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Senate race may prove crucial in chamber control
Richmond will be in the center of the high-profile political fight to replace retiring Republican state Sen. John Watkins in the General Assembly. Both major political parties are expected to go all out to capture the 10th Senate District seat that appears to be the key to control of the closely divided state Senate where Republicans now hold sway. The GOP already has selected its candidate, Glen H. Sturtevant Jr., an attorney and a member of the Richmond School Board since 2013.
3 Dems knocked out of primary races
Three potential contenders for Richmond area seats in the General Assembly have been knocked out at the starting gate — at least temporarily. Former Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey and Dr. Derik E. Jones, son of Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, are among the disqualified. Both were blocked from challenging state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in a Democratic primary in the 16th Senate District that stretches from Richmond to Petersburg.
Judge throws out felony charges against Morrissey
Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey no longer has four felony charges hanging over his head. Judge Alfred D. Swersky threw out the indictments facing the former General Assembly member Wednesday at a hearing in Henrico County Circuit Court. Judge Swersky, who was appointed to hear the case, agreed with defense attorney Anthony Troy that a previous plea deal that resulted in Mr. Morrissey serving 90 days in jail included a grant of immunity that blocked prosecutors from bringing any new charges related to that case.
VSU receives big money gifts at Founder’s Day
Virginia State University has received a $100,000 gift from an alumnus to create an endowed scholarship honoring his late wife, Annase Wilks Hill. Charlie W. Hill, a 1966 graduate now living in Hampton, is the donor for the scholarship that will benefit young women seeking a career involving STEM fields — science, math, engineering and technology. The gift was announced March 18 during VSU’s Founder’s Day celebrating the 133rd anniversary of the university’s founding in 1882.
Aird to seek 63rd House District seat
A protégé of state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance has jumped into the race for the 63rd House of Delegates District seat. Lashrecse Aird, 28, announced that she would compete with three other announced candidates for the Petersburg area seat that Sen. Dance previously held. The current delegate, Joseph E. Preston, is giving up the seat to challenge Sen. Dance in the June 9 Democratic primary.
Three candidates vying for 74th House District nomination
A three-way race is shaping up to replace former Henrico Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey in the General Assembly. David Lambert, son of the late Benjamin J. Lambert, a former state senator, officially became a candidate this week. He announced Tuesday that he would challenge two other contenders — Henrico School Board member Lamont Bagby and the Rev. Leonidas B. “Lee” Young II.
Morrissey announces Senate bid as G.A. officials close his House office
Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey once again is injecting drama into staid Virginia politics. In a fresh twist to his political career, the combative legislator quit the House of Delegates this week to begin his quest to replace incumbent Rosalyn R. Dance of Petersburg in the state Senate. His move comes barely two months after he defied Democratic and Republican House leaders and won a special election as an independent to keep his seat in the 74th House District after being convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor. That conviction forced him to commute to the legislature from jail on work release, the first Virginia delegate ever to do so.
Petersburg jail closing April 1
The Petersburg City Jail will be closing April 1. A final attempt by City Council foes to reverse the decision failed on a 4-3 vote Tuesday night.
Candidates lining up for June 9 primary
Three candidates have jumped into the race to replace Delegate Joseph E. Preston in the 63rd House District now that he is running for the state Senate. The Rev. Larry D. Brown Sr. of Dinwiddie County, Petersburg School Board member Atiba Muse and Petersburg businesswoman Gerry Rawlinson all have announced bids.
Bedden pushes back
Mayor Jones’ call to close schools met with resistance
Superintendent Dana T. Bedden is politely rebuffing Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ call for closing more schools and squeezing students into the remaining buildings. Instead, Dr. Bedden and his staff are telling the School Board that the only way to close existing buildings is for the city to invest tens of millions of dollars more in new buildings that could accommodate larger numbers of students.
Public safety on front burner in mayor’s budget plan
Mayor Dwight C. Jones is proposing to pour millions of dollars into wage increases for city employees, most notably police officers and firefighters. He also wants to equip the police with body cameras and modernize the 911 emergency communications system at a cost of more $50 million.
