Richmond Times-Dispatch

The purpose of St. Joseph’s Villa hasn’t changed much over its 175 years. It began as a small orphanage for girls in downtown Richmond, led by three religious women, and has evolved into a center where hundreds of children with special needs receive an education and the therapeutic care they require. The vision of its founders, the Daughters of Charity, was “to establish a community that would ... Full Story »

This daily column features short news items from some of the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at news@timesdispatch.com Charles City Charles City County will host a Family Bike Ride on Saturday at 10 a.m. The ride will begin at the Charles City Recreation Center, 8320 Ruthville Road. For details ... Full Story »

Bon Secours will need to clear one hurdle to build its new ambulatory-care campus as planned at the Watkins Centre in Chesterfield County. The nonprofit health system has applied for a zoning amendment to reduce the required roadway setbacks on the 16-acre site at the southwest corner of state Route 288 and Midlothian Turnpike. The $30 million development would create 100 local jobs, making it ... Full Story »

When Anthony Scott took interim control of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority in 2006, departing Executive Director Sheila Hill-Christian had a word of warning about its housing-voucher program for needy families. “She said, ‘You’ve got to get in there and figure out what’s going on with it,‘“ Scott recalled. Focused on the authority’s strategic plan, Hill-Christian hadn’t been ... Full Story »

Juggalos, Wiccans, Satanists and vampires are all subcultures of the occult that are on the periphery of the mainstream. But the recent quadruple homicide in Farmville at the home of a Longwood University professor has thrust these lifestyles into the headlines. Don Rimer, a retired member of the Virginia Beach Police Department who studies ritual crime and the occult, spoke yesterday about ... Full Story »

The Richmond Christmas Mother program was launched 75 years ago when The Times-Dispatch Goodfellows Club and The News Leader Neediest Family fund joined with other local Christmas stocking clubs to create a single holiday fundraising campaign. The fund was designed to provide needy children and families with toys, clothing, food and other assistance during the holidays. The Salvation Army now ... Full Story »

Two child-abuse prevention organizations in the Richmond area are merging this month. Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) and Richmond CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) will become one entity after unanimous votes by their boards of directors. CASA will now fall under the scope of SCAN, which oversees four programs, including the region’s only Child Advocacy Center. Full Story »

The Richmond Times-Dispatch invites you to share your thoughts about health-care reform at our next Public Square. Comments will be limited to two minutes per speaker.   When: 7 to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow   Where: The Times-Dispatch’s downtown offices, 300 E. Franklin St., Richmond   To learn more: Go to TimesDispatch.com, keyword: Full Story »

Following is a summary of some burglary reports made to police recently in Richmond and in Chesterfield and Henrico counties. RICHMOND POLICE 2500 block of Hull Street, between 6 p.m. Nov. 7 and 12:30 a.m. Nov. 8, items were stolen. 2000 block of North 29th Street, between 2 and 7:45 p.m. Nov. 7, someone stole televisions. Full Story »

NEWPORT NEWS (AP)—Newport News police say a shooting has left one woman dead and another person in the hospital. The 42-year-old woman and 29-year-old man were shot early this morning in an apartment complex parking lot. Police found them sitting in their car in the parking lot of a different complex. Both had been shot several times, and the woman died at the scene. The man, who was not ... Full Story »

The New Kent Christmas Mother Program braced itself for more pleas for help and fewer donations when the economy began to sour. But this year, applications are down compared with last year and contributions are encouraging, said Jill Cruz, program co-coordinator with Carol Witherspoon. The New Kent Christmas Mother Program has received 62 applications, compared with 76 last year and 72 in 2007 ... Full Story »

For more than three decades, Sylvia Reid worked as a teacher in Amelia County. Her experience taught her that simple gestures can make a child happy, and as the 2009 Amelia County Christmas Mother, her main goal is to ensure a smile on the face of as many county children as possible this Christmas. “I look at what’s going on with the economy and the number of people who have lost their jobs ... Full Story »

The hits keep coming for Virginia’s financially strapped school systems. The Virginia Department of Education recently recalculated the composite index for the 2010 and 2011 school years, which determines how much money each school system receives annually from the state. For most of the 134 school systems, the news isn’t good. Full Story »

