Oct. 26 Newsletter: Trouble at RRHA

Weather: High of 70 as a lovely fall week begins.

On this date in 1994, Newport News eliminates at-large election of city councilors under pressure from the government to set up a ward-based system to protect racial equality.

Richmond housing authority downgraded to ‘troubled’ status in latest federal assessment

The federal government has designated Richmond’s public housing authority as “troubled” based on a 2024 assessment of its building conditions, financial status, management and use of capital funds. 

• At a press conference, RRHA CEO Steven Nesmith cited the age of the numbers, though they represent the most recent evaluation. He then did not take questions from reporters.

Nesmith said problems with rent collection date back to COVID, when residents came to believe they would not be evicted. Today, Nesmith said, some residents still owe more than $30,000 to RRHA.

Mayor Danny Avula expressed his concern, noting that only 4.3% of public housing authorities nationally received the designation in a recent reporting cycle.

“I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb to say this is a big deal,” he told The Richmonder. Read more here.

Amid fanfare, VUU opens new Fine Arts Building

A new venue for art appreciation, education and creation opened last week at Virginia Union University, as officials unveiled the renamed Industrial Hall building as the William A. & Pamela K. Royall Fine Arts Building and grand opening of the VUU Museum Galleries.

“A lot of people poured their heart and soul into this project, and it shows,” Historic Richmond Executive Director Cyane Crump said. Read more here.

Chesterfield barred a nonpartisan group from setting up outside polling places. Was it constitutional?

While the group ran its events, which included snacks and giveaways, in Richmond and Henrico, Chesterfield County turned them away.

In June, the county revised its policies and procedures for election and campaign signs outside polling locations. The rules limit signs to those promoting candidates or referendums and cap the number of tents at three — one for each Democratic, Republican and independent candidate.

A First Amendment expert said the county is within its rights to do so. Chesterfield says its policy intends to efficiently use limited space at polling locations while ensuring candidates have an opportunity to reach voters. Read more here.

One touchdown is enough for John Marshall in victory at J.R. Tucker

John Marshall logged just its second victory of the season, validation for a coach and a team working to rebuild after two consecutive seasons where the team had to forfeit games.

“I love the game of football,” said Taeshawn Eberhart, Jayem’s 6-0, 170-pound junior quarterback. “I said I was going to quit when he (coach Dakota Reeves) had us running a lot in the offseason, but I never quit. I couldn’t let my team down, so I had to step up.” Read more here.

Last week's most read

• Richmond courthouse closes due to water emergency
• Parent-teacher associations are more important than ever, leaving the schools without them further behind
• Two men arrested in connection with 25 Honda thefts in Richmond

In other news

• Richmond’s new ballpark was supposed to pay for itself. Is that still going to happen? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
  • The city spent $250,000 on a financial study showing there could be as much as $50 million in deficits over the next three years. (The deficits are for the budget overall, not just the ballpark budget.)
• Diamond District plan tweaked with more office space and hotel rooms, fewer apartments (Richmond BizSense)
  • General Manager Jason Guillot said the changes would result in more tax revenue generated from the development, as commercial and hotel space are typically more revenue-generating for the city than residential.
• RVA Big Market is leaving Bryan Park for Midtown Green (Axios Richmond)
  • The move will take place next spring, and organizers say it will allow the market, which began in Forest Hill and now draws 15,000 people on summer weekends, to grow even larger.

The editor's desk

It feels like Halloween has become a two-weekend holiday. I'm not mad about that at all.

Michael Phillips, founder
mphillips@richmonder.org

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