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Richmond deputy registrar charged almost $80K to city credit card
Deputy Registrar Jerry Richardson charged nearly $80,000 to her city-issued purchasing card last year, according to records obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The revelation comes as both Richardson and General Registrar Keith Balmer, who lead Richmond’s Office of Elections, are under investigation by the Richmond Inspector General’s Office for claims of financial improprieties and nepotism. The 2023 charges to Richardson’s card include around $7,800 at hardware stores, over $5,000 on hotels and lodging, a roughly $1,200 charge at a shoe store and over $1,000 at Southern Police Equipment — which sells guns, ammunition, body armor and other tactical gear.
Education benefits for military families caught in political crossfire
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and General Assembly leaders agree that they need to take another hard look at changes that all of them had advocated to a program providing higher education benefits for the families of military veterans either killed or almost completely disabled while on active duty. The question is how and when. The Republican governor and Democratic legislative leaders don’t agree on whether the assembly needs to meet this month to repeal the budget provisions that it passed and he signed to narrow eligibility for free tuition and other benefits under the Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Education Program.
Roanoke Democratic official: Former candidate’s paperwork at issue
After Jamaal Jackson announced he was withdrawing as a Roanoke City Council candidate Monday, city Democratic Committee officials later said his paperwork has been turned over to the commonwealth attorney’s office. Jackson announced his withdrawal in an email early Monday, and did not respond to further inquiries about why. Later that night, Roanoke City Democratic Committee Chair Mark Lazar sent an email to news outlets after 8 p.m. “Recently, the Roanoke City Democratic Committee received a complaint regarding ballot access petitions for Jamaal Jackson,” Lazar said.
Prince William supervisors approve 2nd mid-county data center project
Prince William County’s data center alley is likely to stretch into Prince William County’s mid-section in the coming years as a result of the board of supervisors’ vote Tuesday to approve the controversial Mid-County Industrial Park. In a 5-3 vote, the supervisors voted to approve a rezoning that would allow three 90- and 95-foot-tall data centers on about 64 acres just north of the intersection of Va. 234 and Minnieville Road. It will be the second planned data center complex in the mid-county area. The first, on land formerly owned by Parson’s Farm, recently sold to Amazon for $218 million or $2.4 million an acre.
Virginia primaries: Why this year’s races hold national implications
Washington’s neighbor to the south is preparing for federal primaries that could provide a window into how elections will shake out in November. Virginians will vote on June 18 to choose the primary candidates for the Commonwealth’s 11 House seats and one Senate seat. Democrat Tim Kaine, who has served in the Senate since 2013, faces a field of five Republicans hoping to be the state’s first GOP senator since John Warner retired in 2009. Kaine was tapped as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election and has held various important posts, including governor from 2006 to 2010.
‘We are responsible now’: D-Day memorial finding new ways to tell veterans’ stories, honor legacy
In April Cheek-Messier’s top floor office of the National D-Day Memorial’s headquarters overlooking Bedford’s East Main Street, plenty of World War II photos and memorabilia adorn the walls. Some images especially dear are of veterans Cheek-Messier met over the years who fought, sacrificed and are like family. As uplifting and heartfelt as they are, a stinging bittersweet reality is clear when she glances at them. “They’re leaving us. It’s hard,” Cheek-Messier, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation’s president, said in a recent interview.
Stephens City zoning board upholds decision denying permits to hemp dispensary owners
The Stephens City Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) voted Monday evening to uphold town Zoning Administrator David Griffin's decision to deny permits to the owners of a Winchester hemp dispensary who want to open businesses at 4919 Main St. The decision comes after nearly a month of protests by the permit applicants, Tiauntia Green and Marcus Shelton, who are the owners of Celebrity's Hemp Dispensary on Braddock Street in Winchester. They have accused Griffin of prejudice in dealing with their applications to open a takeaway hoagie stop and smoker's night lodge and have called for his removal, along with town Mayor Mike Diaz.
Va.’s first anti-hazing summit held at VCU, hosted by family of freshman who died after frat party
Eric Oakes’ voice cracked for a moment when he reflected on the Virginia Hazing Prevention Summit he’d helped host at Virginia Commonwealth University Tuesday. Three years after the death of his son, Adam Oakes, the pain lingers but so does inspiration. “It was great seeing everybody collaborate and come together,” Oakes told reporters following a day-long gathering on VCU’s campus June 4. “I know Adam’s was the extreme of hazing, but there’s so much physical and mental damage done by hazing. It needs to be eradicated.” Oakes was a college freshman when he died of alcohol poisoning after a fraternity party hazing event in 2021.
Study: Va. Living Shorelines Boost Recreational Fishing Economic Impact
Virginia’s legislation that made living shorelines the default option for erosion control (versus bulkheads or riprap) was met with some skepticism back in 2020. But a new study shows a benefit beyond wetlands conservation: these shorelines are generating local and state revenue through the recreational angler industry. Tidal marshes and living shorelines along Virginia’s Middle Peninsula produce more than $6.4 million in economic value each year from recreational anglers, according to a study by a team of researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). The study, published recently in Ocean & Coastal Management, is the first to assign an economic value to an ecological benefit of living shorelines.
Portsmouth, Hampton councils to consider giving themselves raises after state law increases pay scale
Mayors and city council members in Hampton and Portsmouth this month will consider whether to nearly double their annual salaries after state law was changed this year to allow cities to increase the elected officials’ pay. Legislation passed by the General Assembly in April amended the maximum amounts that Virginia mayors and council members can earn. The legislation creates new salary caps based on population, and nearly doubles the maximum amount local elected officials can earn if cities vote to increase pay. So far, two Hampton Roads cities are moving forward to discuss and consider the change.