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Hampton Roads needs clarity on proposed move affecting Fort Eustis
News in May that the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) headquarters will be moving from Fort Eustis in Newport News to Austin, Texas, came as an unwelcome surprise. There are still many unanswered questions about how this change will affect TRADOC operations and its military and civilian staff members, as well as what the implications will be for Fort Eustis and the military presence that is such an important part of Hampton Roads.
Fed’s hidden immigration weapon – Virginia’s surveillance network
Hundreds of Flock Safety cameras capturing images of motorists across Virginia weren’t supposed to be used for immigration enforcement. But they were. At least five Virginia counties shared data collected by Flock Safety automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) with federal authorities for immigration enforcement, despite prohibitions against using the surveillance for such operations, according to law enforcement logs. About 50 immigration-related enforcement searches were conducted in Flock data in Fairfax, Chesterfield, Isle of Wight, Loudoun and Stafford counties between June 2024 and April 2025, according to an analysis of the logs. . . . The logs reveal how data from more than 1,000 cameras tracking Virginia motorists was shared widely between agencies, and potentially used beyond its original purpose for criminal investigations and locating missing persons.
Feds reinstate $33 million for Virginia schools
Virginia and other states will regain the ability to use $33 million in emergency relief funds, after the federal government last week reversed course on a March decision that prohibited them from using the funds. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon abruptly accelerated the deadline for schools to spend all allocated funds on March 28, leaving schools scrambling to make plans for the money. McMahon announced the rescission of that policy in a June 26 letter to chief state school officers, after several states sued the agency in the Southern District of New York, leading to injunctions that prevented the DOE from enforcing its policy. Virginia was not one of those states involved in the litigation, but its state education agency did file appeals with DOE.
Averett University cuts liberal arts programs amid financial crisis
Averett University is making significant changes to its academic offerings, cutting several liberal arts programs in an effort to stabilize its finances after a former chief financial officer allegedly mismanaged $18 million from the university's endowment. The university is now suing the former CFO and the investment firm involved. Dr. Thomas Powell, Averett University's president, said the decision to eliminate programs such as political science and communications, along with three minors, is part of a strategy to save the school without cutting jobs.
Former BOV member Bert Ellis says Ryan resignation an opportunity to move UVA to the right
Bert Ellis, a former member of the UVA Board of Visitors and outspoken critic of President Jim Ryan, believes Ryan’s ouster creates an opportunity for the school to move away from what Ellis sees as its recent left-leaning politics. “I wasn’t trying to move the University of Virginia towards the hard right, I just wanted it to move from hard left towards the middle,” Ellis said during an appearance on the Schilling Show on Monday. “He could have easily done that and been a hero and a leader in higher education but no. He drew his line in the sand on DEI.”
Letters from DOJ reveal threats to U.Va. over admissions policies, Ryan’s leadership
Between April 11 and June 17, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division sent seven letters to University officials, according to documents obtained by The Cavalier Daily through a Freedom of information Act request. In these letters, the Justice Department sought confirmation that the University had removed affirmative action from its admissions policies and had ended Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. Some letters also alleged that the University had failed to protect students against antisemitism. The letters did not confirm whether or not the Justice Department’s demands had been met.
Ryan to return to UVa as professor
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan may have resigned, but he won't be leaving UVa for good. The university announced Wednesday that Ryan will officially step down from office on July 11 and, after a sabbatical, will return to Grounds to teach at the schools of law and education
Emerson to lay off 87 workers in Charlottesville
Emerson Electric — the St. Louis-based Fortune 500 multinational corporation that provides engineering services and manufactures items such as industrial automation equipment and climate control systems — plans to lay off 87 workers working at its Charlottesville manufacturing facility, starting Dec. 31. Emerson Automation Solutions, in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, notified the state last week of plans to lay off employees due to the decision to permanently reduce operations at the Emerson subsidiary’s Charlottesville site.
Medicaid on the brink as Congress races toward budget deadline
With roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding at stake, Congress is racing to finalize a sweeping budget package, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill,” ahead of President Donald Trump’s July 4 deadline — but key decisions about cuts to the health care program remain up in the air. A preliminary review by the Congressional Budget Office has heightened concern, and a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers and hospital associations across several states is warning against adopting the Senate version of the bill, which they say could devastate Medicaid-dependent health systems. . . . A central dispute between the two chambers involves how the Senate version would restructure Medicaid funding, particularly in ways that could undercut Virginia’s hospitals and the state’s expanded Medicaid program.
Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Includes Provision to Move the Space Shuttle Discovery to Texas
Texas lawmakers have added legislation to the One Big, Beautiful Bill that, if passed, would move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center to Houston. But in documents sent to Congress (and shared with Northern Virginia Magazine), the Smithsonian says that “The case against relocating the orbiter Discovery is both philosophical and practical.” . . . The provision in the Great Big Beautiful Bill would authorize $85 million to transport the shuttle from Chantilly to the Houston Space Center. But estimates from the Smithsonian say that would cover only a fraction of the cost necessary for the move.