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Chesapeake Regional, Anthem reach multi-year agreement over insurance rates
With the contract deadline just weeks away, Chesapeake Regional Hospital and Anthem have reached a multi-year agreement over insurance rates after a public dispute earlier this year. In April, Chesapeake Regional, the only independent community hospital in Hampton Roads, released a statement saying Anthem, one of the largest insurance providers in the region, has been paying them 25% less than what they pay other local hospitals for the same care.
UVa researchers accused of animal neglect lose privileges
Two researchers at the University of Virginia had their animal-handling privileges suspended after reports showed they regularly neglected their own protocols and harmed multiple animals on federally funded projects. The pair had their animal-handling privileges suspended for 30 days after the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee found that they repeatedly violated a number of standard operating procedures during their experiments.
Top GOP leaders in the 5th District urge Trump to reconsider McGuire endorsement
Top Republican officials in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District are asking former President Donald Trump to rethink his endorsement of Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, in the district’s GOP primary election and to instead consider backing the incumbent, Rep. Bob Good, R-Campbell County. “We the undersigned leaders of the 5th District Republican Congressional Committee strongly urge President Donald Trump to reconsider his endorsement of Congressman Bob Good’s opponent in the Republican Primary,” reads an open letter to the party’s presumptive presidential nominee that was signed by 25 party officials, including the vast majority of the district’s unit chairs and all of the district’s State Central Committee members.
Biden picks Virginia man to lead outreach to Republican voters
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has chosen a Fauquier County man to lead its national initiative to reach out to Republican voters who are disenchanted with former President Donald Trump for the coming presidential election rematch in November. Austin Weatherford, a veteran of Republican congressional politics, will serve as “national Republican engagement director” for the reelection campaign of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Rozell: Sorry, Democrats, but Trump can win Virginia
Democrats might be tempted to consider the commonwealth friendly territory in this year’s presidential election. They have enjoyed a streak of success since 2008, winning the four intervening presidential elections, including two over this year’s Republican nominee and former president, Donald Trump — the most recent a 10-percentage-point victory in 2020. Democrats are energized in some spots across the state, but not by the top-of-the-ballot race. They’re waging difficult campaigns in two swing congressional districts — Virginia’s 7th and 10th — where Democratic incumbents Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton, respectively, are not seeking reelection.
Political newcomer who blew whistle on Trump faces experienced foes in Democratic primary
Eugene Vindman has never run for office, and he’s far from a household name, but his almost cultlike status among national Democratic activists as a figure from the first impeachment of Donald Trump has elevated him to a leading contender in a key Virginia congressional race. Vindman’s ability to raise money from outside the district has given him an advantage in the seven-person primary in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, to the consternation of other contenders who paid their dues in state or local office before seeking a seat in Congress.
Virginia Beach Republican Party chairwoman indicted on felony wire communications charge
The chairwoman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach was indicted this week on a felony charge of intercepting wire communications. Laura K. Hughes, an attorney and former Virginia Beach School Board member, was indicted Monday by a Virginia Beach grand jury, according to online court records. The crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Northampton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton on Thursday confirmed that his office was asked to handle the case after Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle recused himself. Stolle is a longtime member of the local Republican Party.
Friday Read Three Colonial-era newspapers in Williamsburg called themselves The Virginia Gazette—at the same time
William Parks learned how to operate a press as a print-shop apprentice in England. After immigrating to the American colonies in 1726, he started a publishing business, including a newspaper, in Maryland. But it wasn’t as lucrative as he had hoped. So Parks cast his gaze south to a more populous colony — Virginia. At the time, Virginia’s government had banned publishing as a threat to its autocratic leadership. Consequently, and inconveniently, all of the colony’s laws and other documents had to be sent to England for printing.
Mistrial declared for man who participated in 2017 torch march at UVa
In the first test of a Virginia law crafted to prohibit Ku Klux Klan cross-burnings, the jury failed to reach a verdict. The seven-man, five-woman jury announced in Albemarle County court Thursday they were deadlocked over the fate of 29-year-old Jacob Dix of Clarksville, Ohio, charged with using fire to racially intimidate under Virginia's so-called cross-burning statute. Dix was one of hundreds of White supremacists who participated in the torch-wielding mob that marched across University of Virginia Grounds in 2017, the night before the deadly Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville. Judge H. Thomas Padrick declared a mistrial Thursday evening.
D.C. Circuit to hear battle over Virginia offshore wind
Critics of an offshore wind farm in Virginia are taking their fight against the project to a powerful federal appeals court. In a Wednesday filing, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Heartland Institute, and National Legal and Policy Center said they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reverse a May ruling that denied their bid to block a 176-turbine Dominion Energy wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach.