GRASP, a career and college access organization, is encouraging high school seniors to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as a first step toward their postsecondary education/training goals. Families needing assistance with the FAFSA or college financial aid can obtain help virtually and free of charge by calling 923-0059 to schedule an appointment with a GRASP advisor.  Appointments are available Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and are offered in both Spanish and English. Millions of students who are eligible for aid fail to file the FAFSA each year, leaving "money...Article Link

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Virginia will become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty after two bills passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly on Monday. In a release issued earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam said he looks forward to signing a legislation that outlaws the death penalty. Under current state law, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who is at least 18 years of age at the time of the offense and without an intellectual disability faces a sentence of life imprisonment or death. The identical House and Senate bills eliminate death from the list of possible punishments...Article Link

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  Adelle Settle learned in 2017 that school lunches were being taken out of children’s hands when they couldn’t pay for the meal. Instead, children were given a cheese sandwich or a snack. Settle was inspired to start Settle the Debt, a nonprofit organization that pays off school meal debt at Prince William County schools. The organization has raised almost 0,000 in almost four years, Settle said. “It leaves the kid hungry, you’re not giving the child an adequate meal at that point and people see it,” Settle said. “It makes them feel terrible about themselves, so I just wanted...Article Link

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On Feb. 24 at 12 p.m., the public is invited to join a Chamber RVA program featuring five entrepreneurs who are part of the effort to restore Evergreen and East End Cemeteries and committed to bringing the stories of those buried there to life. Part of RVA NOW’s “Be the Change” series, the program is entitled, “How Minority-Owned Businesses are Working Together to Reclaim Richmond’s Black History.” Todd Waldo, founder of Hugh Helen, LLC, will moderate. The five entrepreneurs include Janna Hall, CEO of Leap Innovative Group; Kelly Pratt, founder of Livin’ Stones, LLC; Sherri Tombarge, co-founder of SKTWorks, LLC; Alisane...Article Link

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Extreme winter weather has forced the cancellation of American Red Cross blood drives across the country; in Virginia, more than 300 units of blood went uncollected due to cancelled blood drives. The American Red Cross is urging healthy individuals, especially those with type O blood, to give now to ensure blood products are available for patient emergencies. The need for blood is constant, even during snowstorms and the COVID-19 pandemic. Donors are asked to schedule an appointment prior to arriving at the drive and are required to wear a face covering or mask while at the drive. To protect the health and...Article Link

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Dear Editor: The recent article “Enrichmond hires group to begin cemetery preservation plan” reports on statements from a recent Enrichmond press release. There appears to be little or no additional reporting. The Citizen could have tapped into its own stories from past years about Evergreen and East End Cemeteries. Better, it could have contacted a member of the Friends of East End, to which it refers in the article. Enrichmond’s announcement that it has engaged a company to create a preservation plan is curious and troublingly belated. For years, the Friends of East End—the all-volunteer organization that led the reclamation...Article Link

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Thirty-one new COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in Henrico County since Saturday – including 18 Monday – but it’s likely that most or all of those occurred weeks ago because the Virginia Department of Health is just now processing 2021 death certificates related to the post-holiday surge of cases. “As a result, a larger number of deaths is expected to be added by report date,” the agency indicated on its website Monday. As infections across the country continue to slow, Henrico County reported just 55 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, according to the VDH. The declining infection rate is...Article Link

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It's back to school today for some Henrico students, and some changes are coming along with them; some new spots where you may be able to find COVID-19 vaccine this week; the Virginia General Assembly passes bills that would increase transparency and equity in the judicial system; an international company plans to add 80 jobs to its Henrico location. (Today's Henrico News Minute is brought to you by Henrico County and its Black History Month video celebration.)Article Link

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The free meal service provided by Henrico County Public Schools will offer five-day pick-up options this week and next before transitioning to a once-weekly format on Wednesdays beginning March 10. The changes are the result of in-person learning resuming Feb. 22 for those students whose families selected it. During this week and next, meal pickup will be offered from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at all participating middle and high schools Monday and Tuesday and at all participating elementary, middle and high school sites Wednesday through Friday. During the same two weeks, neighborhood...Article Link

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Tuckahoe District Supervisor Patricia S. O’Bannon will host a virtual Tuckahoe Town Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25 to discuss the roles of the departments of Public Works and Public Utilities in maintaining Henrico County’s water and transportation infrastructure. O’Bannon will discuss how the agencies serve the community and manage such issues as road conditions, water, drainage and construction projects. She will be joined by Terrell Hughes, director of Public Works; Bentley Chan, director of Public Utilities; and Steve Yob, deputy county manager for Community Operations. The meeting will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on WebEx. Residents are encouraged...Article Link

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