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Brown v. Board promised better schools for all, but Richmond falls short
Keri Treadway was setting up her classroom library a few days before students from William Fox Elementary School began attending class at Clark Springs Elementary School. It was about three months after a three-alarm fire destroyed the 111-year-old Fox building in 2022. Treadway is a reading interventionist for Fox students, and due to space limitations usually works in a small room located within a classroom — a quirk of the Clark Springs design. There’s no door separating the space from the main classroom, so Treadway fashioned a curtain to divide the space.
VPAP Visual New Voter Registrations: April 2024
New registrations are off to a slow start in the first four months of 2024. Virginia has had 84,411 new registrations so far this year, the lowest number of the past five presidential election years for January through April.
Richmond’s first Black-owned hospital now on list of endangered historic sites
The aged red brick and boarded up windows of Richmond Community Hospital have been at the center of debate in North Side, where residents have been rallying to save the historic building. A freshly achieved historic designation could aid in the preservation of that historic building. The hospital, now closed since the 1980s and covered in Ivy, was once the first Black-owned hospital in the city. It was the only place where Black physicians could practice, and Black patients could receive medical care.
Appalachian Power makes another move toward renewable energy
Appalachian Power Co. is in the market for three wind, solar and battery energy systems as it takes another step toward establishing an all-renewable power portfolio. The company’s request for proposals from energy companies is the latest in a series of planned acquisitions to comply with the Clean Economy Act, a state law that requires Appalachian to deliver totally carbon-free power to its Virginia customers by 2050.
It’s official: Madison School Board declares Christmas a holiday
Madison County School Board Vice-Chair Chris Wingate acknowledged at the start of Monday night’s meeting the discussion about the Christmas Holiday has “caused some controversy,” so he just wants to have a policy so that “we don’t argue about it every year.” “We’re going to be really neutral, not hostile to religion in our public life,” Wingate added.
622-acre data center project greenlit by Henrico Board of Supervisors
The Henrico County Board of Supervisors has approved a request for over 600 acres of land in the eastern part of the county to be used for the development of data centers. In a scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 14, the board voted unanimously to allow a total of just over 622 acres of land be used for manufacturing and production by developer Hourigan. Specifically, the request describes both data center and “advanced manufacturing” facilities.
Va. ABC ousts CIO responsible for modernizing systems
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority has lost its fourth executive officer in nearly 10 months in the latest sign of instability within the authority’s leadership. Paul Williams is out as ABC’s Chief Information Officer after serving in the role since 2016. Williams told the Virginia Mercury he was “separated from employment at ABC” by CEO Dave Farino with no notice May 8 without severance or compensation for his time at the authority. Williams said the reason Farino gave is he, “doesn’t want me on his executive team; doesn’t trust me to be his leader of a section of the ABC business.”
Virginia approves $26.5M for Bristol landfill remediation
Bristol Va.‘s challenging task of environmental remediation at its former landfill got a huge economic boost Monday with the inclusion of $26.5 million in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s final approved fiscal 2025 budget. The state funding greatly eases the potential burden on city taxpayers as Bristol continues extensive efforts to prevent further release of noxious gases that prompted community outcry in 2020 and led to the landfill’s closure in September 2022.
Richmond finalizes labor deals with unions for police, firefighters and other city employees
The Richmond City Council approved collective bargaining agreements between the city and unions representing police, firefighters, emergency workers and other city employees. The city’s three-year labor deals with the unions — the Richmond Coalition of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 995 and the Service Employees International Union, Virginia 512 – take effect on July 1 through June 30, 2027.
Former Sen. Amanda Chase in court for assault charge
Former state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, was in court Monday for an assault and battery charge after an altercation earlier this year at a local GOP event. Chesterfield Republicans met in March to select new committee leaders, but a confrontation involving Chase became the main attraction. Chase was charged with assault and battery after a confrontation with Adaire Lazaro outside of the meeting.