possible parkland, trails
South Side is gaining 13 additional acres of parkland as a gift from the land’s current owners, it has been announced.
Alexandria High School diversity program passes test
One of the state’s best high schools has won a court case this week over a revamp of its admission process to increase enrollment of Black and Latino students.
Board asks to throw out schools lawsuit
The Richmond School Board is seeking to dispel a legal cloud hanging over the collective heads of its nine members.
Taxpayers on hook for $11.25M for NFL training camp
Richmond taxpayers are being handed an $11.25 million bill for the Washington pro football team’s summer training camp on Leigh Street.
Training grounds
Former tobacco factory may become teaching site for construction workers
Along with a huge investment to transform the 67-acre Diamond District, the private development team that has been awarded the project also is proposing to invest in a construction training center and in other projects that could benefit the Black community.
14 African-Americans connected to Jackson Ward to be recognized with honorary street signs
Honorary brown street signs soon will go up in Jackson Ward to call attention to 14 deceased Black men and women who made a lasting imprint on Richmond and often on the nation.
City plans $3.5M sale of Public Safety Building for new development
Unveiled nine months ago, a $325 million plan to replace the city’s decaying Public Safety Building in Downtown is gathering steam.
