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Levar Stoney says he’s ‘ready to go on day one’ as lieutenant governor
Levar Stoney was Richmond’s mayor from 2017 to 2024, after serving as secretary of the commonwealth during Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration. Now, Stoney is hoping to serve at the state level again. He’s one of six candidates in the June 17 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor; the winner will face Republican John Reid for the office currently occupied by Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears. VPM News state politics reporter Jahd Khalil recently spoke to Stoney about his campaign, as part of a series of conversations with all six Democratic candidates for the state’s No. 2 job.
Local judge indicted on charge of bribery of a Spotsylvania County public official
Toward the end of the Aug. 13, 2024, Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting and following a closed session, the board voted on a vague motion, and county officials didn’t provide clarity afterward. Courtland District Supervisor Drew Mullins made a motion to authorize County Attorney Karl Holsten to cooperate with the Virginia State Police in an ongoing investigation regarding the actions of a person subject to the oversight of a public body in the county. The board unanimously supported the motion, and the meeting was adjourned. There is now a bit more clarity, however, regarding the circumstances surrounding the vote. Richard T. McGrath, the Chief Judge of the 15th Judicial District of Virginia, which includes the Fredericksburg region, was indicted Monday on a Class 4 felony charge of bribery of a public official.
Spanberger pushes housing policy at new development in Henrico County
Virginia’s average home price has increased 6% over the last year, bringing it up to nearly $400,000 dollars. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger offered ideas to address the problem at an event in Henrico County Friday morning. “We have people that are gainfully employed that now cannot afford to live in the localities in which they work because of a lack of supply,” said Martin Johnson with the Virginia Realtors association, discussing the state’s housing woes.
Truitt: How Va. Democrats can reclaim the education issue
In 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin was able to flip the K-12 education issue to pull off a victory by focusing on parents. This year, Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger should learn from 2021 by embracing higher educational standards to reclaim the education issue. As has been shown nationally, typical Democratic proposals for higher teacher pay and increased funding alone are not sufficient. In fact, those were major planks of Terry McAuliffe’s 2021 education platform.
Rozell: For Va. GOP, Richmond’s woes are low-hanging fruit
Being unable to open your faucet and get water that’s fit for drinking — or for bathing or doing the laundry or the dishes — sticks with a voter. In Virginia’s capital city of Richmond, it has happened twice in the first half of 2025. That doesn’t count chronic malfunctions that have dogged the city for years that include real estate and restaurant meals tax billing snafus, keeping its sewer system from spewing human waste into the James River and homicide rates perennially among Virginia’s highest. If those problems are big enough — or, from media reports, appear big enough — they can exert gravity on statewide elections.
Spanberger: Va. can make housing affordable. Here’s how
Virginians deserve a governor who is focused on responding to the most pressing issues that impact our communities and our commonwealth’s growth. And across Virginia, high costs at the pharmacy counter, in our energy bills and in the housing market are impacting families, business owners and Virginia’s long-term strength. As a candidate for governor, I’ve been laying out my plans to make Virginia more affordable. Last month, I announced my priorities to lower health care and prescription drug costs. And last week, I announced a straightforward agenda to increase the supply of housing Virginians can actually afford. This plan is a blueprint for how my administration will get to work on day one to put Virginians first.
Spanberger unveils plan to make housing more affordable, accessible
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger unveiled her plans to make housing more affordable and accessible throughout Virginia while in Henrico County on Friday. “No matter where I travel, whether I’m in the City of Richmond or Richmond County, or Radford, or Roanoke, or Hampton Roads, I hear about the high cost of housing,” Spanberger said. The Democratic nominee for governor said that it starts with investing in ways to increase Virginia’s housing supply.
Architectural board OKs new state courthouse building planned in downtown Richmond
A project to build a new state courthouse building in downtown Richmond has taken a step forward. Virginia’s Art and Architectural Review Board last week endorsed the final design plans for a 309,000-square-foot building planned for 900 E. Main St., which would house the Virginia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of Virginia. ... The proposed new state courthouse facility, called the Commonwealth Courts Building, would be built on the site currently occupied by the Pocahontas Building, which is slated for demolition. The project site is on the southwest corner of Capital Square. The Commonwealth Hotel on the same block as the project site would stay in place.
Appeals court upholds dismissal of councilman’s lawsuit against Lynchburg
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought by At-large Lynchburg Councilman Martin Misjuns, who argued his termination from the city’s fire department violated his rights to free speech and religion. The opinion, written by Judge Roger Gregory, affirmed the rulings by Judges Norman Moon and Robert Ballou, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, to dismiss the councilman’s lawsuit.
Yancey: Two Natural Bridge Zoo giraffes are missing, and the AG’s office contends they belong to the state
In late September 2023, one of the giraffes at the Natural Bridge Zoo gave birth. In the wild, baby giraffes stay with their mothers for more than a year. The males typically leave at 15 months, but the females usually stay and become part of a matriarchal herd, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. However, the Natural Bridge Zoo shipped that infant giraffe to a roadside zoo in North Carolina when it was 2 weeks old, according to records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. By November, the mother giraffe was pregnant again, according to court records.