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Shenandoah County School Board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools
School board members in Virginia’s Shenandoah County voted early Friday to restore the names of two schools that previously honored Confederate leaders – four years after those names had been removed. The 5-1 vote came after hours of public comment during a meeting that began Thursday evening from people speaking on both sides of the issue. Vice Chairman Kyle L. Gutshall was the sole opposing vote. “I ask that when you cast your vote, you remember that Stonewall Jackson and others fighting on the side of the Confederacy in this area were intent on protecting the land, the buildings and the lives of those under attack,” said a woman urging the board to restore the Confederate names. “Preservation is the focus of those wishing to restore the names.”
Inside the Port of Virginia’s $450 million plan to lead in era of super-sized ocean containerships
The Port of Virginia is on track to become the functionally widest and deepest port on the U.S. East Coast by early 2025, as massive ocean containerships upend the economics of port terminals. Norfolk Harbor will be the only waterway channel on the East Coast with Congressional authorization for 55-foot depth from end to end and side to side. While there are channels on the East Coast that are wider than the Port of Virginia, they are not uniformly deep from end to end and side to side, regardless of tide. A $450 million dredging project at the Port of Virginia, which began in 2019, completed its widening measures in March, allowing two ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) to pass each other at the same time.
General Assembly budget leaders, Youngkin reach compromise
General Assembly budget leaders and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have reached a compromise on the next two-year state budget that would use an additional $525 million in state revenues to pay for Democratic spending priorities — including raises of 3% each year for state employees and teachers — without raising taxes and crossing the Republican governor’s red line for a potential veto. House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, confirmed on Thursday afternoon that assembly budget negotiators had reached a deal with Youngkin that they hope to approve on Monday in a special session that would last one day instead of three.
Yancey: 37 years ago, one of the Republican Senate candidates tried to run in Roanoke. Here’s what happened.
None of the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to run against Democrat Tim Kaine have ever held public office. In some quarters, that’s considered a plus. Some of them, though, have tried. One of them has tried more than any other. In 2010, Virginia Beach attorney Chuck Smith ran for the U.S. House of Representatives against Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, in the 3rd District but lost, as Republicans typically do in that strongly Democratic district. In 2012, Smith ran for the Kempsville district seat on the Virginia Beach City Council, but finished fourth out of a field of four candidates. In 2017, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for attorney general but failed to qualify for the ballot. In 2021, Smith did far, far better ...
Portsmouth casino exceeds projections in first year
Fourteen months after opening, the Rivers Casino Portsmouth has generated more than $86 million in state and local tax revenues and about $340 million in total revenues, a new report shows. Virginia’s first permanent casino reported $329 million in adjusted gaming revenues and $11.2 million in food and beverage revenues during the period from its opening in late January 2023 through March 31, 2024, according to a report filed with the Virginia Lottery Board.
Virginia budget negotiators, Youngkin strike deal on spending plan
General Assembly negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) have reached a deal on the state budget, agreeing to use several hundred million dollars in excess state revenue to pay for spending priorities favored by the General Assembly without resorting to the tax expansion opposed by the governor. “We have a budget!” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke E. Torian (D-Prince William) said Thursday afternoon after meetings between lawmakers and Youngkin. The full document will be made public Saturday morning and still has to be approved by the legislature in a special session next week.
Congresswoman Speaks Candidly About Her Incurable Brain Disease: ‘I’m Too Young for This’
Jennifer Wexton was gearing up for her third term as a United States congresswoman in late 2022 when she received the difficult news that, even if she felt she had a lot left to give to the people of Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, her body didn’t. “Cognitively, I’m the person I’ve always been,” Wexton, 55, tells PEOPLE, her voice muffled and speech somersaulting. “But there are things that it takes me a lot longer to do.” Less than two years ago, the rising Democrat from Leesburg, Va., had a clear vision for her future. She entered Congress in 2018 with a few key bipartisan goals — including fighting childhood cancer in honor of a young girl in Wexton’s community who died of an inoperable brain tumor.
Dominion Energy delays construction for offshore wind farm, says lawsuit won’t affect timeline
Dominion Energy delayed installation of the first batch of offshore wind turbine bases for its Virginia Beach wind farm, but a spokesperson said an ongoing lawsuit will have no impact on the construction timeline. Installation of the wind turbine monopiles, expected to begin this week, could get underway as soon as next week, said Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton. He said a slight delay in the arrival of an installation support vessel pushed back the start date. However, Slayton said the Orion, the large ship which will transport and install the monopiles, is ready to go after a bit of required maintenance.
Commonwealth’s NIL rule for college sports should be national model
Nearly four years since the NCAA appropriately decided that student-athletes should be free to receive compensation for their names, images and likenesses (NIL), the landscape of college athletics has been profoundly transformed by the absence of clear, firm rules about those opportunities. Virginia recently has moved to bring order to the chaos with a law that should protect students and ensure stronger oversight in a previously untamed environment. Other states looking to do the same — and Congress, which has dithered on the issue — would do well to follow the commonwealth’s lead and adopt similar models.
The Concern Over Arlington’s Empty Office Buildings
What do empty office buildings and over-leveraged commercial developers have to do with Arlington’s parks, libraries and schools? A lot, actually. There’s a storm brewing in the business landscape that has yet to unleash its full fury. In the worst case, fierce economic winds and rain could lash taxpayers and the county services they hold dear, from recreational programs and transit routes to emergency responders. The problem comes down to funding. Arlington has historically derived more of its tax base from the commercial sector than the average suburban municipality does, notes Terry Clower, director of regional analysis at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Doing so has allowed the county to offer high-level services and an enviable quality of life ...