Search
Orange County School Board Exits Virginia School Boards Association
During a scheduled work session Monday evening members of the Orange County School Board moved to discontinue membership in the Virginia School Boards Association. In a split 3-2 decision with strong opposition from District 5 Representative Sandy Harrington, the group opted out of the non-partisan organization which cites promoting excellence in public education through leadership, advocacy and services as their mission statement. The board majority supported joining Warren County as the second non-member (of 132 districts) of VSBA.
Data center construction damages 2 Black cemeteries in Prince William County
The Prince William County Historical Commission is sounding the alarm after two historic African American cemeteries in Brentsville were damaged by the construction of a new data center and a related electrical substation. Both cemeteries are the final resting places for members of the Gaskins family, whose lineage can be traced back to slaves freed in the 1790s by plantation owner Robert Carter III. They are located about 2 miles apart on Wellington Road outside Manassas, where historians say a vibrant community of free African Americans thrived in Prince William County both before and after the Civil War.
Youngkin signs legislation aimed at protecting children
Governor Glenn Youngkin signed legislation on Wednesday that protects children from exploitation, missing child alerts and sentencing guidelines. “As a father of four children, I know that protecting our children is a parent’s highest priority. By signing these pieces of legislation today we continue to make progress to ensure the safety and well-being of our children. I am proud to sign these bills that protect our children and hold those who commit atrocities against children accountable,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
GOP actions in the states, including Virginia, put contraceptive access in the 2024 spotlight
Republican lawmakers in states across the U.S. have been rejecting Democrats’ efforts to protect or expand access to birth control, an issue Democrats are promoting as a major issue in this year’s elections along with abortion and other reproductive rights concerns. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, pushed the issue into the political spotlight this week when he said in an interview that he was open to supporting restrictions on contraception before he reversed course and said he “has never and never will” advocate to restrict access to birth control.
Completion of Mountain Valley pipeline delayed, again
Developers are again delaying — slightly, they say — plans to begin shipping natural gas through the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Construction crews are still working to complete the final sections of the 303-mile pipeline, Matthew Eggerding, deputy general counsel for the project, wrote in a letter late Tuesday to federal regulators. Rather than place the pipeline in service by June 1, as Mountain Valley had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a month ago, the company is now “adjusting its targeted in-service date to early June,” the letter stated. An exact date was not provided.
Two GOP contenders seek Trump’s nod for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District primary
Republican Congressman Bob Good has faced a primary challenger in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District before, but June’s primary will be different than the contests he’s won in the past. That’s thanks to a state law that was patroned by Democratic Del. Dan Helmer and signed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in March 2021. That law, which went into effect in January, had one unintended consequence: It all but outlawed conventions in any election, including party primaries, in Virginia.
Student sues U.Va., alleging antisemitism
A Jewish undergraduate student is suing the University of Virginia, its president and rector, and two pro-Palestinian organizations, alleging that he was “a victim of hate-based, intentional discrimination, severe harassment and abuse, and illegal retaliation” at U.Va., according to a federal lawsuit filed May 17. Matan Goldstein, who completed his freshman year at U.Va. this month, made public allegations this spring in interviews with The Daily Progress and CBS 19 in Charlottesville that he was physically and verbally assaulted on U.Va.’s grounds over his Jewish faith and the fact that he is a dual American and Israeli citizen.
Local Virginia Breeze bus service sees 16% growth
The Virginia Breeze bus route, which serves Bristol and Southwest Virginia, reported the second highest ridership of four such routes in Virginia during the past year. The Highlands Rhythm route, which operates daily along Interstate 81 to I-66 and Washington, D.C., reported 15,583 riders between March 2023 and February 2024, according a new director’s report from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
$14.4 million rehabilitation work completed at Fredericksburg train station
A year and a half after rehabilitation work on the downtown Fredericksburg train station started the project’s completion was celebrated on Tuesday. The $14.4 million rehabilitation work on the train station, built in the early 1900s, started in October 2022. The project was set for completion in December, but it was pushed into 2024. The project included rehabilitation of 125 feet of unused, deteriorated platforms.
Metro used faulty cars and ignored worker safety measures, audit finds
Metro has deployed rail cars that failed operations tests and neglected to follow occupational safety guidelines, according to an audit the transit agency’s regulator released Tuesday. The audit, performed by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an independent agency that oversees Metrorail operations, provides a damning portrait of Metro operations, though it doesn’t suggest the system poses a significant danger to riders.