March 5 Newsletter: Nonprofits navigate grant freeze

Weather: A stormy Wednesday ushers in a chilly weekend. High of 63.

On this date in 1924, City Council meets to approve an $8.5 million budget for the year. That budget would be approximately $156 million in today’s money — this year’s budget is expected to surpass $3 billion, and covers a far larger city thanks to annexation.

Today's newsletter sponsored by VCU. Virginia Commonwealth University is a powerhouse of innovation and creative problem solving. We attack challenges as opportunities. VCU is truly unlike any university you’ve ever seen.

Federal grant freeze is squeezing local nonprofits, who were counting on funds

Multiple nonprofit groups in the area shared with The Richmonder how they have been impacted by a recent freeze in federal funding.

• Studio Two Three is awaiting $200,000 to fix their 86-year-old building’s HVAC
• Capital Trees is unsure if $62,400 in promised reimbursements will continue to be honored
• Friends of the James River Park is also waiting for promised reimbursements

One expert said the need for nonprofit services has never been greater, even amid the uncertainty. Read more here.

Richmond youth lag the state on vaccination. School and health officials are pushing to reverse that.

RPS is seeking to correct an alarming trend, as its older students increasingly are not up-to-date on vaccines.

For public health experts, low vaccination rates are a cause for alarm, opening the door to outbreaks that can seriously damage people’s health — or even kill them.

• This year, 773 rising 7th and 12th graders got vaccines between the end of September and the end of February, more than halving the pool of students who didn’t meet requirements when schools opened. 

Read more on the initiative, and see stats for local high schools, here.

Richmond took ‘little proactive action’ to prep water plant for storm, according to updated report

Richmond officials failed to prepare the city’s water treatment plant for the winter storm that knocked the facility offline on Jan. 6, according to a new, fleshed-out report from the engineering firm the city hired to review the water crisis.

• The study found that some amount of flooding in the plant’s basement was a "common occurrence" prior to Jan. 6 and previously caused the plant to stop producing treated water for a period of six hours.

Read more takeaways from the report here.

Also today in The Richmonder

Wednesday storm will bring big winds, but not much thunder

Warm winds Wednesday arrive before rain and potential thunderstorms.

The RichmonderSean Sublette

Kamras backs off proposal to split costs of health insurance increases with employees

Two unions representing RPS employees publicly criticized the idea, saying it would essentially act as a pay cut and would counteract major investments in salary increases that have occurred in recent years.

The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong

School Board chooses optimism as it sends budget for mayoral consideration

The new budget still contains $16.5 million to meet the collective bargaining agreements the school division has committed to.

The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin

Today's sponsor:

Rao details how VCU is creating the ‘next generation of great thinkers, inventors, innovators and problem-solvers’

During the State of the University, the VCU president highlights the university’s efforts to drive change that benefits people and the broader society – and explains how VCU is embracing AI. Rao said, “VCU is adapting to changes — and even creating the changes we see in our society and our technology.”
 
Rao pointed to three major areas of impact during his address:

• How VCU’s research drives innovation.
• How students get professional experiences that help prepare them for their careers.
• And how VCU is preparing students for a world driven by emerging technologies.

Read more.

In other news

• Lawmaker wants to tell people what's inside Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, but a contract would prevent him (CBS 6)
• 18 acres transferred for Richmond’s Diamond District redevelopment project (WRVA)
• Jane Ellington opens small group Pilates studio on Lafayette Street (Style Weekly)

The editor's desk

BizSense reported yesterday that Henrico served a default notice to the group behind the proposed GreenCity arena, which has 10 days to pay the $5.2 million owed or the land will revert back to the EDA.

The development group was also behind the failed Navy Hill arena proposal downtown, and the ill-fated VCU Health office tower.

What's next? Another developer could pick up where the Henrico group left off, though it would undoubtedly be more expensive, and it's a crowded entertainment landscape right now. This could potentially open the door to another downtown arena project in Richmond, though given the city's finances, that's a project that would almost certainly need regional buy-in.

While an arena would be a nice amenity, Richmond doesn't need one to validate its importance. At the moment, it's far more important to get the basics right.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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