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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of June 11, 2025:
Babur Lateef wants to take his Prince William school successes statewide
Reported by VPM News’ Jahd Khalil
Babur Lateef wants to take what he says are his successes as the chair of Prince William County’s school board and apply them to state politics. Lateef, an ophthalmologist, has also held board positions on the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors and UVA Health System.
Now, Lateef is one of six candidates running to earn the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in the June 17 primary; the winner will face Republican John Reid for the office currently held by Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle Sears.
VPM News state politics reporter Jahd Khalil recently spoke to Lateef about his campaign, as part of a series of conversations with all six Democratic candidates for the state’s No. 2 job.
Lateef associated his legislative priorities with policies he said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger supports: cutting the car tax, housing affordability, investing in education, and opposing President Donald Trump.
‘Definitely faulty’: A student’s take on Richmond’s clear backpack policy
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares
Deon Wright Jr. was not expecting to carry a clear backpack during his senior year at Richmond Community High School.
When it comes to addressing school safety issues, Wright, who will be attending Morehouse College in the fall, said, “Well I definitely don’t think it's the clear bookbag.”
The Richmond School Board unanimously voted last summer to implement the clear backpack policy. The clear backpacks were chosen as a way to “streamline the search process during morning arrival within secondary schools while deterring and identifying prohibited items, such as weapons, vape pens, narcotics, and other items that could pose a threat to educational environments across the division.”
But not everyone agrees that the policy is doing what it’s supposed to.
“I don’t think they make me feel safer,” Wright said. “I don't think that everybody having clear bookbags has cured my anxiety.”
Wright said he understands the district’s safety concerns, but said wait times for the security checkpoint before heading into school are just as long as they were before the clear bag policy was implemented: “Why have us change what we're used to, switch over to something that's definitely faulty, a lesser version — and then we're still getting our bag checked regardless?”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth:
- Richmond spent $100K since 2023 on billboards boasting 'safe, reliable' drinking water (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Environmental groups slam federal plan to ship wetlands mitigation out of Hampton Roads (Virginia Mercury)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.