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Virginia’s budget surplus grows as revenues beat expectations despite national slowdown
Virginia’s general fund revenues rose sharply in April, bucking signs of a national economic cooldown as the state continues to post steady long-time job growth and rake in more tax dollars than projected. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that general fund revenues are up 6.3% — nearly $1.5 billion — compared to the same 10-month period last fiscal year. April alone brought in $322.4 million more than the same month in 2024, marking an 8.8% jump.
Despite federal backlash, Albemarle County teaching students ‘whole truth history’
“Remember, your listeners are from Mars,” teacher Susan Greenwood told one of her fifth graders at Brownsville Elementary. “They know nothing about slavery, they know nothing about the Civil War.” Greenwood was circulating the classroom on February 4, giving pointed feedback on students’ writing for an assignment in her Virginia Studies class. The goal was to develop arguments to answer the core question in this unit on the Civil War: Was violence justified to resist slavery? Educators in Albemarle County, such as Greenwood, are practicing a new approach to teaching social studies that requires students to think critically and understand key events from a range of perspectives, including those whose voices are often omitted from standard accounts.
Report finds Fairfax Co. teachers can’t afford to live near where they work
Fairfax County teachers largely can’t afford to rent or buy a house near the school where they teach, according to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. The report said Virginia’s largest school district is one of the Top 10 least affordable places in the nation when it comes to new teachers and housing. The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment takes about 42% of the salary of a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree, the analysis said. It considered data from 72 urban school districts across the U.S. “It’s really hard to attract and retain great teachers when they can’t afford to pay rent or a mortgage,” NCTQ President Heather Peske said.
Gobar: Without reform, Virginia remains the Wild West for campaign finance
Last month, billionaires and wealthy special interests poured over $100 million into Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race — a staggering sum for a supposedly nonpartisan state election. Elon Musk’s vote-buying schemes exposed a key vulnerability in our democracy, which is increasingly being auctioned off to the highest bidder. In Virginia, we don’t need to imagine what that future looks like — we’re already living it. If Musk and his billionaire buddies set their sights on Virginia’s upcoming elections — as they’ve hinted they might — they’ll find a playground built for them. With some of the weakest campaign finance laws in the country, Virginia offers a uniquely permissive environment for the ultra-wealthy to flood our elections and drown out the voices of everyday voters.
Lewis: Va. statewide GOP nominees refuse to buck Trump in a state where he’s a proven albatross
This is primary season and candidates have to double down on what the truest of your party’s true believers truly believe. The common logic is that you steer as far as you can to the right (for Republicans) or left (among Democrats) to rouse their base voters until they’re ready to chew barbed wire and spit out roofing nails. Then, after the preseason scrimmage is over, it’s time to tack back toward the center — where the dispositive mass of Virginia’s electorate has repeatedly proved it resides — and, if you still can, appear less the wild-eyed zealot and more the measured, moderate and sane candidate of November. But something weird is happening this year ...
Yancey: 5 new factors that are shaping the governor’s race
We’re expecting a new Roanoke College poll before the month ends, and that will give us some numerical sense of where Virginia’s governor’s race stands. However, we don’t need polls to tell us about some of the forces that are shaping the contest that will put a woman in the governor’s office for the first time in Virginia history. Some things we knew all along: how voters feel about President Donald Trump, how they feel about Governor Glenn Youngkin, how they feel about lots of other things. Here are five new factors: 1. Spanberger tries to take ‘right-to-work’ off the table, but Earle-Sears presses the attack anyway.
‘An injustice to our students’: VCU staff, alumni push back on anti–DEI acts
Virginia Commonwealth University’s leadership and its Board of Visitors continue to receive pushback about the school’s recent anti–DEI actions from faculty and alumni. VCU’s most recent actions follow the board’s March 21 vote to eliminate the Division of Inclusive Excellence; its former staff told VPM News the bulk of the division’s work centered on workshops and discussions about how to be more inclusive and how to handle conflict. They also cosponsored events with VCU’s On Native Ground initiative, among other collaborations across the university.
Henrico reviews zoning changes to rein in data center growth
Last week, Henrico County’s Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting with the planning commission to discuss setting regulatory standards for data center developments that would limit their growth within the county. The proposed zoning regulations would incentivize the development of data centers in a specific area of Henrico, set regulatory building and environmental standards for each development and give the board of supervisors ample opportunity to review projects outside the designated zone.
Henrico delays vote on data centers' expansion
The Henrico Board of Supervisors has extended the deadline for its vote to restrict data centers in the county. In the interim, the board has asked for county staff to redraw the plan, making it more restrictive than initially planned. Henrico has been a hot spot for data centers over the past few years. The county has been courting these massive tax-generating properties since 2017. Most large-scale data centers have gone into Varina’s White Oak Technology Park.
Fairfax planning commissioner announces congressional run to replace Connolly
A Fairfax County planning commissioner is the latest candidate seeking to replace retiring Rep. Gerry Connolly. Candice Bennett, who has served on the commission since 2020, announced Thursday (May 15) that she will campaign for the Democratic nomination for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, which includes most of Fairfax County. ... Bennett is the third declared Democrat running for the seat. Connolly, a ninth-term incumbent, will not run for reelection, citing a reemergence of esophageal cancer.