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General Assembly to return to fix veterans education benefit
The General Assembly will come back on June 28 to reconsider changes to a higher education benefit for families of military veterans either killed or almost completely disabled while on active duty. Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, confirmed on Thursday that leaders of both chambers had agreed to return that day to address the issue in the budget that the assembly passed and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed on May 13.
Virginia Beach Republican Party chair indicted on charge of intercepting wire communications
The chairwoman of the Virginia Beach Republican Party has been indicted on a felony charge of intercepting wire communications, online court documents show. Laura Hughes was indicted by a grand jury on Monday with an offense date of Feb. 21. It’s unclear what the charges stem from.
Biden picks Virginia man to lead outreach to Republican voters
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has chosen a Fauquier County man to lead its national initiative to reach out to Republican voters who are disenchanted with former President Donald Trump for the coming presidential election rematch in November. Austin Weatherford, a veteran of Republican congressional politics, will serve as “national Republican engagement director” for the reelection campaign of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Pittsylvania County data center project would be years in making, ‘in no way a done deal’
A massive data center proposed in Ringgold would be years in the making if it’s approved by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. Matt Rowe, the economic development director for Pittsylvania County, said leaders asked him to find additional industrial opportunities. “My personal goal is always, do what we can to find ways to leverage the tax base,” Rowe told the Register & Bee in an interview Wednesday. Normally this kind of economic development project is kept under tight wraps with anyone with knowledge sworn to secrecy.
D.C. Circuit to hear battle over Virginia offshore wind
Critics of an offshore wind farm in Virginia are taking their fight against the project to a powerful federal appeals court. In a Wednesday filing, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Heartland Institute, and National Legal and Policy Center said they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reverse a May ruling that denied their bid to block a 176-turbine Dominion Energy wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach.
Cellphone ban in Chesapeake schools a success in first year, officials say
Students are less disruptive and paying more attention in class after the Chesapeake school division banned phones and personal devices this school year, officials said. The division revised its policy and regulations around the use of phones, tablets and other personal electronics last summer. Before the change, students were allowed to use them for classwork if teachers allowed them. The new rule requires devices to be off and put away — in a bag, locker or vehicle — during school hours.
Richmond housing authority CEO calls plan a ‘last chance’ opportunity to tackle evictions
The Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority (RRHA) presented its “Compassion Action” plan in what it says is a “last chance” effort to help residents to pay their rent on time. The RRHA’s CEO, Steven Nesmith, presented the new plan on Thursday, June 6. This comes after the RRHA previously announced in April that about 60% of families were behind on rent payments which totaled more than $3 million.
Eviction pause at Richmond housing agency to end with offer of final repayment plan
A pause on public housing evictions will end as Richmond’s housing agency tries to wipe out a balance of unpaid back rent that is approaching $4 million with some public housing tenants ignoring repayment plans intended to bring that down. But first, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority will offer a one-time, last chance repayment plan offer, CEO Steven Nesmith said Thursday.
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Bristow-area data center complex
A plan to allow as many as nine new data centers on about 270 acres along Devlin Road in Bristow will move forward after a judge dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit brought by “Devlin Defend Corporation,” a nonprofit residents organized to challenge the rezoning in court. In the ruling, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Carroll A. Weimer Jr. rejected the residents’ argument that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors violated its own comprehensive plan and county policies when it rezoned the land to allow industrial development close to homes and schools.
This Week’s Settlement Offers Justice For Max The Envigo Beagle, Family Says
Max was born in the now-shuttered Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia. Envigo’s parent company pled guilty this week to violating the Animal Welfare Act must pay a record $22 million in fines. It was the tattoo on Max’s ear that brought home to the Cavalier family everything their new foster beagle had been through in his short 8-month life. Max was born in the Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia, which up until 2022 bred and sold dogs to laboratories for experimentation. “It didn’t register to either of us until then that [these dogs] were treated like a number and like a commodity to be sold,” Beth Cavalier said. “Beagles are so gentle and sweet, it’s hard to wrap my mind around what they went through at that breeding facility, much less what happens when they are sold for research and testing. …”