Music writer, Norfolk native ‘Rickey’ Wright dies Richard “Rickey” Wright didn’t sing professionally or play an instrument, but he spoke the universal language of music fluently. His friends called him “the encyclopedia of music”; he called himself “Geekus musicus maximus,“ said a niece, Elisabeth Wright of Norfolk. He earned the title after winning a Rhino Records musical knowledge contest.

A felon was arrested in Pulaski during the weekend in the death of a woman with whom he lived, police said. Officers found Shelby F. Cline, 42, dead early Saturday in her home in the 300 block of Summit Street, off Mount Olivet Road, police said. Hours later, police said they were holding Tony W. Covey, 39, and that he had been charged with second-degree murder. Covey was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court in 1996 of voluntary manslaughter for stabbing a man to death.

A Virginia Tech doctoral student accused of killing a fellow student in a campus café has been transferred to a state mental hospital and will receive a mental evaluation. Attorneys at a motions hearing yesterday disagreed about whether it is necessary to have a doctor who speaks Mandarin Chinese evaluate 25-year-old Haiyang Zhu. Mandarin Chinese is his native language.

Thirteen years since last serving at a women’s college, Jo Ellen Johnson Parker is looking forward to rejoining that community once again as the new president of Sweet Briar College. Sweet Briar’s board of directors announced last week that Parker will become the college’s 10th president as of July 1. She will succeed Elisabeth Showalter Muhlenfeld, who is retiring after 13 years at Sweet Briar.

A Wingina man was killed Saturday when his car ran off the road, struck a tree and caught fire in Nelson County, Virginia State Police said. Clarence H. Rose Jr., 56, died at the scene about 20 minutes after the 10:42 p.m. wreck, about a tenth of a mile east of state Route 646. Police said the car Rose was driving veered off the left side of the road and struck a tree, causing his car to burst into flames.

Facing a cut in state funding, Radford University’s governing board yesterday agreed to drop some majors and merge some departments. Interim school spokesman Michael Hemphill said the decision about which majors to cut has not yet been made. The school’s board of visitors meets next on April 22. According to the academic overhaul plan approved yesterday, the chemistry and biology departments will merge, the theater and dance departments will be combined, and a new School of Environmental and Physical Science will encompass the school’s Forensic Science Institute, physics program and departments of geology and geography.

Before he was a county sheriff or a state senator, Ed Robb was an undercover agent for the FBI, infiltrating the Mafia and bringing down drug lords. Now his efforts have made him a TV star. Robb’s undercover exploits are the topic of a 60-minute television episode of “Undercover,“ a new series airing this week on the Investigation Discovery channel. The show is scheduled to air again at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Thirty-one roosters seized in a cockfighting investigation could be euthanized if the Bedford County animal shelter can’t find new homes for them. Animal shelter manager Scott Polinek said a Maryland-based sanctuary has taken eight roosters. Homes are being sought for the remaining birds because of expenses related to their care. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office seized the roosters Dec. 22. Avery Fitzgerald of Coleman Falls was charged with two felony counts of selling the birds for fighting purposes.

An apparently unsympathetic federal appeals court panel heard arguments yesterday over an angry letter written by a Virginia inmate to prison officials. In a 2004 letter, inmate Johnny Huff, 57, complained to the director of the Virginia Department of Corrections of “cold, callus, cruel, evil, uncaring, unmercyful, inhumane officials you have left in charge as wardens.“

King William The Board of Supervisors approved a 4 percent meals tax Monday night on all prepared foods. The tax will take effect April 1. The money raised from the tax will go toward law enforcement, emergency services, schools and capital-improvement projects. Henrico About 50 family members, friends, fellow Virginia State Police troopers and other law-enforcement officers plan to gather

King William The Board of Supervisors approved a 4 percent meals tax Monday night on all prepared foods. The tax will take effect April 1. The money raised from the tax will go toward law enforcement, fire and emergency services, schools and capital-improvement projects. Henrico About 50 family members, friends, fellow Virginia State Police troopers and other law-enforcement officers plan to gather

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. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at Amelia The Amelia County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the general district courtroom to elect a new chairman and vice chairman. Beginning at 7 p.m., the board will hold its regular monthly meeting.

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. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at Amelia The Amelia County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the general district courtroom to elect a new chairman and vice chairman. Beginning at 7 p.m., the board will hold its regular monthly meeting.

Hopewell Hopewell officials will hold another budget work session on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers at the Municipal Building, 300 Main St. New Kent The New Kent County Fair planning meeting will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the county administration board room, 12007 Courthouse Circle. Officers will be elected, and planning will begin for the 2009 fair. For details, call (804) 932-4551.

Hopewell One man has been arrested and two others are wanted in connection with a bomb threat made at Hopewell High School on Dec. 18. The school was closed for nearly three hours while authorities searched the building. No explosive device was found, but surveillance video showed four men trespassing. As a result of tips from the public, police arrested Donald Gene Gray Jr., 23, of Ettrick, who was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. Police are seeking Timothy Charles-Nicholas Gray, 18, of Ettrick, and Troy Antione Morgan, 21, of Petersburg, on similar charges. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Hopewell Police Department at (804) 541-2284 or Hopewell-Prince George Crime Solvers at (804) 541-2202.