Lawsuits and a Lack of Cell Phone Lockers
Cheers RVA!
Today will be a bit hotter with a high of 89. Scattered thunderstorms are expected for the late afternoon and evening, with a 70% chance of rain.
the juice:
The mother and widow of the graduation day shooting victims is filing two separate lawsuits against the Richmond School Board for $26 million in damages.
The shootings took place following Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony at Altria Theater in June of 2023.
The defendants in the lawsuit include the School Board, Superintendent Jason Kamras, and three Huguenot High School employees.
Shawn Jackson, the student killed had been a homebound student due to his mother Tamika Jackson’s fears for his safety and mental health, and he was not supposed to be at any school-sponsored events.
Apparently Jackson had repeatedly informed the school her son’s life was being threatened.
The shooter plead guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years.
the pulp:
The City Council approved the transfer of a city-owned building to the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood. The building located at 4929 Chamberlayne was most recently home to RPS’s REAL School which closed in 2021.
Mike Platania from Bizsense writes about the recently completed 15-story Parc View apartments on 321 W. Grace St. The tower is intended primarily for student housing and can house 500 people in 168 fully-furnished units.
the dive:
A city spokesperson is saying cell phone lockers will return to the John Marshall Courts building, according to VPM.
Most courtrooms in Virginia do not allow personal devices inside.
The website for the John Marshall Court had stated lockers would be available.
Richmond’s Commonwealth Attorney Colette McEachin said the lockers were removed because they had been damaged and it was cheaper to remove them than to replace them.
Whittney Evans from VPM writes:
Many summoned to court for eviction hearings learned, while already in line at security, that they couldn’t bring cellphones or other electronic devices into the building with them. People who were short on time or didn’t have a car to stash them in, turned instead to a well-known Richmond courthouse hack: tossing phones into the bushes to avoid missing their hearings.
She notes that some visiting the courthouse report having their phones stolen from the nearby bushes and resort to further measures:
People have also reportedly dug holes outside the courthouse or run to the Library of Virginia to hide a phone behind books on a shelf. Others have just gone home.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Have a great day RVA!
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