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Virginia board considers ousting GOP election official accused of sharing voting machine information
Two members of the Charles City County Electoral Board have asked Virginia officials to begin the process of removing the third member of the board, who is accused of sharing sensitive election machine information with a local GOP leader. In a May 14 letter to the Virginia State Board of Elections, election officials in Charles City … formally requested the ouster of local Electoral Board Member Maria A. Kinney, a Republican who just joined the board in January. The cause listed in the request was “severe dereliction of duties,” including a claim Kinney allowed a former Charles City County GOP chair, Irene Churins, to view election equipment passwords during an accuracy test.
Ex-Rocky Mount police officer granted new sentencing for U.S. Capitol riots conviction
A federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing Tuesday for Thomas “T.J.” Robertson, a former Rocky Mount police officer who is currently serving a prison term for storming the U.S. Capitol. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia means that when Robertson reappears before a district judge, he will face less time than the seven-year and three-month term he received in 2022.
Democrats Plan $100 Million Push on Abortion Rights to Win House
The super PAC supporting Democrats’ effort to win back the House majority is launching a $100 million fund focused on abortion rights, the latest sign that the party is leaning heavily on the issue this fall to help counter concerns about the economy and immigration policy. In a memo to donors, the House Majority PAC outlined the Reproductive Freedom Accountability Fund, which it said will be spent in swing districts across the country for advertising and voter mobilization. The fund will also focus on voter outreach in House districts where there aren’t competitive presidential or Senate races, such as in New York, California, Oregon, Washington and Virginia.
Some York County school board members say they still won’t go to rescheduled training
York County’s school board voted Monday night to reschedule a training retreat that was previously postponed due to concerns that the meeting could expose the school division to legal challenges. In a 3-2 vote — with Chair Lynda Fairman, Vice Chair Kimberly Goodwin and Zoran Pajevic voting in favor — the board opted to reschedule the retreat to May 31. The board also voted, by the same three-member majority, to follow the same agenda that had been proposed for the postponed training, with the School Board Member Alliance organizing the presenters.
Stafford, Fredericksburg eye solar farms on landfill sites
After touring the R-Board Regional Landfill for the first time two years ago, Monica Gary couldn’t shake the idea that the site held wasted potential. Landfills, Gary explained, aren’t monolithic wastelands; rather, they’re divided into cells that are retired once they reach a certain height or capacity of refuse. Specifically, the land atop these retired cells sparked Gary’s imagination as she sat down for a post-visit coffee with then-Stafford County Administrator Randy Vosburg. In this case, the proverbial light bulb in her head was powered by solar energy. “I said, ‘Hey, I really think that we need to put solar on the expired landfill cells,’” recalled Gary, a member of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and R-Board chair. … Gary’s vision could soon be realized at two sites as a joint venture between Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg.
Workgroup, lawmakers fine-tuning accessory dwelling unit proposal
Garage-turned-apartments, carriage houses, in-law suites — all are accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Whatever they’re called, ADUs are seen by some as a fix to affordable housing options or a way to meet the needs of specific families. But the versatile form of housing isn’t always encouraged by locals or officials and little regulatory guidance exists for their approval around the state. Following the continuation of proposals to frame such guidance during Virginia’s most recent legislative session, a workgroup in the state’s Housing Commission is fine-tuning ideas for how to get a law on the books in the future.
After DeSantis endorsement, Trump backs Rep. Bob Good challenger
Former President Donald Trump has delivered a punishing blow to the reelection campaign of Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, by endorsing state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, his opponent in a Republican primary race that has focused from the beginning on loyalty to the former president. A day after endorsing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao, Trump didn’t just endorse McGuire. On Truth Social he issued a scathing denunciation of Good, who initially had supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary and then endorsed the former president after DeSantis ended his candidacy.
Tennessee gives this hospital monopoly, which operates in SW Va., an A grade — even when it reports failure
A Tennessee agency that is supposed to hold accountable and grade the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly awards full credit on dozens of quality-of-care measurements as long as it reports any value — regardless of how its hospitals actually perform. Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, has received A grades and an annual stamp of approval from the Tennessee Department of Health. This has occurred as Ballad hospitals consistently fall short of performance targets established by the state, according to health department documents.
Tobacco commission announces more than $5 million in grants for Southwest, Southside
Eleven projects in Southwest Virginia totaling $3.71 million and eight projects in Southside totaling $1.33 million — focusing on site development, agribusiness, tourism and business development — were approved by the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission during the first meeting the panel has held in Lee County. Among the awards is a grant of $656,416 that will go toward constructing a shell building for a potential data center at a developing Wise County industrial park called Project Intersection. In recent months, county and economic development officials have said repeatedly that they hope to land data centers for Southwest Virginia.
End to no-strings-attached free checking raises concerns among some advocates for low-income residents
The Roanoke-based credit union Freedom First has become the latest financial institution to stop offering no-strings-attached free checking accounts. The credit union switched about 20,000 of its more than 60,000 members from its basic “Freedom Checking” accounts to its new “Freedom Perks” accounts on May 1. The new accounts carry benefits such as credit monitoring and roadside assistance but, starting June 1, will charge a $7 monthly fee unless a customer maintains a $2,500 average daily account balance or is under age 21. As Freedom First and other financial institutions have enacted such requirements, they have raised concern among some who argue that people with low incomes struggle to meet the requirements or pay the fees.