THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030550
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 50 lines
SOUTHSIDE Allen gets preview of state library, which opens today
RICHMOND - The new Library of Virginia is a ``museum for the mind'' that will benefit researchers, historians and anyone else who has a thirst for knowledge, Gov. George F. Allen said Thursday.
Allen commented near the end of his 90-minute tour of the $43 million library, which opens today.
The six-story, 316,500-square-foot building has 55 1/2 miles of shelves that would stretch almost to Fredericksburg if laid end-to-end.
SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA Bill would ban Ebonics
LYNCHBURG - Gov. George F. Allen would not say Thursday whether he would sign a bill prohibiting Virginia schools from teaching non-standard English, but he said there is no place for Ebonics in Virginia's public school curriculum.
The Oakland, Calif., school board triggered a nationwide debate last month when it voted to recognize Ebonics, a black dialect recognized as a second language at schools in Oakland, as a legitimate language.
Board members said recognizing black English is a way to reach out to students who feel their spoken language is being ignored. Law school on schedule
GRUNDY - The Appalachian School of Law has hired half of its faculty, hit its fund-raising target and plans to open in August with more than 100 students, president Lucius Ellsworth said Thursday.
Last week, the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $209,200 grant to the private law school, which is being developed to help the coal-mining region keep some of its brightest students.
More than 500 people have inquired about attending, and six of the 12 who applied in December have been accepted. Also. . .
STAFFORD - Two men have been charged with beating their roommate after an argument over the temperature in their apartment Wednesday. The victim had a cut on his head that needed stitches, possible broken wrists and several bumps and bruises. Walter B. Snyder, 61, and his 27-year-old son, Daniel B. Snyder, were charged with felonious assault.
COMING UP
TODAY: Norfolk - Public hearing on proposed state budget, 10 a.m., Old Dominion University - Webb Center.