Alice Goodwin has been instrumental in donating millions to help others during the four-plus decades she has lived in Richmond. Now that she has been named the 2009 Richmond Christmas Mother, she’s encouraging others to look for their own generous instincts to help families in need this holiday season. The gift doesn’t need to have lots of zeros at the end to be important, she said. Full Story »

Helping out during the holiday season is a community effort in Cumberland County. A Christmas Mother committee of 14 leads the effort, but residents, civic organizations and businesses all chip in to do their part. Alice Metts, a lifelong resident of Cumberland, is the committee chairwoman. She has a history of working with youths in the county, first as a social worker in the school system; she ... Full Story »

Q:Is it true that city police don’t have the authority to ticket people who ignore stop signs in parking lots? Someone told me that. Seems to me there’s a lot of revenue to be made off of these scofflaws!—Teresa. J. Answer: Shhh! Don’t give them any ideas. Move along, Officer. Nothing to see here. Police do have authority to issue tickets in parking lots. But the issue of whether a commercial ... Full Story »

The Asian American Society of Central Virginia last night honored Dominion Virginia Power and four Richmond-area residents for their contributions to the community. During the third annual Asian American Awards Gala at the Westin Richmond, the nonprofit group acknowledged Dominion Virginia Power with the Corporate Leadership award for their financial contributions to social and cultural ... Full Story »

You could say that the better part of Virginia “Gigi” Foster’s life has been spent serving others. So it’s only fitting that she serve as this year’s Hanover County Christmas Mother. Foster is a retired registered nurse whose career includes time with the county’s health department, Richmond Eye & Ear Hospital and Westminster Canterbury. Her days are now spent watching over feisty grandchildren ... Full Story »

Evelyn Kay Mann, a retired Powhatan County nurse, has put her product invention on hold until next year to focus on her unexpected job as the county’s Christmas Mother. “Everything is on hold until after Christmas,“ she said. “I’m jampacked. Every day.“ Also, Mann’s husband, Tommy, a military veteran and a retired U.S. Postal Service employee, was named the program’s first Christmas Father. Full Story »

The Henrico Christmas Mother program has been a vital part of Robin Smith’s holiday traditions since she was a child. The county’s 2009 Christmas Mother recalls carrying canned goods to school and working with classmates to decorate boxes so the items could be presented onstage to the Christmas Mother. Smith, who lives in Glen Allen, sees the volunteer-supported program as vital as ever. Full Story »

Hanover Adults looking to learn how to make holiday wreaths can participate in a wreath-making class tomorrow at the Hanover High School Greenhouse, 10307 Chamberlayne Road in central Hanover County. The class is from 6 to 9 p.m. and there’s a $20 fee for materials. Participants will get an introduction to basic floral design and create a wreath to take home. Advance registration is required. To ... Full Story »

After a career spent working with at-risk kids, Gail Feind wanted to find a way to continue her passion in retirement. It found her. Feind, 60, was selected this year’s Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Christmas Mother. “It was a surprise and a humbling honor,“ she said. “You get to represent a lot of caring volunteers and represent children and their families to try and make a better Christmas for ... Full Story »

When it comes to total science output, the U.S. ranks among the top in the world. “The United States is good and fat, chubby even,“ scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson said to chuckles from the packed crowd at the Landmark Theater last night. “That’s because we’re a big producer of science. Not a problem.“ But when it comes to scientific output in the past decade, the science of tomorrow, which is ... Full Story »

Anne Larus Hardwick didn’t hesitate when asked to serve as Goochland County Christmas Mother this year. After all, it’s a family tradition. Hardwick’s grandmother, Anne Traylor Larus, was the first Richmond Christmas Mother, chosen by Richmond Newspapers Publisher John Stewart Bryan in 1935. “It was important for me to do what she would have wanted me to do,“ Hardwick said of her grandmother ... Full Story »

Since moving to Burkeville in 1968, Ann Carrington has immersed herself in the Nottoway County community. That same year, she opened a dance studio—Carrington School of Dance—in Crewe, which remains open 40 years later as she teaches a second generation of dancers in Nottoway and surrounding counties. This fall, she will continue to work with the children of Nottoway as the Crewe-Burkeville ... Full Story »