Richmond Mayor Stoney tells Democrats he’ll drop bid for Va. governor

By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney is telling fellow Democrats that he intends to drop out of next year’s race for Virginia governor and is weighing a run for lieutenant governor instead, according to four people familiar with his plans. Stoney, who has faced a tough contest against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, has been calling donors, supporters and others in recent days to say that he will bow out of that race, according to the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations.

Health plan costs to rise for some state workers

By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Some Virginia state employees will pay more for health insurance beginning July 1, following the state’s latest review and projection of claims. Overall, the state Department of Human Resource Management proposed a 6.3% increase in total premiums for the next fiscal year. But full-time employee contributions — the sums taken out of paychecks — will rise by less than that. For some plans, there will be no increase at all.

Two UVa. fraternities suspended, one terminated after hazing allegations

By FORD MCCRACKEN, Cavalier Daily

The Theta Chi and Sigma Alpha Mu fraternities had their Fraternal Organization Agreements suspended by the University, while the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity had its FOA terminated after allegations of hazing, according to Ben Ueltschey, Inter-Fraternity Council president and third-year College student. While the Theta Chi and Sigma Alpha Mu fraternities face temporary suspensions, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity will have its FOA terminated for a minimum of four years. It is unclear when the violations in all three chapters took place or when the University moved to suspend and terminate their FOAs.

Trial opens for former Virginia hospital medical director accused of sexual abuse of ex-patients

By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

The former longtime medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children used physical examinations as a “ruse” to sexually abuse two teenage patients, a prosecutor said Monday, while the physician’s attorney “adamantly” denied any inappropriate conduct. The trial of Daniel N. Davidow of Richmond, who for decades served as the medical director of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, opened Monday morning in New Kent County, where a judge will weigh the charges against him.

State forestry program purges hundreds of Virginia Callery pear trees

By MEGHAN MCINTYRE, Virginia Mercury

Both residents and Virginia Department of Forestry officials agree: Callery pear trees, including the much-loathed Bradford pear variety, aren’t just offensive to the nose — they’re detrimental to the state’s environment. A new state program is what led approximately 300 residents to the department’s headquarters in Charlottesville this past weekend, each having chopped down at least one pungent, invasive Callery pear in exchange for a native tree species.

Yancey: State says some rural counties are better able to pay for their schools than the most affluent localities

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

Craig County was home to just 4,892 people in the most recent census and is getting smaller in each subsequent estimate. The third least-populated county in the state, Craig is a beautiful land of mountains and valleys with virtually no industry — 78% of the workers leave the county every day to work. The state of Virginia also says it’s almost as capable of paying for its own school as Prince William County in Northern Virginia is, with one key difference. In the state’s funding formula known as the Local Composite Index, Prince William County, the land of more than 40 data centers where payrolls are calculated in the billions, saw its ability to pay for schools drop — while Craig County saw its supposed ability rise.

Stoney drops out of governor’s race to run for lieutenant governor

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is getting out of the race for governor and jumping into the Democratic nominating contest for lieutenant governor. Stoney, 42, in the final year of his second term as mayor, will formally bow out of the race on Tuesday morning at the same time as his announcement that he will run for lieutenant governor. That is the path then-state Sen. Doug Wilder took almost 40 years ago before becoming the nation’s first elected Black governor four years later.

Bedford school board files $600K lawsuit against father of special needs student

By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

The Bedford County School Board filed a lawsuit seeking $600,000 in damages from the father of a special needs student, claiming the man’s abrasive communications with school staff about his son’s treatment over the last three years amounts to illegal intimidation and harassment. In court filings, Bedford resident David Rife insists he’s the one being intimidated, noting that the county school board sued him shortly after he filed a complaint with the Virginia Department of Education saying local school officials weren’t following the individualized education program, or IEP, designed to accommodate his son’s learning disability and improve his reading skills. When he filed the complaint, Rife told state officials he feared he would face retaliation locally, according to court documents.

Richmond’s baseball stadium was billed as risk-free. Now leaders say there is risk.

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

For two years, the city of Richmond pitched a new minor-league baseball stadium as a project that would have no impact on the city’s taxpayers. This month, however, city leaders made a significant pivot. Deciding the old plan had become too expensive, they announced a new financing structure. The city will issue general obligation bonds and, if the worst-case scenario unfolds, the city would have to delay programs or raise taxes to pay off the debt.

Petrilli: Va. has a chance to up its education game. It shouldn’t swing and miss

By MICHAEL J. PETRILLI, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

If Virginia’s school system were a person, we’d say it was born on third base and thought it hit a triple. Indeed, the commonwealth’s education officials have spent so many years patting themselves on the back that their arms must hurt. It’s true that some national magazines have ranked Virginia’s schools highly in the past. But that’s not surprising, given that it’s also one of the wealthiest states in the nation.

Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution.