Rachel DePompa – bio | email

Is that a headline or what? So, I’ve been in the ABC hearing all week listening to (the often times) graphic testimony about the alleged going-ons at Sam Moore’s Club Velvet. It’s interesting that this entire liquor license hearing stems from the 10 month undercover investigation by ABC agents.  (The place was raided by Richmond Police on Feb 23, 2007.) From the raid, Moore was eventually convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and served a 30 day jail sentence. This is the only other thing to come out of that investigation… an attack on his ability to sell alcohol. His attorney’s said today they believe Moore is being targeted because of the type of business her runs. A former stripper testified today, the club had a reputation for drugs and prostitution and she quit to get away from it all. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens. Velvet has been open for 10 years and has a clean ABC record. No prior violations. This raid has led to serious charges (specifically a place for prostitution.) No way to tell which way this hearing will go. A decision won’t come down for several weeks and even then it can be appealed to circuit court. We may not know how this will all shake out for several months. And the saga continues…

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

There’s no denying who the residents in the 7th district wanted to represent them. Cynthia Newbille won with 52% of the vote. Despite six candidate, she had a decisive victory and she takes the reigns of her new job on Monday. The City Council meeting will begin with her swearing-in ceremony.

Cynthia Newbille Ad

Newbille was swamped in controversy earlier this year, when she was seeking the temporary appointment for the seat. But much of that was drummed up by her competitors. Newbille may have only recently moved back to the district, but it’s clear she’s been a staple there for several years. Not only did she grow up in the 7th district, but she came back. She’s served her community in numerous roles and now she’ll help on the council. It’s clear she has the backing of key city leaders, so it will be interesting to  see how that plays out over the next year. She was supported by Mayor Dwight Jones, former council member and Delegate Delores McQuinn, current council Vice President Ellen Robertson and State Senator Henry Marsh. She told me last night she’s excited for the opportunity and plans to leave her current posts to focus full-time on the council. Her first big test will be Echo Harbour.  She said last night….. “Anything that destroys the character of one of the most incredible natural resources we enjoy in this city or precludes public access to that is not the project for us.”

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

Was there ever any doubt at what I would be covering election day? You know i’ll be chasing down the 7th district council race. There are six candidates vying for the seat originally vacated by Delores McQuinn earlier this year. Tomorrow is a special election to fill the remainder of the term.  So, here goes… all you need to know about the 7th District Council Race.

The Candidates: (in alphabetical order)

Ronald Bond: Life and Health insurance field underwriter.  Says he will listen to residents about Echo Harbour. **(see below)

Clarence Kenney: Former city parks employee. Says he will seek a compromise on Echo Harbour saving the view and allowing development.

Deanne Lewis: Buys and restores old homes. Vocal opponents to the Oakwood Heights project in Church Hill. She says she’s against the proposed site for Echo Harbour.

Cynthia Newbille: Manages City’s East End Initiative. Acting Director of the non-profit Family Resources Center. She says she will not take a position on Echo Harbour until the final proposal is submitted but she’s opposed anything that blocks the view.

Garry Powell: Human Resources coordinator for Patient First. Believes Echo Harbour site should be publically owned to preserve the view.

Robin Robinson: Instructional Assistant at the Metropolitan Day School. She out right opposes Echo Harbour.

**Echo Harbour is a controversial development that will be the first big test for the 7th District Representative on the Richmond City Council.

Analysis:

I’m hearing you can’t overlook Cynthia Newbille. She has the money and the major supporters… Dwight Jones, State Senator Henry Marsh and former 7th district council woman Delores McQuinn. Local political analysts tell me Robin Robinson might be the dark horse in the race, but if  Newbille makes a strong showing in the Church Hill precincts she will most likely run away with the race.  

