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New Virginia clean slate law will create high demand for legal aid, experts say
A new “clean slate” law set to take effect next year will shield some past crimes from public viewing. Advocates say that matters for people whose convictions haunt them for years after they’ve served their time. And legal experts say there’s much to be done to prepare for the influx of people who will want to have their previous convictions sealed. Attorney Scott Surovell, a Democratic state senator representing Fairfax, said people were already lining up to take advantage of the new law.
Virginia investment accelerator provides clarity in an uncertain climate
Even as the Trump administration’s schizophrenic tariff policies roil markets and put pressure on American businesses and consumers, concern about their potential effects on the Port of Virginia appear muted. Port officials recently downplayed fears that higher levies on imports, especially from China, will affect the volume of goods processed there. That’s good news for Virginia and Hampton Roads, though still hardly an ideal scenario. The tariffs continue to put commonwealth businesses, both small and large, in peril, and will needlessly inflict pain on consumers — meaning Virginia families — for as long as they are in effect.
Chesapeake’s Planning Commission says no to data center proposal
The Chesapeake Planning Commission recommended the City Council deny a rezoning request for a major data center project. Citing a lack of information on key questions like water usage and noise, the commission voted 6-1 against the project. The lone vote against denying approval was commissioner Michael Malone, who instead put a motion forward to delay the vote for 120 days to get answers to those questions.
Hard Rock gaming revenues again exceed $21M in April
For the second consecutive month, adjusted gaming revenues from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol exceeded $21 million. The casino reported $21.04 million in AGR during April, the second highest month since the facility opened in mid-November, according to a new report from the Virginia Lottery. Gaming revenues for March were a single-month record $21.4 million.
Trump administration’s cancellation of internet access grants will cost SW and Southside Virginia, officials say
An Abingdon nonprofit organization, looking to expand broadband access and literacy, put its blueprints in place. People Inc. of Virginia used $55,000 in federal money and worked with multiple Southwest Virginia nonprofits to create a plan that would help a variety of Southwest Virginia residents with digital literacy, coding and consumer protection, and would provide devices for doing schoolwork to children living below the poverty line, among other actions. People Inc. set up similar plans in Northern and Central Virginia locations with another $70,000.
Meet the two Democrats running in the primary for Virginia Attorney General
In Virginia’s attorney general race, Democratic voters have two candidates to choose from, former state Del. Jay Jones, in his second primary bid for the role, and longtime Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. Virginia has an election every year, and this is a big one: this fall, voters will pick the next occupants of the three statewide offices — governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general — as well as all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.
Youngkin signs bills designed to improve foster care in Va.
Chesapeake resident Katie Jones knows all too well that in the past, Virginia’s foster care system hasn’t always worked like it’s supposed to. “I absolutely did not get what I needed as a child. No foster kid does,” Jones told 8News. That’s why Jones, who aged out of the foster care system several years ago, was on hand in Richmond on Thursday to witness Governor Glenn Youngkin sign two bills to improve Virginia’s foster care system.
Virginia education department violated procurement rules in extending $83M contract
The former leadership at the Virginia Department of Education failed to follow state procurement rules when it extended a major student assessment contract worth nearly $83 million, according to a finding by the Office of the State Inspector General. The state’s contract with the education company Pearson is one of the biggest and most politically sensitive in state government. It includes work to develop, administer, score and report statewide students’ assessments, including the Standards of Learning tests.
Charlottesville teachers demand UVa turn down Federal Executive Institute
It's town versus gown. Things got off to a rocky start when the University of Virginia was founded in 1819. But for the better part of the past century, UVa and the city of Charlottesville have enjoyed a civil relationship in the 10-square-mile patch of land in the shadow of university founder Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate. For decades, city residents have shrugged off grievances over the university's growing appetite for land and development. . . . But some residents have reached a breaking point.
Friday Read ‘There’s no way this is actually what I think it is’: Marine vet finds WWII-era mortar in Virginia backyard
In central Virginia, it’s not uncommon to unearth relics from Civil War battles. But finding a 50mm French mortar dating to World War II hidden in your backyard is something else entirely. That’s what happened to Hunter Vap, a Marine veteran and resident of Orange, Virginia. After a midnight encounter with an ancient piece of unexploded ordnance, he’d enlist county officials — and ultimately explosives specialists from Marine Corps Base Quantico, about 70 miles away — to safely dispose of it.