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Earle-Sears shakes up campaign for Virginia governor as fundraising, polls lag
GOP gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears has asked her campaign manager — a pastor with no political experience — to step away from that role amid calls from some fellow Republicans to shake up a campaign that is lagging in fundraising and polls, according to two people familiar with the matter. Will Archer, pastor of Potomac Valley Church in Dumfries, may stay on with the campaign in a different role, according to the two, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The move came this week as the latest campaign finance reports indicate that Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman, is widening her fundraising lead and a new poll shows Earle-Sears, the state’s lieutenant governor, trailing by double digits.
Democrats lead fundraising in top statewide races, but Miyares outpaces AG opponent
New campaign finance reports show Democrats hold a fundraising edge in Virginia’s races for governor and lieutenant governor, while Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares is leveraging his incumbency to outpace his Democratic challenger. The latest reports, covering the period from June 6 to June 30, show Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger raised more than $4.2 million and ended the month with over $15.2 million in the bank.
Letter from 12 deans to UVa. Board of Visitors goes unanswered for almost two weeks
In the wake of former University President Jim Ryan’s sudden resignation, 12 of the University’s 14 academic deans sent a letter to the Board of Visitors July 4 calling for transparency and expressing a desire to work alongside the Board during a time of "confusion and alarm” for many stakeholders. “We can be your partners in supporting the very best outcomes for our students, our patients and the broader University community,” the letter read. The Cavalier Daily obtained the letter from a source who wished to remain anonymous. The source said that, at the time of publication, the academic deans had received no response from the Board regarding their offer to meet with the Board “as soon as possible.”
UVa hospital CEO Wendy Horton to resign
Wendy Horton, CEO of the University of Virginia Medical Center, is leaving the flagship hospital of the UVa Health System. Her exit means that in less than five months all three of UVa Health's top executives have announced their departures, leaving the top-ranked hospital system in the commonwealth without permanent leadership. And this in the wake of UVa President Jim Ryan's abrupt resignation last month under pressure from the Trump administration Department of Justice over diversity policies. Horton plans to leave Charlottesville in early September for San Francisco, where she has been named senior vice president and president of adult care services within the University of California ...
Rail Trail coalition makes push at Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting
A coalition of 12 local governments made their presence known at Wednesday morning’s Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting, voicing strong support for converting the Shenandoah Valley’s dormant rail corridor into a dedicated multi-use recreational trail. Shenandoah County Supervisor Tim Taylor delivered a coordinated message on behalf of the group at the meeting held at the George Washington Hotel in Winchester. ... “The vast majority of our community leaders, and our constituents, still believe the highest and best use of this corridor, at this time, is the creation of a multi-use trail.”
Norfolk school board attorneys say Byrdsong’s severance didn’t need to be discussed at time of firing
On the day before a surprise vote to fire Norfolk Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong, the City Attorney sent an email to school board chair Sarah DiCalogero that Byrdsong's lawyer was dealing with her husband's medical emergency, which might delay a separation agreement. "I have no reason to doubt her lawyer’s explanation of why she may not immediately respond to our draft," attorney Bernard Pishko wrote, adding that "perhaps will delay executing the separation agreement which appears to be a ‘no-brainer.’" Pishko considered it a no-brainer because Byrdsong's contract spelled out the terms of her severance in case of dismissal without cause – "equal to the amount of the base annual salary and deferred compensation in effect for the previous twelve months."
Fisher: Why attack colleges? To open students’ minds or blow up institutions?
When President Donald Trump and the foot soldiers of his populist brigade went after Harvard and Columbia, they were right on message: In a rigidly divided country, Trump delights in dramatic actions against the symbols and institutions of the nation’s elites. When the Trump assault targeted the University of Virginia, the message got a bit muddy: Sure, most American colleges are hotbeds of conformist liberals eager to impose their righteousness on the rest of us. But U-Va. is also something of a throwback, a school that still celebrates its intellectual inspiration, Thomas Jefferson; stands up for rigor; and attracts students from a wide array of political backgrounds. Going after U-Va. seemed like a decision to spray the MAGA movement’s ammo randomly rather than target the core engines of higher education’s woke machine. Now, the mission has gone off the rails ...
Virginia is for … data centers? Residents are increasingly saying no
The two dozen or so nondescript gray, white and blue buildings lining Virginia State Route 625 could be large warehouses. But community activist Elena Schlossberg can identify them literally a mile away by their telltale rows of backup diesel generators. The buildings are data centers. ... All internet data goes through facilities like these: massive, sometimes multistoried warehouses filled with servers where every webpage and shred of data lives. Demand for these centers has skyrocketed in the last two years as artificial intelligence usage has gone mainstream. Virginia is a data hot spot. It has the world's highest concentration of data centers — nearly 600 facilities of varying sizes, including roughly 150 of the largest kind, known as hyperscale data centers. Not all residents are happy about that.
Fairfax County leaders sound alarm on ‘staggering’ rise in unemployment
Fairfax County’s top elected officials at the state and local level united this morning (Wednesday) to urge Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to provide more support for fired federal workers. In a joint statement, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax, pinned the “staggering rise in unemployment” across the county on “the reckless policies of Donald Trump” and the “complicity” of Virginia’s Republican leaders.
Heat Wave Prompts Increased Data Center Generator Use
During the heat wave at the end of June, power demand in the region peaked at its third highest recorded usage ever, resulting in regional power coordinators requesting some customers to run on backup power to provide relief to the grid. Residents in Loudoun County noticed, with many emailing supervisors with complaints about the constant noise from generators that typically only serve as a backup power supply to the largest concentration of data centers in the world.