Richmond's John Marshall HS Needs $2.5 Million in Repairs; JD Spain Wins; Queen City; Dream Academy; Debate Dates
➡️ There are 7 days until Network NOVA Women’s Summit on June 28.
➡️ There are 41 days until the Virginia Black Business Expo on Aug. 2.
➡️ There are 73 days until the annual Bobby Scott Labor Day Cookout on Sept. 2.
➡️ There are 137 days until Election Day November 5.
🌹Remembering the lives and work of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan 60 years ago attempting to register Black voters in Mississippi.
June 14 podcast 📣 Loudoun attorney Phil Thompson and Lauren Burke discuss suspiciously timed allegations before the June 18 primary.🎙️
Richmond: John Marshall HS Needs $2.8 Million in Repairs
In the wake of discussions around a new baseball stadium in Richmond, a report prepared for the Richmond Public School system was released yesterday revealing that John Marshall High School is in need of close to $3 million in repairs. Many schools in Virginia are old and in need of repair.
"As I have been saying for months as a lone voice: Instead spending $280,000,000 of city money to build a new baseball stadium, we instead need to use it to modernize our public school facilities, the oldest and most decrepit on average in the state,” said Richmond attorney Paul Goldman on the news that John Marshall High School needs repairs.
Though the high school continues to bring excitement to Virginia by featuring their championship varsity basketball team, the school remains in disrepair.
READ THE REPORT ON JOHN MARSHALL HS
Though Richmond continues to deal with challenging poverty, there’s been no comprehensive plan to improve many of the schools that are over 50 years old.
JD Spain Wins Primary for Seat on the Arlington County Board
The ranked choice voting process has ended and JD Spain has won the Democratic primary for a seat on the Arlington County Board. Spain is a former President of the Arlington NAACP and a Marine Corp veteran.
Newport News Community Services Board
Congressman Bobby Scott along with Newport News Mayor Phil Jones, Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck and Newport News Councilwoman Tina Vick present a check for $400,000 in community project funding to the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board.
Queen City: The Lost Black Community Erased by Pentagon
The BBC has a fascinating piece on Queen City: A thriving all-Black community flourished just outside Washington DC until its nearly 1,000 residents were forcibly displaced. Now, this little-known "city" is finally being honoured.
The stout, jug-like building rises 35ft above the greenery of Arlington, Virginia's Metropolitan Park, a green, path-laced oasis set amid Amazon's new HQ2 headquarters. Constructed from 5,000-odd red bricks, the structure feels both industrial and earthy, and stepping inside the small space reveals hundreds of glistening, glazed ceramic bulbs cascading from above in waves of blue, green and brown.
This is Queen City, an art installation paying homage to the 903 African American residents of the eponymous all-Black community, as well as the surrounding East Arlington neighbourhood, who were forcibly removed from their homes in the early 1940s to make way for the construction of The Pentagon. READ ENTIRE
2024 Senate: Sen. Kaine vs. Hung Cao Debate Dates
June 20, 2024: The Virginia Bar Association will host a debate between Kaine and Republican challenger Hung Can will take place at the Omni Homestead in Hot Springs.
Sept. 19, 2024: The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce will host a debate between Kaine and Cao in partnership with NBC4.
Oct. 2, 2024: Norfolk State University in partnership with WAVY-TV and Nexstar Media will host a debate at the stories HBCU.
🗳️ Biden/Trump DebateJune 27, 2024: The Presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is on Thursday, June 27, 2024 on CNN.
Are Virginia Toll Roads Confusing and Costly? State Study Says: Yes!
By Nathaniel Cline for the Virginia Mercury: Researchers found that some complex toll roads in Northern Virginia are “less understandable” for people who drive high occupancy vehicles and that inconsistent toll signage in Virginia may also cause driver confusion. The findings come after a months-long study into easing vehicle traffic congestion, specifically on popular Interstates 81 and 95, and possible ways to stop rising toll costs.
Cost concerns
According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which conducts analysis and provides oversight of state agencies on behalf of the General Assembly, 7% of EZ-Pass users from Northern Virginia surveyed said they don’t use the toll routes because of their design and layout. READ ENTIRE
June 22: Dream Academy Graduation
70 adults to achieve their dream of a high school diploma. Seventy grownups will shed their status as drop-outs and join the ranks of high school graduates Saturday, June 22, when Richmond-based Dream Academy holds its 12th Commencement.
Open to the public, the upbeat ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will be held at Virginia Union University’s Coburn Hall, Dr. Joann Henry, the nonprofit school’s founder and director, has announced. Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears will deliver the commencement address.
Over 700 mostly Richmond-area residents have graduated from the now fully accredited school since it was launched in August 2012. Alums have gone on to college and into the military and now work in various fields, including law enforcement and health care.
Dream Academy is located at 2505 Chamberlayne Ave., Richmond, VA. Contact: Dr. Henry, (804) 228-8200 or (804) 514-7652, JoannHenryVSU@yahoo.com
What just happened in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District? What are the takeaways from the June 18, 2024 primary campaign?
🌹 Remembering the lives and work of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan 60 years ago today attempting to register Blacks in Mississippi to vote in June of 1964.
When they were murdered in 1964, Michael Schwerner was 24 years old, Andrew Goodman was 20 years old, and James Chaney was 21 years old. 🌹
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