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Armed guards in the Richmond Public Library?
Frightening incidents spark the possibility
Are armed security guards needed in Richmond’s public libraries? Two recent unsettling incidents at the North Avenue Branch have convinced Richmond City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert that having an unarmed security guard is not enough at that branch to ensure that people “have a sense of safety and are safe.” On Oct. 28, a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder and a long knife strapped to his leg walked into the library as little children were engaged in a storytelling program, setting off alarms among the staff.

Primed for November
Primary winners Northam, Gillespie will carry Dem and GOP banners into gov. election
Virginia’s next governor will either be Democrat Ralph S. Northam or Republican Edward W. “Ed” Gillespie. The choice of the competitors was made by 900,000 voters who trooped to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the primary elections for both political parties.

Virginia Supreme Court halts most evictions through Sept. 7
Thousands of families in Richmond and across the state are heaving a sigh of relief after a sharply divided Virginia Supreme Court temporarily halted local general district courts from issuing a writ of eviction for failure to pay rent — though not for other reasons like property damage.

Joe Morrissey disbarred for violating State Bar rules
“Fighting Joe” has been hit with a knockout blow. For the second time in his career, Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey, a savvy attorney and former Richmond prosecutor who built a reputation as a courtroom battler, has lost his license to practice law.

Punked
Unrealistic assumptions and overly rosy income forecasts. Those were among the shaky financial footings on which the Leigh Street training camp for the Washington NFL team was built, according a new report from the office of City Auditor Louis G. Lassiter.

Mayor Stoney highlights new eviction prevention program
Good things are happening in Richmond, Mayor Levar M. Stoney said as he used his State of the City speech last week to tout the city’s progress during his first two years.

State NAACP president muddies group’s stance against Dominion Energy pipeline project
The Virginia State NAACP is reaffirming its opposition to Dominion Energy’s $6.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline because it believes a key element of the pipeline — a natural gas compressor station —poses a pollution risk to a historically African-American community in Buckingham County, 75 miles west of Richmond.

New city protocol irritates City Council members
The days of council members speaking directly to department directors and other City Hall staff to resolve a problem are over.

City finishes fiscal year with surplus
By the numbers
If Richmond City Council approves, retired city employees such as Elmer Seay and Daisy Weaver might receive a 1 percent increase in their city pensions — the first cost-of-living increase since 2008.

Spotty CARE van service leaves riders in limbo
Roderyck Bullock has somewhere to go almost every day, but he doesn’t always make it. His ride sometimes arrives late. Occasionally, it doesn’t show up at all.

Former city councilman pushing African-American perspective missing in Lee statue lawsuit
New drama is about to be injected into the already charged legal fight over removing the last and largest offensive Confederate statue from Monument Avenue — the one to slavery’s top military defender, Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Mayor Stoney pushes $1.4B plan to revitalize Downtown
The grand plan to overhaul a big chunk of Downtown — including replacing the Richmond Coliseum with a new, larger arena — with a combination of taxpayer dollars and private investment funds is now headed to Richmond City Council for review.

One woman's crusade brings attention to long-forgotten black cemetery
A long closed mechanic’s shop sits on a hilltop at 5th and Hospital streets north of Downtown — just a stone’s thrown from the handsome, historic and well-tended private Hebrew and public Shockoe Hill cemeteries.

Training facility for people formerly incarcerated won’t reopen
City Hall has ruled out allowing a nonprofit construction training program for people released from jails and prisons to return to a former North Side school building that it had occupied for five years.

Fourth Baptist Church votes to keep trustees, finance team
A two-year battle for control of historic but fractured Fourth Baptist Church ended Monday night with a stinging defeat for the pastor, Dr. William E. Jackson Sr., and his deacon allies.

Fire Department’s grant funding will help reduce overtime hours, offset vacancies
The Richmond Fire Department is headed toward full staffing after securing a $13.7 million federal grant.

Construction leader Langston R. Davis Sr. dies
Langston Randolph Davis Sr., president and chief executive officer of Richmond-based Davis Brothers Construction Co. Inc., has died.

Swansboro Baptist partners with nonprofit to offer free meals
For Kevin Alston and dozens of other hungry South Side residents struggling with food costs, Swansboro Baptist Church is now the place to go for a free hot lunch.