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Maxson: Access to contraceptives is about more than birth control
In March, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to protect contraception access in the state. House Bill 609 requires insurers to cover contraceptive medications and devices with no out-of-pocket costs and guarantees the right to use them. Despite a petition signed by 37,000 Virginians in favor of the bill, Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent it back to the legislature requesting it be amended to allow insurance plan sponsors with religious objections to contraception to opt out of the requirement. In their reconvening, the legislature did not accept the amendment and returned the original bill to the governor for his signature or veto.
VDOT buys Hanover building for $33.5M
The Virginia Department of Transportation has purchased the Mechanicsville headquarters of Owens & Minor for $33.5 million, with plans to move the state agency’s central office there in summer 2025. Much of VDOT’s staff will move from the Annex building at 1401 E. Broad St. into the new building at 9120 Lockwood Blvd. in Hanover County, according to Jessica Cowardin, assistant director of communications for the state agency. The 160,000-square-foot campus in Atlee Station Business Park was built by Timmons Group in 2006. VDOT also purchased an additional 50 acres, according to Newmark Group, which brokered the deal.
Youngkin signs bipartisan state budget, ending stalemate
The General Assembly on Monday approved a budget compromise for fiscal years 2024-26, ending a stalemate between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Democrats that began in early March, when the legislature adjourned its regular session. The $188 billion spending plan, which includes no new tax increases, no additional tax relief and more than $2.5 billion in K-12 funding, passed in the House of Delegates 94-6 and in the Senate 39-1. The agreement averted an unprecedented government shutdown that loomed large ahead of July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
State budget includes $50M for broadband deployment
Virginia’s recently passed law to speed broadband deployment to rural areas now has a financial component. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s signature on the General Assembly’s budget bill will move $50 million over two years from the general fund to the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, or VATI. The money, earmarked to help cover construction costs for private sector broadband service providers, follows the so-called make-ready bill passed in April to solve disputes and speed work toward getting internet to the commonwealth’s rural residents.
Hutchins: Mr. Jefferson’s Tears, or how to quell a student rebellion
It’s been days now since dozens of unruly masked students were cleared from University of Virginia Grounds. The school and the surrounding Charlottesville community are still coming to terms with what happened, how and why. Partisan newspapers across the country have blown the story out of proportion, claiming without evidence there was more violence and destruction than eyewitnesses remember. Politicians in Richmond and Washington have openly questioned the university’s direction. Some blame a weak-willed administration, others blame professors instructing students in thoroughly un-American studies and others blame the students themselves, too young, too spoiled, too choleric to control their baser instincts.
Yellen visits Stafford amid effort to ensure rural areas no longer lag behind with broadband access
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visited Stafford County Monday as part of President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America Agenda” to promote high-speed internet in rural areas. Representatives from Comcast walked Yellen through some examples of the equipment used to set up and maintain high-speed broadband networks, although much of the fiber-optic cable network is underground. The site on Richland Road represents nearly 700 homes in the western part of the county that now have access to service.
Federal official celebrates rural broadband effort in Stafford
Richland Baptist Church in Stafford County was crawling with federal officials and black SUVs on Monday, but the contingent was there to celebrate, not investigate. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her troops, along with Comcast and Stafford officials, descended on the property to tout a public–private partnership that brought high-speed broadband to the western part of the county. “While over 650 homes may seem like a small number to some, I assure you it is huge for us and means the world to our residents,” said Meg Bohmke, chair of the Stafford Board of Supervisors.
Ship departs for Virginia Beach offshore wind farm site to install monopiles
After a short delay, the first batch of wind turbine foundations is now travelling to the Virginia Beach offshore wind farm construction site, a Dominion Energy spokesperson said Monday. The enormous steel monopiles, each almost as long as a football field, are headed to the construction site 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The monopiles were loaded last week and the ship is now travelling to the site of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, Dominion Energy spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said in a text message.
Virginia could see more days with worse air quality ratings. Here’s why.
Virginians could start seeing more days rated with poorer air quality, the state says. But that’s because of changes in the standards – not the air. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality puts out daily forecasts that grade air quality based on public health threats from pollution emitted by sources like cars, power plants and wildfires. … The department said last week that residents might notice an uptick in days marked as moderate as opposed to good. That’s because a recent revision of federal pollution standards is stricter about what constitutes good air.
State budget excludes funding for Health Wagon
A new state biennial budget does not include $800,000 originally earmarked for the Health Wagon, a Southwest Virginia medical provider. On Monday state lawmakers approved a compromise agreement with Gov. Glenn Youngkin during a special called session in Richmond. The Health Wagon funding was recently removed following controversy over sharp increases in the salaries of Health Wagon executives which recently came to light.