Editorials

On June 29, 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry made governor. 

On this date: 

In 1767, the British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts, which imposed import duties on certain goods shipped to America. Colonists bitterly protested the Acts, which were repealed in 1770. 

In 1946, British authorities arrested more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to stamp out alleged terrorism. 

In 1949, the government of South Africa enacted a ban against racially-mixed marriages. 

In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s access to classified information. 

In 1966, the United States bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. 

In 1967, Jerusalem was re-unified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector. 

In 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia. 

In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty, as it was being meted out, could constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” (The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.) 

In 1981, Hu Yaobang, a protege of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was elected Communist Party chairman, replacing Mao Tse-tung’s handpicked successor, Hua Guofeng. 

Ten years ago: A divided Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion, but the justices also weakened the right as defined by the Roe v. Wade decision. The remains of Polish statesman Ignace Jan Paderewski, interred for five decades in the United States, were returned to his homeland in keeping with his wish to be buried only in a free Poland. 

Five years ago: In Albania, gunmen menaced voters, burned ballots and pressured polling officials, marring parliamentary elections meant to steer the country toward recovery after months of chaos. 

One year ago: Vice President Dick Cheney, experiencing heart problems for the third time since the November election, announced he was going back to the hospital, where he expected doctors to implant a pacemaker to even out a rapid heartbeat. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was elected to a second term. 

Today’s Birthdays: Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 62. Comedian Richard Lewis is 55. Actor Fred Grandy is 54. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 54. Singer Don Dokken (Dokken) is 49. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 49.Singer Nicole Scherzinger (Eden’s Crush) is 24.