Former Richmond City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler (r) is entering the race for mayor and former Del. Joseph D. Morrissey (l) and Jack Berry, Venture Richmond’s former executive director, are expected to announce their own bids soon. (Credit: RTD)

CITY OF RICHMOND

 EDU FAQ #003: How does one understand the RPS budget without exploding in frustration?

As an English teacher and not a math person, opening up the Mayor’s Amended Biennial Fiscal Plan for 2017 and Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent Dana Bedden’s Approved FY 2017 Richmond Public Schools Budget resulted in anxiety and panic, paired with big red hives, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. Now, I’ve broken it down, in case I’m not the only one who gets overwhelmed.

CHESTERFIELD

 Chesterfield to consider stormwater utility; cost to homes would be $24 annually

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday will hear feedback from residents about the proposed stormwater utility rate that the county would charge beginning in fiscal 2017 and at least through 2021. The money would go toward the $35 million needed during this period for capital improvement projects designed to ensure that the county meets requirements of the federally mandated Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan. The projected average annual rate for single-family households is $24; businesses would on average be billed $308 each year, according to a proposal by Scott Smedley, Chesterfield’s director of environmental engineering.

 James F. Lane named new superintendent of Chesterfield schools

Chesterfield County Public Schools held a nationwide search to find its new superintendent, but it turns out the School Board needed only to look one county over. Goochland County Superintendent James F. Lane has been hired to lead Chesterfield’s school system, one of the largest in the state. Lane, 38, replaces Marcus Newsome, 62, who is retiring in June after 10 years.

 Most residents at Chesterfield board meeting show support for stormwater fee

A series of community meetings within the past month left Chesterfield County residents with few additional questions about the proposed stormwater utility rate at a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday. The measure that would help fund the $35 million needed for capital improvement projects required by the federally mandated Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan was mostly praised by the handful of people who addressed the board. “The Chesapeake Bay is a wonderful asset. We all benefit from it. With a lot of help from the EPA, I hope we are going to contribute with the continued cleanup of the Bay,” said county resident Nancy Finch.

 HANOVER

 Hanover supervisors approve residential farming community

A highly discussed and anticipated residential farming community that developers say would leverage Hanover County’s natural landscape won approval from the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night. The board unanimously supported a request to rezone 180 acres for Chickahominy Falls, a 404-home development on Cedar Lane and Holly Hill Road in the Elmont area. Extolled by developers as first-of-its-kind, innovative and compatible with Hanover’s agrarian traditions, the development would be hemmed to the south by the Chickahominy River and feature nature trails, gardens, orchard areas and 10 acres for communal farming.

 HENRICO

 Bond referendum proposed for Henrico school projects

Henrico County Manager John A. Vithoulkas has proposed a boost to the school system to the tune of $272.6 million. As this week’s series of legislative budget sessions neared its end, Vithoulkas floated the possibility of a bond referendum during the Nov. 8 general election. If approved, the money proposed Thursday would go toward renovations at eight schools and projects at five others. “This is the beginning of a conversation,” Vithoulkas told the Board of Supervisors and School Board.

 REGIONAL/STATE

 Forum tackles growth of poverty in Chesterfield, Henrico

The city of Richmond hopes to slash its poverty rate by 40 percent in the next 15 years, but success in the city won’t solve the growing problem of poverty in the surrounding suburban counties. From 2000 to 2014, census data show poverty grew 59 percent in Chesterfield County and 73 percent in Henrico County, with more people now living in poverty in the suburban counties than inside the city limits, said John Moeser, a professor at the University of Richmond who studies local poverty trends. “This is the reason we can’t stop with an anti-poverty campaign within just the city. It won’t work that way,” Moeser said Tuesday during an “Unpacking the Census” forum held at the Richmond Times-Dispatch offices in downtown Richmond.

 NATIONAL

 Why it seems impossible to buy your first home

A starter home is supposed to be an entry point into the market: a modest property, maybe a two-bed, one-bath, a place a young couple could buy into before all the pets and kids and seldom-used kitchen appliances come along. Buy a starter home, if all goes well, and you position yourself later to trade up. A starter home helps make possible a second home, which makes possible maybe a third even grander one somewhere down the line. But what happens when the most affordable entry-level housing on the market costs $700,000? Okay, that’s an extreme example (it’s from metro San Francisco). But across the country, the list prices of starter homes have been rapidly rising, running away from what would be remotely possible on the kind of incomes that could traditionally buy you such properties.

More teachers can’t afford to live where they teach

Kelly Henderson loves her job, teaching at Newton South High School in a suburb west of Boston. But she’s frustrated she can’t afford to live in the community where she teaches: It’s part of the 10th most expensive housing market in the nation. “For people in the private sector, they’re probably saying ‘Oh poor you, you can’t live in the community where you work, what’s the big deal?’ ” says Henderson, 35. “And I guess part of the nature of public education and why it’s a different kind of job, is that it’s all-consuming — as it should be.” Like a lot teachers, she wants to be a vital part of the community where she works. She says people in high-cost communities need to remember that a teacher’s job doesn’t end at 3:00.

ELECTIONS

 Richmond City Council races begin to fill out

With the election still a little over seven months away, the slate of Richmond City Council candidates is slowly beginning to fill out in the city’s 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 9th voter districts. In the 2nd, which includes much of the Fan, three candidates have emerged: Charlie Diradour, Kim Gray and Rebecca Keel. Diradour is a developer who has been active on the Boulevard, developing a Starbucks and a taco restaurant. In 2012, he unsuccessfully challenged current 2nd District Councilman Charles Samuels, who is not running for re-election.

 Nine potential candidates confirmed to attend Wilder mayoral forum

Former Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced Monday he will moderate a forum for potential mayoral candidates early next month at Virginia Union University. So far, nine potential candidates have indicated they plan to attend and a 10th is on the fence. It’s an impressive number of participants considering only two people have filed paperwork indicating they intend to run and no one has filed the requisite number of signatures to get on the ballot, which are due in June.

More names raised in race for Richmond mayor’s seat

The race to succeed Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is shaping up as a crowded field after news today former Councilman Bruce W. Tyler is entering the race and former Del. Joseph D. Morrissey and Jack Berry, Venture Richmond’s former executive director, are expected to announce bids soon. City Council President Michelle Mosby, community strategist Lillie Estes, Richmond Public Schools teacher Chad Ingold and activist Rick Tatnall, have all said they intend to run.

 Democrat Bedell files to run for Congress in 7th District

Democrat Eileen Bedell, a lawyer, has filed paperwork to run for Congress in the 7th District, hoping to take on Republican Rep. Dave Brat in the fall. Bedell, 43, who lives in Bon Air, in Chesterfield County, believes her work as a lawyer, whether representing individuals in custody disputes or small businesses in contractual disputes, is applicable to public service. For instance, Bedell said, lawyers must understand topics, frame arguments and “bring people to resolution.”