Richmond police officers halted a performance outside Gallery5 during the First Fridays Art Walk last week, fueling complaints that city authorities are trying to thwart the monthly event that attracts thousands of people to downtown. At about 10:30 p.m., officers stopped the performance of fire twirlers and disbursed the crowd of 200 to 250 over concerns that one lane of West Marshall Street had been blocked from vehicular traffic, said Tom Robinson, a local developer and volunteer for the gallery.

The investigative work of Richmond City Auditor Umesh V. Dalal isn’t as newsworthy as it used to be—at least in the minds of city officials. The City Council’s office has stopped publicizing the release of auditor’s reports that routinely point out waste and inefficiencies, as well as potential savings, at City Hall. Officials said they’re mirroring the practices of other local governments—not downplaying the reports, which continue to be posted on the city’s Web site for anyone who happens to be checking.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants one of the city’s new administrators to help run the GRTC Transit System. But City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler is pushing back and expressing concern over a role the city could play in a sale of GRTC’s coveted headquarters property near the Fan District. Jones wants the 6.8-acre site to go to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority for private development guided by the city through a review of proposals.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ plan to reorganize several city departments won’t be legally binding without approval by the City Council, City Attorney Norman B. Sales said yesterday. At the request of several council members, Sales issued an opinion on the restructuring plan announced last week by the Jones administration. He said the city charter gives Chief Administrative Officer Byron C. Marshall the power to temporarily reassign employees under his control but reserves for the council the authority to alter or reorganize city departments.

A candidate for Richmond City Council says he was fired from his job with the city last week because he’s running for election. Clarence Kenney doesn’t dispute the city code section that prohibits him from being a candidate and employee at the same time—he just wants to know why his job wasn’t an issue when he ran for council last year.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration announced yesterday its first shakeup of City Hall with a plan to create a consolidated Department of Economic and Community Development. Peter H. Chapman, who was hired this summer as deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development, will lead the new department, which will control the city’s real estate holdings and its business-development financing programs.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration announced today a consolidation of the city’s departments of economic development and community development.

The sign outside The Diamond still proclaims “Home of the Richmond Braves,“ but Richmond and its 24-year-old stadium will have a new professional baseball team beginning next spring.

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has frozen rent subsidies for an additional 43 low-income families because of a federal funding crunch. The families were notified last week that housing vouchers issued to them no longer were valid and that they would remain indefinitely on a waiting list for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Housing Choice Voucher Program, known as Section 8.

The peace at Richmond City Hall has taken the urgency out of fixing flaws in the city charter that were at the root of legal clashes between then-Mayor L. Douglas Wilder and the City Council. While a commission is polishing its recommendations after months of review, council members are talking about not taking amendments to the General Assembly in 2010, as planned.

More than eight years in the making, the curtain rises on Richmond CenterStage Marilyn Blake found her favorite red velvety seats in the center aisle of Row O of the refurbished Carpenter Theatre. Grinning widely during a sneak-peek tour, she relished the seats as, once again, hers for a season of the Virginia Opera. “It’s magnificent! This is so exciting,“ her friend Janet Joyce said, gazing across the ornate historic theater.

With a ballpark out of the picture, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants a new, market-tested plan for revitalizing Shockoe Bottom. The city was preparing to issue yesterday a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment of city and private property in the Bottom. “At the end of the day, we want something that’s implementable and market-driven,“ said Peter H. Chapman, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.

Six candidates met yesterday’s filing deadline to qualify for a special election to fill the 7th District seat on Richmond City Council. Ronald L. Bond, Clarence Kenney, Deanna Lewis, Cynthia I. Newbille, Garry F. Powell and Robin D. Robinson submitted papers with the city registrar’s office to be listed on the Nov. 3 ballot. The 7th District seat was vacated early this year when longtime Councilwoman Delores L. McQuinn resigned after winning a special election for the 70th District seat in the House of Delegates. The House seat opened after Dwight C. Jones was elected mayor last fall.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced yesterday plans to correct “major financial management failures” in the city’s Department of Social Services after the discovery of an estimated $3.8 million overbilling to the state. “We have no evidence that any of this is based in fraud or corruption, but rather poor management and record keeping which indicates a need to make significant procedural changes and improve the department’s operations,“ Chief Administrative Officer Byron C. Marshall said in a statement.

The building heights recommended by Richmond’s new downtown master plan aren’t the only obstacles to a proposed high-rise along the James River. Before the Echo Harbour development can be considered by the City Council, the Department of Community Development is requiring the developers to provide new and revised technical plans and studies on various aspects of the project.