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By DWAYNE YANCEY,
Cardinal News
Y’all sure know how to make someone feel welcome.
Not me. I’m already here. I’m talking about the Arlington reader who contacted me recently, said he’d never been west of Roanoke and hoped soon to rectify that. He was writing in response to my column in defense of Southwest Virginia which, in turn, was a response to a story in Axios Richmond that made dismissive reference to “whatever the hell is west of Roanoke.”
I told our prospective visitor that I’d give him some recommendations on what to see and do and then promptly turned to the best source for that — you.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By LISA ROWAN,
Cardinal News
Three of seven Bedford County School Board members have spoken up in a Facebook group about a lawsuit filed last month against a parent, with two saying the school board didn’t sign off on the suit bearing its name as plaintiff.
The suit seeks $600,000 in damages from Moneta resident David Rife, alleging he used crude language and threatened police and legal action during repeated calls to the school district about his son.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By LUKE WEIR,
Roanoke Times
(Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Pro-Palestinian protesters linked arms to protect Muslim participants during late afternoon prayers at Virginia Tech, minutes after student organizers warned of a potential police crackdown during a third day of demonstrations on Sunday. Hundreds participated and more people watched as chants continued outside the Graduate Life Center on campus in Blacksburg. Around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, police were setting up a perimeter and warning anyone inside it to leave or be arrested, including media. Buses with police officers were arriving.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By GABBY ALLEN,
WDVM-TV
IAFF Local 3756, the union that represents about 650 officials throughout the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Department, ratified their first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on Sunday night.
The Loudoun Career Fire Fighters Association (LCFFA) said the members of Local 3756 are the first public sector employees to ratify a CBA in the history of Loudoun County. The association described it as a “blowout and historic victory.”
VaNews April 29, 2024
By SAM SCHAFFER,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
William & Mary will increase tuition for the second year in a row after years of the price remaining the same.
Tuition will increase by 2.5% for in-state undergraduate students and by 3.3% for out-of-state undergraduate students for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, according to a resolution passed by the W&M Board of Visitors on Friday.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By JOSHUA BARLOW,
WTOP
Twelve people protesting the war in Gaza, including nine students, were arrested at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Saturday after those individuals refused to vacate an area around Jefferson Square, according to the university president.
In a message to the college community, UMW President Troy Paino said that after safety concerns arose during the afternoon on Friday, participants in the protest were told that encampments and tents would not be permitted as part of the demonstration.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By MARTIN WEIL,
Washington Post
(Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Arrests were underway early Monday at a pro-Palestinian protest at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the school said. “They are being made,” a school spokesman said in an email early Monday. The numbers of those arrested and of those demonstrating could not be learned immediately. Posts on X indicated that hundreds were demonstrating and that several had been arrested.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By ANGELA WOOLSEY,
FFXnow
The cost of riding Metro trains and buses will go up, starting July 1, when the transit agency’s new budget takes effect.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board of directors approved a $4.8 billion fiscal year 2025 budget yesterday (Thursday) that will increase fares by 12.5%, including by ending the flat $2 rate for weekend and late-night rides introduced in 2021 and expanded in 2022.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By JONATHAN HUNLEY,
Fredericksburg Free Press
It was about a year and a half ago, right before Christmas, when a Fredericksburg police officer had a life-changing moment.
He was responding to a call for service at an apartment complex, and he was first on the scene.
An 8-year-old boy had been walking back from a playground with a family member when he saw that his parents had just gotten back home. The boy ran over to see his mother and father, but he was struck by a car coming through the parking lot.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By TAFT COGHILL JR.,
Fredericksburg Free Press
As a newly elected Spotsylvania County School Board member, Belen Rodas was not involved in the contentiousness that made national news on a regular basis over the previous two years.
Rodas received a firsthand view of the argumentative nature of the group during a work session Tuesday night, as a discussion on whether to release the cause of the firing of former Superintendent Mark Taylor became heated.
Microphones were shut off as board members screamed at each other. Allegations of dishonesty were lobbed at Chair Lorita Daniels by board members Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie. Daniels attempted multiple times to enter recess but was rebuffed because a motion was on the floor.
VaNews April 29, 2024
