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Yancey: Why Virginia belongs in the Big Ten and Virginia Tech belongs in the SEC
Clemson and Florida State are suing the Atlantic Coast Conference over the league’s media rights contract — and, more tellingly, the cost of exiting the ACC. “Severe,” Clemson calls it. “Draconian,” Florida State says. The exact figure is in dispute — $130 million, the league says, although Florida State says it could cost that school up to $572 million. Either way, a lot of money for what we used to consider amateur sports. Meanwhile, the University of North Carolina has made it clear that it’s unhappy with the amount of money it receives from the ACC. The college sports world is rife with chatter about where those three schools would wind up if they figure out an inexpensive way to leave the ACC.
Richmond Schools receives letter seeking millions in damages over deadly graduation day shooting
The mother of the teen who was killed in a shooting outside a Richmond Public Schools graduation last year has started the process of taking legal action against the school district, CBS 6 has confirmed. Graduate Shawn Jackson, 18, was one of seven people shot in Monroe Park on June 6, 2023, when gunfire erupted shortly following Huguenot High School’s commencement ceremony at the Altria Theater.
Injured veterans call for state to preserve college funding
Jason Redman, a member of the U.S. Navy, was shot eight times during his deployment to Iraq in 2007. When he retired, the military gave him full disability benefits. Because of his injuries, his daughter attends Old Dominion University at no charge because of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, or VMSDEP. But he feels Virginia leaders no longer support him, because they planned to curtail the program after it ballooned in cost and size. ... At the first task force meeting on Monday, veterans and their families told their stories of service, injury and death and told how they lost trust in government leaders, because lawmakers made the change quickly in the state budget and without explanation.
Man resisted being booked into the Virginia Beach city jail; now he’s dead
Virginia State Police are investigating the case of a 34-year-old man who died less than six days after clashing with police officers and sheriff’s deputies as they booked him into the Virginia Beach city jail last week. Rolin Gilbert Hill was arrested by the Virginia Beach Police Tuesday on three misdemeanor charges — trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Officers took him to the jail about 7:15 p.m. After a magistrate denied him bond, he was booked into the jail at about 8:20 p.m. “Hill was uncooperative and combative during the arrest and booking process, requiring response to resistance and for him to be restrained for his safety and the safety of the arresting officers and jail deputies,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Settlement reached in lawsuit filed by tenant of former Del. Marie March
A disabled woman’s lawsuit that claimed that she was mistreated while living in a Christiansburg apartment owned at the time by a state lawmaker was dismissed Friday pursuant to a settlement. Debra Long alleged that she was harassed and discriminated against by Marie March, a former member of the House of Delegates, and her company, Big Bear Properties. A judge in U.S. District Court in Roanoke dismissed the lawsuit after the parties “resolved this matter upon mutually agreeable terms” during a confidential mediation session, according to court records. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Outgoing Virginia air pollution board member wants continued environmental justice focus
An outgoing member of the State Air Pollution Control Board — whose repeated attempts to raise awareness about environmental justice concerns helped halt the construction of a Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station in Pittsylvania County — called for her successor, who will be appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, to maintain a keen focus on how energy projects can disproportionately impact communities in Virginia. Once an incoming board member begins in their new role, the air board will consist of a full slate of appointees selected by Youngkin, whose administration’s handling of environmental justice policy has been scrutinized by advocates and lawmakers.
Watson: With numbers rising, homeschooling in Virginia needs guardrails
Homeschooling in Virginia has grown over the years, but this year is a little different. Virginia homeschool participation hit nearly 60,000 students at the peak of the pandemic, dropping to around 51,000 last year. This decline was expected as families who switched to homeschooling during the pandemic returned to traditional schools as a post-pandemic new normal. However, homeschool participation is once again on the rise with the state reporting nearly 54,000 homeschooled students for the 2023-24 school year.
Democratic candidates vying for Va. 7th Congressional District seat discuss plans for small businesses
Democratic candidates running for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District seat met June 6 to discuss small business issues at a candidates forum hosted by the Virginia Minority Chambers. The candidates – Andrea Bailey, Margaret Franklin, Elizabeth Guzman, Briana Sewell and Eugene Vindman – presented their platforms and answered questions from the representatives from the chambers Candidates were given eight minutes to give a speech and five minutes afterward to answer prepared questions from the moderator, Virginia Minority Chambers Board Director Neil McKinnon.
Russell County votes to end negotiations over controversial landfill plan
The Russell County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday night to end negotiations on a host agreement with a company that wants to put a private landfill on the former Moss No. 3 prep plant site in the Carbo area — a decision that drew an eruption of cheers and cries from residents who have urged the board to reject the plan for months. It was a big victory for the group, We Say No to Moss 3 landfill, which has worked for months to get county leaders to turn down the proposed landfill. Opponents feared that the project would harm the environment, negatively impact the health of residents and create odor issues and traffic.
Richmond activist with Gaza ties discusses life as full-time student, protest organizer
Sereen Haddad, 19, sat in a corner booth in a small Thai restaurant popular with college students, wearing a sling on her right arm and still wet from marching through the afternoon’s rain. She ate intermittent spoonfuls of chicken pho as she scrolled through unread messages on her phone. She was checking for updates, she said: texts from her fellow protest organizers, information on the ongoing war in Gaza and missed calls from reporters or local officials. She was also making sure no one in her family had been killed in the last few hours.