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Loudoun County Public Schools officials criticize new state-mandated training

By EVAN GOODENOW, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Training mandated by the Virginia Literacy Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2022, will keep Loudoun County Public Schools teachers busy over the next year. Jeff Rounsley, the LCPS director of teaching and learning, outlined the professional development requirements from the Virginia Department of Education to the School Board at its April 23 meeting. … For reading specialists for kindergarten through third grade, that means 27 to 54 hours of new training, Rounsley said. All elementary school teachers and all middle school English teachers must complete 18 to 27 hours. And other middle school teachers will be required to have nine to 18 hours of training in math, science and social studies.

VaNews April 26, 2024

Portsmouth submitting jail relocation plans to state with aim to move in by January

By NATALIE ANDERSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

City leaders are submitting plans to the state to acquire the Hampton Roads Regional Jail for use as the new Portsmouth city jail and aim to make the transition no later than the start of 2025. The Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, which comprises city managers and other representatives from the five participating jurisdictions, voted unanimously last week to allow Portsmouth to purchase the facility. The move means the facility could serve as Portsmouth’s new city jail, allowing the city to convert the current aging waterfront jail facility into a tax-generating property — a goal the city has been working toward for years. It could also provide a safe place to accommodate juvenile detention services.

VaNews April 26, 2024

States, Including Virginia, Take On China in the Name of National Security

By JAMES T. AREDDY, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

States have a new adversary: China. From Florida to Indiana and Montana, an expanding array of local proposals, bills, laws and regulations aim to block Chinese individuals and companies from acquiring land, winning contracts, working on research, setting up factories and otherwise participating in the U.S. economy. State officials, overriding traditional local interests such as drawing investment and creating jobs, say they are acting where Congress hasn’t to address grassroots American distrust of the Chinese Communist Party. … “There is a real responsibility on behalf of governors and state legislatures to look out for the safety and protection of our citizens,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ...

VaNews April 26, 2024

Patel: I voted for Youngkin. Now he has turned his back on my business.

By DHARMENDRA PATEL, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As one of the leaders of the Asian American Business Owners Association (AABOA), I know firsthand how skill games have not only benefited Virginia small businesses but also helped them survive the onslaught of COVID, skyrocketing inflation, and higher-than-expected wages. AABOA represents more than 300 convenience stores, gas stations, and restaurants in Southwest Virginia. The survival of many of our locations depended on supplemental income from skill games before they were abruptly banned in October.

Patel lives in Salem.

VaNews April 26, 2024

Rozell: For Democrats, ‘saving democracy’ is no silver bullet

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

A drumbeat among many Democrats is to galvanize persuadable voters in a righteous movement to “save democracy” from a Republican Party now wholly ruled by former president Donald Trump. It’s an appeal to the founding tenet of our nation and one that has resonance for many voters, especially in light of the violent assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Rozell is the dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University where he holds the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel Chair in Public Policy.

VaNews April 26, 2024

Yancey: Roanoke named ‘welcoming city’ for immigrants, 100 years after U.S. tried to shut the doors to many

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

Roanoke, a seven-time winner of the All-America City designation, recently won another title. The Star City was named a “Certified Welcoming” city by Welcoming America, a nonprofit dedicated to welcoming immigrants. Roanoke is the first locality in Virginia to earn this distinction and one of just 24 across the country. It’s also the fifth smallest community on that list, which is otherwise dominated by major metros. Given the tenor of the national conversation about immigration, you would not expect to find a small city on the edge of Appalachia to be an officially “welcoming” city for immigrants, yet there Roanoke is. This is just one of many data points about Roanoke that show how it’s different.

VaNews April 26, 2024

With casino vendor choice made, Petersburg focuses on preparing for the referendum

By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

With Wednesday’s approval of The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprises as Petersburg’s casino vendor of choice, city officials say the next step in the process is getting the Virginia Lottery Board and a Circuit Court judge on its side in approving the November referendum that ultimately decides the future of legalized gambling here. In an email Thursday afternoon, city spokesperson Joanne Williams said Petersburg and Cordish/BSE will draw up the paperwork to submit to the lottery board, the state agency that governs Virginia’s casino operations.

VaNews April 26, 2024

More lab schools approved, but not without some controversy

By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM

Governor Glenn Youngkin is still looking to spend $100 million on new lab schools across Virginia, and a handful of applications were approved Thursday. But there were concerns about the viability of at least one of the programs. Lab schools were authorized by the legislature in 2022. They aim to partner with colleges to provide real world experience to students so they can enter the job field more quickly upon graduation. And while the spirit of the program is supported by many, the funding— directly from the state and given to public and private colleges— has been a source of budget fights.

VaNews April 26, 2024

Zaccardelli: Troops-to-Teachers would address educator shortage

By ALEXANDER ZACCARDELLI, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia is facing a worsening teacher shortage. However, the focus on pure numbers has directed attention away from another problem: a shortage of diverse teachers. Troops-to-Teachers (TTT), a program that helps veterans obtain teaching licenses, offers solutions to both crises, bringing demographic and life experience diversity into our classrooms.

Zaccardelli is an elementary education undergraduate at William & Mary and an ALL-IN tutor at J. Blaine Blayton Elementary in Williamsburg.

VaNews April 26, 2024

Hampton, Newport News take aim at climate change and wealth inequality

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

With help from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hampton and Newport News are embarking on an ambitious strategy to use newly available federal funds to tackle the related problems of climate change and wealth inequality. The neighboring Peninsula communities are the only two in Virginia among 25 cities nationwide selected for the $200 million Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative. The initiative, to last three years, aims to help cities make the most of federal funds to develop projects that combat climate change, increase resilience and improve economic conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods ...

VaNews April 26, 2024