Stats on the 7th District:

According to the US Census:

86% of voters are African-American

54% are women

74% are over the age of 18 ——–  13% are over the age of 65 

70% make $50,000 or less

The average household income is $47,000

The district includes: Church Hill, Union Hill, Tobacco Row, East End, portions of Shockoe Bottom

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

Monday: Get up 7am and drive to Blacksburg, Virginia. Work 17 straight hours on the story of two murdered VT students and a missing Tech student.

Tuesday: Drive back from Blacksburg. Exhausted…

Wednesday: Come to work, thinking I’m headed to City Hall… end up running out the door to Charlottesville. I cover a press conference on the missing VT student. Spend the day on the UVA campus. (PS.. my rival school… I went to the University of Maryland) PSS… (I’m beginning to think I’m on a college tour for the week. Is Harrisonburg’s JMU next?)

Thursday: No more travels. (I sing and dance in the  newsroom with joy!) Then I head out to interview a doctor and stumble on to the fact that the VCU Medical Center is so overloaded with H1N1 patients it is opening a whole treatment area just for influenza cases. I was suddenly in a room surrounded by flu patients. I interviewed a 9-year-old girl who was just diagnosed with swine flu. (If I get sick this should totally qualify for workman’s comp! Right?)  

PSSS… I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me on Friday

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

 Road Trips:

Hello Blog World! Man, you take a weekend off and the Richmond Beat blows up! I’ll start this posting telling you about my road trip on Monday. Myself and two photographers were sent to Blacksburg. Road trips sound like fun (and it’s nice to get away from the office) but they are truly way more work than a normal news day. We left at 7 in the morning. We got to Blacksburg around 11:00 and immediately started collecting interviews. You don’t get much of a lunch break. You have to turn several stories quickly and you work straight through until 11:30 at night. LONG LONG DAY! We are driving back as I write this post.  I used to work in B’burg, so I really enjoy going back there, but it’s always a whirlwind trip and I don’t get to see many people.

Jewell: I’m off on the weekends and a lot of times I’m never around a TV. But my phone started ringing early Saturday morning. I know many of you have asked what I think of this situation, but because this is a story I’ll be covering closely… mums the word.  

Council Stuff:

The Richmond City Council is going after people parking in handicapped spaces. The City is considering increasing the fee for violators from $100 to $200.

The city is also moving forward with plans to increase the fee you pay if your car is towed. Many tow company’s in the area are already charging more than the city code allows. This plan could go before the entire city council for a vote by mid-november.

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

When I first came to Richmond I almost moved to the Manchester area. The apartment guides and real estate folks kept telling me it was the hot new area of the city. They used words like “up and coming” “potential”. When I went to the area, with a map of Richmond on my dashboard all I saw was run-down manufacturing buildings. I thought, “this is up and coming?”  Wow! what a difference a year and a half makes. I now know Richmond much better and I too can see the potential. Today I did a story updating the renovation project at the Manchester Courthouse.  I was amazed at all the construction going on just a block away. There are crews renovating several buildings along Hull Street. And people seem genuinely excited about the new Croaker’s Spot opening next month. There are dozens of new apartments opening. A pizza shop is coming and I hear a coffee shop is next. I can’t wait for the courthouse to re-open this January. Being stuck covering a court case all day won’t be so bad.. there will be plenty of places to stop for lunch.

Rachel DePompa – bio | email\

Update: (to a story I brought you FIRST last Friday… despite what another media outlet is reporting on its website!) The city is pulling the roundabout proposal, but only for a few weeks. Each roundabout will be introduced, voted on and dealt with individually. Not really a big deal.. each round about I told you about is still on the table. The funding’s already been approved by the federal government.. it now just up to the city council to decide whether to proceed. End of update!

