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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Tuesday, June 8, 2021:
Five Democrats running for Virginia governor are making their final pitch to voters ahead of today’s primary. As Ben Paviour reports, there’s a clear front-runner in former Governor Terry McAuliffe.
The Supreme Court of Virginia is slated to hear oral arguments today in the fight over taking down the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Two lawsuits are challenging Governor Ralph Northam’s plans to remove the statue from Richmond’s Monument Ave. Northam announced plans to take it down this time last year, days after protests erupted in response to the murder of George Floyd. Since then, the City of Richmond has removed over a dozen statues and other Confederate iconography.
The City of Richmond is holding a mass vaccination event this week that will also serve as a community job fair. Several hiring agencies will be recruiting for the hospitality industry, which took a hit during the pandemic. The event is taking place on June 12th at the Southside Plaza, from 10 a.m. to 4 .p.m.
The state’s legislative oversight committee is moving the deadline up -- on its initial investigation into the handling of pandemic-related jobless claims. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the interim report on the Virginia Employment Commission will be released in late September, earlier than anticipated. The final review will be published two months later. Virginians have been complaining for months they haven’t received their unemployment payments during the pandemic. The V-E-C has been dealing with a backlog of claims. Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order last month, directing the commission to hire more staff – and to upgrade the state’s unemployment insurance system.
