On the heels of the release of the Richmond City Schools Facility Master Plan (PDF), you are invited to be part of a community conversation around the building of new schools in the East District. 7th District School Board Representative Keith West will be present. Tuesday Dec.4 @ EDI - 701 N 25th Street.

RTD columnist Michael Paul Williams looks at a recent transfer of renovation money away from Fairfield Middle School to 2 West End high schools and calls it a “blatant” cheating of East Henrico. On Thursday night, Henrico School Board members voted 3-2 to transfer $134,000 away from a renovation at the 50-year-old Fairfield Middle School to free up design money for two 12,400-square-foot field houses at Deep Run and Tucker high schools.

About 25 people turned out for a “community conversation on building new schools” last night at EDI. The meeting began with a presentation (PDF) by Torey Edmunds on the recently released Master Facility Plan Update (PDF) as it impacts the East End, followed by a lively back and forth on the issues raised.

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Around 11AM Saturday morning, officers were called to the rooming house at 1216 Williamsburg Road and found 30-year-old Damone Jackson Black shot to death, Richmond’s 50th homicide victim of the year. [via]

It is now illegal to chain your pets outside for more than one hour. The Richmond City Council has passed legislation that restricts the amount of time dog owners can leave their pets tied up.             

Council members heard testimony from residents of the city as well as Virginia SPCA members encouraging them to adopt the law. City residents were on hand to give their own accounts of fighting off dogs that have gone after them as they walk by, or dogs that bark all night long.            

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Topics at the December 11 Fulton Hill Civic Association meeting at the NRC included Neighborhood Watch, emergency preparedness training, discouraging the sale of single-serving alcoholic beverages, the campaign for an elementary school in Fulton, and a report on loss of many trees in the city due to short-sighted tree management practices by the Department of Public Utilities.

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Jazz on Thursday night at the NRC: Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to hear one of the great visionary artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Legendary saxophonist Marshall Allen (of the Sun Ra Arkestra), accompanied by Philadelphia’s Elliott Levin and locals Tim Harding and Sam Byrd. Plus, don’t miss D.C.’s This Bag Is Not a Toy and The Four Story Saxophone Quartet. Thurs. Dec.13, $10, 8PM. For more information, call 233-1946 or 864-5797.

Changes at one of our sister sites had disabled the neighborhood crime map for a few days, but everything is back up and running.

And wtvr seems to have noticed, too.

A man was discovered shot to death just after 9PM Wednesday night in the 1500 block of Jennie Scher Road. No identity or motive for the killing has been announced. [via]

A prayer vigil was held last night for shooting victim Macon Griffin, organized by Citizens Against Crime advocate Alicia Rasin. Macon Griffin was graduate of Armstrong High School and lived with his girlfriend and their two children, ages 5 and 7. [via]