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Student leaders weigh the future of self-governance after Ryan's departure
Student leaders say the University is at a tipping point for protecting student self-governance following University President Jim Ryan’s decision to resign June 27 after facing pressure from the Trump administration. Many urged renewed attention to a core tradition they fear could be threatened during this period of transition. The University has a historical tradition of student self-governance, which allows students to take part in decision-making processes — major self-governance groups include the Honor Committee, University Judiciary Committee, Student Council and Class Councils.
Education Department probes George Mason University for hiding DEI practices
The Education Department has launched a federal civil rights investigation into Virginia’s George Mason University for renaming rather than removing its diversity, equity and inclusion program and staff. In a Thursday news release, the agency cited a complaint filed with its Office for Civil Rights by “multiple professors at GMU who allege that the university illegally uses race and other immutable characteristics in university policies, including hiring and promotion.” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the complaint belies administrators’ public claims that the private Fairfax campus “does not discriminate on the basis of race” by favoring minority candidates, which the Trump administration forbids.
Trump administration investigating George Mason over report of discrimination
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating George Mason University for possible racial discrimination, the latest move by President Donald Trump’s administration to eradicate DEI from American colleges and punish colleges that don’t comply. A group of professors at the university in Fairfax County filed a report asserting that university leadership illegally uses race as a factor in hiring and promotions. The complaint alleges that the school’s president, Gregory Washington, instructed administrators to consider how an applicant would improve the school’s diversity, ...
Governor: CNBC's 'new subjective metric' dropped Virginia on 'Best States' business list
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is faulting what he called “a new subjective metric” that saw Virginia drop its crown as CNBC’s top state for business – a major political calling card for his administration. In the latest version of its annual “25 Best States for Business” report released July 10, CNBC dropped Virginia to No. 4 on the list. North Carolina, which has been in a battle for the top spot with Virginia in recent years, reclaimed that spot, with Texas and Florida taking the second and third positions, respectively.
Norfolk wants protection from future flooding. Agreeing on how isn’t easy.
After residents of Norfolk’s historic Freemason neighborhood objected to proposed floodwalls snaking through their community, blocking river views, potentially depressing property values and leaving condominium buildings exposed, staff members from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers walked the planned path with local leaders in January. ... As details about the plan to protect the city from major storms and hurricanes have become clear to residents, the cost has risen and the beginning of construction has been pushed back, clouding the future of the project.
Friday Read What Ken Burns Won’t Say About the American Revolution
“If I have a problem with you,” Ken Burns said, “it’s my fault. If you have a problem with me, it’s still my fault. My mother taught me that.” It was startling to hear this ethos of humility and personal responsibility from a man who had won two Grammys, 15 Emmys, a Peabody and the National Humanities Medal. Not just because of the impossibly large burden this duty put on his shoulders, but because in that moment it was hard to imagine anyone having a problem with him. The documentarian was addressing a Colonial Williamsburg ballroom, crowded with a diverse group of civic educators looking up at him with reverence. They had gathered for A Common Cause to All, a convention organized to find fresh answers to a question as old as America itself: How to help the new generation find meaning in the country’s founding revolution?
Appalachian Power seeks state approval of measure to reduce electricity bills
Appalachian Power Co. is seeking state approval to spread out the cost for some of its assets, a move the company says will save its average residential customers about $11 a month. An application filed Thursday with the State Corporation Commission seeks to securitize the costs of restoring power cut off by bad weather, and the Virginia share of the debt and equity on two West Virginia coal-burning power plants that provide a large share of the electricity the utility sells.
Appalachian Power says new financing method will save customers money
Appalachian Power on Thursday said it plans to save customers money by using a newly allowed method of financing to recover costs associated with recent storms and balances on two coal power plants. . . . Specifically, Appalachian’s proposal would save the company an estimated $176 million and decrease the average residential monthly bill by $6.66, according to the utility. That average bill has risen by about $50 since July 2022 to about $174 today.
Trump administration increases scrutiny of another Virginia university
Weeks after the University of Virginia’s president resigned amid pressure from the Justice Department, the Trump administration is increasing its scrutiny of another large public university in the state. On Thursday, the Education Department said it had opened its second civil rights investigation in two weeks into George Mason University, this one over the alleged use of race in the hiring and promotion of faculty members. The department said it had received complaints from multiple professors, including about university initiatives to make the demographics of faculty better reflect the diversity of its student body.
Virginia prisoners report extreme heat as air conditioning fails
The high temperature in and around Chatham, Virginia is expected to be ninety degrees for the next three days – a dire forecast for about 980 men at the Green Rock Correctional Center. Tim Wright is among them. “We’ve had like two weeks of air conditioning since April,” he says. That’s because the man who had nursed the aging air conditioning system along was transferred to another facility. . . ." The Department of Corrections reports a compressor is on order but could not say when it might be delivered. The facility is now 18 years old.