Illustration by Gaurab Thakali
CHESTERFIELD
In Chesterfield, custodial outsourcing saved school system $7.1 million
Chesterfield County school officials say their decision to outsource custodial services for most of the county’s 62 schools has produced $7.1 million in savings that’s being sent toward classroom instruction. The School Board’s decision to outsource the work two years ago sparked controversy over complaints of insubordination, poor management, and a general unwillingness to clean school facilities on the part of the private contractor that took over for school janitors. But because of the significant savings, reversing the decision would be impractical, Superintendent James F. Lane said after a presentation by the division’s finance department at last week’s School Board meeting.
HENRICO
Henrico School Board approves about $4.6 million in contracts for design renovation, improvements to schools
More than $4.6 million in contracts have been awarded to construction, architectural and engineering companies for renovations and improvements to several Henrico County schools. The contracts, which include $1.76 million to cover designs for renovations at Tuckahoe Middle School and more than $1.38 million at Seven Pines and Chamberlayne Elementary schools, were quickly given the green light by the Henrico School Board at its meeting Thursday. Al Ciarochi, assistant superintendent for operations, noted after the meeting that the contracts approved by the School Board only begin the design process at the three schools. He added that design teams consisting of school officials, facilities and instructional staff will be formed.
STATE
Virginia’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9 percent in August
Virginia’s unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent in August from 3.7 percent a month earlier, but employers in the state added jobs at a faster pace than the nation. The state’s jobless rate was down from 4.2 percent in August 2015, the Virginia Employment Commission reported on Tuesday. The numbers have been adjusted for seasonal factors that may temporarily affect employment. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained below the national rate, which was unchanged in August at 4.9 percent.
August home sales rebound after lackluster July
Home sales in Virginia rebounded in August after a lackluster July and rose higher from the same month a year ago, according to the August Home Sales Report released Thursday afternoon by the Virginia Association of Realtors. Sales in central Virginia, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads accounted for the largest percentage of overall sales last month in the commonwealth, underscoring a sustained strengthening in the market, according to the report. A total of 11,482 houses were sold in August in Virginia, up 12.5 percent from the same period a year ago. The median sales price, with half the houses selling for more and half for less, was $272,500, up 1.7 percent from the same month a year ago.
Forcier-Rowe named 2017 president of Virginia Association of Realtors
Claire Forcier-Rowe, manager of Long & Foster Real Estate’s Hanover and Bay/River offices, has been elected president of the Virginia Association of Realtors. She succeeds Bill White, president of Joyner Fine Properties, as the elected leader of the association — one of the largest trade groups in the state with more than 32,000 members. Forcier-Rowe will assume her new post Nov. 8.
NATIONAL
Why so many poor Americans don’t get help paying for housing
“In 2013, everything crumbled all at once,” Makera Meng said. She and her husband ran a business — an international grocery store — in South Portland, Maine, where they also owned a home. But that year, her mom died of cancer, they lost the business and her husband moved to Cambodia, where she had emigrated from three decades earlier. After 10 years of owning it, she lost her home, too. “I’m a good citizen, I work hard and I pay taxes,” she said. But she hasn’t been able to catch a break. As a single mom raising four kids on little more than a welfare check, Meng qualifies for government housing assistance. But like most low-income Americans, she isn’t getting any. The waiting list for housing aid in South Portland is two to five years long; she’s been on it since 2013. In the meantime, she is paying $1,500 a month, utilities not included, for a three-bedroom apartment. “All the income I have is going to housing,” Meng said.
ELECTIONS
Rep. Dave Brat faces challenger in tweaked 7th district
Virginia’s congressional election in the reliably Republican 7th District features a Democrat lawyer from Bon Air in her first run for office and a Republican former college professor who made history two years ago by marshaling tea party supporters to score a primary upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Republicans have held the 7th District seat for the past 45 years. Rep. Dave Brat, the Randolph-Macon College economics professor who beat Cantor in June 2014, went on to defeat another Randolph-Macon professor, Democrat Jack Trammell, in the November general election.
Ed Gillespie has early edge in GOP contest for governor, but candidates are largely unknown
Republican Ed Gillespie has an early edge in the 2017 contest for governor, but many voters know too little about the candidates to offer an opinion, according to a new University of Mary Washington survey. In the four-way battle for the GOP nomination, 40 percent do not have a preference, according to a University of Mary Washington survey. Among those with a preference, 19 percent favored Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who nearly knocked off Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. in 2014.