The Bulletin

Another Stewart staffer steps in it; cheating at a Richmond elementary school and other headlines

By: Robert Zullo - July 31, 2018 1:35 pm

NEWS TO KNOW
Our round-up of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.

Corey Stewart staffer called majority black cities “shitholes”

His senate campaign has paid more than $100,000 to the consultant, whose racist social media posts were first reported by the Daily Beast.

Rich Shafton, who works as Stewart’s spokesman, called majority-black cities “shitholes” and said football players should stand for the anthem “instead of sitting on the bench eating a banana.”

Stewart declined to comment on the posts other than to tell the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the banana post was prompted by a news story that described a football player eating the fruit.

Another Corey Stewart campaign staffer has admitted he was a member of a group chat with the organizer of last year’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.

More news

The D.C. police chief says he plans to bring out the whole department in response to a possible white nationalist rally on the Aug. 12 anniversary of deadly clashes in Charlottesville. — WTOP
A state investigation found staff at a Richmond elementary school celebrated for its academic success had inflated test scores by giving students help and answers. – The Richmond-Times Dispatch
Norfolk uses Waze to identify and close flooded streets. – The Virginian Pilot
Two historians resigned from UVA to protest the university’s decision to hire a former Trump White House staffer. – The Daily Progress
Former Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder dropped his lawsuit against the former dean of the government school VCU named after him. – The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Public housing residents are no longer allowed to smoke cigarettes within 25 feet of their houses under new HUD regulations. — WTVR
The state horse racing industry already wants bigger equine-themed slot parlors. The draft regulations would allow up to 700 machines at off-track sites in large localities like Richmond, but only with approval from the local city council or county board. – The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Leaders from Watertown, Wisc., visited Danville for revitalization advice. – Register and Bee

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Robert Zullo

Robert spent 13 years as a reporter and editor at weekly and daily newspapers before becoming editor of the Virginia Mercury in 2018. He was a staff writer and managing editor at Worrall Community Newspapers in Union, N.J., before spending five years in south Louisiana covering hurricanes, oil spills and Good Friday crawfish boils as a reporter and city editor for the The Courier and the Daily Comet newspapers in Houma and Thibodaux. He covered Richmond city hall for the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 2012 to 2013 and worked as a general assignment and city hall reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 2013 to 2016. He returned to Richmond in 2016 to cover energy, environment and transportation for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He grew up in Miami, Fla., and central New Jersey. A former waiter, armored car guard and appliance deliveryman, he is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. Contact him at [email protected]