Search
She Made an Offer on a Condo. Then the Seller Learned She Was Black.
Perched on a hill with a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the condo in Virginia Beach was just what Dr. Raven Baxter wanted. It had a marble fireplace, a private foyer and details like crown molding and wainscoting in its three bedrooms and three bathrooms. At $749,000, it was within her budget, too. She offered the asking price, which was accepted, and sent over a down payment. And then when she was in escrow earlier this month, her broker called her late at night on May 17, a Friday, with some bad news. The seller wanted to pull out of the deal. Why? “You could hear the fear and disbelief in his voice,” Dr. Baxter said, recalling what her broker told her next. “He said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but she doesn’t want to sell the home to you, and it’s because you’re Black.’”
Va. politicians react to guilty verdicts in historic Trump trial
Within moments of the historical verdict finding former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, Virginia lawmakers turned to social media to either vent their frustration with the outcome of the so-called hush-money trial or hail the verdicts of the New York City jury as just findings. “The American people see this for what it is: a politically motivated prosecution orchestrated by those who want to ‘get’ President Trump,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “On Nov. 5th, Americans will render their verdict on Joe Biden’s failed leadership based on the issues that affect them every day.”
UVa reverses course, allows nursing student arrested at protest back on Grounds
After public pressure and the threat of a lawsuit, the University of Virginia has reversed course on its decision to ban a nursing student from Grounds. Mustafa Abdelhamid was one of 27 people arrested when Virginia State Police cracked down on a May 4 anti-war protest at the school. Multiple arrestees, including Abdelhamid, say they were not even participating in the protest or the encampment where people had been voicing their opposition to Israel’s war with Palestinian terror group Hamas that has killed tens of thousands since Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on the nation.
Five Years After Virginia Beach Shooting, ’No One Is Getting Better’
The ceremony on Friday afternoon will begin with the naming of the 12 people who were killed on May 31, 2019, when an embittered city employee carried out a shooting spree at the building where he worked. At the end of the event, the site of a future memorial will be dedicated, where, eventually, the 12 names will be etched into the landscape of Virginia Beach. The children of Mary Louise Gayle, whose name will be among them, have no plans to be at the ceremony. Sarah Leonard, her daughter, is taking her children camping. Matthew Gayle, her son, is resuming a sailing trip he cut short exactly five years earlier when he learned of a shooting at his mother’s workplace. They could not bring themselves to join hands with a city that they, and members of some of other victims’ families, say let them down.
Another near collision at DCA reignites Warner, Kaine ire over new flights
For the second time this spring, two planes nearly collided at Reagan National Airport, prompting Virginia's two senators to again criticize plans to add more long-haul flights at DCA. Around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, air traffic control at DCA told American Airlines flight 2134 bound for Boston to abort its ongoing takeoff procedure as it was about to cross paths with a private plane — call sign 0-AA or zero-alpha-alpha — that had already landed on an intersecting runway.
Deren: In Shenandoah, honoring slave owners is OK?
As a retired Virginia educator, it is disheartening to read about the Shenandoah County School Board’s decision to rename two of the schools within their district after certain Confederate Civil War generals. At a time when our nation needs to turn the corner on divisiveness and begin the arduous work of healing, some still strive to maintain outdated and hurtful policies that persist in dividing us. The Civil War was absolutely fought over the issue of slavery.
Yancey: A convicted felon once drew nearly a million votes for president. In Virginia, he did best in Clifton Forge.
Former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, 34 times over. Among the many questions that this raises is a very practical one: Will Americans vote for a convicted felon for president? They have before. Eugene Debs ran for president five times: in 1900 as a Social Democrat and in 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920 as the nominee of the Socialist Party of America. That last time he ran from a prison cell in Atlanta, having been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sedition after criticizing U.S. involvement in World War I. Despite his conviction and incarceration — or perhaps because of it — he received more votes in 1920 than he ever had before, just under one million nationwide. He also made it to the White House later, albeit as a guest of President Warren Harding.
How a Richmond woman became a target in Trump trial defense
Former President Donald Trump cast a wide net in his defense against felony charges that he falsified business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star with whom he allegedly had sex. Wide enough from reach from New York City to Richmond, where the daughter of the judge presiding over the trial lives. Long before a New York jury convicted Trump on 34 counts on Thursday, Loren Merchan became a target for Trump and his defense team, who tried for more than a year to force her father, Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, to recuse himself from the case in part because of her work as an executive for a Chicago-based digital marketing firm that has worked for high-profile Democratic politicians, including President Joe Biden.
University of Lynchburg cuts 17 programs, eliminates 40 staff member positions
The University of Lynchburg announced Thursday they are taking dramatic steps at the school as they enter a new era. But for some prospective students and current staff, those changes could be detrimental; 17 programs at the school are being cut, and 40 staff members’ positions have been “reduced.” Over the next three years, the school said another 40 faculty will be headed out the door for good as well.
D.C.-area lawmakers react to another close call at Reagan National Airport
On Wednesday morning, an American Airlines flight bound for Boston from Reagan National Airport in Arlington had to abort its takeoff to avoid colliding with another plane. The Federal Aviation Administration said American Airlines Flight 2134’s takeoff was aborted by air traffic controllers because another aircraft had been cleared to land on an intersecting runway. The FAA is investigating the incident. … The incident has a congressional delegation from the D.C. area expressing concerns about the Senate’s vote to increase air traffic at the airport.