WCGU: “Current and former farmworkers, allies and religious leaders are marching across a large swath of Florida. They are calling on retail food giants like Wendy’s, Publix and Kroger to join the Fair Food Program, a human-rights initiative that many of their competitors joined over a decade ago. Some 100 people headed off Tuesday, marching…
“A Burned-Out TX Teacher Unseated His School Board President”
TX Observer: “Andrew Gonzales never expected his name to be on a ballot. The 30-year-old native Austinite had taught for seven years in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) before quitting in October 2021—joining an exodus of instructors fleeing the pains and indignities of Texas’ public schools. Then, last November, Gonzales shocked the local political…
““He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15”
TX Tribune: “Almost a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting killed 19 children and two teachers, there is still confusion among investigators, law enforcement leaders and politicians over how nearly 400 law enforcement officers could have performed so poorly. People have blamed cowardice or poor leadership or a lack of sufficient training for why police…
“The Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections”
Off the Kuff: “This is the third cycle I’ve made this document, and I bring you good news: it is very possible to avoid a pro-censorship school board takeover, even in deep red districts in Texas. Look at what happened last November: Of the 38 red- and orange-highlighted candidates I tracked in the last version of…
SC Congressman Once Recorded Accepting Bride While Saying He Has “Larceny In His Heart” Dies at Age 86
WaPo: “John W. Jenrette Jr., a flamboyant congressman who was convicted of taking a $50,000 bribe in the Abscam sting operation of the late 1970s, and who gained further notoriety after his wife told Playboy about a romantic rendezvous they had on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, died March 17. He was 86. His…
“Video shows Va. deputies pile on top of Irvo Otieno before his death”
WaPo: “As many as10 sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at Virginia’s Central State Hospital can be seenpiling on top of a shackled Irvo Otieno for approximately 11 minutes until he stops moving, according tonew video showing the encounter that led to the 28-year-old Black man’s death. The hospital surveillance video, which has no sound, shows Otieno’s…
SC School District Sued Over Teacher Shoving 9th Grader for Not Saying Pledge of Allegiance
NY Times: “The parents of a South Carolina ninth grader said in a federal lawsuit that a teacher pushed their daughter into a wall after she ignored demands to acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance as it was broadcast over her high school’s intercom. The 15-year-old student, Marissa Barnwell, and her parents said that the school…
“North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and the power of dissent”
The 19th News: “Born in 1960, Earls entered the world at a time when activists were working toward a new democracy, one in which Black women would have access to their full citizenship rights, just like other Americans. The push for equality shaped her career; out of law school, she practiced civil rights litigation at…
Noted TX Politician Says He Was Part of GOP Effort to Conspire with Iran to Hold Hostages and Undermine Pres. Carter’s Re-Election
NY Times: “What happened next Mr. Barnes has largely kept secret for nearly 43 years. Mr. Connally, he said, took him to one Middle Eastern capital after another that summer, meeting with a host of regional leaders to deliver a blunt message to be passed to Iran: Don’t release the hostages before the election. Mr….
‘Game of Change’: 60 Years Ago This Month MS State Ignored MS Law to Play Integrated Team in NCAA Basketball Tournament
MS State: “On March 15, 1963, the Mississippi State University basketball team made history by facing the Loyola University Ramblers in the NCAA Tournament. Previously barred from participating in tournaments which featured integrated teams, MSU President Dean W. Colvard and Head Basketball Coach Babe McCarthy defied the “unwritten law” and, under threat of arrest, snuck…