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Republican investment in Virginia coming ahead of presidential election, GOP chair says
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin doubled down on an idea that has been kicked around among pollsters and campaign folks recently: The commonwealth is in play for conservatives in the 2024 General Election. Virginia has trended blue during presidential races since 2008 but some in the Republican Party believe that could change in November. ... On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper on Thursday, Youngkin echoed the optimism of Trump’s campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, who told NBC in May that Republicans have an opportunity to expand the map in Virginia.
Rogers: Governor, lawmakers must resolve menhaden conflict
If a Canadian owned timber company purchased a local saw mill near Virginia’s Shenandoah National Forest that employed 250 local workers, would we allow it to indiscriminately clear cut trees from that forest and process them into lumber for export back to Canada? I don’t think so. If a Chinese company purchased a local coal processing plant in the Appalachian Mountains that was part of a Virginia state park that employed 250 workers, would we allow it to strip mine the surface from that state park for export back to China? I don’t think so. Well that is exactly what we are allowing a Canadian-owned seafood company to do in the Chesapeake Bay.
Schapiro: Rao row — or tale of the faulty tower
In the business world — think: publicly traded J.C. Penney, Hewlett-Packard and Home Depot — a CEO who costs shareholders millions is out of a job. In the academic world — think: publicly financed Virginia Commonwealth University — a CEO who costs stakeholders millions is still in his. The academic business that is VCU — led since 2009 by Michael Rao, the state’s longest-serving university president, one of its highest paid at north of $1 million annually and among its most embattled — had largely escaped official scrutiny until earlier this year, when its allies could avert their eyes no longer.
Crime statistics useful, but public safety hard to quantify
As The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press continues the “Shots Fired” series, an examination of gun violence in Hampton Roads, diving into crime statistics — what they tell us and what they cannot — is an important aspect of taking full measure of the crisis and charting the most effective avenues for addressing it. Measuring crime — violent crime, in particular — can be a challenge. Law enforcement and public officials compile statistics that show how many offenses occurred in a community, but that’s not a complete picture of public safety.
Chasing shiny objects, VCU and city leaders lose their way
A mayor whose administration carves out $170 million for a nonessential ballpark, but struggles to fund schools and dips into the pockets of the city’s most important retail sector — restaurants. A university president who signs off on a real estate deal as part of a government-subsidized “economic development” project downtown — then pulls out at a cost of nearly $80 million. For all the progress RVA has made in the last decade, Richmond has a leadership problem.
Virginia still seen as stretch for Trump despite two tied polls with Biden
Two recent polls show President Biden and former president Donald Trump tied in Virginia, a surprising finding for a blue-trending state that Biden won by 10 points in 2020 and that independent analysts still see as a stretch for the presumptive GOP nominee. Trump was deeply unpopular in the Old Dominion while he was in the White House, allowing Democrats to roll up big wins in the state over those four years. But Biden’s popularity tanked after winning the state. A Fox News survey released Thursday has Biden and Trump with 48 percent apiece, and a Roanoke College poll late last month had them both at 42 percent.
Democratic primary in Va.’s 10th district is getting expensive. Where is the money coming from?
Virginia’s 10th congressional district is home to one of the most competitive Democratic primaries in the commonwealth this year, with a dozen candidates vying for their party’s nod to run for retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s seat this fall. And with a few weeks left before the June 18th primary date — and early voting already underway — the contest is shaping up to be a costly one, according to the final round of federal campaign filings before Election Day.
Davidson: Sen. Kaine wants more career, fewer political-fundraising ambassadors
Have you heard the story about the expensive handbag designer, a member of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, who was his ambassador to South Africa? Although born there, Lana Marks had no previous diplomatic experience. What about Kelly Craft, a Republican donor and Trump’s ambassador to Canada, who reportedly was dubbed an “absent ambassador” because she was so often away from her post? Or the one about the bipartisan political fundraiser and would-be U.S. ambassador to Norway nominated by President Barack Obama?
Youngkin says Trump could become the first GOP presidential candidate to win Virginia in 20 years
It’s been two decades since a Republican carried Virginia in the race for the White House. You have to go back to then-President George W. Bush, who won the Commonwealth in his 2004 re-election victory. Democrats have carried the state in four straight presidential elections, including President Biden’s 10-point victory over Donald Trump four years ago as he won the White House. But GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin thinks the former president has a very good shot of ending the Republican losing streak in Virginia as Trump faces off this autumn with Biden in a 2024 election rematch.
Old Dominion University, EVMS merge to create Virginia’s largest academic health science center
It’s an integration that’s been years in the making. Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and Old Dominion University (ODU) are nearing the end of the process to bring their medical programs under one umbrella. On Friday, leadership teams from both Norfolk-based institutions unveiled a new logo and a new name—Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, including the Ellmer College of Health Sciences, the Ellmer School of Nursing, the EVMS Medical Group, the EVMS School of Health Professions, the EVMS School of Medicine and the Joint School of Public Health.