Local input sought on Shockoe Bottom
Wanted: Community involvement in creating a new development plan for Shockoe Bottom. An activist group is seeking public input now that Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ plan for a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom appears to be going nowhere. The mayor’s combo baseball-development plan has been on hold for 10 months after failing to win City Council support. The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, which battled the mayor’s plan as an effort to erase the history of slavery in Richmond, announced it would hold several brainstorming sessions in the next few days to solicit public suggestions for the historical and commercial development of Shockoe Bottom, an epicenter of the slave trade before the Civil War.
Prospects dim on third city charter school
Plenty of words are expected to be spilled next week when supporters and foes of a proposed boys-only charter school appear before the Richmond School Board to speak about the combination middle-high school. But the public hearing that the Richmond School Board has scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, could be an exercise in futility for charter school organizers such as Tunya Bingham, a corporate tax expert who has spent three years trying to get the Metropolitan Preparatory Academy open.
Preston to challenge Dance for Senate seat
In a surprise move, Joseph E. Preston announced this week he would give up the seat he recently won in the House of Delegates and challenge freshman Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in the16th Senate District that stretches from Richmond’s East End to the Petersburg area. Delegate Preston’s decision comes barely two months after he replaced Sen. Dance as the representative for the 63rd House District. It also appears fueled, in part, by a dispute he and Sen. Dance have over the choice of the first African-American judge for the Petersburg Circuit Court.
Dreams deferred
Hopewell brothers jailed 72 days until charges dropped
At first, the story seems all too familiar. Two Hopewell teenagers rob two pedestrians at gunpoint near a private school, but are quickly caught when responding police officers scour the area and arrest them a few minutes later as they are buying sodas and pastries at a nearby convenience store. With police boasting about having strong evidence, the teenage brothers are kept in jail for two and a half months — twice refused bond because they are charged with a crime of violence involving a weapon. But just as suddenly, the case evaporates. The evidence does not stand up, and the brothers are freed to resume their lives.
Morrissey to endorse ex-mayor for delegate
Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey is once again a free man, and he’s busy with political plans. The first Virginia legislator to serve while in jail, he turned in his ankle bracelet and ended his term at the Henrico County Jail-East in New Kent County at 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sheriff Michael Wade. He had been serving a six-month sentence on his misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but jail rules cut that to 90 days. He spent his nights in jails, but was able to serve at the General Assembly and practice law during the day while on work release.
3 receive scholarships in Jail-VCU program
Three current and former inmates at the Richmond Justice Center have won the first scholarships awarded through the city jail’s unique college programs. Christian Brackett, Pinetta Fleming and William “Billy” Scruggs were awarded scholarships for a class at Virginia Commonwealth University, which partners with the jail in a college-level program called Open Minds.
RRHA reviewing new sites to relocate Fay Towers
The Frederic A. Fay Towers once again seem to be upholding the city housing authority’s reputation for slow-moving development projects. Instead of breaking ground last summer as promised, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority is still struggling to determine the site where it will build a replacement for the aging high-rise in Gilpin Court, just north of Downtown.
$3M plus to former inmate
Stefan Woodson nearly died from a heat stroke in July 2012 while serving time in the old Richmond City Jail. Left mentally and physically disabled, the former Marine has agreed to accept more than $3 million from the City of Richmond and Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. to settle his federal lawsuit that charged the damage he suffered resulted from inadequate care that amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.” The settlement disclosed by Mr. Woodson’s attorneys ranks among the largest ever in a Virginia case involving inmate health issues. The city has not issued any comment, nor has the Sheriff’s Office.
FOIA request filed, possibly leading to Elkhardt suit
Did Richmond Public Schools officials ignore potential health dangers from mold at Elkhardt Middle School long before the South Side school was shut down and the students transferred to the former Clark Springs Elementary School? That’s what attorneys for a group of parents, teachers and staff members want to find out in laying the groundwork for a possible lawsuit.
