News Near You for June 13

NEWS NEAR YOU

Richmond NFL linebacker James Farrior received a key to the city of Richmond yesterday for his work on behalf of his James Farrior Foundation. Mayor Dwight C. Jones gave him the key. Farrior, who was a star football player at Chesterfield County's Matoaca High School and the University of Virginia, now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His foundation, based in Ettrick, raises money for underprivileged young people in the Richmond area.

Chesterfield The Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Department and The First Tee of Chesterfield will hold the Seventh Annual Family Fairway Frenzy Adult/Junior Golf Tournament on Thursday starting at 9 a.m. The tournament is for adults and children of all ages; no experience is necessary. The fee is $30 per adult/child pair. First Tee is at 6736 Hunting Creek Drive, inside Harry G. Daniel Park at Iron Bridge. For details, call Sharon Entsminger at (804) 748-1126.

Hopewell City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved $12.5 million in bonds: $5 million to build the Human Services Building, $5 million to begin renovating Hopewell High School and $2.5 million to refinance outstanding bonds.

Richmond City Council will decide whether to accept or reverse a decision of the Commission of Architectural Review that denied a plan by Joseph W. Musgrave to replace original wood windows with vinyl windows at 600 W. 20th St. in the Springhill Old and Historic District. The Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee will consider the issue at its 3 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

Richmond The Virginia Bar Association announced Tuesday the creation of the Robert E. Shepherd Jr. award for excellence in advocacy for children. The first recipient will be Andrew K. Block Jr., legal director of the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville. The award will be presented at the VBA's 119th summer meeting at The Homestead on July 24. Shepherd was a professor emeritus at the University of Richmond School of Law and a leader in legal issues affecting children and families.

AROUND THE STATE

Roanoke A Virginia Department of Education report says a Roanoke school's administrators inappropriately kept 31 students out of state tests over the past two years. The report says 22 of the William Fleming High School students received a modified diploma because they hadn't taken the Standards of Learning tests. The report says four administrators altered class schedules so lower-performing students would not take the tests. That may have boosted the school's pass rates. The state recommends that the affected students be given tutoring and allowed to take the standardized tests.

Hampton Charles Taylor, president of Thomas Nelson Community College, is retiring. He says he will step down June 30, which marks the end of his fifth year with the college. Alvin J. Schexnider has served as interim president since Oct. 1 while Taylor worked on a special project with the Virginia Community College System. A spokesman for the system says Schexnider will continue in that role while a national search is conducted for Taylor's successor.

Alexandria A judge has dramatically reduced the sentence for a former Pentagon analyst who pleaded guilty to leaking classified information to an Israeli diplomat and two pro-Israel lobbyists. Lawrence A. Franklin of Kearneysville, W.Va., had been sentenced in 2006 to more than 12 years in prison. But on Thursday, a judge cut the sentence to probation plus 10 months in home confinement. The reduction follows the government's decision not to prosecute the two lobbyists to whom Franklin leaked information. Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman had been employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.