Former Vice President Joe Biden was recently in Richmond, raising money for his bid for the Democratic Party nomination for president. While he was here, he made the stunningly opportunist claim that the reason he decided to try for the country’s most powerful office was because of the horrific events in Charlottesville in August 2017.
The Virginia Defender
Established in 2005 as The Richmond Defender, The Virginia Defender is a free community newspaper, published quarterly for the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. Print distribution is currently 12,000 and statewide. The online publication launched in Summer 2020.
ABBIE AREVALO-HERRERA HIT WITH NEARLY $300,000 FINE BY ICE
Six years ago, Arevalo-Herrera fled her native Honduras with her eldest daughter to escape what she says was eight years of violent domestic abuse. Now, the U.S. government says it wants to impose a nearly $300,000 fine upon her.
UVA TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 AN HOUR
Workers at the University of Virginia will have a special reason to celebrate this coming New Year’s Day. That’s when Charlottesville’s largest employer will increase its minimum wage for full-time employees eligible for benefits to $15 an hour. The university’s current minimum wage has been $12.75 since December 2017.
THE BIGGEST PROMOTERS OF THE ‘LOST CAUSE’ MYTHOLOGY ARE BASED RIGHT HERE IN RICHMOND
There’s a low, wide, white, sepulture-looking building in Richmond that you’ve probably passed by many times without really noticing it. This building, between two prominent museums, is the headquarters of the organization that has done more to promote a false history of the slavery-defending Confederacy than any other group in the country.
SANDERS’ PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 1ST IN U.S. HISTORY TO UNIONIZE
Workers with the Bernie Sanders Campaign are now the first presidential campaign employees in U.S. history to win union representation.
VIRGINIA: BEST STATE FOR BOSSES, BUT WORST FOR WORKERS
Single-digit unionization rates and no state minimum wage contribute to a working climate that makes Virginia best for bosses and worst for workers.
COLISEUM PROJECT PROMISES ‘AFFORDABLE HOUSING’ – REALLY?
The developer hoping to revamp a 10-block area of downtown Richmond, has said the project will include “affordable housing,” as well as a new event venue to replace the aging Coliseum. An Aug. 19 investigative report by VPM asked some questions about the meaning of the word “affordable” – and we did some math.
The Virginia Defender 