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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Wednesday, July 21, 2021:
The Richmond school board approved a plan Monday to move forward with rebuilding George Wythe High School. The new plan comes after months of disagreement between the board and the mayor. Alan Rodriguez Espinoza reports.
The Virginians for Affordable Medicine is a brand new coalition of advocates, patients, and physicians. Participant Cynthia Gonzalez Luna has type one diabetes, and she relies on expensive insulin injections and other medical supplies. She says she can’t pursue the career opportunities she’d like, for fear of losing Medicaid. The coalition is calling on Virginia House candidates vying for election this November to commit to lowering prescription medicine costs, and support a Prescription Drug Affordability Board.
Virginians have till the end of today to add artifacts to a new time capsule that Governor Northam says, “will tell the world that this is today’s Virginia, not yesterday’s.” The new capsule will replace the current one that was embedded 134 years ago in the foundation of the Robert E. Lee statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue. The updated capsule will be installed once permission has been granted to remove the Lee statue. Those wanting to participate must complete a questionnaire which can be found at governor.virginia.gov/timecapsule
The rules around having backyard chickens in residential districts in Chesterfield County could be getting tweaked. Ian Stewart explains.
Area officials are gearing up to redevelop Shockoe Bottom after years of inaction, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch. Features of the draft plan released by the city on Monday include a memorial campus and museum dedicated to enslaved laborers in what used to be the nation's second-largest slave trading market for decades before the Civil War. City officials say the draft plan invests in historic justice, and that its goal is to turn the area into an international destination. The city's Capital Improvement Plan tentatively sets aside nearly $28 million for the project over the next five years.
