Racist Remarks at School Board Face Backlash, Trucking Company Sued for I-64 Crash, and more
Racist Remarks at School Board Face Backlash, Trucking Company Sued for I-64 Crash, and more
Historic Triangle News Roundup March 17 - 24
Good morning! Yesterday, community historian Mary Lassiter and I presented at the Lemon Project Symposium about our work to change the names of James Blair Middle School and Magruder Elementary, which have ties to the legacy of slavery. Please listen to and share our podcasts on Blair and Magruder, so we can continue to build momentum for this campaign. If you’d like us to present to your group or organization, email me!
Now for this week’s top stories
Board Member Hosang’s Racist Comments Face Community Backlash
Michael Hosang, elected to the Williamsburg James City County School Board last year, insinuated at this week’s meeting that students who speak a language other than English were not legal citizens and proposed they should be segregated.
Matt Peck, whose late son Josh was honored at the meeting, penned a letter to the Virginia Gazette, criticizing Hosang’s remarks as “hurtful and hateful comments directed at children based on their ethnicity, origin and language.”
I am currently developing a computer program that will generate summaries of school board meetings the morning after the meetings take place. Paid subscribers can view the program’s review of this week’s meeting here.
$10 million Lawsuit Filed Against Trucking Company for Deadly I-64 Crash
Eight plaintiffs have accused Triton Logistics, Inc. of recklessness and negligence related to one of their tractor-trailers colliding with a party bus in Dec. 2022 near the Humelsine Parkway interchange on I-64, killing three people.
The driver, who was allegedly impaired at the time, told federal investigators that Triton had instructed him to lie to state police, telling them he had a co-driver. Triton also allowed him to manipulate logs to make it appear he had more rest.
Dwayne Sykes, named as the supposed co-driver, has spoken out saying he was not affiliated with Triton at the time of the crash, and the company had stolen his information. He corroborated the use of cover stories by the company.
Other Headlines
York County School Division board chair Lynda Fairman and vice chair Kim Goodwin, who are affiliated with a local rightwing militia, have opted out of a communication platform designed to connect the school board with constitutents.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has withdrawn a rezoning application that included “limited multifamily” housing as part of the regional sports complex development after residents criticized the lack of public oversight.
James City County will hold a public hearing on April 9 to consider a proposed real property tax increase with an effective rate increase of 18.06%. This follows many residents seeing their property assessments increase as much as 43%.
Upcoming Events
When: Monday, Mar 25, All Day
Where: Wren Building, 111 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg
When: Mondays and Thursdays, 7:30 or 9 PM
Where: Capitol General Court, E Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg
Ancestral Legacy Art Collage Workshop:
When: Wednesday, Mar 27, 5 PM
Where: Sadler Center, James Room, 200 Stadium Dr, Williamsburg
Cover photo from March 19 WJCC school board meeting live stream.