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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Wednesday, October 27, 2021:
Data from the Richmond Police Department shows that from 2020 to 2021 there were 605 reported crimes in the city’s six largest public housing neighborhoods. About two thirds of those were nonviolent property crimes. As Meg Schiffres reports, residents and advocates say these neighborhoods are over-policed.
Next month, Richmond city officials say a temporary shelter is expected to open that will house people experiencing homelessness this winter. The shelter will be located at the Quality Inn Hotel on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Officials say it will operate for 12 to 15 hours each day. Eventually, the city plans to open a permanent inclement weather shelter at the Commonwealth Catholic Charities location on Oliver Hill Way. Earlier this month, city council approved about 2 million dollars of federal funding to renovate the building.
Teachers in Chesterfield who wish to take training courses will have to sign a form promising the sessions do not include critical race theory. The decision to require the form came this summer, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Training professionals will also have to submit a quarterly list of sessions available for the school board to review. County officials have said critical race theory should not be brought into the classroom, and that it is quote “not part of their agenda.” Critical race theory was developed at Harvard University and has been used for decades to examine systemic racism. It’s often been politicized on the campaign trail both locally and nationally.
Virginians are voting early at a historic pace for a gubernatorial election. As Jordan Pascale - from our partner station WAMU reports, extending early voting is just one of the election changes in the commonwealth.
With less than a week until Election Day, nearly 725,000 Virginians have already voted. That’s according to data released Monday from the Virginia Public Access Project. Of those voters: more than 506,000 cast their ballot in-person and nearly 219,000 voted by mail. About 152,000 people applied for absentee ballots that still need to be mailed in. The last day to vote early in-person is Saturday. Election Day is Nov. 2.
Election Day is less than a week away. It’s the second time voters and election workers will head to the polls during the pandemic. As Ian Stewart reports, one returning poll worker is looking forward to the whole experience again.
