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Logistics firm to lay off 54 in Richmond as shipping slows
A Florida-based trucking and logistics company plans to lay off 54 employees at its facility in South Richmond, as freight shipping worldwide slows down because of uncertainty over tariffs and the economy. Saddle Creek Logistics Services notified Virginia workforce officials this week that it will lay off employees at its facility on Commerce Road in July, with no plans to bring them back.
Columbia Gas will roll back part of October rate hike
Columbia Gas‘ residential customers in Virginia will get a break on their bills as the State Corporation Commission rolls back part of the 11.68% increase the utility began charging in October. A settlement between the company, SCC staff and major customers will still leave residential rates 8.14% above where they were before the interim increase went into effect in October. The full commission formally approved the agreement [last] week.
New Virginia clean slate law will create high demand for legal aid, experts say
A new “clean slate” law set to take effect next year will shield some past crimes from public viewing. Advocates say that matters for people whose convictions haunt them for years after they’ve served their time. And legal experts say there’s much to be done to prepare for the influx of people who will want to have their previous convictions sealed. Attorney Scott Surovell, a Democratic state senator representing Fairfax, said people were already lining up to take advantage of the new law.
Virginia investment accelerator provides clarity in an uncertain climate
Even as the Trump administration’s schizophrenic tariff policies roil markets and put pressure on American businesses and consumers, concern about their potential effects on the Port of Virginia appear muted. Port officials recently downplayed fears that higher levies on imports, especially from China, will affect the volume of goods processed there. That’s good news for Virginia and Hampton Roads, though still hardly an ideal scenario. The tariffs continue to put commonwealth businesses, both small and large, in peril, and will needlessly inflict pain on consumers — meaning Virginia families — for as long as they are in effect.
Read the texts: Richmond mayor found out about city’s fluoride discharge from Henrico county manager
Staff at Richmond’s water treatment plant never informed their boss, Department of Public Utilities Director Scott Morris, that excess fluoride had been discharged into the region’s drinking water on April 23, text and email correspondence between officials shows. Instead, Morris found out about the incident four days later from the Virginia Department of Health. And Morris didn’t notify Mayor Danny Avula, the correspondence shows. Avula found out when Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas sent him a frustrated text message regarding the situation — to which Avula replied that he had not even heard about it.
Seven Virginia governors celebrate Brown v. Board of Education; Wilder skips event
Virginia governors, past and present, gathered Saturday to mark the 71st anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that was supposed to end school segregation, saying there’s still more work to do. The reason the governors, corralled by former Gov. Bob McDonnell, were there, he said, is in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, “to form a more perfect union.” ... Doug Wilder, the nation’s first elected Black governor, skipped the event. He said in an interview that he is dismayed that Virginia’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is fading under Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
McClellan: Let me tell you what the Republican budget means for Virginia
Tuesday afternoon, I walked into a House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting to address federal funding for health care, energy, the environment and communications agencies and programs. More than 26 hours later, committee Republicans voted for a bill the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed will kick millions of Americans off their health insurance. This bill puts Medicaid at risk for hundreds of thousands of Virginians and raises health care costs for the rest of us. Meanwhile, House Republicans on the Agriculture Committee voted to strip food assistance away from millions of children and families to pay for House Ways and Means Republicans’ tax cuts for the wealthy just a few doors down.
Early figures show local primaries are driving turnout
Early voting started earlier this month, and so far, the numbers are showing a strong turnout in places that have primary elections for sheriff and commonwealth's attorney. That's according to numbers from the Virginia Department of Elections posted to the Virginia Public Access Project. Republican operative Jeff Ryer points to the hotly contested Republican primary for sheriff in Chesapeake.
Local leaders say they’ll pay $5.6 billion to automate Metro
A fully automated D.C. Metro in the next two decades is closer to becoming a reality, as local leaders found agreement at a region-wide meeting Friday on adding hundreds of millions of dollars in annual support to the system’s coffers starting in 2027. But the idea of a regional sales tax to raise the funds was quickly rejected by local officials who said they would rather figure out where to find the money on their own. ... Other suggested options included higher vehicle registration fees, fuel and sales taxes as well as higher property taxes and real estate fees.
Fort Eustis’ Army training headquarters to relocate to Texas
The Army Training and Doctrine Command headquarters is set to move to Austin, Texas, after more than a decade at Fort Eustis. The plan is part of a larger reorganization effort by the Defense Department which will see several bases around the country consolidate and combine with the Army Transformation Command — which was created during the first Trump administration and operates in Austin — to create a new Army Transformation and Training Command. . . . Roughly 10,000-13,000 soldiers and civilians live on the Army base. It remains unclear how many soldiers will leave under the transformation plan.