Ownership of Mayo Island appears within reach

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However, no taxpayer dollars were previously appropriated.

In December, the Capital Region Land Conservancy, led by former City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, announced an agreement to purchase the flood-prone property from the current owners, the Shaia family, who had owned the island since the early 1980s.

Mr. Agelasto indicated then that the price tag was $11.8 million, a major reduc- tion from the $19 million that the family sought in listing the property for sale four months earlier.

Council was briefed in closed session Monday about Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration’s plan to become the purchaser, the Free Press was told.

Mr. Agelasto could not be reached for comment about the city’s new plans.

He previously engineered the conservancy’s 2021 purchase of 5.2 acres of riverfront property in the 3000 block of Dock Street among a string of initiatives he has pushed that have boosted the profile of the conservancy.

Previously, Mr. Agelasto said the conservancy envisions the island being restored to its natural state.

He also had indicated possible funding if the property becomes a vehicle and equipment staging area during replacement of the Mayo or 14th Street Bridge.

The Virginia Department of Transportation indicated the $81 million construction project could begin in 2024.

Pearson to return to Tennessee House

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Chuck Schumer and four other senators sent a letter Wednesday asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether the expulsions violated the Constitution or federal civil rights laws and “to take all steps necessary to uphold the democratic integrity of our nation’s legislative bodies.”

After the reinstatement vote, a throng of jubilant supporters greeted Rep. Pearson outside in a churchlike celebration. Rep. Pearson adopted the cadence of a preacher as he delivered a rousing speech with call-and-response crowd interaction. Accompanied by his fianceé, mother and four brothers, Rep. Pearson pumped his fist, jumped up and down and hugged relatives.

“They’ve awakened a sleeping giant,” he said, as a drumbeat and roaring cheers echoed his voice.

Rep. Pearson is expected to return to the Capitol in Nashville on Thursday, when the House holds its next floor session, and plans to be sworn in there.

Republicans expelled Reps. Pearson and Jones over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead. The Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes Monday to unanimously restore Rep. Jones to office. He was quickly reinstated to his House seat.

Shelby County’s commission has 13 members, but only seven voted — all Democrats in favor of Rep. Pearson. Two Democrats were out of the country and did not vote. The four Republicans on the commission did not attend the meeting.

The appointments are interim and special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Reps. Jones and Pearson have said they plan to run in the special elections.

Marcus DeWayne Belton said he attended the rally outside the Shelby County government building after the vote because he supports Rep. Pearson’s call for gun law reform.

“It’s not even a Black thing anymore,” he said of gun violence. “This is Black and white. Any time you go inside a school and you’re killing kids, Black and white, it’s serious. Things are getting worse.”

The expulsions made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the span of a few days, the two expelled lawmakers had raised thousands of campaign dollars, and the Tennessee Democratic Party had received a new jolt of support from across the U.S.

Political tensions rose when Reps. Pearson, Johnson and Jones on the House floor joined with hundreds of demonstrators who packed the Capitol last month to call for passage of gun control measures.

As protesters filled galleries, the lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school. Their participation from the front of the chamber broke House rules because the three did not have permission from the House speaker.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee has avoided commenting on the lawmakers’ expulsion and instead said the controversy was an issue concerning the House. He has since called on the General Assembly to pass legislation that would keep dangerous people from acquiring weapons.

In their return to the Tennessee Capitol, Reps. Pearson and Jones still face the same political divisions between the state’s few Democratic strongholds and the Republican supermajority, which were already reaching aboiling point before the expulsions.

General Assembly term. The district he now represents includes part of Richmond, Ashland and part of Hanover County, Charles City County and Henrico County, where he lives.

Sen. Bagby, who also chairs the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, previously served more than seven years as the representative for the 74th District in the House of Delegates. That seat is being left vacant.

In order to remain in the state Senate, he will need to win the upcoming election in the new 14th Senate District, the revamped and renumbered district that resulted from redistricting.

He already has signed to run in the decisive winner-take-all June Democratic primary in the district that includes a big chunk of Richmond and a smaller portion of Henrico.

He will face off against a Richmond minister, Katie Gooch. The winner could essentially be elected to a four-year term. At this point, no independent or Republican challenger has signed up to challenge the Democratic nominee in the general election that will be held in November.