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By GHAZALA HASHMI AND MARCIA S. "CIA" PRICE,
published in
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
In a striking disregard for the values and will of Virginians, Gov. Glenn Youngkin last week proposed a substitute that would gut Virginia’s Right to Contraception Act (RTCA), vital legislation we introduced as a critical defense against the growing right-wing assault on reproductive freedom.
The governor claimed our bill, which would protect Virginians’ right to use condoms, the pill, IUDs and Plan B, went “too far.” Instead, he replaced it with a Section 1 bill, reducing the legislation to a non-binding suggestion rather than an enforceable law. Simply put, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
Sen. Hashmi represents Chesterfield County and Del. Price represents Newport News. Both are Democrats.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By HANNAH ALLAM AND RAZZAN NAKHLAWI,
Washington Post
(Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
A court appearance Monday solved one part of the mystery surrounding a Virginia man whose alleged talk of explosives landed him in a federal investigation: Russell Vane IV is alive.
Vane, 42, who uses the nickname “Duke,” had gone silent early this month after an anti-government militia he belonged to publicly disavowed him over concerns about his repeated references to bombmaking. An obituary for Vane popped up online in early April, saying that he’d died in mid-March, but the notice disappeared after a couple days. A man who answered Vane’s phone last week told The Washington Post that “Duke killed himself.”
But Vane appeared, very much alive, in federal custody Monday ...
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JULIAN E. BARNES,
New York Times
(Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)
The threat against U.S. elections by Russia and other foreign powers is far greater today than it was in 2020, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday.
Senator Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who leads the committee, said the danger had grown for multiple reasons: Adversarial countries have become more adept at spreading disinformation, Americans are more vulnerable to propaganda, communication between the government and social media companies has become more difficult and artificial intelligence is giving foreign powers new abilities.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By BRAD KUTNER,
WVTF-FM
Virginia’s legislature returns to Richmond Wednesday to review Governor Glenn Youngkin’s vetoes and amendments. While tension remains high, at least one bill with strong bipartisan support could see Youngkin rebuked.
The last Virginia governor to have a veto overridden was Bob McDonnell in 2011. McDonnell said a bill increasing payouts for medical malpractice cases would hurt businesses. Legislators disagreed and after a 2/3rds vote in both chambers, the law is still increasing maximum payouts in the Commonwealth to this day.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By ARYA HODJAT,
Washingtonian
It may be the first political scandal caused by not posting a picture of an exposed breast.
Eugene Vindman, a retired US Army colonel who gained prominence for reporting then-President Trump’s alleged attempt to coerce Ukraine into investigating the Biden family, leading to Trump’s first impeachment trial, gained a different kind of notoriety on Saturday amid his race to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District as a Democrat, after Democratic operative Jim McBride posted a picture of him on Twitter with a slightly different version of the state’s flag.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JOSH JANNEY,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Construction is expected to begin within the year on new docks and a seafood market at the city-owned Seafood Industrial Park.
Newport News recently secured state funding to begin construction work on the dock improvements. Last week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that an $800,000 grant from the Port Host Communities Revitalization Fund would go to Newport News to redevelop the 39-acre Seafood Industrial Park dock.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By MATTHEW DALY AND LEAH WILLINGHAM,
Associated Press
Coal miners will be better protected from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease, the Labor Department said Tuesday as it issued a new federal rule on miners’ safety.
The final rule, announced by Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, cuts by half the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By HUNTER SAVERY,
Fauquier Times
Last week, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized strict new standards for “forever chemicals” in public drinking water, Fauquier County unveiled alarming new test results.
The new tests reveal that more than 15,000 Fauquier County residents use drinking water that would not meet the new national standards. Under the new EPA rules, Fauquier Water and Sanitation Authority, like other public waterworks, will have five years to address that problem.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JAHD KHALIL,
VPM
A day before legislators are set to return to Richmond, Democratic leadership in the General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin seemingly have not reached a budget agreement.
Lawmakers on Wednesday will consider Youngkin’s actions on legislation, after he amended 116 bills and vetoed a record 153 others. They’ll also consider his 242 recommendations on the budget, which center around maintaining current tax levels and funds Democrats’ priorities at a lower level than what they proposed.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By DAVID J. TOSCANO,
published in
Daily Progress
(Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Virginia’s legislature and governor are embroiled in a “two scorpions in a bottle” fight over the new biennial budget, which must be passed by June 30 to fund the government. On Wednesday, both sides returned to Richmond for the “reconvened” or “veto” session. Budget battles in the commonwealth are not unusual, but this one is unique, both in the number of changes Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed to the bipartisan spending plan and the rhetoric that has accompanied the process.
Toscano, an attorney and former mayor of Charlottesville, served 14 years in the House of Delegates representing Charlottesville and Albemarle County, including seven as minority leader.
VaNews April 17, 2024