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D.C. region leaders criticize, endorse U.S. attack on Iran
U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites drew mixed reactions from Washington, D.C.-area leaders, whose response to President Donald Trump’s actions split along partisan lines. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) called Trump’s orders a reckless display of “horrible judgment,” as Democrats suggested that the United States was being drawn into Israel’s war with Iran.
Democrats' statewide ticket boasts unity at first joint meeting in Richmond
The statewide Democratic ticket appeared together for the first time on Saturday afternoon in Richmond, four days after voters picked the party’s nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general. The GOP ticket, which was finalized in April, still has not appeared together. The Democratic trio includes former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, the party’s nominee for governor; state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, the Democratic lieutenant governor nominee; and former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, the party’s nominee for attorney general.
Virginia Democrats kick off ‘Worst of Winsome’ tour in Charlottesville
Charlottesville was the first stop Friday on a new tour criss-crossing Virginia ahead of November’s gubernatorial election spreading the message: Winsome Earle-Sears is “so far right, she’s wrong for Virginia.” A small crowd of local Democratic voters and elected officials gathered outside Charlottesville City Hall Friday to blast Earle-Sears, the sitting lieutenant governor and the Republican nominee for governor. The Democratic Party of Virginia, which has organized the tour, has been explicit that it is not connected to the official campaign of Earle-Sears’ Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th.
What to Do With the Top of Afton Mountain?
Augusta County wants a highway entrance that combines commercial development with a fitting welcome to the Valley; conservationists want to protect wildlife, the water supply, and open space; developers want a crack at a unique and desirable piece of property. Then there are nearby landowners, businesses, commuters, birdwatchers and hikers who all have their own interests in the possibilities ahead for the famously blighted 25 acres of mountain property uphill from Interstate 64 and Route 250. What the owners call the “lower mountain” is one of several scattered parcels in Albemarle and Augusta County that have had an uncertain future since the death of their owner, Phil Dulaney, in 2023.
Independent candidate files at last minute for 49th District race
As expected, just a small portion of registered voters showed up at the polls in Danville and Pittsylvania County on June 17 to nominate a candidate in the 49th District House of Delegates primaries. Also, an independent candidate filed a petition that day in Pittsylvania County to compete against Republican Madison Whittle and Democrat Gary Miller for the House seat being vacated by Republican Danny Marshall, who is stepping down at the end of his term in January. ... Pittsville resident Barbara Hancock plans to vie for the seat as an independent candidate in the contest. She has not yet been certified by the Virginia Board of Elections as of Friday ...
Yancey: 25 more places on the western side of the state that Spanberger, Earle-Sears should visit for policy lessons
By the time you read this, Democrat Abigail Spanberger will be rolling somewhere between Martinsville, Wytheville, Blacksburg and Roanoke on her eight-day bus tour. Alas, that’s as far west as her bus tour goes, so that makes this a good time to remind her, and readers, about the list of 25 places in Southwest Virginia that candidates should see because they all might help inform future policy choices. She won’t get to any of them on this campaign swing. This is also a good time to remind everyone that you can drive three hours west of Wytheville and still not be in the state’s westernmost corner. On the other hand, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t put out a campaign schedule — or many policy statements, either, for that matter.
‘Extremely distressing’ Chesapeake Bay blue crab populations call for curtailing harvest, experts say
Blue crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay have taken a sizable hit in 2025, marking a need for more cautious harvest regulations, some environmentalists say. Each winter, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William & Mary cooperate on a dredge survey to record the population of blue crabs.
Osprey population ‘near complete collapse’ on the Eastern Shore, scientists report
The osprey population on the Eastern Shore has dropped to just 18 birds, and scientists at Williams & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology say it’s a sign of an “early complete collapse” of the species. In 1975, one of the first aerial surveys for ospreys, there were 68 breeding pairs on the Eastern Shore. In 1987, when the area was surveyed again, the population was about 83 pairs. Now, researchers have found only nine pairs from Fisherman Island to the Chincoteague Causeway.
Spanberger, Earle-Sears top ticket, but Trump will top the talk
Formally, the candidates in this year’s statewide election campaign will debate the advantages of a political trifecta (governor, House and Senate) versus divided government, casting outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin either as a roadblock to Virginians’ desires or a brake on legislative extremism. But the central character in this year’s drama over whether Abigail Spanberger or Winsome Earle-Sears will be the state’s next chief executive will likely be neither, political scientists agree.
Kaine, Warner criticize U.S. strikes on Iran; Youngkin backs Trump’s actions
Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner criticized the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites without congressional authorization, while Gov. Glenn Youngkin supported President Donald Trump’s actions. Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation faulted the president for acting without congressional backing or consultation, while Republicans supported the U.S. effort to neutralize Iran’s nuclear threat.