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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.
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.
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.
NOVA Parks pushes back on Dominion Energy’s tree cutting project along W&OD Trail
A major tree-cutting project along the W&OD Trail in Loudoun County is set to resume this month. But Northern Virginia parks’ officials are pushing back on how Dominion Energy plans to address the root of the problem. Two months after pausing the project, Dominion Energy said it will resume removing specific trees to maintain the safety and reliability of the electric grid. The plans were put on hold in late March in response to complaints from counties and towns along the popular walking and biking path. But Paul Gilbert, head of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, or NOVA Parks, expressed apprehension about what Dominion has planned in a letter to the utility on Friday.
Fifteen years after shuttering its tax-prep app, Va. may be ready to compete with TurboTax again
The Virginia Department of Taxation’s website parts company with the web presences of other agencies in the commonwealth: It doesn’t offer its own tools to help you complete your primary task there — taxes. While you can renew a car registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles site and register an LLC at the State Corporation Commission’s site, Virginia Tax doesn’t let you file your state income taxes online and instead points you to commercial tax-prep services. That’s not because Virginia Tax hasn’t developed its own filing app. It’s because 15 years ago, the department shelved the iFile app that had already drawn more than 278,000 users in 2009.
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.
‘I will punch back’ against Trump administration, Stoney says in Alexandria as Dem primary nears
With only 10 days left until the June 17 Democratic primary, former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney stopped in Alexandria Saturday afternoon for a meet-and-greet with some of his most influential Northern Virginia supporters. Facing five opponents in what’s expected to be a low turnout primary election, Stoney said that, if elected, he’d focus on housing affordability.
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.