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Kaine Announces Plan To Lower Drug Costs
Sen. Tim Kaine announced the first step of his plan for economic relief for Virginians facing rising costs and inflation at a summit Monday at a retirement home in Lansdowne. This first step, which Kaine referred to as the “first plank of his ‘Kaine Kitchen Table Agenda,’ ” involves lowering the cost of prescription drugs like insulin. This follows prices for several prescription medications for maladies like heart disease and parasitic infections being raised drastically throughout the 2010s, according to NPR.
After HR probe, Richmond officials suggest ‘restructuring’ of election office
Human resources officials in the city of Richmond recommended an “immediate departmental restructuring” of the city election office after an internal investigation concluded the city’s registrar and deputy registrar violated nepotism and ethics policies. The results of the HR investigation into the Richmond election office — which is separate from a more far-reaching probe underway by Richmond’s inspector general — were sent to state and local election officials on Tuesday. The Virginia Mercury obtained copies of the findings through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Russell board rejects landfill host agreement
The Russell County Board of Supervisors emerged from a closed session Monday night and unanimously rejected a proposed agreement that could have led to a landfill being established on a former coal site. Board members voted 7-0 to approve a resolution to terminate negotiations with NOVA, Inc., on its plans to establish a private landfill on the Moss 3 site. ... The 7-0 vote prompted loud cheering from a large crowd gathered inside the county Government Center, a video recording of the meeting shows. The proposed landfill has faced stiff public opposition for many months.
VPAP Visual Which Local Offices Raised the Most?
With pre-election reports now available, see how much candidates for local office have raised on average in each locality.
Mountain Valley Pipeline gets final approval to begin operations
The Mountain Valley Pipeline was authorized Tuesday to begin operations, the final step in a bitter, decade-long battle between natural gas advocates and opponents. Approval of the deeply controversial project was granted in a one-page letter released shortly after 5 p.m. by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “We find that Mountain Valley has adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration and stabilization of the construction work area is proceeding satisfactorily,” Terry Turpin, director of the commission’s Office of Energy Projects, wrote in the letter.
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.”
Virginia NAACP sues Shenandoah school board after district restored Confederate names
The Virginia NAACP on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Shenandoah County School Board for what it called “reaffirming discrimination,” after the school system voted to rebrand schools with Confederate names in May. The lawsuit alleges that the school board violated the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act. The plaintiffs seek to remove the Confederate names, mascots and vestiges, and to prevent any future school naming involving Confederate leaders or references to the Confederacy.
Metro still not complying with safety commission’s document requests, leader says
On Tuesday, the leader of a commission overseeing Metrorail on safety said Metro is still not turning over all of the safety-related documents the commission has asked for. Metro’s refusal comes despite a subpoena and calls from a Congressman for Metro to turn all the documents over. As 7News first reported in April, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) – which was created by Congress to oversee Metrorail on safety – hit Metro with a subpoena for refusing to turn over all documents the WMSC requested for an investigation into the “fitness for duty and occupation health” of Metro employees.
Petersburg schools’ acting superintendent resigns weeks after taking over
Petersburg City Public Schools’ acting superintendent John Farrelly resigned, the school division announced Tuesday evening, less than two months after he took over the school district. The former superintendent, Tamara Sterling, disappeared in late February and officially resigned March 20. The reasons for her departure have been shrouded in secrecy as school officials refuse to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding her parting. ... The Petersburg school division is under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Virginia Department of Education due to its schools’ troubles.
Shenandoah County School Board sued after reinstating Confederate school names
The Virginia NAACP and five students are suing a school board that voted last month to restore the names of two schools previously named for Confederate leaders, saying the decision creates a discriminatory educational environment for Black students. The federal complaint filed Tuesday says the reversal denies Black students an equal opportunity to education by forcing them to attend a school named after Confederate leaders. “It just feels like a huge step in the wrong direction,” said Briana Brown, one of the student plaintiffs, and a rising senior in a program housed in Mountain View High School. “And if we let them get away with this, what’s next?”