RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Events scheduled for Friday, July 17 are being canceled across the Richmond area due to poor air quality making it unsafe to be outside.

City of Richmond

• All camp programs are indoors on Friday.  
• Outdoor city pools will also be closed Friday. Indoor swimming is available at Bellemede Community Center Pool (1800 Lynhaven Avenue, open until 8 p.m.) and Swansboro Pool (3160 Midlothian Turnpike, open until 8 p.m.).  
• The scheduled Festival of the Arts performance at Dogwood Dell (KOS BAND) has been canceled. 
• The Salvation Army at 1900 Chamberlayne Avenue will be a center for cooling and air quality relief from 2 p.m, on Friday, July 17 to 8 a.m. Saturday, July 18 and from 12 to 5 p.m.  

Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs in New Kent canceled live racing for Friday but will continue on Saturday at an earlier-than-normal 11:30 a.m. post time. Military Appreciation Day at Colonial Downs is still on for Sunday, July 19.

Weather Updates

Some areas in Virginia area under a Code Purple Alert, which means everyone should limit their time outside, especially children, older adults, and those with lung and heart diseases.

Click here to track the air quality near you.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Secretary of State maintains that elections in the Mountain State are secure after voter information corruption claims by President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Kris Warner joined MetroNews “Talkline” Friday to unpack claims by President Trump that voter information for over 200 million Americans had been compromised by China, starting in the 2020 election. Trump addressed the nation Thursday night and said 18 states had experienced corruption by the Chinese government in regard to voter data.

“Our elections are safe, secure, fair, and honest,” Warner said. “We have 55 county clerks and about 8,500 poll workers that did a phenomenal job in the Primary Election, and we’re ready, less than four months away to conduct a general midterm election. So, there’s confidence in our elections and we’re very proud of that.”

Warner said his office has not heard from federal officials.

“I know the President mentioned 18 states, but West Virginia’s not been contacted by the White House, by anyone in the intelligence community; nobody from FBI, CIA, DNI (Director of National Intelligence), or any other federal agency alerting us to any real or existing threat for our upcoming election,” he said.

If the White House or other officials reach out to the Secretary of State’s office with “actionable intelligence,” Warner said the election division will investigate it. Warner praised his office, saying that other states consider West Virginia as a gold standard for election safety,

“People from all over the country look to us,” Warner said. “So, obviously, anything that comes our way that we can act on, we want to increase our election security even further. But until then, we’re going to stay the course.”

West Virginia’s elections are quite secure, Warner emphasized, because the state uses ballot-marking devices. He said that not only are ballots marked electronically, but those votes are also noted on paper.

“Every vote in West Virginia cast is backed up by a paper ballot,” Warner said. “You get to see that paper ballot and make sure that it is exactly who you intended to vote for.”

Because of this commitment to security, Warner said, the election officers in West Virginia will catch anything out of the ordinary. He said his office tracks previous elections and understands the typical numbers of who votes in each precinct. Additionally, he said that 10 days after the election, an audit occurs to confirm results through hand counting.

West Virginia has also been one of the states targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice over disclosure of voter information. A federal judge tossed out a DOJ lawsuit against West Virginia earlier this week over voter data.

Warner said Trump’s claim doesn’t change West Virginia’s stance on refusing to hand over voter information to the DOJ.

“West Virginia law says I’m not to share personal information — that’s social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, tied to birth dates, in some cases, cell phone numbers, email addresses, your home address,” Warner said. “Again, there would need to be actionable intelligence that is going to strengthen our election security before we do anything further.”

While he said he agrees with the mission — keeping people outside of the law from voting — but this isn’t the way to do it. Warner said voter information is personal, and it doesn’t need to be “floating around to vendors” in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

A historic downtown cemetery has found itself in the crosshairs of a group skeptical about the direction of development in downtown Dallas. 

The Pioneer Park cemetery is home to the graves of Dallas’ founders. Nearly every major Dallas myth hero and corresponding street name can be found etched into the stones — many of which date back to the 1800s. But the burial site also sits in the heart of downtown, tucked between the convention center and City Hall building. 

It’s that location that worries the Save City Hall coalition, a group of organizers who have stood opposed to plans for Dallas’ municipal government to abandon the I.M. Pei-designed building on Marilla Street. According to a notice the coalition sent to the city on Thursday, surveyors have been spotted at the cemetery in recent weeks, and rumors have begun to emerge that the graves may have been included in the latest plans to develop the convention center and surrounding area. 

“Pioneer Cemetery is hallowed ground, not a real estate opportunity,” the coalition said in a statement. “The law is crystal clear: you cannot simply pave over the founders of this city to build a basketball arena or a convention center hall. Any attempt to disturb these remains without strict adherence to state statutes is not just a civil violation — it is a jailable felony.”

The notice is the seventh that the coalition has sent to the city in recent months, and each threatens litigation if Dallas’ government fails to comply with various codes and ordinances. In reference to Pioneer Park, the coalition claims that the cemetery’s status as a historical landmark protects it from demolition or tampering. The notice also outlines an extensive process that must be followed when moving remains. 

A city of Dallas spokesperson confirmed to the Observer Thursday afternoon that the city was aware of the notice, but stated that any work being done at the cemetery is above board and planned. The city declined to comment on the notice itself. 

“Pioneer Park is currently under a plan to refurbish the steers and rider, fix the drainage and replant. There is no plan to change the site into something different,” the statement said. 

Still, this is not the first time that the cemetery’s downtown location has been questioned. 

The Dallas City Council approved the construction of a new convention center back in 2022. At the time, the state-of-the-art facility came with a $2 billion price tag. (Four years and two construction delays later, we’re looking at a $3.8 billion total.) 

Some council members opposed the plan, in part because of the cost. But the Pioneer Park cemetery was cited as a challenge for the site plan, with council member Cara Mendelsohn stating that “across the nation,” people in the events, convention, and hospitality industries “make fun of Dallas for having a cemetery outside of its convention center.” 

On Thursday, Mendelsohn declined to say whether she’s heard of any plans involving the redevelopment of the cemetery, but said she’s asked about the burial site “probably 10 times” during various council meetings, and has never been given “a straight answer.” 

Still, the staunch supporter of City Hall said she could be persuaded into endorsing a cemetery relocation, with one major stipulation. 

“I could support moving Pioneer Cemetery to Old City Park or combining it into one of the historic cemeteries in the city limits if the agreement included a provision to not abandon [or] relocate City Hall,” Mendelsohn said.