HOPEWELL—A flock of pesky starlings is defying efforts to keep the birds off the Benjamin Harrison Bridge. The Virginia Department of Transportation has tried for several years to rid the bridge of an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 European Starlings. VDOT officials say the birds’ droppings have damaged the bridge that spans the James River.

Nursing homes and retirement facilities now have a place to send unwanted personal items left behind when residents leave. Nelsen Funeral Home and Crematory and Goodwill Industries are forming a partnership to assist transitioning families in disposing of personal items they may no longer have the room to keep. It’s a way to recycle items that might otherwise end up in the trash, said Blair Nelsen, president of Nelsen Funeral Home.

Five Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles offices in the region will be closed on certain days during the next two weeks to prepare for the state’s new process for issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards.

• The Richmond Central service center, 2300 W. Broad St., will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Customers can use the East Henrico or North Henrico offices during the closure.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has approved an amended air-quality permit for the construction of an ethanol plant in Hopewell. The agency granted the permit to Osage Bio Energy LLC, which had requested modifications to the size of the equipment at the plant, the installation of two natural-gas-fired boilers and a new barley-hull pelletizer process.

Ann Mason Bujakowski and Damon Dean are winners of the Optimist Club Of Hopewell’s oratorical contest based on the theme of “For Me Optimism is . . . “ Competing in the girls and boys divisions, respectively, Bujakowski and Dean were each awarded a medal and $100. In addition, both will move on to the “zone level,“ where they will compete against other winners from the area. The winner of the zone level will advance to the district level, with the chance to win a scholarship.

The real estate tax rate would be reduced by 14 cents in the fiscal 2010 budget proposed by Hopewell City Manager Edwin C. Daley. The plan is based on a real estate tax rate of 95 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from the current rate of $1.09. The rate change would balance out a 15 percent increase on property assessments this year, Daley said.

The Hopewell City Council last night voted 6-1 to approve a rate increase in the sewer service provided by the Hopewell Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. An average customer who uses 5,000 gallons of water per month will see a bill increase of nearly 70 percent starting July 1. That bill would go up by $7.52 per month, from a monthly bill of $10.88 to $18.40.

Sewer customers in the Hopewell area could soon see a bill increase of nearly 70 percent if the Hopewell City Council approves a proposed rate increase today. An average user’s bill would increase by $7.52 per month. The average sewer customer uses 5,000 gallons of water per month and has a monthly bill of $10.88; under the proposal, that bill would go up to $18.40.

Melissa Mitchem, a second-year teacher at Falling Creek Elementary School, has been eager for her fifth-graders to take their Standards of Learning tests online. This spring, she’ll get her wish.

The construction of Virginia’s first ethanol plant is in progress, but two Hopewell residents remain hopeful that the project near downtown will be put on hold. Linda Jones and Deborah Randolph last year filed an appeal of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to grant an air-quality permit for the ethanol project.

Michael Gage, a Republican small-business owner from Henrico County, plans to file paperwork today to challenge Del. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico, in the 74th House of Delegates District. The largely Democratic district covers Charles City County and parts of Henrico, Richmond, Prince George County and Hopewell. Gage’s message hinges on job creation, he said.

A Pennsylvania company has settled a federal lawsuit that accused it of refusing to promote an employee at its Hopewell plant because he is black. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement yesterday. The agency had filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Richmond against Radnor, Pa.-based Airgas Carbonic Inc.

The mother of an Air Force sergeant whose body was returned from war Sunday said she is glad news media coverage will allow Americans to see how respectfully the military honors its dead. Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell died Saturday from an explosion near Helmand province in Afghanistan.

The first step to make the 2010 census as accurate as possible is being taken. Actually, it’s quite a few steps. In the Richmond area, temporary workers for the U.S. Census Bureau will walk street to street beginning April 13 to verify addresses in preparation for next year’s population count. The canvassing has started in other areas and is set to conclude by mid-July.

A Hopewell airman was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday by an improvised explosive device.