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Chesapeake City Council rejects referendum on possible voting changes
Chesapeake City Council rejected a resolution [Tuesday] night to poll voters on whether the city’s voting system should change. In a 3-6 vote, city council members decided against asking residents about shifting from an at-large system, where all registered voters can cast ballots on all city council members and the mayor. In its place could have been a ward voting system, where constituents vote for a representative in their district and the mayor.
Manassas City Council hikes data center tax rate 72% in new budget
Both property owners and data centers in the City of Manassas will pay higher tax bills under the $333 million budget for fiscal year 2025 the city council approved Monday. … The budget hikes the tax rate paid by data centers in Manassas by 72%. Data centers will pay $2.15 per $100 in the assessed value on their computer servers and other computer equipment. The new $2.15 rate is a 90-cent increase over the city’s current “computer and peripherals tax rate” of $1.25. The new rate applies to all businesses in the city, but data centers and other tech companies such as Micron pay the bulk of the tax revenue.
Yancey: A charity or a front for Hamas? Attorney General Miyares wants access to a Muslim nonprofit’s books
A curious court case will play out Thursday in Richmond that might have international ramifications. On one level, this involves a relatively innocuous question: Why hasn’t a particular charity filed its proper paperwork with the state? On another, this becomes much more serious: Is a Virginia-based charity funneling money to terrorists? Or, framed another way, is Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares making “defamatory” and “dangerous” allegations against a Muslim group out of Islamophobia? The group in question here is the Falls Church-based American Muslims for Palestine, which says “our sole purpose is to educate the American public and media about issues related to Palestine and its rich cultural and historical heritage.”
City of Lynchburg accuses council member of witness intimidation 6 weeks before federal lawsuit trial
The city of Lynchburg has sought a restraining order against a member of its own city council following a social media post it claims constitutes a “threatening and sinister” case of witness tampering leveled against the deputy superintendent of Lynchburg City Schools. Filed in U.S. District Court on Friday, the city’s motions call into question the conduct of at-large council member Marty Misjuns leading up to the scheduled July trial for a free speech lawsuit he filed against the city in 2021. At the time, he was a captain with the Lynchburg Fire Department. He had posted cartoons on his Facebook page that some considered transphobic. The city disciplined him, he filed suit, and the city later fired him. It’s that suit that is now coming to trial.
Virginia joins request to American Bar Association to drop its DEI standards
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares signed a letter with 20 of his Republican counterparts asking the American Bar Association to drop its diversity and inclusion standards for law schools. DEI efforts implemented in the schools directs their administrators to violate both the Constitution and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin,” the states argued.
Military families plead with Virginia lawmakers to keep dependents’ tuition program intact
When Donna Lewis’ daughter Grace graduates from First Colonial High School on Thursday, she’ll have a picture of her father in her cap instead of one of him standing next to her. Jason Lewis was killed in 2007 while serving as a Navy SEAL in Iraq. Because of her father’s death, Grace Lewis was eligible for college tuition assistance through a Virginia program that covers higher education costs for some military families. But the rising college freshman may not be able to receive the financial assistance because state lawmakers recently scaled back eligibility standards for the program ...
Va. Board of Education panel hits pause on Norfolk State lab school application
The Virginia Board of Education’s lab school committee did not approve an application from Norfolk State University, making it almost certain that the university will not receive any money from the state’s lab school fund by the end of the fiscal year. Lab schools, which are K-12 schools that partner with higher education institutions, are Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s signature school choice initiative. The schools are free and open to the public and set their own curricula and budgets, similar to charter schools.
Columbia Gas of Virginia proposal would raise average residential bill by $9
Columbia Gas of Virginia is asking state regulators for a revenue increase that would raise the average residential customer’s monthly bill by about $9. If the request is approved, the average monthly bill of a residential customer using 5.1 dekatherms of gas would go from $76.26 to $85.17, an increase of 11.7%. Regulators say the proposed increase cannot take effect until at least October, at which time Columbia Gas will be allowed to enact it on an interim basis, subject to potential refunds.
Amazon adds $1.4 billion to affordable housing fund for regions where it has corporate offices, including Virginia
Amazon is adding $1.4 billion to a fund it established three years ago for preserving or building more affordable housing in regions where the company has major corporate offices, CEO Andy Jassy announced Tuesday. The Seattle-based company said the new sum would go on top of the $2.2 billion it had already invested to help create or preserve 21,000 affordable housing units in three areas: the Puget Sound in Washington state; Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee. When it launched its Housing Equity Fund in January 2021, Amazon said it aimed to fund 20,000 units over five years. The additional money will go to the same regions with a goal of building or maintaining 14,000 more homes through grants and below-market-rate loans.
DMV transit task force hosts inaugural meeting to discuss top priorities
The DMV Moves task force held its first meeting Monday since it was created six weeks ago to address future plans on how to provide consistent funding and world-class transit service as a region. The 23-member task force, compiled by WMATA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, includes local, state and regional officials. Having a partnership like this to look into gaps in the system and figure out ways to grow is a first of its kind, founders say.