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VPM Daily Newscast: May 11, 2023

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VPM Daily Newscast

The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.

Listeners can subscribe through NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Megaphone, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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.

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VPM News is the staff byline for articles and podcasts written and produced by multiple reporters and editors.