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Yancey: 4 trends in the early voting that could determine who wins Tuesday’s primaries
Some things should not be lumpy. Mattresses and mashed potatoes, for instance. Some things often turn out lumpy, anyway. Mattresses and mashed potatoes — and elections. It looks as if we’ll have some lumpy results tonight in primary elections across the state. By “lumpy,” I mean some places will vote at higher or lower rates than others. That’s the case in every election. Case in point: In the 2021 governor’s race, 71% of registered voters in Goochland County cast ballots, while only 38% of those in Petersburg did. Every other locality in the state fell somewhere in between.
As Va. Democrats head into crowded primary Tuesday, fractures remain for Republicans
Tuesday is primary day in Virginia, and Democrats are facing a crowded field. While Abigail Spanberger is already the party’s nominee for governor, six Democrats are competing for lieutenant governor and two for attorney general. Republicans, meanwhile, do not have any statewide primaries this year. Their nominees have already been set: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for governor, John Reid for lieutenant governor and Jason Miyares for attorney general. But even during a time when Republicans could be unified without competition, they’re not talking to each other. They also haven’t been seen standing together as a united ticket.
Warner: Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ could make it more expensive to fly in and out of DC area
The Senate continues to work on what’s been dubbed the president’s “big, beautiful bill” this week. It’s a massive tax and spending plan hitting several parts of the federal government. And in recent weeks, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has landed on the GOP’s radar. It’s all of 17 lines out of 33 pages from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, but it orders the federal government to renegotiate the lease it has with MWAA — leases that were just signed last year and run through the year 2100.
‘Option C’ for new Rappahannock River crossing gets regional endorsement
The Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s policy committee voted 9-1 on Monday night in favor of “Option C” for a new road and bridge over the Rappahannock River. The road would run from Celebrate Virginia Parkway in Stafford County, cross the river west of the quarry and connect with Gordon Shelton Boulevard in Fredericksburg from the west. FAMPO, a regional transportation planning body, has been studying the proposed construction of a river crossing west of Interstate 95 for more than a year.
Can this tiny Appalachian town be a blueprint for the region’s rebirth?
Lou Wallace couldn’t bear to watch her hometown on the Wise-Russell county line continue to crumble. On a whim in the late 1990s, she called The Nature Conservancy’s Abingdon office, lamenting, “Our little town is dying. Can you help?” Instead of shunning her, a now-retired employee of the nonprofit tossed out a lifeline. He helped her secure a $10,000 grant. That was enough to hire a company that fashioned a strategic plan revolving around the Clinch River—the hiding-in-plain-sight biological jewel bisecting St. Paul that residents had long dismissed as a dirty and forlorn nuisance.
Republicans Fight Uphill in Virginia Race That Will Test Anger at Trump
The politics of Washington nearly always bleed across the Potomac River and into Virginia’s odd-year elections for governor, long seen as the first sign of how the country is feeling about its new president. This year in particular, that is a big advantage for Democrats. In Virginia, they have fully united behind a candidate they view as ideal to win a Trump-era election in purple Virginia: former Representative Abigail Spanberger, a onetime C.I.A. officer who has raised buckets of money and defined herself as a moderate willing to buck her party’s leadership. She is widely seen as the favorite against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a socially conservative Republican who has struggled to remain competitive financially in the early months of the race.
In Virginia’s primary election, voters to decide statewide Democratic nominees
Polling places opened at 6 a.m. across Virginia on Tuesday for this year’s primary races to pick Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general, with a handful of localities also selecting a House of Delegates nominee from one or both major parties and some choosing candidates for local offices. Democrats have a nominee for governor — former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger — and Republicans are set with their full ticket: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for governor, talk-radio host John Reid for lieutenant governor and Attorney General Jason S. Miyares seeking reelection.
Virginia helps lead $7.4 billion national settlement with Sacklers, Purdue Pharma over opioid crisis
Virginia played a key role in brokering a sweeping $7.4 billion settlement that will permanently sever the Sackler family from pharmaceutical manufacturer Purdue Pharma and ban them from ever marketing opioids in the United States again. It’s the culmination of a long and bitter legal battle over the company’s role in fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic. Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Monday that Virginia is one of 55 states and territories backing the historic agreement, which would resolve all outstanding litigation against Purdue and its once-powerful owners, the Sacklers. The deal is now headed to bankruptcy court for final approval.
Pokharel and Tanyu: In race to develop AI, colleges overlook cybersecurity
Tomorrow’s data breaches are being written in today's classrooms. If we continue treating security as an afterthought, we risk graduating students who are ready to build the future — but unprepared to secure it. In an era where cyber threats evolve faster than textbooks, a staggering 43% of cyberattacks now target small- to medium-sized enterprises, many of which employ graduates unequipped with real-world cybersecurity skills. Arguably, our academic approach to cybersecurity is long overdue for a transformation.
The curious campaign of Levar Stoney
There are many ways for a political candidate to garner the glowing press he desires while on the campaign trail. He can host rallies and town halls, attend forums and speaking engagements, visit community colleges and housing developments. This is what industry insiders call “earned media,” that is publicity that a candidate neither owns (like a website) nor pays for (like an advertisement). Earned, owned and paid media are considered the three pillars of publicity. But there is a fourth, and uncelebrated, pillar: simply cold calling a newspaper. Which is what Levar Stoney’s campaign did.