Air Excellence Inc., in the Chesterfield County airpark, will hold a blood drive from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 10, 2008, at 7701 Whitepine Road. The HVAC and plumbing company, owned by Arthur Prime, sponsors blood drives each spring and fall. Participants must be 16 or older, with parental consent if younger than 18. A valid ID is required. Donors will receive Tropical Smoothie coupons.

Caring Canines Therapy Dogs will have its annual Doggie Halloween Costume Contest at 7 p.m. Oct. 16, 2008, at Morningside at Bellgrade, 2800 Polo Parkway, Midlothian, Va. The residents of Morningside will vote on the winner. They can’t have pets at the assisted-living facility, so the therapy dogs are brought in twice monthly to visit them.

The face of Chesterfield County schools is changing. Twenty years ago, the white student population was 84 percent. It stands at 62 percent now. Of about 59,000 students, 27.4 percent are black, 7.1 percent Hispanic and 3.3 percent Asian, according to school system figures.

The Kiwanis Club of Chester will present the Hard Times Fall Festival from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 15, 2008, at the Village Green on state Route 10 in Chester. “This event is in response to our economic hard times and our desire to give our community the opportunity to attend a great event that is inexpensive, centrally located and fun,“ said David Elswick, the Kiwanis Club of Chester’s publicity chairman.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a local heating and air-conditioning company, alleging that former female employees were sexually harassed. Robin Jenkins said she resigned from her job with Daniel’s Heating & Refrigeration Corp. in Chesterfield County on Feb. 28, 2007, “to put an end to [the owner’s] sexual harassment.“

Lee Holland has put military history on wheels. At his place in Chester, Holland has created a motor-pool museum filled with World War II Army vehicles. “What I try to present,“ the retired Army officer said, “is how we went from the horse and the mule to a truly mechanized Army.“ His vehicles “represent the first truly designed from-the-ground-up tactical wheeled vehicles,“ he said. “They were what put the Army on wheels.“

Richmond Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, 14 W. Duval St., will hold a historic-preservation seminar on Monday. The seminar will focus on the importance of preserving black heritage and will be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The seminar will include a panel discussion, lunch and a walking tour of Jackson Ward in downtown Richmond. The cost of the seminar is $35, and it is open to the public. To register, call APVA, (804) 648-1889, or the church, (804) 648-7511.

Through Sunday, a tour of a life-size reproduction of a sanctuary built during the time of Moses is not only possible, but it can be done in about an hour.

The face of Chesterfield County schools is changing. Twenty years ago, the white student population was 84 percent. It stands at 62 percent now. Of about 59,000 students, 27.4 percent are black, 7.1 percent Hispanic and 3.3 percent Asian. The number of English as a second language students grew from 1,439 five years ago to 2,105 last year. . Students in poverty grew 6 percentage points to 26.4 percent in the past five years.

Daniella H. Kyriakides was found guilty of embezzling $4,900 from a Clover Hill High School booster club. A former Chesterfield County substitute teacher was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison, all suspended, for embezzling $4,900 last year from Clover Hill High School’s Keynote Band Booster Club. Yet Daniella H. Kyriakides, 55, insisted on the witness stand she did nothing wrong.

This daily column features short news items from the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. On Mondays, we run at least one item from each of the localities.

The following are recently issued business licenses in Richmond and Chesterfield and Henrico counties. RICHMONDCantrell Hining LLC (consultant); licensee same, 4420 Shirley Road, Richmond 23225. Wallace Restoration and Wood (contractor); licensee Hugh Wallace, 1019 W. 45th St., Richmond 23225. La Tiendona (retail restaurant); licensee Mauricio Lopez, 3819 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond 23234.

Jarell Humphries and 10 other art students at Virginia State University stepped in the middle of North Sycamore Street last week to make a work of art. They painted a VSU logo and two heads of the school’s mascot, the Trojan, in VSU’s colors—orange and blue. The decorations on the Old Towne pavement will help residents and visitors identify Petersburg as a college town, said Humphries, a sophomore studying graphic design.

A $350 million lawsuit filed by the developers of Chesterfield’s Magnolia Green against its bank has been withdrawn. The project—a mix of 3,500 homes, commercial uses and an 18-hole Nicklaus Design golf course—is being built on 1,898 acres west of Woolridge and Otterdale roads. The civil suit filed by Magnolia Green Development LLC in U.S. District Court in New York on Aug. 19 against iStar Financial Inc. claimed the lender threatened to seize control of the project after declaring the $85.75 million loan was out of balance, meaning the project value is less than the loan.

With Election Day weeks away, Chesterfield County’s registrar is worried. The reason: Chesterfield County schools have scheduled their elementary parent-teacher conferences for Nov. 4. Of the county’s 67 polling places, 47 are schools. When parents of the county’s 60,000 public school students show up at schools on the same day as voters, it could create a congestion scene reminiscent of the one the day of February’s presidential primary.