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Clark: Fight for competitive teacher pay continues in Virginia
Every student in Virginia deserves a fully qualified and trained teacher. Why? Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because research consistently shows that teacher quality has the largest impact on student outcomes. Yet, as another school year ends, thousands more students in the Tidewater region spent this year with a permanent substitute or provisionally licensed teacher, at a time when teacher vacancy rates are at historic highs in Virginia and competitive pay for these positions at unprecedented lows. Help was on the way.
Orange County claims Virginia School Boards Association has leftist leanings as it severs ties with group
During a divisive meeting on May 20, the Orange County School Board voted 3-2 to not recertify its membership with the Virginia School Boards Association, claiming the nonpartisan statewide organization was a drain on resources and leaned too far to the political left. “I’ve seen recordings where they mock our governor and anyone with a conservative viewpoint,” said Board Member Darlene Dawson, who referred to the organization as a “monopoly.” “They lobby for many things that I, on principle, stand against, and I’m not interested in supporting them. If you try to disagree with them, they will shut you down. I’ve seen it happen.”
Richmond raises Progress flag for Pride month, faces backlash from protesters
Mayor Levar Stoney, City Council members and queer community leaders met at City Hall on Friday morning to officially recognize June as Pride month and raise the Progress flag alongside the Richmond city and American flags. The flag-raising event began under the Stoney administration five years ago as an effort to highlight the importance of LGBTQ history. It also serves as a symbol for current and future queer residents that the city is a welcoming place to reside, Stoney said. ... Dozens of supporters attended the event, as well as some protesters. They raised concerns not with the city’s position on LGBTQ issues, but with the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
U-Va., state to pay $9 million after deadly 2022 shooting on campus
The University of Virginia and the state will pay $9 million in settlements after a deadly 2022 shooting on campus, as the families of victims continue to call on the university to release findings of an investigation into the incident. On Friday, Albemarle County Circuit Judge Claude V. Worrell II approved $2 million settlements for each of the families of slain students D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler — the amounts are the maximum allowed under the state’s risk management plan.
UVa reaches $9M settlement with families of 2022 shooting victims
The University of Virginia has reached a settlement agreement with the families and victims of the 2022 shooting on Grounds that killed three and injured two others. The families of slain UVa students and football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry will each receive $2 million, with another $3 million to be divided between the two other students injured in the shooting, Marlee Morgan and fellow Cavaliers football player Mike Hollins.
UVa. to pay $9 million after shooting that killed 3 football players in 2022
The University of Virginia will pay $9 million in a settlement related to a 2022 campus shooting that killed three football players and wounded two students, a lawyer representing some of the victims and their families said Friday. But some of the families are calling for more: The immediate release of an independent probe into the shooting that was completed last year. Its focus included efforts by the university to assess the potential threat of the student who was eventually charged with murder as well as recommendations from what was learned.
Otieno’s mother criticizes decision to downgrade charges in son’s death
An attorney for the family of Irvo Otieno is questioning the decision of Dinwiddie County authorities to downgrade the charges against three remaining defendants in Otieno’s death from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. In a statement on behalf of Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, high-profile attorney Ben Crump argued the “circumstances indeed support murder charges” and said Ouko fears that Otieno’s death will “become one of many instances where justice was denied for Black men whose lives are stolen through law enforcement actions.”
Richmond intends to take control of former Redskins facility
The city of Richmond intends to take control of the former Washington Redskins training camp facility on Leigh Street and make it the home of the city’s department of Parks & Recreation, a city official said. Health system Bon Secours intends to vacate the 15-acre parcel, which contains a two-story building and two football fields, by the end of the year. The city’s Economic Development Authority leases the ground from the state but intends to transfer the lease to the city. It has not been determined how much the city will pay for the parcel.
Trump campaign tells Va. Rep. Good to stop implying Trump has endorsed him
Former president Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday demanded that the campaign of Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) stop displaying signs and other material that suggest Trump has endorsed the congressman for reelection, noting in a letter that Good’s primary opponent, state Sen. John McGuire (R-Goochland), has that support. “Producing and displaying materials that give the false impression that President Trump is supportive of your candidacy is a fraud on the voters of the 5th Congressional District,” a Trump presidential campaign attorney said in a cease-and-desist letter emailed to Good and his campaign that included a photo of a yard sign with Trump’s name prominently over Good’s.
34 felony counts and one big loser: us
Four years ago last week, George Floyd was lying on a street corner in Minneapolis taking his last gasps of breath with a white cop’s left knee dug deep into his neck. Despite pleas from Floyd and bystanders, who recorded the brutality in real time with their cellphones, the police officer, Derek Chauvin, defiantly continued suffocating his helpless, handcuffed victim — for nine minutes. Videos of Floyd’s murder went viral, literally setting the streets on fire as an untreatable coronavirus spread and shuttered much of the country. Meanwhile, our political leaders were using the protests and the pandemic — which would claim 1.1 million American lives — to sow division and fear. Four years and an insurrection attempt later, the country is somehow even more divided, more angry and more volatile.