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Norfolk school board attorneys say Byrdsong’s severance didn’t need to be discussed at time of firing
On the day before a surprise vote to fire Norfolk Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong, the City Attorney sent an email to school board chair Sarah DiCalogero that Byrdsong's lawyer was dealing with her husband's medical emergency, which might delay a separation agreement. "I have no reason to doubt her lawyer’s explanation of why she may not immediately respond to our draft," attorney Bernard Pishko wrote, adding that "perhaps will delay executing the separation agreement which appears to be a ‘no-brainer.’" Pishko considered it a no-brainer because Byrdsong's contract spelled out the terms of her severance in case of dismissal without cause – "equal to the amount of the base annual salary and deferred compensation in effect for the previous twelve months."
Fisher: Why attack colleges? To open students’ minds or blow up institutions?
When President Donald Trump and the foot soldiers of his populist brigade went after Harvard and Columbia, they were right on message: In a rigidly divided country, Trump delights in dramatic actions against the symbols and institutions of the nation’s elites. When the Trump assault targeted the University of Virginia, the message got a bit muddy: Sure, most American colleges are hotbeds of conformist liberals eager to impose their righteousness on the rest of us. But U-Va. is also something of a throwback, a school that still celebrates its intellectual inspiration, Thomas Jefferson; stands up for rigor; and attracts students from a wide array of political backgrounds. Going after U-Va. seemed like a decision to spray the MAGA movement’s ammo randomly rather than target the core engines of higher education’s woke machine. Now, the mission has gone off the rails ...
Fairfax County leaders sound alarm on ‘staggering’ rise in unemployment
Fairfax County’s top elected officials at the state and local level united this morning (Wednesday) to urge Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to provide more support for fired federal workers. In a joint statement, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax, pinned the “staggering rise in unemployment” across the county on “the reckless policies of Donald Trump” and the “complicity” of Virginia’s Republican leaders.
Heat Wave Prompts Increased Data Center Generator Use
During the heat wave at the end of June, power demand in the region peaked at its third highest recorded usage ever, resulting in regional power coordinators requesting some customers to run on backup power to provide relief to the grid. Residents in Loudoun County noticed, with many emailing supervisors with complaints about the constant noise from generators that typically only serve as a backup power supply to the largest concentration of data centers in the world.
Yancey: Spanberger has more than three times the cash as Earle-Sears, a possible unprecedented financial advantage
Two and a half months before voting begins to pick Virginia’s next governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberer has more than three times as much campaign cash as Republican Winsome Earle-Sears — an advantage that may be unprecedented in modern times. Spanberger’s financial dominance is part of a larger pattern emerging in the 2025 campaign, in which Democrats are building big cash leads in many races that ought to be competitive. In the lieutenant governor’s race, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has almost eight times as much cash on hand as Republican John Reid — even after spending money to win last month’s primary.
June campaign donations point to hottest House races
If money talks, what it’s saying in the latest House of Delegates campaign finance reports is that Democrats are on the attack deep into what’s long been Republican turf. The campaign finance reports filed this week and reporting on contributions for most of June say metro Richmond will be a hotbed of electioneering. But they also say Democrats see this year’s election putting into play places like western Loudoun and Fauquier counties, where Republicans have romped to easy victories for years, as well as the district that Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, has represented for 35 years in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties.
Two senior U.Va. Health leaders quietly take new jobs without formal announcement
U.Va. Health has now lost two senior leaders in one week as Melina Kibbe, dean of the School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer at U.Va. Health, and University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton will both leave the health system to accept new positions. Kibbe will become president of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the UT System announced Monday, after being named the sole finalist for the position. Horton has accepted a leadership role at the University of California San Francisco Health Center after serving in her position at U.Va. Health since 2020.
SCC says Dominion’s future spending plan ‘legally sufficient,’ warns against impact on consumers
In a ruling on Tuesday, the State Corporation Commission stated that Dominion Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, while “legally sufficient,” raises concerns about the utility’s future spending plans, which will “significantly impact millions of residential and business customers in the monthly bills they must pay for power,” the commission stated in the final order. Utility companies serving Virginia must provide a 15-year plan every two years to explain how they will meet energy demands, and carbon emission reductions standards through the Virginia Clean Economy Act that passed in 2020. The SCC then determines if the plan is reasonable and within the public’s best interest.
‘Somebody needs to be fired’: Petersburg vice mayor sharply critical of vape-shop opening
Petersburg’s vice mayor, Darrin Hill, is not known for public outbursts of anger or frustration. So, when he dressed down the city staff during City Council’s July 15 meeting, many ears in the room pricked up. A high concentration of vape and tobacco shops in Petersburg prompted the planning department last year to recommend restricting them to neighborhood business, commercial and industrial districts. Council voted in July 2024 to limit them to industrial-zoned districts. Hill, who represents Ward 2, took planners to the mat after a vape shop opened on South Crater Road after he and his colleagues voted last April to deny a rezoning request that would have allowed it.
How a parasitic worm could help revive the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population
If you catch a female blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay — and know where to look — there’s a good chance you might find a tiny, parasitic worm embedded in its spongelike egg mass. The worm, scientifically known as Carcinonemertes carcinophila, relies on crab eggs to grow and survive. “They have a really interesting symbiotic relationship, where the worm cannot reach sexual maturity without consuming the eggs of its host, which is the blue crab,” said Alex Schneider, who recently earned a doctoral degree in marine science from William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science.