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Youngkin defends bid to oust Va. candidate over claims of racy photos
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) Tuesday defended his request for GOP nominee John Reid to abandon his bid for lieutenant governor over allegations Reid reposted lewd photos on social media but said “the decision is … up to John,” a day after Reid’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist notice to Youngkin’s top political adviser over the spectacle. “Explicit social media content like this is a distraction. It’s a distraction for campaigns, and it’s a distraction from people paying attention to the most important issues,” Youngkin told reporters Tuesday afternoon in Arlington at an event highlighting the dangers of the drug fentanyl.
Virginia Beach is home to Amazon’s first delivery center in the state with electric vans
You’ve likely seen them in your neighborhood. Gray vans emblazoned with Amazon’s signature blue curved arrow “smile” and a playful phrase such as: “I’m electric. Boogie woogie woogie.” The vehicles are the online shopping giant’s first electric fleet in Virginia and are based out of a new Virginia Beach delivery station on Harpers Road. A second massive Amazon building — a robotics fulfillment center across Dam Neck Road — is scheduled to open this year.
Yancey: Trump wants more manufacturing. Here are 7 forces at play, 6 of which complicate that goal.
President Donald Trump is zigging and zagging on tariffs — They’re on! They’re off! Exceptions! No exceptions! — but he’s been steadily consistent on one thing: He wants to restore America’s manufacturing base. That’s a goal that has eluded three previous administrations — Barack Obama, Trump in his first term and Joe Biden — despite very different policies on how to do that. Manufacturing jobs peaked under Jimmy Carter in June 1979, but fell most sharply under George W. Bush in the early 2000s — a fall that had more to do with the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization than it did with Bush’s policies. That freefall of manufacturing jobs bottomed out in February 2010, about a year into Obama’s first term, but hasn’t changed much since, which raises the question: Can any one president’s policies change these global trends?
John Reid imbroglio tests gender, sexuality and privacy standards in Virginia politics
Amid a political firestorm, John Reid’s continued campaign for lieutenant governor — the first time an openly gay candidate of any party has run for statewide election in Virginia — represents a litmus test at the intersection of politics, sexuality, gender and privacy in the digital age. After a Tumblr account with the same name as Reid’s shared sexually explicit images of men, Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked Reid to drop out of the race last Friday. Reid, who wasn’t in any of the online photos and has denied that the account is his, refused, saying he “won’t back down.” He also accused Youngkin’s PAC of extortion and some members of his party of attacking him because of his sexual identity.
Virginia lags behind in preschool access; neighboring states sprint ahead
A new national report has revealed that Virginia continues to trail behind much of the country when it comes to access to state-funded preschools. The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released its annual State of Preschool Yearbook on Tuesday, April 29, publishing data on enrollment and spending for state-funded preschool programs. Out of 44 states, Virginia maintained its rank of 30th in the nation for enrolling 4-year-olds in public preschool. By contrast, Washington, D.C. ranked first in the nation and West Virginia ranked fourth.
Northern Virginia businesses sour on economy, many citing Trump policies
Three months has made a huge difference in the economic expectations of Northern Virginia’s business leaders, with most more concerned about the region’s economy and their company’s own prospects. A quarterly survey conducted by Pinkston Business Leader for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce found 54% of business leaders are very or somewhat optimistic about their company’s performance over the next six months, down from 81% who said so in the same survey at the beginning of the year. When asked what aspects of President Donald Trump’s administration agenda will most benefit their company, over 50% said none.
Tech-powered rides offer a lifeline as Va. schools grapple with bus shortages
A tech company is stepping in where school buses can’t. HopSkipDrive, a national ridesharing company focused on “safety, equity and care,” is expanding its supplemental school transportation services to Virginia Beach — aiming to help students with complex needs get to class while creating new job opportunities for local drivers. The company’s network of “CareDrivers” — highly vetted caregivers trained to provide transportation in communities with unique challenges, such as students experiencing homelessness, in foster care or with disabilities — has already been operating in Northern and Central Virginia, and other parts of the country.
D.C. AG sues five Maryland and Virginia drivers for ‘dangerous and illegal conduct’
Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced lawsuits against five drivers from Maryland and Virginia for $425,000 in unpaid fines, penalties, and fees owed to the district for “dangerous and illegal conduct on DC streets.” Schwalb announced the lawsuits, using the Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility, or STEER, Act, on Tuesday after he previously invoked the law to sue three Maryland drivers for their unpaid fines for unlawful driving activities. The legal action comes as Washington officials have aimed to crack down on drivers from outside the district breaking traffic laws and avoiding penalties.
Casino employees uniting to campaign for smoke-free workplaces
Virginia’s Indoor Clean Air Act was put into law in 2009. But that was before gaming venues such as Rosie’s opened, and well before the concept of full-scale casinos in Virginia were even on the radar. Juana Wilson, who lives in Virginia Beach and who previously worked in Las Vegas, was thrilled when she learned casinos were coming to Virginia. She was hired by Rivers Casino in Portsmouth. Wilson recalls her dismay on the eve of the casino's debut, “The day before we opened, cases of ashtrays ended up coming onto the floor. And we were all kind of surprised – we were like, what’s going on? And they were like, Oh! It’s a smoking casino!”
GOP officials demand action as Youngkin’s political adviser under fire amid extortion allegations
In a stunning escalation of Virginia’s Republican infighting, Matt Moran — head of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC — has emerged as the central figure blamed for the widening rift between the governor and John Reid, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor. ... Meanwhile, pressure is building inside the party for accountability. Several GOP officials are urging the Republican Party of Virginia’s Executive Committee to confidentially review the explicit images that Moran allegedly showed Youngkin — images that reportedly convinced the governor to personally ask Reid to drop out of the race.