City Denies Tax Break for Shockoe Apartments
Hester says Salomonsky’s complex incorporated a building that was deemed historic by the state Department of Historic Resources. But the department found that any historic value was lost after...
View ArticleStriking Back
Apparently unable to resolve their concerns with the mayor’s approach to conducting city business, they’ve resorted to drafting ordinances that specifically require his administration to keep them...
View ArticleReport claims ‘total lack of leadership’ at Social Services department
The latest report about Richmond’s embattled Department of Social Services (DSS) claims the agency is dysfunctional from top to bottom. Link
View ArticleWRIR Open Source Interviews Better Government Richmond President
Open Source co-host Don Harrison discusses city issues with Rick Tatnall, President of Better Government Richmond. Starts at 35 minutes in. http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/69252 Better...
View ArticleSocial Services Review report
Quality Management Review of the CHILD WELFARE DIVISION RICHMOND CITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES June 2013 Link to PDF file (3.45MB)
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CBS 6 investigation prompts exit of Richmond finance director
June 28 2013. On Tuesday, after our encounter with Ochei, we handed our findings over to the man who ultimately hired him, Byron Marshall. Two days later, on Thursday, he sat down for an interview and...
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Councilor Samuels 14 Months Late
June 28 2013. APRIL 26, 2012 TIMES-DISPATCH UPDATE: CITY CLOSING RICHMOND JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER The closure is after concerns about “staff and management shortcomings and allegations of criminal...
View ArticleRichmond’s hiring process questioned after departure of finance director
City Chief Administrative Officer Byron Marshall is the man who signed Finance Director Dominic Ochei’s hiring letter. Sources inside Richmond City Hall say after Ochei was already on the job, the...
View ArticleWilliams: Richmond needs better checks and balances
“I don’t think it’s unusual to hire people you’re familiar with if you’re trying to get a job done,” Marshall said in his interview with Beck. But when those hires blow up in your face, that...
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Councilor Baliles responds to Freedom of Information Act notice
Request for record send to councilor Baliles: To: Jonathan Baliles <jonathan.baliles@richmondgov.com> Sent: Sunday, June 2, 2013 6:56 AM Subject: Baliles – Budget Amendments Dear Mr. Baliles...
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Samuels misunderstands duties of President
Dear Mr. Samuels, You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of your duties as City Council President. You said “[b]ecause I choose to lead by building consensus as much as possible, and to show...
View ArticleRetiree’s fall highlights city’s sidewalk problems
Patricia McBride had been trying for years to get city workers to fix the uneven sidewalk in front of her house on Frank Road in South Richmond. All it took to get their attention, it turns out, was a...
View ArticleRichmond City Council votes down Diamond referendum
Richmond City Council President Charles R. Samuels’ push to put a ballpark referendum before city voters this fall died a second death Monday night, though he won a minor victory in getting the public...
View ArticleCouncil Skips Public Hearing
City Council advertised a public hearing but tried to stop a citizen from speaking. July 9, 2013 VIA EMAIL TO: Ms. Lou Brown Ali, Chief of Staff, lou.ali@richmondgov.com The Honorable Mr. Baliles and...
View ArticleRichmond Social Services headaches persist for assisted-living operators
Standing in front of more than a half dozen of the mentally ill and severely disabled clients he houses at the Palace Rest Home on Chamberlayne Avenue, Russell blasted the city Department of Social...
View ArticleRichmond to compel contractor to rebuild accidentally destroyed wall
More than eight months after the city of Richmond began investigating the destruction of a pre-Civil War brick wall on city property that once ringed the Tredegar Iron Works, it says it will make a...
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Richmond’s highest paid employee makes even more than you know
This past February, Marshall got a bonus check for nearly $26,700 thousand dollars. The extra earnings were never announced to the public and city council members were never told about it. Jones more...
View ArticleHOLMBERG: Historic canal wall must go back up, but why did it come down?
What remains a mystery – almost nine months later – is why any of the pre-Civil War wall was taken down and who hired the contractor, J. A. Liesfield of Rockville, to do the demolition on October 16th,...
View ArticleWhich Richmond officials earn more than their publicly-disclosed salaries?
After CBS 6 investigative reporter Catie Beck uncovered the city’s highest paid official also recently received an unpublicized $26,700 bonus, she delved more into the employment contracts of other...
View ArticleKanawha Canal Controversy Keeps on Rollin’
Last year, a large section of the historic Kanawha Canal came down during construction of the new 2nd Street connector. Was it an accident? Was it under orders from one of the various organizations or...
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