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 Sept. 27, 2023:
Study: Civically engaged Virginians focus on education, health, housing
Reported by VPM News’ Jahd Khalil
A survey of civically engaged Virginians indicates they lack confidence in government and policymakers, and are particularly concerned about education, housing, and health and well-being.
The study's authors noted that nationwide civic engagement has been on the decline, but the report was examining ways to counteract the drop off.
“It really digs into the motivations of individuals — cohorts of demographics — that allows us to then expand, strengthen [and] build,” said Kathy Spangler, the director of Serve Virginia, which conducted the survey. “The sense of contribution that an individual can make is different among different generations.”
Christopher Newport expansion erased a Black neighborhood
Reported by VCIJ’s Brandi Kellam and Louis Hansen
Around 1960, the Shoe Lane community consisted of a church and about 20 Black families, including teachers, dentists, a high school principal and a NASA engineer. They owned ranch-style houses along Shoe Lane and three other streets, which formed a trapezoid enclosing woods and farmland.
In 1961, the Newport News City Council seized the core of the Shoe Lane area for a new public two-year college — a branch of the College of William & Mary system. The council overrode protests from homeowners and civil rights advocates that there were more suitable, and less expensive, sites elsewhere.
Today, the area's home to Christopher Newport University.
In other news:
- City manager removes park curfew, seeking to deal with increasing homelessness (The Daily Progress)*
- The makeup of the next Virginia General Assembly will be historic, no matter what happens in November (Richmond Magazine)
In case you missed it:
- Eighth annual artoberVa event from CultureWorks looks to reach underserved communities this October (Style Weekly)
- The taxpayer? The state?: UVa Board of Visitors debates who it actually serves (The Daily Progress)*
- U.S. bike trips have soared since 2019 (CityLab)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
