Welcome to today’s edition of the Dogwood Daily. We’ve got a round-up of all of today’s Virginia news coming right up. And if you’re a fan, please forward to three friends who need to know what’s going on in the Commonwealth and tell them to subscribe here.
But First…
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, and we highly recommend checking out the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s series on the anniversary.
5 Things you need to know today
- Virginia Democrats post strong fundraising numbers – Virginia Democrats out-raised their Republican counterparts in the second quarter, according to recent campaign finance disclosures. The Democratic Party of Virginia raised $690,282 compared to the Republican Party’s $36,385 (yes, you read that right). The House Democratic Caucus raised $805,893, compared to $535,098 for Republicans, and the Senate Democratic Caucus out-raised the Republicans by nearly $225,000. Democratic PACs also posted strong numbers, as did individual candidates. From May 31 to June 30, the three highest fundraisers were Democratic Senate candidates Ghazala Hashmi, Amy Laufer and Debra Rodman, who each raised more than $145,000. – Virginia Public Access Project
- Trump doubles, triples, quadruples down on racist rhetoric; Republicans largely shrug – President Trump sent a series of racist tweets on Sunday, in which he told four American congresswomen of color to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” despite the fact that three of the four congresswomen were born in America, and all four are American citizens. Democrats, including those in Virginia’s congressional delegation, quickly criticized Trump for his racist rhetoric, but Republicans have largely remained quiet, with a few exceptions. Since then, Trump has doubled down on his ugly attacks. – The Washington Post
- Neo-Nazi sentenced to life in prison for Charlottesville car attack – The man who murdered Heather Heyer and injured more than 30 others during the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in 2017 was sentenced on Monday to life in prison plus 419 years. James Alex Fields Jr., was previously sentenced to life in prison for 29 federal hate crimes, and will see his state sentence run concurrently to his federal one. – The Daily Progress
- Richmond parents criticize proposed combination of majority-white and majority-black schools – Parents at Fox Elementary School, a majority-white school in Richmond, are rallying against a proposal to combine the school with John B. Cary Elementary School, a majority-black school. Under the proposal, all students would attend Fox for kindergarten through second grade before going to Cary for third through fifth grades. The goal is to improve the diversity of both schools, but Fox parents have criticized it and threatened to send their children to private schools, or to move out of the district altogether. – Richmond Times-Dispatch
- FCC announces additional $47.5 million in funding for rural broadband expansion in Virginia – After authorizing $36.9 million to expand broadband in rural Virginia in May and June, the FCC has approved another $47.5 million in funding over the next decade, bringing the total to $84.5 million. The expansion will connect 32,660 rural homes and businesses to modern broadband and help address the severity of the digital divide in Virginia. – 13News Now
From the Gram
