Authorities yesterday arrested a man in Surry County in connection with Sunday’s slaying of two Petersburg men in the Arlington Heights area of Hopewell. Hopewell police, with the assistance of Waverly and Richmond police and members of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, apprehended Shawn Wooden in the shooting deaths of Kashif Temple, 24, and Antonio Spain, 22, according to a Hopewell police news release.

Hopewell police are investigating the city’s third and fourth homicides of the year with the double slaying of two Petersburg men found shot to death Sunday in the Arlington Heights area. Police received a shots-fired call about 10 p.m. in the 2300 block of Freeman Street, a neighborhood near Winston Churchill Drive and Arlington Road. When officers arrived, they discovered the bodies of two men in a car in a vacant lot between Freeman and Waverly streets, according to neighbors.

Police in Hopewell are investigating the shooting deaths of two Petersburg men. The victims were found last night in a vehicle. They have been identified as Kashif Temple, 24, and Antonio Spain, 22. Police said they discovered the victims after responding to a call from a resident who heard gunshots.

Central Virginia has seen a slight increase in homicides so far this year, with higher numbers in Richmond and Petersburg offsetting improved numbers elsewhere. For the first nine months of the year, the region had 59 homicides, compared with 55 at the same time last year. The biggest shift has been in Richmond, where city police recorded seven more homicides as of Sept. 30 than a year earlier. Richmond’s nine-month count of 34 exceeds the total of 32 homicides for all of 2008.

The Hopewell City Council has voted to increase the personal-property tax rate by 45 cents to offset projected losses in revenue because of a drop in personal-property values. The rate will rise to $3.50 per $100 of assessed value, up from $3.05. The new rate will apply to bills sent to residents in November. The increase was approved Tuesday on a 4-3 vote, with Mayor Brenda S. Pelham, Vice Mayor N. Gregory Cuffey and Councilman K. Wayne Walton voting against it.

An Essex County man was killed yesterday when his car ran off U.S. 17 in Caroline County and overturned, Virginia State Police said. Brian C. Russell, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 10 a.m. crash, about one-tenth of a mile north of state Route 617. Police said Russell was traveling south when his car ran off the right side of the road and struck a guardrail and several trees before overturning. Russell, who police said wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was ejected. The wreck remains under investigation.

Dinwiddie 195, Hopewell 202 (9 holes, Fort Lee Golf Course, par 36)
  D: Perez 41, Maitland 50, Green 50, Trimmer 54 H: Crocker 43, Carter 48, Wilmot 55, Roberson 56

120 had no critical violations during inspections conducted during the 2008-09 school year; and
93 had two or fewer total
critical violations for the year
Here are some examples of critical violations inspectors found at area schools. These
violations were corrected:
Oct. 30, 2008: Employees were observed handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands at

The Virginia National Guard is closing its Dove Street Armory in Richmond because of state budget cuts. The move means about 375 soldiers will report to other Guard facilities in the area for their one-weekend-a-month duty assignments, said Virginia National Guard Maj. Cotton Puryear. The closing, along with the shutdown of the Guard’s Roanoke armory, will save $115,000 a year.

More than two weeks after the end of the federal Cash for Clunkers program, auto dealers still haven’t been paid for all their transactions, but they say the speed of reimbursements is improving.

Hopewell’s City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a tougher law on garbage. The council voted on a first reading in favor of changes to the city’s ordinance on garbage, refuse and weeds to bring it in line with state statutes and add civil penalties for violators. It is currently unlawful in Hopewell for any property owner to allow the accumulation of garbage, refuse, litter, trash, debris and other substances that might endanger the health of residents. The code also states that it is against the law to permit grass, weeds or other foreign growth in excess of 1 foot in height on any property, except in wooded areas.

On Tuesday, the Hopewell City Council will consider changes to the city’s code on garbage, refuse and weeds that would bring its ordinances in line with state statutes and add civil penalties for violators. The current ordinance states that it is unlawful for any property owner to allow the accumulation of garbage, refuse, litter, trash, debris and other substances that might endanger the health of residents. The code also states that it is against the law to permit grass, weeds or other foreign growth in excess of 1 foot in height on any property, except in wooded areas.

Hopewell police are investigating the city’s second homicide of the year after a young man was fatally shot Tuesday night while standing next to his vehicle, authorities said. Cory Calvin, 20, of the 1700 block of Westbrook Road was pronounced dead after being transported by helicopter to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, said Lt. F.P. McQuage Jr. Calvin managed to walk to his family’s nearby home after being shot at 8:12 p.m., McQuage said.

Hopewell police are investigating the city’s second homicide of the year after a young man was fatally shot last night while standing next to his vehicle, authorities said. Cory Calvin, 20, of the 1700 block of Westbrook Road, was pronounced dead after being transported by Medflight helicopter to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, said Lt. F.P. McQuage Jr. Calvin managed to walk up his family’s nearby home after being shot about 8:12 p.m., McQuage said.

The discovery of contaminated soil at the site of Virginia’s first ethanol plant in Hopewell is no reason for concern, company and state officials said last week. Low levels of contaminants—including trace levels of arsenic—have been found in the soil at the Appomattox Bio Energy site, said Craig Shealy, president and CEO of Osage Bio Energy LLC.