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Aerospace/defense contractor to add 80 jobs with $41.2M Orange County expansion

By BETH JOJACK, Virginia Business

Florida-based aerospace and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies announced on Thursday a $41.2 million expansion and modernization of its Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Orange County, with plans to add 80 employees. Over the next three years, L3Harris also plans to construct new facilities and buy new equipment for the facility, according to a statement from the company and another by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Loudoun Co. judge sets new jury trial for fired superintendent Ziegler; challenge possible

By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

A Loudoun County, Virginia, judge set a new trial date for fired school superintendent Scott Ziegler and made no reference to Ziegler’s attorneys claim that the judge erred in ordering a new trial after setting aside a previous misdemeanor conviction. Thursday morning, Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fleming set Feb. 3, 2025, as the first of a possible five-day jury trial, six weeks after throwing out Ziegler’s conviction for the retaliatory firing of a teacher who reported that an elementary school student inappropriately touched her.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Supervisors: If Clarke County can’t get VDOT to improve Va. 7, maybe Loudoun can

By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Acquiring safety improvements for the stretch of Va. 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) on Blue Ridge Mountain ultimately could be an issue of who has more political clout in Richmond. Is it Clarke County, a small agricultural community of roughly 15,000 residents? Or, is it Loudoun County, an affluent suburb of Washington, D.C., with a population of about 420,000? Clarke failed in its attempt, so county officials are letting Loudoun try.

VaNews April 19, 2024


General Assembly sends four reproductive health care bills back to the governor

By ELIZABETH BEYER, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

Four reproductive health care bills were sent back to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk for his signature or veto following the Wednesday General Assembly reconvene session, when lawmakers met to consider the governor’s action on legislation passed during the regular 2024 session. The legislative body sent four bills that the governor had amended back to his desk in their original form after rejecting the amendments, for his veto or signature. He has 30 days to act on the bills.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Legislature approves one gun safety amendment, sends six bills back to Youngkin

By ELIZABETH BEYER, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

One of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s amendments was approved by the General Assembly, six were sent back to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto, and attempts to override the governor's veto on 22 gun safety related bills failed during Wednesday's reconvene session. The General Assembly accepted the governor’s amendment to SB 363, a bill that would prohibit the purchase, selling, or possession of a firearm with a removed, altered or defaced serial number. That bill will now be enacted into law.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Youngkin taps education official for Cannabis Control Authority

By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A senior-level Virginia Department of Education official has left her post to serve as Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s special adviser to the CEO of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. Although she has no experience with cannabis policy, the Youngkin administration says Elizabeth Schultz is uniquely positioned to serve under the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, Terrance Cole.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Board members bring back idea to rename Fort Monroe

By JOSH JANNEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A proposal to rename Fort Monroe has been resurrected by board of trustees members who are concerned the current name ignores centuries of the site’s history and could be stifling fundraising efforts. The Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees considered the question of whether the site should be renamed Thursday morning as members met during a retreat. Some alternative suggestions floated for the 565-acre property and its affiliated organizations included “Old Point Comfort,” “Point Comfort,” and “Point Comfort at Fort Monroe.”

VaNews April 19, 2024


Youngkin signs bill that gives Virginia colleges unprecedented authority to manage NIL deals for athletes

By JAMI FRANKENBERRY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As Gov. Glenn Youngkin prepared to sign an unprecedented name, image and likeness bill Thursday in Richmond, he harkened to his playing days. “I want to be very clear that had the NIL rules been in place when I was in college, I would not have had an NIL deal,” joked Youngkin, who averaged just 1.4 points game in four years as a basketball player at Rice University. Youngkin signed into law a bill that grants Virginia colleges unprecedented freedom to administer name, image and likeness benefits to athletes.

VaNews April 19, 2024


Kaine, Warner introduce federal gun bill on Virginia Tech shooting anniversary

By ANDIE VIGLIOTTI, WDVM-TV

U.S. Senators for Virginia, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, introduced federal gun legislation Tuesday on the 17th anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting. The bill’s provisions are modeled from Virginia’s statewide gun legislation passed in 2020 that a release from Kaine’s office called “commonsense gun violence prevention measures.”

VaNews April 19, 2024


Richmond has no plan to reimagine Monument Avenue, years after removal of statues

By TYLER LAYNE, WTVR-TV

The future of Monument Avenue in Richmond remains unclear four years after multiple Confederate statues were removed and Mayor Levar Stoney said he would embark on a planning process to develop a long-term vision for the historic district. The Robert E. Lee statue, was once the largest Confederate statue in the United States, was removed from Monument Avenue in 2021. Mayor Stoney ordered the emergency removal of the street’s other Confederate monuments amid protests against racial injustice in 2020.

VaNews April 19, 2024