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Millions in federal dollars announced to address Virginia’s abandoned coal mines

By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM

A top official at the U.S. Department of the Interior was in Richmond Thursday to announce millions of dollars to help reclaim abandoned coal mines from Wise to Chesterfield Counties. Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis was joined by Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Director of the Department of Energy, former Delegate Glenn Davis, to announce the nearly $23 million in funds made available thanks to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Davis said the money will go towards training and creating much needed jobs in the region.

VaNews March 29, 2024


$1M grant to expand wireless capability along 460 corridor

Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

The Virginia Coalfield Coalition received a $1 million grant from the Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant to increase wireless network access along 20 miles of the Route 460 corridor. The new towers will serve two major industrial parks, at least 25 businesses, about 131 households and enable use of various mobile technology, according to a written statement.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Virginia adopts regulatory changes for special education amid federal review

By NATHANIEL CLINE, Virginia Mercury

The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday adopted changes to how the state handles compliance complaints regarding students with disabilities. Since 2019, Virginia has been under ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which previously determined that the state repeatedly failed to resolve complaints filed by parents and did not have “reasonably designed” procedures and practices to ensure a timely resolution process for those complaints. The regulatory changes, which would align Virginia with federal regulations, replace standards that had not been updated since July 29, 2015.

VaNews March 29, 2024


What the arena deal demise means for toll relief in Hampton Roads

By EMILY HARRISON, WVEC-TV

It’s official: The Washington Capitals and Wizards will not be moving to Virginia. This means some of the negotiating between Virginia Republicans and Democrats has also come to an end. For months, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin pushed legislators to make room in the budget to allow a $2 billion district that would house the new arena in Alexandria, Virginia. This includes several offers to work on other agendas that were important to Democrats, including more tunnel toll relief.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Youngkin vetoes bills that would legalize retail marijuana sales, increase minimum wage

By GAVIN STONE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday vetoed seven bills, including those with the potential to reshape life in Virginia. HB 698 and SB 448 aimed to establish a retail market for marijuana starting in May 2025. HB 1 and SB 1 would have increased the state’s minimum wage from $12 per hour to $13.50 at the start of the new year and $15 per hour starting in 2026. Both passed the House and Senate by tight margins. The marijuana bill would have “endanger[ed] Virginians’ health and safety,” Youngkin said in a release.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Rahaman: Voters are raising their voices for equality. Does Youngkin hear them?

By NARISSA RAHAMAN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia General Assembly has ended its session for the year, with several bills passing through the legislature that would improve the lives and livelihoods of LGBTQ+ people. Yet, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has yet to take action on many of these pieces of legislation. This month, Youngkin signed into law a bill that codifies marriage equality — a bill passed by a bipartisan coalition — that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples and interracial couples via an update to the outdated Virginia Code.

Rahaman is the executive director of Equality Virginia, an advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) equality.

VaNews March 29, 2024


The Caps and Wizards are staying, and downtown D.C. is ready for revival

Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

In the end, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) triumphed over Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), and the Capitals and Wizards are staying where they belong: in the capital city. It’s a win the city’s struggling downtown needed. This moment feels like 1995, when the teams’ owner at the time, Abe Pollin, signed an agreement to move them from Maryland to Chinatown. Suddenly, other business owners considered the area, which is close to the White House, the Capitol and every Metro line. Investment poured in for restaurants, offices and residences.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Danville school leaders tout agreement with Va. Department of Education

By CHARLES WILBORN, Danville Register & Bee

Nearly four years into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Department of Education, leaders with Danville Public Schools point to progress on the road to getting all schools fully accredited, but admit it’s a long and sometimes bumpy ride to get there. On June 18, 2020, the Danville School Board inked the agreement with the state. It came in response to a study requested by then-Superintendent Stanley Jones when the number of accredited schools began to fall.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Why an effort to expand the Arlington police auditor’s access to records unraveled

By JO DEVOE, ArlNow

Last year, an attempt to broaden the Arlington police auditor’s access to police records quietly fizzled before reaching the public for discussion. The auditor currently can access police records for publicly filed misconduct complaints and review summaries of the Arlington County Police Department’s internal investigations, which ACPD has about a month and a half to generate and anonymize. The fizzling ensures that, for the near term, the auditor continues to have fewer powers than the state code allows, than what auditors in Alexandria and Fairfax County enjoy, and than what the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement says is essential to effective oversight.

VaNews March 29, 2024


Fariss bond set at $5,000; preliminary hearing set for June

By MARK D. ROBERTSON, Cardinal News

A district court judge set a $5,000 bond for former Del. Matt Fariss in Lynchburg General District Court on Thursday morning, nearly five days after the ex-lawmaker’s Saturday night arrest on drug and firearm charges in Campbell County. Judge Stephanie Maddox presided over the bond hearing and stipulated that Fariss’ freedom until his June 4 preliminary hearing will also be contingent upon random drug and alcohol tests and on Fariss seeking drug abuse treatment.

VaNews March 29, 2024