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Portsmouth sheriff declines to expand existing partnership with ICE
As some cities in Hampton Roads, such as Chesapeake, are broadening cooperation with federal immigration authorities, Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore said his department won’t be expanding its existing agreements with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But that doesn’t mean the agency isn’t cooperating with ICE, according to Moore, who said it will continue to honor immigration detainers that aid federal authorities’ deportation efforts.
Trump looms over Virginia governor’s race: What to know on primary day
Virginians are heading to the polls in one of this year's banner election fights where President Donald Trump's name isn't on the ballot but his second-term policies are very much top of voters' minds. The most consequential of the June 17 primary races center around who will be the next governor of the Old Dominion, a state that has seen its share of the federal government workforce shrink at the hands of Trump and former DOGE leader Elon Musk.
Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. to invest $46M in Virginia Beach expansion
Virginia Beach-based Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. will invest $45.8 million to expand its operations, with plans to add 350 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. Acoustical Sheetmetal is a manufacturer of steel and aluminum enclosures for the power generation industry, providing on-site power integration for large-scale data centers. It plans to build an additional 250,000-square-foot building and add significant machinery on 21.1 acres of land it purchased at the Virginia Beach Innovation Park from the City of Virginia Beach.
Federal judge to consider revival of Virginia Beach election lawsuit
A federal lawsuit that led the city to change to its election system is once again in play as Virginia Beach prepares to hold a referendum vote on how it elects its City Council and School Board members. On Monday, Judge Raymond Jackson, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, rescinded his previous dismissal of the Holloway v. City of Virginia Beach case and plans to issue a memorandum and opinion on the matter later this week.
From VPAP June Primary: Who’s on Your Ballot?
Enter your address to find out who is on your ballot and where your polling place is for today's primary elections. Statewide primaries are being held to choose the Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general, and Republican and Democratic primaries are being held in some areas for the House of Delegates and local offices.
New documents show Averett’s finances in dire straits in 2024, but optimism in 2025
Averett University’s financial situation last summer raised serious concerns about its ability to operate, according to a draft audit prepared for the university. But the private university in Danville has had recent fundraising successes that may help pave its path forward. ... The Danville school started cutting costs a year ago, at the tail end of fiscal 2024, in response to its discovery of a budget shortfall caused by what Averett officials have said were unauthorized withdrawals from its endowment. Averett has laid off staff, eliminated academic programs and begun selling property to keep the university afloat.
3 more Southwest and Southside localities come under state fire ant quarantine
Fire ants stayed in one part of Virginia for almost 30 years. Now, the invasive species is creeping toward Southwest and Southside Virginia, and a state quarantine to contain them has expanded yet again. Danville, Lee County and Pittsylvania County are among the 10 Virginia localities that have recently been added to the state quarantine as the warming climate makes western regions of the state more suitable for these small insects. The ants first appeared in Virginia in 1989 at a golf course in Hampton. Until 2017, they stayed put in Southeast Virginia. That year, they started to appear in Southside localities. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences extended a fire ant quarantine to some of these localities in response.
One Virginia Community Took a Radical Approach to Fighting Addiction. It’s Working.
When Officer Chelsea Johnston came across a wanted felon one evening in May, Johnston jerked her cruiser in front of him, sprinted after him and tackled him to the ground. Still catching her breath, Johnston motioned for someone to step out of the cruiser: Joy Bogese. “Thank God,” the man said. “It’s you.” Bogese, who served time for financial crimes that fed a heroin addiction, now spends many of her evenings in a police cruiser as a recovery specialist helping people with addiction get into treatment. The man asked Bogese to help him get into a drug-treatment program at the local jail, where Bogese occasionally facilitates groups. She is part of a growing effort in Chesterfield County’s fight against addiction.
What’s ahead for Virginia colleges if Trump targets international students?
Virginia had over 21,000 international students in its colleges in universities last year, but recent actions from President Donald Trump may see that number change. The fight over international students in U.S. colleges started last month when Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his office would move to revoke Chinese student visas from Harvard University over national security concerns. Then, Rubio announced increased vetting of all foreign students' social media accounts. And this week the president's new travel bans from 12 countries went into effect and also applies to would-be students. Some of these issues are winding through the courts, but immigration visa attorney Keith Pabian said it will disrupt US colleges.
Environmental groups in Hampton Roads at odds with Army Corps over proposed wetlands mitigation project
For decades in Hampton Roads, officials have used a legal mechanism called mitigation banking to protect local ecosystems. If a developer or locality impacts wetlands or river bottom when building a project, they must compensate by paying to restore it elsewhere. Organizations that conduct restoration work can sell credits to developers to meet those requirements – hence the bank-like system. The goal is for the compensatory work to serve the same river or watershed that is affected by the original development action. But local environmental groups and some federal scientists now worry that an impending decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could upend that system.