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Proposed Medicaid cuts condemned at Leesburg town hall
Proposed Medicaid cuts would be ruinous to Loudoun County's most vulnerable individuals, including poor people and adults and children with disabilities. That was the message from panelists and speakers at a May 3 "Medicaid Summit" hosted by Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-10th. Some 120 people attended the town hall event at Leesburg Elementary School, including people with disabilities and their caregivers, parents and grandparents.
Mark Warner warns of negative consequences to slashing intel workforce
Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Sunday warned of long-term fallout for the Trump administration’s looming mass layoffs to the federal intelligence workforce. The Trump administration plans to downsize the government’s most sensitive national security agencies with cuts to 1,200 positions at the CIA and thousands more at other intelligence agencies, the Washington Post reported over the weekend.
Bon Secours Harbour View Medical Center opens after 10 years in the making
Bon Secours Harbour View Medical Center held its ribbon-cutting ceremony on [Monday], May 5, where they welcomed members of the Bon Secours family as well as local and state officials to view the completed building. The first patient is expected on [Tuesday], May 6. Market President for Bon Secours Hampton Roads Pat Davis-Hagens said the vision for this building started 10 years ago.
Virginia prepares to finalize transgender athlete restrictions
A heated fight over transgender athlete participation in Virginia schools is coming to a head this week, as state high school sports leaders prepare to finalize controversial new restrictions — despite mounting pressure from advocates urging them to reconsider. On Wednesday, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Executive Committee will meet for the first time since voting nearly two months ago to limit competition in girls’ sports to students assigned female at birth, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
House Democrats Are Having a Public Fight About Their Oldest Lawmakers
When then-74-year-old Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly defeated 35-year-old progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a top Democratic attack-dog role during President Trump’s second term, he was immediately confronted with questions about his age and health. “I think that’s a false narrative, frankly, propounded by the media,” Connolly said in December, when asked whether his colleagues were effectively rejecting younger voices in the party by electing him as the senior Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. “We’re looking at capability; we’re not looking at age,” he said.
Virginia should move to purchase, preserve Monroe estate
What a shame it will be if Virginia squanders an opportunity to turn Oak Hill, the Loudoun County home of President James Monroe, into a state park. The Delashmutt family, which bought the historic house on 1,200 acres in Northern Virginia more than 70 years ago, wants to sell the estate for $20 million, well below market value, to the Conservation Fund, a nonprofit preservation group hoping to make Oak Hill a state park and museum.
Investigation: MRSA outbreak in Henrico NICU lasted over 3 years, infected 94 babies
An outbreak of the antibiotic-resistant infection MRSA circulated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital for more than three years and infected 94 babies, according to what staff members at the hospital shared with state inspectors. Inspectors with the Virginia Department of Health's (VDH) Office of Licensure and Certification found during a survey completed January 24 that the hospital failed to consistently implement methods to prevent and control the transmission of infections within the hospital.
Virginia data center reform bill vetoed by Gov. Youngkin
Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill with bipartisan support Friday that would have required data center applicants and energy utilities to disclose information to local governments on noise and environmental impacts of the project. Under the bill, data center site applicants would have to perform and submit site assessments to examine the noise impact on residents and schools located within 500 feet of the property. It would also allow local governments to require site assessments from applicants to examine the effect of the data center on water and agricultural resources, parks, historic sites and forestland.
Kenner: Facts, not rhetoric, should drive menhaden decisions
In the debate over the future of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, working families are being pushed to the margins. The fishermen, plant workers and coastal community members who have sustained this industry for generations are too often falsely portrayed as obstacles to conservation. Meanwhile, environmental activist groups are assumed to speak for the public good. But regulators and members of the public should not accept the premise that these groups speak for the public interest simply because they say so on their websites.
Gretz: A brighter future for Virginia’s rural schools
As the current superintendent of the Fluvanna County Public Schools and now in my 35th year as a Virginia educator, I have had the responsibility and privilege of impacting the education of countless students. I constantly strive to find creative ways to maximize our community’s resources as efficiently as possible. This can be especially challenging for smaller, rural communities where resources are limited. I am proud of the bipartisan work our General Assembly has done to promote and make available a win-win solution to help address this resource challenge by reducing our energy costs 25%.