Richmond is looking at building some more roundabouts in the city. The last one was finished a few months ago in Church Hill at 25th street. It caused an uproar while under construction, but it’s been quiet since it opened. The new roundabouts are being considered for:

1) 25th, Fairmount Avenue and Nine Mile Road

2) Belt Boulevard and Hull Street Road

3) 23rd and Fairfield Avenue

4) Roanoke Street and Forest Hill

The last is the most controversial of the proposed projects. Residents are already asking a lot of questions and have major concerns about Forest Hill Park. Traffic engineers admit several trees will have to go and .2 of an acre of the park would be gobbled up by the roundabout.  The measure is currently before city council. Here’s a link to my full story.

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

SWINE FLU:

Achoo! I know at least 10 people who came down with the swine flu in the last week! I am determined NOT to be the next to go down.  Alas, I missed out on my chance for a free H1N1 shot today. I was at a press conference where the Mayor got a shot to set the example for the rest of the city. When he finished, they had a few to give away, but ran out quickly. I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing a lot of stories about the Health Department running out of the vaccine.

BASEBALL NAME CONTROVERSY:

With the Hambones out,  I thought it would be fair to point out tonight that almost all of the remaining names could be considered offensive to someone.  In this politically correct day and age, it’s hard to please  anyone. I received an email today about the name Flatheads: Did you know…

Flathead Indians are a Native American race of people/tribe living between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. Appropriately named the Salish – they initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their headquarters near the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Occasionally hunting parties went west of the Continental Divide but not west of the Bitterroot Range. The easternmost edge of their ancestral hunting forays were the Gallatin, Crazy Mountain, and Little Belt Ranges. They were called the Flathead Indians by the first white men who came to the Columbia River. The name, used in error, in the pejorative as slang – was said to derive from the flat skull produced by binding infants’ skulls with boards and is used for many Native Americans

I’m pretty sure, the baseball owners meant a type of Catfish… but I’m also pretty sure they meant no harm by the name Hambone either.  Just saying….

7th DISTRICT SEAT DEBATE:

The 7th District Candidates Forum is Thursday, October 15 from 6:30-9PM at the Robinson Theater. Open to all interested citizens of the community and 7th District. Contact John Johnson at (804)814-1066

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

I’ve been out-of-town since Thursday so here’s an update to a few stories…..

GRTC Photo Controversy:

The Free Press has apologized. The newspaper posted a disgraceful picture after the deadly bus crash two weeks ago. (You can read my prior thoughts about that here.) The editor and chief has finally addressed the incident in the newspaper.  He also posted several of your comments on the editorial page. For all that the newspaper did wrong that day, I commend the editor for addressing the error in judgement and taking full responsibility.

In the paper he wrote….  “I pledge that the Free Press will learn from our mistake, with the goal of becoming more attuned to the sensitivities of
humanity. I pledge that we will make a greater effort to practice
what we preach.”
— Raymond H. Boone

Here is a link to the apology. (Make sure you scroll to page A8.)

The Name Game:

I’ve tried my hardest to refrain from commenting on the names in the running for the new Richmond baseball team. I’m going to stick by that rule, but many of you seem to have a lot to say.  I will say that Double A teams in the country often have silly or goofy names.  It’s part of the marketing to get people into the seats for Double A.  You have to remember these are players who are twice removed from the pro’s…. not one step away. It’s harder to get people excited, which is why the names are usually silly. Also, you have to give it to the new managers of the Richmond “Whatchmacallits.”  They’ve gotten more press about these names in the last week, then the Richmond Braves got in a month’s time. Smart marketing!

Rachel DePompa – bio | email

It’s back to square one for Ukrop’s. Talks with a private equity group have broken down.  Supermarket News is reporting the private equity group dropped out of the bidding last week. The trade magazine sites an anonymous source who says the deal broke down because of  “contractual issues and an inability to get financing.”  The source says Ukrop’s has since resumed shopping itself to bidders from the earlier rounds.

So, does that mean Harris Teeter is back in the running? The source says H.T.  did not want to buy all of the Ukrop’s store locations.  Which again, brings into question the timing of the chain’s decision to close its Roanoke location.  Ukrop’s has never commented on the potential sale.