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With Gaza facing starvation, Virginia Sens. Warner and Kaine press for U.S. action
With Gaza on the brink of famine, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, D-Va., are backing a renewed Senate push calling on President Donald Trump’s administration to take urgent diplomatic action to deliver food and emergency aid to civilians trapped in the war-torn enclave. The two lawmakers joined 27 of their Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution urging the administration to mobilize all available diplomatic tools to break the Israeli blockade that has prevented lifesaving assistance from reaching Palestinian civilians.
McClellan: GOP tax cuts would be on ‘backs of millions of Americans’
Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) warned during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” that the tax cuts that have been floated in GOP budget proposals would hurt “millions of Americans” who rely on Medicaid and food stamps. “This budget is going to make the tax cuts permanent on the backs of millions of Americans losing their health care and millions of Americans losing access to SNAP benefits,” McClellan told host Chris Stirewalt on Sunday.
‘Resilience Amid Resistance’: New marker reveals Virginia’s fraught journey to school integration
A state historical marker titled “Resilience Amid Resistance” now stands on the Western District U.S. Courthouse grounds in Harrisonburg, where a Virginia judge twice upheld the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to desegregate schools in America, allowing local Black students to attend white schools and access an equal education. Betty Kilby was the lead plaintiff in one of the Virginia cases stemming from localities’ failure to comply with the high court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling, part of the state’s Massive Resistance policy to buck desegregation, history referenced in the marker unveiled on Saturday.
Decline to opine: Virginia attorney general will not weigh in on Hopewell firings issue
Virginia’s attorney general will not intervene in the question of whether a Hopewell city councilor’s vote to fire the city manager earlier this month represented a conflict-of-interest because he is a city employee. Hopewell Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Newman confirmed last week that Attorney General Jason Miyares would not offer an opinion on the vote by Ward 4 Councilor Ronnie Ellis. Newman had asked council to delay any action on the future of Dr. Concetta Manker until Miyares could opine on Ellis’ ability to vote.
State regulators approve Columbia Gas increase
State regulators have approved an increase for Columbia Gas of Virginia’s non-gas rates and charges that would add about $6 to the average residential customer’s monthly bill. The average customer using 5.1 dekatherms of gas monthly will see their bill increase from $76.26 to $82.47, up 8%, according to terms filed with regulators in December and approved on Thursday.
Del. Phillips cites family, faith, and economic vision in reelection bid
Eric Phillips, 49, is seeking re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates representing District 48 as the Republican nominee. He will face Melody Cartwright, the Democratic nominee and an opponent he previously defeated in the 2023 special election. If re-elected, Phillips said he plans to continue prioritizing the interests of the Martinsville-Henry County area. Phillips said he will maintain his focus on pro-life policies, economic development, and protecting Second Amendment rights.
Local food banks have lost 1.4M meals to Trump’s cuts
Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains area is largely rural and conservative, with Donald Trump carrying all but two counties that checker the central and western part of the state in the 2024 election. It is also a place where it has become increasingly difficult for people to find enough to eat. Every free meal counts there, said Michael McKee, the CEO of Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which is the main provider of food assistance to 25 counties in the region. But after the U.S. Department of Agriculture paused $500 million in funding for programs related to food in March, Blue Ridge and other food banks have been struggling to meet the growing needs of their communities.
Jennifer McDonald attorneys say judge’s errors at trial are grounds for appeal
Attorneys for Jennifer McDonald, the former executive director of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority, are asking that an appellate judge vacate the judgment against her and remand her case back to the lower court. U.S. District Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon sentenced McDonald on May 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to 14 years in prison for committing financial crimes while she was head of the EDA. ... Dillon also ordered McDonald as part of the sentence to pay $2,744,268.60 in restitution to the EDA and to forfeit $5,201,329 to the government.
Educators push back after Youngkin vetoed bill that let African American history courses count toward graduation
A bill that could have made African American history count as a required social studies credit in Virginia high schools was vetoed last month by Governor Glenn Youngkin. The decision drew sharp criticism from educators, lawmakers and scholars who say the move perpetuates the marginalization of Black history in public education. House Bill 18-24, introduced by Democratic Delegate David Reid, aimed to let students substitute either African American History or Advanced Placement African American Studies, for World History I or World Geography.
Richmond residents must contact mortgage lenders to resolve city’s tax error, officials say
City officials over the weekend said they’d accidentally issued thousands of real estate tax bills directly to homeowners — rather than to mortgage lenders, which is the standard practice. It’s up to residents who received the errant bills to resolve the issue, officials said. The mistake came after employees in the city’s finance department updated loan data in MUNIS, the system used to administer real estate taxes. Records for at least 33,000 taxpayers “failed to import completely,” a city spokesperson said, and as a result, MUNIS was unable to link some taxpayers to their mortgage lenders.