Chesterfield school board addresses critical race theory, LGBTQ+
0On June 1, the Chesterfield County Public Schools board addressed several controversial topics, including critical race theory, gender identity and masks. Board Chair Ryan Harter (Matoaca) said critical race theory is not being taught in Chesterfield. The board unanimously approved a resolution recognizing June as LGBTQ+ pride month. They also approved the first reading of a new policy that requires school staff to, at the request of a student or parent, address the student using their asserted name and pronoun that corresponds with their gender identity. Final approval of the policy is scheduled for the board’s next meeting. The new…
Morrissey reflects on GOP primary, general election matchups
0State Sen. Joe Morrissey said Sunday that the Democrats will not have an easy time hanging on to the governor’s office in November. The Republicans nominated Northern Virginia businessman Glenn Youngkin for governor, former Del. Winsome Sears for lieutenant governor and Del. Jason Miyares for attorney general during their unassembled convention on May 8. “The Democrats are not going to be able to corner the market on a diverse ticket,” Morrissey (D-Richmond) said. Youngkin is a white man, Sears is a black woman and Miyares’ ethnicity is Cuban. “The Republicans have put up a very formidable ticket,” Morrissey said, calling…
Chesterfield asks state to take its 200 inmates
0By a unanimous vote during a special meeting on May 12, the Chesterfield supervisors directed staff to write to Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to remedy the situation at Riverside Regional Jail. After hearing testimony from nine speakers, including Sheriff Karl Leonard, Commonwealth’s Attorney Stacey Davenport, defense attorney Sangeeta Darji and others, board member Jim Ingle (R-Bermuda) said, “At this point, we don’t have any other choice but to pull our [resident inmates] and relocate them somewhere else.” About 61 percent of Chesterfield’s inmates have been housed at the Riverside jail, which a state…
Increased pay helps curtail firefighter turnover, chief says
0Turnover in the Chesterfield Fire & EMS has been averted at least temporarily by implementation of Phases 1 and 2 of a new pay plan. That’s the word from Chief Loy Senter, who spoke during a work session with the county supervisors on April 28. Firefighters were leaving to pursue better pay or work in a field that had a better work/life balance, he said. He noted that turnover was 6.8 percent over a five-year period and over 7 percent for three consecutive years. However, the current fiscal year has a turnover of only 2.8 percent, Senter said. A number of…
Cultural competency now required for teachers, administrators
0Cultural competency is one of the buzzwords that teachers, principals and school superintendents will become familiar with in Virginia, if they aren’t already. The General Assembly recently passed and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed legislation that requires educational staff to complete instruction in cultural competency for initial licensure or renewal. HB 1904 and SB 1196 passed the Legislature with mostly Democratic votes. Among eastern Chesterfield legislators, Dels. Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond) and Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) and Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) voted yes, while Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) voted no. The bills were among 117 tracked…
Marijuana legalization, IG investigation approved in one-day session
0A one-day “veto session” April 7 resulted in approval of amendments to legislation requested by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), specifically marijuana legalization for up to 1 ounce effective July 1 and approval of $250,000 for a private law firm to investigate and report on the state parole board and the inspector general’s office. The former was legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond). The latter was in response to blowback after an inspector in the state IG’s office, Jennifer Moschetti, was fired after she sought whistleblower protection related to the release of information about the parole board not notifying the…
Chesterfield doing well in COVID-19 vaccinations, Casey says
0During the Chesterfield supervisors’ March 24 meeting, county administrator Joe Casey noted the county was nearing 50 percent of its goal to vaccinate 75 percent of the population above age 18. Casey credited a new vaccination site at Virginia State University with helping the county progress toward its goal. He noted that VSU’s site was vaccinating 2,800 people a day on average. Casey said the county is ranked third amongst localities in the state for COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition, jail inmates are now being vaccinated, he said, referring to a comment from Sheriff Karl Leonard. Casey reminded the public of…
County health district adds Johnson & Johnson vaccine
0Those seeking a COVID-19 vaccine in the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Health District may get either the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Dr. Alexander Samuel, the county’s health director, updated the county supervisors during their March 10 meeting. Although hopeful the district would be able to start vaccinating those in Phase 1C soon, Samuel said that Phase 1B was still the focus. Almost 70 percent of vaccines in the county have gone to those 65 and older, with the rest going to essential workers, including fire, police and hazardous materials workers, childcare and preK-12 staff, and food/agriculture, manufacturing and grocery…