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Claims in lawsuit by UVa Jewish student evaluated by others
A Jewish University of Virginia student from Israel has filed suit against the school in federal court, claiming he has been the victim of antisemitism on Grounds and that, further, UVa leaders knew and did nothing to stop it. ... Legal experts are skeptical about Goldstein’s claims and doubt the complaint, filed on May 17, will find much success in court. “This is an embarrassment to the legal profession. This isn’t a complaint,” attorney Jeff Fogel told The Daily Progress. “It makes claims which, frankly, I know to be lies, and on the other hand, it makes claims it can’t back up.”
State, federal aid help Brown v. Board of Education scholarship fund reach over $3.4 million
On the heels of the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which mandated public school desegregation nationwide, Virginia’s scholarship fund named after the landmark Supreme Court ruling has gained $2.5 million in federal and state aid. The state’s Brown V. Board of Education Scholarship fund now stands at more than $3.4 million, after $500,000 in federal funds were awarded in March and $2 million in state funds were confirmed in the commonwealth’s newly passed two-year spending plan, according to the scholarship committee.
Youngkin signs CODI alert bill in honor of Codi Bigsby
On Tuesday afternoon, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill to create the CODI alert in honor of Codi Bigsby, the little boy from Hampton who is presumed dead after his father, Cory Bigsby, was found guilty of his murder. The alert similar to an Amber Alert, but it removes the criteria of the suspicion of abduction.
Virginia distilleries generate over $275.9 million in revenue
Virginia’s distillery industry generated an economic impact of more than $1.1 billion and supported more than 3,000 jobs in 2022, according to a study by Economic Forensics and Analytics Inc., commissioned by the Virginia Spirits Board (VSB). There were approximately 81 licensed and revenue-generating distilleries in Virginia in 2022.
Data center construction damages 2 Black cemeteries in Prince William County
The Prince William County Historical Commission is sounding the alarm after two historic African American cemeteries in Brentsville were damaged by the construction of a new data center and a related electrical substation. Both cemeteries are the final resting places for members of the Gaskins family, whose lineage can be traced back to slaves freed in the 1790s by plantation owner Robert Carter III. They are located about 2 miles apart on Wellington Road outside Manassas, where historians say a vibrant community of free African Americans thrived in Prince William County both before and after the Civil War.
Lawmakers call for further inquiry into Virginia prison that had hypothermia hospitalizations
A raft of hypothermia hospitalizations and other questionable conditions at a Virginia prison uncovered in a recent report deserve further scrutiny, leading Democratic state lawmakers said this week. Lawmakers pledged to press Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration for answers and called for a newly created prisons watchdog to look into the findings of an Associated Press report, which found at least 13 hospitalizations for hypothermia over three years at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center.
The effects of removing RGGI from Virginia’s state budget
The Virginia General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved the final state budget on May 13. Language that tied Virginia to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, did not make the final cut. Programs partly or largely funding with RGGI revenue will lose that money, and people who benefit from flood mitigation and energy-efficiency programs may have to turn elsewhere for funds.
Mountain Valley Pipeline says it hasn’t yet completed construction, pushes in-service date to early June
The Mountain Valley Pipeline says it hasn’t yet completed construction on their 303 mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia, and has set their new in-service target date to early June. The pipeline company had earlier planned to be in service by the end of this month. In a letter Tuesday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a lawyer representing MVP acknowledged that they still have some welding, hydrotesting, and other required safety checks to do, and won’t be ready to go in service until early-June.
Spotsylvania School Board revisits book policy
While book removals from Spotsylvania County school libraries was a hot-button issue last year, the issue has been nonexistent in 2024. Last year, former schools Superintendent Mark Taylor removed 30 books from libraries after they were challenged by parents. A new majority school board took over in January and it quickly placed Taylor on leave. The board fired Taylor in March. During its Monday night meeting, the school board addressed the issue of the banned books’ current status.
Lynnhaven River Now building region’s first living shoreline made of mussels
Jeff Grimshaw’s family has owned a waterfront property in Virginia Beach for more than three decades, jutting out where the Lynnhaven Bay meets the river of the same name. Over that time “we’ve seen tremendous change,” Grimshaw said. “We are losing land at a pretty horrific rate.” Erosion exacerbated by storms and sea level rise has eaten away at the property’s edge, particularly in the last 20 years, he said. Now Grimshaw’s property will serve as a test site for a new kind of shoreline. Using a $15,000 state grant, the nonprofit Lynnhaven River Now is building a living shoreline made of mussels.