News to Know for Sept. 14: New Henrico police chief; Chesterfield Schools to discuss in-person learning; What’s on your ballot?; Get ready for sweater weather

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - After a busy weekend, here’s a quick look at our top headlines to help start your workweek!

It will feel more like fall this week as temperatures turn cooler and we get a dry stretch of weather for a few days early to mid-week.

And we’re already watching the eventual track of Tropical Storm Sally closely for possible impacts later in the week.

That’s what students in Chesterfield could be doing if the board approves a phased in-person return plan scheduled to be discussed tonight.

But it all depends on the coronavirus data they have already collected.

If the board does decide to let students back in, it will be a phased plan. Students would return about four days out of the week and could start as early as Sept. 29. The district would then stagger re-entry all the way through October and early November.

It’s a student holiday there today, but when schools reopen tomorrow, Liberty Middle School will open for in-person classes.

The school was slated to open last week, but then three teachers tested positive for COVID-19.

Liberty began virtual learning on Thursday. Hanover Schools says it got the go-ahead to open the building after consulting with the health department.

Virginia Tech is not playing around when it comes to students violating campus COVID guidelines. The university just suspended 40 more students, some also evicted from campus housing.

Guidelines set in place by the university place a 15-person cap for any gathering and masks are required.

In the past week, 212 students and 7 employees tested positive for COVID-19. Last month, 7 students were suspended.

On Sunday, the health department reported 874 new cases along with two more COVID-related deaths.

The testing positivity rate, which is supposed to set the pace for reopening, fell to 7.5 percent.

The county’s new police chief will officially be sworn-in today.

Eric English previously served as the police chief of Harrisonburg and also spent many years with Richmond police.

He will be the first Black person to serve as Henrico’s chief of police. He replaces Humberto Cardounel, who retired earlier this month.

If you ride GRTC you’ll notice some changes that took effect yesterday.

The changes will improve Sunday service, reliability and connectivity between stops. Reduced service continues on most express routes. See the changes here.

We’re less than two months from Election Day, so it’s time to take a look at who you’ll be voting for. Here’s a list of what will be on the ballot in Richmond.

Of course, we will keep you updated on more races throughout the commonwealth as we get closer to the day. Get the latest news on Decision 2020 here.

When one Chesterfield resident met her pit bull “Petey,” she says she “instantly” fell in love with him. The pup had the same effect on TikTok — and now has more than 250,000 followers on the video app.

One video, where Petey “argues” that he doesn’t want to go outside in the rain, has been seen by 7.7 million people and liked by more than 2 million. Check it out here:

Read more about this cutie here.

“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future.” - Seneca

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