Joey Monroe calls himself a survivor. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran has survived since August without a permanent roof over his head, and he understands the consequences of living on the streets. “Anything could have happened to me in the street,“ he said. “I could have ended up dead in the street.“

The CEO of the appliance and consumer-electronics retailer believes the chain can make headway in an already competitive market.

Still in its first year of operation, The Westin hotel in Henrico County has won one of AAA’s prestigious Four Diamond Awards for superior service and amenities. The 250-room, full-service Westin, owned by Musselman Hotels of Louisville, Ky., only opened its doors Dec. 18. “We came out of the gate strong on our service component, said Feliks Schwartz, general manager of the hotel at 6631 W. Broad St. “We have not taken any shortcuts.“

As part of a campaign against counterfeit cigarettes, Philip Morris USA is suing 10 retailers in New York and New Jersey alleging they’ve been selling fake Marlboros. The Henrico County-based cigarette-maker has monitored retail markets for years to keep fake versions of its brands off store shelves. This year, Philip Morris has sued 27 stores in New York and New Jersey, which are hotspots for the fakes because of high state taxes, a huge port through which the contraband is easily shipped, and criminal organizations that wholesale the counterfeits.

The cost of retiree health care is turning into a hot-button issue for state legislators and local officials, who will learn today how much more local governments will have to pay for employee retirement plans. The increase that will be recommended to the Virginia Retirement System Board of Trustees by its actuary is small—about 1 percent overall on average among all localities covered by the state system.

The end is near for LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens approved the Henrico County-based title insurer’s plan yesterday to dissolve itself, pay creditors and set up trust committees to wind down the estate. “Not everyone is happy but this is the happiest plan we could have,“ Huennekens said after a daylong hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will render a decision today to issue a permit to Henrico County’s East End Landfill, with amendments in response to public comment. The landfill had asked for four times its current maximum intake of construction and demolition debris. Neighbors had protested because of truck traffic, mud on Darbytown Road, previous permit violations, dust and odors.

Dr. Wendy S. Klein was concerned about Pam Stenzel long before the abstinence-only speaker created a controversy yesterday at Douglas Freeman High School. Klein’s son, while a senior at Mills Godwin High School, came home upset after hearing Stenzel give a talk there three years ago. “He was very distressed, because he knows better,“ Klein said. “He said she tried to scare everybody not to use birth-control pills.“

A tanker truck delivering 8,000 gallons of jet fuel overturned yesterday morning on Airport Drive within the Richmond International Airport property in Henrico County. The accident closed the main entrance to the airport and all lanes of Williamsburg Road between Lewis Road and Airport Drive for most of the day, according to Henrico police.

The former head football coach at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County pleaded guilty this morning to three counts of taking indecent liberties with teenaged students. William Macgregor “Mac” Leighton, 31, entered guilty pleas in a short court hearing. He was released on bond pending sentencing Feb. 19. He faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the three convictions.

The scheduling of an abstinence-only speaker today at Douglas Freeman High School has drawn protests from some teachers, an abortion-rights organization, and a gay and lesbian education network. Pam Stenzel, founder of Enlighten Communications Inc., “tackles today’s tough issues of sex with candor, insight, humor and the challenge for young people to get the abstinence advantage,“ according to a description on her Web site.

An injured owl that was wise enough to find a federal wildlife office has damaged eyes and can’t be returned to the wild. The great horned owl is being cared for at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, an animal hospital in Waynesboro. Because some of the eye damage is old, it’s possible the owl was hit by a car months ago, said Elizabeth Daut, a veterinarian at the center.

David Fitzgerald stops by the Glen Allen Supermarket nearly every afternoon to grab a cup of coffee. “Everyone there is very friendly,“ the Henrico County resident said. “They know most everybody that comes in. If they don’t know you on your first trip, they will know you the next time.“ Rhonda Abernathy and her husband, Jeffrey, bought the store in May 2008 from 79-year-old Emmett Allen when he decided to retire. His father, E.L. Allen, started the business in 1925 as a general store.

The purpose of St. Joseph’s Villa hasn’t changed much over its 175 years. It began as a small orphanage for girls in downtown Richmond, led by three religious women, and has evolved into a center where hundreds of children with special needs receive an education and the therapeutic care they require. The vision of its founders, the Daughters of Charity, was “to establish a community that would care for, protect and educate children who had no one else to look after them,“ said St. Joseph’s Villa’s CEO Kathleen Burke Barrett.

Two child-abuse prevention organizations in the Richmond area are merging this month. Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) and Richmond CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) will become one entity after unanimous votes by their boards of directors. CASA will now fall under the scope of SCAN, which oversees four programs, including the region’s only Child Advocacy Center.