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Virginia Beach’s police chief said while the criminal investigation into the Municipal Center mass shooting is nearly complete, the full findings may not be made public initially. “Once we are complete, we will be able to release some of the findings but we are working closely with the independent investigators and do not want to be perceived as influencing anything they are doing,” said Chief James Cervera, of the Virginia Beach Police Department. In the meantime, Cervera said the department will continue to meet with Hillard Heintze, the firm hired to conduct an independent investigation into the tragedy. City Auditor Lyndon Remias, however, pointed out that the firm has never requested the police hold off on releasing anything to his knowledge. “The independent investigators are working independently and they are forming their own opinions and certainly we don’t want them to be influenced in regards to whether [the chief] is going to release his report or not,” Remias said.
WAVY
Meeting for the first time Wednesday since its highly unusual vote to remove Janice Wheaton, who was elected to the Amherst Town Council last November, council appointed an interim member. Since she was the only applicant, council and Mayor Dwayne Tuggle did not ask Turner questions during the brief meeting that lasted less than five minutes.
The News & Advance
Five days after members of the Charlottesville City Council emphasized a need to enforce rules at meetings and support each other, three of them were the target of vicious personal attacks by members of the public. One of the councilors said Wednesday that Mayor Nikuyah Walker isn’t doing enough to control the environment while a candidate for a seat on the panel compared the language used at Monday’s meeting to that surrounding the Aug. 12, 2017, white supremacist rally. “We just had a retreat where we agreed to enforce our rules against disruption from the floor and profanity,” Councilor Mike Signer wrote in an email. “Only the mayor can enforce these rules, but she’s not, and this chaos is the result. Something has to change.” Councilors Kathy Galvin, Heather Hill and Signer were targeted after they declined to allocate an additional $35,000 to bring the rapper Wale to a Unity Days event. Walker, who reiterated at the meeting and on Tuesday that she also didn’t support the request, was ignored during the tirades. The councilors were met with a blanket accusation of white supremacy after the request was denied. Councilors were then targeted individually during the final public comment session.
The Daily Progress
Warren County Supervisor Tom Sayre, at the Board of Supervisors regular Tuesday meeting, lamented that he was never told that Stoneburner Carter Insurance – a company at which Supervisor Tony Carter is employed – is the broker on insurance policies for a number of properties owned by the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority. The EDA-owned properties insured by Stoneburner Carter include the former Stokes Market building on Main Street and nearby apartments, the Afton Inn, a warehouse at 426 Baugh Drive and a building at 1325 Progress Drive. After the meeting, Carter declined to say how much commission Stoneburner Carter receives as a broker but said the total premiums on the EDA properties are about $30,000. Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian stated in an advisory opinion that Carter has no conflict of interest regarding the fire and rescue policy and that would remain the case even if Carter’s “equity interest” in the business increased.
The Northern Virginia Daily
At Thursday night’s meeting of the Danville School Board, the board considered board-member Crystal Cobbs’ suggestion of creating a community forum. After seeing a similar meeting happen in Lynchburg, Cobbs thought it might be a good opportunity for increased transparency and accountability for the school board to have a community forum for parents and teachers to participate in. It could also give the board a chance to educate the public on certain things, such as Standards of Learning, that the public might not be aware of and introduce their strategic plan.
Star-Tribune
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