NEWS NEAR YOU

Hopewell The public is invited to a discussion Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on improving air quality in and around Hopewell. Jim Gould of the Virginia Chapter of The Sierra Club will lead the discussion, to be held at the Appomattox Regional Library, 209 E. Cawson St. For details, call (804) 225-9113, Ext. 105, or e-mail jim.gould@sierraclub.org.

Amelia In an effort to help employees save gas, the Amelia County Social Services Department has adopted a flex time policy that allows employees to work four 10-hour days per week.

Richmond The Richmond City Council has called a special meeting tomorrow at 6 p.m. at City Hall to discuss its budget dispute with Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. Council members may close the meeting to receive legal advice from attorneys. Since July 1, the city has been operating under the fiscal 2008-09 budget that was proposed by Wilder. He has declared the budget approved by the council invalid, saying it failed to meet a statutory deadline for approval.

Powhatan The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Powhatan High School Auditorium. On the agenda is a request by a special events business on Robert E. Lee Road to have its conditional-use permit renewed indefinitely and increasing to 100 people from the present maximum of 75 the number of guests allowed without control personnel being required.

Prince George The Cameron Foundation will hold a two-hour information workshop regarding its grantmaking process Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Prince George County Human Services Building Conference Room, 6450 Administration Drive. Representatives of organizations are encouraged to attend. To reserve a space, e-mail or call Najmah Thomas at najmaht@thecameronfoundation.org or (804) 732-8900.

Chesterfield General registration for fall classes at John Tyler Community College will be open between tomorrow and Aug. 15. Students may register in person at the Chester campus, 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway, or at the Midlothian campus, 800 Charter Colony Parkway from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hours are extended until 7 p.m. on Mondays in Chester and on Thursdays in Midlothian. Current students are encouraged to register online. For a list of available classes, see www.jtcc.edu/schedule.

Cumberland Cumberland County is seeking proposals for activities such as a stream and wetlands mitigation plan, low flow augmentation release schedule and buffer vegetation management plan for the proposed Cobbs Creek Reservoir. The deadline to submit the proposals to Assistant County Administrator Michael P. Cooper is July 29 at 2:30 p.m.

Petersburg The Petersburg School Board recently approved four new administrative positions for the upcoming school year. Zelda Lynch, director of the Westview Early Childhood Learning Center, will become principal of Walnut Hill Elementary School. Belinda Urquhart will become an assistant principal at Walnut Hill Elementary. Samantha Milteer will be an assistant principal at Peabody Middle School. And Kerry Gray, a Petersburg graduate, has been hired as the system's athletic director.

AROUND THE STATE

Hampton A woman whose forearm was scraped by a wolf hybrid's teeth July 7 has not taken rabies shots and is waiting to see if she will need them, her husband said. Meanwhile, the animal has been in the custody of the Peninsula SPCA since it was caught two days later by Hampton Animal Control. Its owner, Jason Mark McClain, 30, of Old Buckroe Road, is scheduled for a hearing July 30 in Hampton District Court to face two counts of "dog at large."