Across Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A crowd cheered Saturday as workers in Charlottesville removed a Confederate statue near the site of a violent white nationalist rally three years ago.
The removal of a bronze figure of a Confederate soldier known as “At Ready” is seen in Charlottesville as a milestone in eliminating divisive symbols of the Civil War.
The Washington Post reports that the process of removing the statue began Saturday morning as workers affixed straps to the 900-pound statute to prepare to remove it from its base.
A crowd of about 100 people cheered behind metal barricades as the figure was lifted from its pedestal and lowered to the ground. The statue has been outside the Albermarle County courthouse for 111 years.
Members of the crowd all wore masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some wore blue Union Civil War caps and danced to music broadcast by a local radio station.
The cheerful scene was in stark contrast to the violence at the Unite The Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017. One woman was killed and dozens were injured when a self-avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of people protesting the white nationalist gathering.
“This is a magnificent moment,” said local community organizer Don Gathers. “Much of the racial tension, strife and protest we’re seeing across the country emanates from right here in Charlottesville. But now we’re moving the needle in a positive way.”
Albemarle County supervisors voted earlier this summer to take down the statute, which is located within the city of Charlottesville. The statue was not the focal point of the 2017 rally, but it is a block away from the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups said they were defending in the clash.
Charlottesville’s city council has voted to remove both Lee and a nearby monument to fellow Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, but a small group of Confederate supporters filed a lawsuit to save them. The case is headed to the Supreme Court of Virginia and could take months to be resolved.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 46 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 1 new hospitalization being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State health officials report 30 new cases and 1 new hospitalization in Roanoke City, 10 new cases in Roanoke County, 3 new cases in Salem and 3 new cases in Botetourt County.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 37 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 1 new hospitalization being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State Health officials report 17 new cases and 1 new hospitalization in Roanoke City, 10 new cases in Roanoke County, 6 new cases in Salem and 4 new cases in Botetourt County.
UPDATE Statement from Cookout: As a result of our internal investigation into the complaints at the Rocky Mount, VA store, we found evidence of extremely long wait times and failure to greet many guests within an acceptable amount of time over the holiday weekend. These guests of the Rocky Mount, VA location included 2 law enforcement officers who asked the cashier if a manager was there. The cashier did not go and get the manager and the manager did not make himself available to speak to the officers.
PREVIOUS from Franklin County Sheriff’s Office: There has been a lot of discussion on social media the past couple of days in reference to a situation that occurred over the weekend where our deputies were not served at a local fast food restaurant. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the incident and has spoken to the deputies involved. The corporate office of this establishment was contacted,and we are confident that this business will investigate and address the situation appropriately. We ask that citizens not rush to judgement and give the restaurant the ability to thoroughly investigate the circumstances behind the incident. It is our hope that this situation was simply the action of one or two persons and not supported by the restaurant or its management team. This entire department appreciates all the continued support from our community and from all supporters of Law Enforcement. We are thankful and blessed to serve Franklin County
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 13 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 2 new hospitalizations being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State Health officials report 6 new cases and 1 new hospitalization in Roanoke City, 6 new cases in Roanoke County and 1 new case and hospitalization in Salem.
Legislation aimed at making it easier to sue police officers for misconduct in Virginia has been revived for a second time and approved by the state House of Delegates. The bill sponsored by Del. Jeff Bourne would allow lawsuits by people who claim police have violated their constitutional rights to move forward in state court. It would end the qualified immunity that often protects police from liability. The legislation had been killed once in committee and once on the House floor before winning approval Tuesday. It will now go to the Senate, which has already rejected similar legislation.
According to the latest numbers released this morning by The Virginia Department of Health there are 3 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and one new hospitalization being attributed to the Roanoke Valley. State Health officials report 1 new case in Roanoke City, and 2 new cases in Salem. There is 1 new hospitalization being reported in Botetourt County.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Fires caused nearly $4 million in estimated damages over the first 18 days of protests this summer in Richmond, according to an analysis by city emergency officials.
Richmond fire crews responded to 48 fires between May 29 and June 15 that resulted in at least $3.9 million in estimated losses, according to the internal Richmond Fire & EMS analysis, which was provided to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The figure doesn’t account for anything ruined inside the structures.
Protests have been ongoing in Richmond throughout the summer since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The city’s fire department has responded to other protest-related fires outside of the initial 18-day period covered in the report, but the volume and severity of the incidents has declined, according to the newspaper.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — The police chief in Portsmouth, Virginia, is on paid leave nearly three weeks after her department charged a state senator and several others from the city’s Black community with conspiring to a damage a Confederate monument.
City spokeswoman Dana Woodson confirmed in an email on Friday that Chief Angela Greene is on leave and that an assistant police chief will assume her duties in the meantime.
The city declined to comment further. No one answered the telephone Friday at a number listed for Greene.
Allies of State Sen. Louise Lucas in Richmond have called the felony charges against her legally weak and political. The case is based on words that police say Lucas spoke in the hours before protesters ripped heads off Confederate statues and pulled one down, critically injuring a demonstrator.
Some legal observers say that Lucas’ alleged statements are protected speech. The charges were filed without the cooperation of the local prosecutor’s office. And they were issued the day before state lawmakers met to work on police reforms, including ones that Lucas — a high ranking-Democrat — has championed.
Lucas and several others face counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000. Other people who were charged included a school board member as well as members of the local NAACP chapter and public defender’s office.
Lucas is being charged at a time when many memorials to the Confederacy are being taken down, whether by demonstrators opposed to racial injustice or by authorities seeking to dismantle them through official channels. The monuments have long been viewed by many as symbols of white supremacy. But they’ve drawn increasing attention following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.
Greene became Portsmouth’s police chief in 2019 after chief Tonya Chapman resigned.