Local Government, Civic Affairs and Education
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Gov. Northam says he has restored voting and other civil rights to more than 22,000 felons who have completed their sentences since taking office last year.Northam announced the milestone Wednesday. The restored rights include the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office.The Democratic governor previously announced in February that he’d restored rights to more than 10,000 felons.His predecessor, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, made undoing a vestige of the state’s Jim Crow era and restoring voting a hallmark of his term in office and restored the rights of more than 170,000 felons.Virginia is one of a handful of states that permanently limit the civil rights of people convicted of a felony barring gubernatorial intervention.
A multi-faceted protest this afternoon near the Virginia Tech Carilion campus, spurred by the Virginia Municipal League conference being held at Hotel Roanoke this week. On hand were those opposed to natural gas pipelines, proposed redevelopment near the Higher Education Center in Gainsboro and plans for the Evans Spring property near Valley View Mall. Pipeline opponents plan to protest outside Hotel Roanoke about what they claim is a too-cozy relationship between Dominion Energy and Governor Northam, when the Governor address the Virginia Municipal League conference tomorrow morning. Dominion Energy is an investor in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Martin Jeffrey is a northwest city resident and activist:
The U.S. Department of Education has honored Grandin Court Elementary School in Roanoke as one of seven “Blue Ribbon” schools in Virginia. The schools are recognized for either being academically superior or for demonstrating dramatic gains in student achievement.
NEWS RELEASE: — Seven Virginia public schools are among the 362 schools named today by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos as 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
Virginia public schools recognized as 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools are as follows:
- Arlington Traditional School in Arlington County
- Grandin Court Elementary in Roanoke
- Midlothian High in Chesterfield County
- Paul Munro Elementary in Lynchburg
- Rodney E. Thompson Middle in Stafford County
- Rural Retreat Elementary in Wythe County
- Tallwood Elementary in Virginia Beach
“Congratulations to the teachers, principals, students and all of the educators and support staff whose hard work and dedication to learning and excellence have earned this national recognition,” Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said. “These schools share a common commitment to provide exceptional educational opportunities that will instill in their students a lifelong love of learning that is essential to achieving long-lasting academic and career success.”
Two Virginia private schools — Saint Francis of Assisi School in Triangle and Trinity Christian School in Everett — also were recognized as a 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Council for American Private Education nominates private schools for National Blue Ribbon School awards each year.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on one of two criteria: performance on state assessments, or in the case of private schools, performance on national standardized tests and high school graduation rates; or performance in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years while increasing graduation rates for each subgroup.
The U.S. Department of Education will honor all of the nation’s 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools during a conference and awards ceremony later this fall in Washington, DC.
The West End Center on Patterson Avenue southwest offers afterschool and all-day summer camp programs for children from low-income families. Its also turning 40 and today they cut a ribbon and are holding an open house until 6:30. Joy Parrish is the executive director. She says its notable for a small non-profit largely supported by donations to make it to the 40-year mark.
Ian Price photos
12th District delegate Chris Hurst was a principal speaker at a pipeline protest this morning outside the Wells Fargo tower – one of the financial institutions that has loaned money to the groups behind the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipeline projects. Resistance is NOT futile despite the construction that’s well underway says Hurst. The “Climate Emergency – Tristate Pipeline Strike” also included “Art-tivists” who unveiled a mobile art structure called “Earth on Fire.”
