The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of May 11, 2023:
Hanover school board rejects keeping Gandy name for new building
Reported by VPM News’ Lyndon German
John M. Gandy, the son of formerly enslaved parents from Mississippi, grew to be a prominent Virginia educator. In 1898, he was appointed as a professor at Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now known as Virginia State University, where he later became its third president.
Many Hanover residents voiced their support to retain the name Gandy for the school, which serves students in third through fifth grades, as it’s combined with Henry Clay Elementary, which serves students in pre-K through second grades.
But a school board policy that bars naming schools after people ruled the name out. The school board selected the name Ashland Elementary over the recommendation of its naming committee, Berkleytown Elementary. Ashland’s historic Berkleytown District grew as a Black community after the town mandated segregation in 1911.
Advisers to the FDA back over-the-counter birth control pill
Reported by NPR’s Scott Hensley, Rob Stein
In a unanimous vote, 17–0, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the agency approve the first over-the-counter birth control pill.
If approved, the pill would be sold by Perrigo under the brand name Opill. It is a so-called progestin-only pill that contains only a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone to prevent pregnancy. Most pills also contain estrogen. While the FDA typically follows the recommendation of its advisory committees, it isn't required to.
In other news:
- A new book explores the unsolved murders of hiker couple in Shenandoah National Park. (Style Weekly)
- Youngkin: I want to talk to Wilder about DEI (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
In case you missed it:
Buckingham Electoral Board fires Republican registrar after less than a month in the job (Virginia Mercury)
- Data center boom prompts Fairfax County to take new look at rules, environmental impacts (FFXNow)
- Dayton residents petition to oust mayor (Daily News-Record)