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After Youngkin veto of data center bill, Democratic state senator says governor is ‘misguided’
A measure that would have required developers to study proposed data centers’ impacts on their surroundings has died, at least for this year. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, after a back-and-forth with the General Assembly, vetoed the bill late last week. Youngkin wrote in his veto on Friday that data center decisions belong in the localities where they are proposed. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said Monday that his legislation would have benefited those localities by providing important information.
Youngkin signs bill to protect local pharmacies in Virginia
Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law a bill that creates a single pharmacy benefit manager for the state's Medicaid program. The legislation, part of the Save Local Pharmacies Act, will take effect on July 1, 2025. The move follows a broader effort to rein in the influence of PBMs, which are third-party companies that negotiate drug prices between manufacturers and insurers. Some of the largest PBMs, including Caremark (CVS Health), Express Scripts (Cigna), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth Group), also own pharmacies, a practice critics say creates a conflict of interest.
Energy storage bills among Youngkin’s vetoes
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed legislation that would have raised the targets for how much new energy storage the commonwealth’s two largest electric utilities must propose adding over the next two decades. Energy storage facilities store electricity during off-peak hours when it’s cheaper to generate and deploy it during high-demand periods when it would be more expensive to generate otherwise.
Real estate developer cites Faraldi’s prediction in lawsuit against city council
The developer of a residential community on Wards Ferry Road, in a lawsuit filed against the Lynchburg City Council, is calling the council’s decision to deny the company a rezoning permit “invalid” and “devoid of any reasoned basis.” City council’s 4-3 vote to reject Timberlake Investments LLC’s application to build 18 townhouses and a duplex on Wards Ferry Road, near Timberlake Road, came on the same night in March that the council voted to approve a 750-unit housing development on Wiggington Road proposed by Langley Land and Jam 89. . . . At the March 11 council meeting, Ward IV Councilman Chris Faraldi criticized council’s decision to approve the Wiggington Road development but reject the Wards Ferry Road rezoning application to build the 18 townhouses and duplex.
Virginia sees spike in superintendent turnover
More than 40% of Virginia's K-12 public school districts had at least one new superintendent between 2019 and 2024, according to national data collected by Superintendent Lab and reviewed by Axios. The Trump administration wants to empower local schools by dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Turnover among systems' leaders is evidence of school districts' instability, as they struggle with teacher shortages and falling test scores.
Republicans Hold Annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Amid Record Attendance
Republicans from across Prince William County gathered at Fox Chase Manor for their annual black-tie Lincoln Reagan Dinner, drawing a record crowd and laying out their strategy ahead of the 2025 election cycle. County GOP Chairman Jacob Alderman said the party sold more than 300 tickets for the fundraiser, which brought in over $30,000 to support local political efforts. . . . Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched a direct attack on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, calling her voting record more extreme than that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Bernie Sanders, despite her moderate branding. Roberts pledged that Heritage’s political action committee would invest heavily in the 2025 election to defeat Spanberger and promote conservative values across the state.
Bert Ellis reflects on time as member of UVa. Board of Visitors
The Cavalier Daily spoke with former Board of Visitors member Bert Ellis, who was fired by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin March 26, about the goals he had hoped to accomplish as a member, many of which he believes remain unachieved. These goals included key priorities of removing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, firing President Jim Ryan, lowering costs and reducing the University’s operating budget and rejuvenating the Honor system.
Helicopter forces 3 planes to change landing plans at DCA
Three planes coming into Reagan National Airport were required to alter their landing plans about 11 a.m. Sunday when a police helicopter took on an urgent mission in the same airspace at about the same time they were supposed to land, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. All three flights landed safely after making second approaches into the airport. . . . The incident came after one Thursday in which two planes coming into National Airport were forced to abort landings when an Army Black Hawk helicopter took a lap around the Pentagon before landing at a military heliport, according to the FAA.
5 Virginia prison guards are injured by inmates accused of being MS-13 members
An attack by inmates at a Virginia prison injured five guards, according to state corrections officials who said most of the assailants were MS-13 gang members who entered the U.S. illegally. Three guards were stabbed and were transported for medical treatment along with two others hurt Friday at Wallens Ridge State Prison in western Virginia, the state Department of Corrections said.
Yancey: Spanberger wants state to take stronger role in helping local governments with solar decisions
Abigail Spanberger says the state shouldn’t force localities to accept solar projects or data centers that they don’t want, but that the state could do a better job of offering localities technical information so they can make better-informed decisions. She supports nuclear energy and says that the small modular reactor proposed for Dominion Energy’s North Anna power station in Louisa County is a good way to test the commercial viability of that technology. She also says that Virginia is headed toward an energy crisis and the next governor needs to address it, but that any solution must be done in coordination with neighboring states that are on the same electric grid.