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In Fairfax, Earle-Sears pushes Trump agenda with national GOP leader
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears came to deep-blue Northern Virginia with the leader of the national Republican party on Tuesday to push the agenda of President Donald Trump — particularly in protecting voter ballots — to volunteers in her campaign for governor. Earle-Sears and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley told about 40 campaign volunteers they want them to reach into every Virginia community — regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and age — in statewide and House of Delegates elections this year to carry Trump’s message on energy, education, jobs and public safety, while ensuring the integrity of elections.
Virginia law offers hope for U.S.-born children of parents facing deportation
As President Donald Trump deports the parents of U.S. born children, advocates are pushing a Virginia law that was designed to provide hope for families the administration is targeting. The law, authored by Senator Creigh Deeds, allows a parent to name a specific person as a standby guardian in case there is a “qualifying event” which disposes of the parent. It was originally passed in the 90’s to help the children of those dying from AIDS. But in 2021, at the urging of activists, Deeds updated the law with unanimous legislative support to include parents who are undocumented and facing deportation.
Youngkin: No conflict in Board of Education member’s work for Trump
Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Tuesday that Amber Northern will remain on the Virginia Board of Education and that her work as a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon does not pose a conflict of interest. “There is no conflict here,” Youngkin said in Petersburg after an event where he highlighted measures to improve maternal health. “We’ve looked into this in depth,” he said.
Senate majority leader requests investigation into Virginia Birth Injury Fund
Virginia's legislature is seeking an investigation into the Virginia Birth Injury Fund, a troubled state agency that was recently robbed of nearly $7 million by an insider. The Virginia Birth Injury Fund is meant to help the families of children who suffered devastating injuries during childbirth. Many are incurred as a result of mistakes made by doctors. Children in the fund live with expensive, lifelong disabilities. The fund, which has over $700 million, is meant to support the children's therapies, wheelchairs and day-to-day medical needs.
Trump voters call president’s pardon of corrupt Virginia sheriff ‘a terrific mistake’
When Donald Trump pardoned former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins last week, the president called him a "victim" who had been "persecuted by the Radical Left 'monsters' and 'left for dead.'" Jenkins is an outspoken supporter of Trump. The reprieve spared Jenkins from what Trump called an "unfair sentence" — 10 years for bribery, conspiracy, and honest services fraud — just before the former sheriff was to start serving it. More than 60% of voters in Culpeper backed Trump in last year's election. But many there, including Trump supporters, say pardoning the former sheriff was wrong.
Youngkin: Virginia’s goal is zero maternal deaths
After sitting down Tuesday with Asher Escobar Perone, 3, by his left arm and little Harlem Steele, 6, by his right to ceremonially sign two maternal health bills, Gov. Glenn Youngkin set a new target for Virginia: Zero maternal deaths in childbirth and the often-challenging months thereafter. In an appearance at Bon Secours – Southside Medical Center in Petersburg, Youngkin highlighted Senate Bill 1279, sponsored by state Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight, and House Bill 2753, sponsored by Del. Cliff Hayes, D-Chesapeake. The measures, which Youngkin previously signed into law, say hospitals and birth centers will need to have standard protocols for some of the most dangerous ailments surrounding childbirth ...
Wong: Survivors escape traffickers yet are imprisoned by the past
Too often, survivors of human trafficking face a cruel irony: They escape their traffickers, only to find themselves still imprisoned — this time, by a criminal record that tells only part of their story. Forced into prostitution or coerced into using drugs, these survivors are often arrested and convicted for acts they were compelled to commit. As a result, they carry the lifelong weight of a criminal record ... This is where vacatur comes into play. The commonwealth now allows survivors to petition for post-conviction relief (called a writ of vacatur) that wipes a survivor’s record clean of the eligible convictions, providing more extensive relief than the pre-existing remedy of expungement.
‘A smack in the face:’ Voucher holders fear federal cuts to Virginia housing programs
As budget talks heat up in Washington, Southside Richmond resident Dana Wyatt is bracing for impact. After years of waiting for a housing choice voucher — a federally-funded program that operates like a rent coupon for qualifying tenants — she now fears she could lose it and once again become rent-burdened. This is because a series of White House budget requests sent to Congress in May proposes deep cuts for housing programs that Virginia has long relied on to help struggling renters, first-time homebuyers, and those who are unhoused and in need of shelter. Federal housing funds also support organizations that fight housing discrimination.
Chesley: An appreciation: Jerrauld C. Jones
Rare is the time when a state legislator — through the power of his own personal, painful narrative — changes the minds of colleagues. Jerrauld C. Jones, given that platform on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in January 1999 as he discussed the Confederate battle flag, displayed an oratory so gut-wrenching, so authentic, that he swayed opposing delegates to his side. There’s nothing I can compare it to in the General Assembly since that moment.
Williams: Defund the police? America gutted the rule of law, instead
Richmond was burning five years ago, at least metaphorically, in a way it hadn’t since the last days of the Civil War. People were marching the streets demanding justice in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer. Police tear-gassed demonstrators, including families with children, at the Robert E. Lee monument, ahead of a curfew. Two days later, about 1,000 people showed up at the doorstep of Richmond City Hall in a show of fury that clearly unnerved then-Mayor Levar Stoney.