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Lund: ‘Go see’ Virginia exhibit about the Vietnam War
A Vietnam veteran and I met in a small-town, fast-food restaurant in Southside Virginia some years ago to talk about his military experience. He wanted someone to listen; I wanted someone to write. I direct Home and Abroad, a free writing program for the veteran community that offers writing seminars, individual coaching and professional printing of participants’ work. We both felt what he had to say was important enough to be shared.
Williams: George Mason must take a stand against federal overreach
You didn’t think they’d stop at UVa, did you? The U.S. Department of Education is coming after George Mason University, alleging the use of race in the hiring and promotion of faculty members, part of its latest, legally dubious attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. And a second civil rights investigation, also launched this month, alleges that the Fairfax-based school “discriminated on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) by failing to respond effectively to a pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty.”
Coming in first, fourth or last? The ballad of Glenn Youngkin
As rankings go, is No. 4 really that bad? On its face, the political reaction to Virginia’s precipitous drop in CNBC’s all-important “Top States for Business“ rankings — we got the news that our long-time rival, North Carolina, supplanted the Old Dominion as No. 1 on Thursday morning — somehow feels both alarmist and apropos. “It’s terrible,” Democratic House Speaker and Portsmouth Del. Don Scott told the RTD’s Michael Martz on Thursday, pointing out CNBC’s emphasis on federal job cuts and tariffs in this year’s rankings: ... Gov. Glenn Youngkin, of course, dismissed the drop on X. “CNBC’s new methodology this year is thrown off by a new subjective metric that mistakenly ascribes substantial risk to Virginia from the federal government’s presence in the Commonwealth,” Youngkin wrote.
Fredericksburg Planning Commission unanimously recommends disapproval of Gateway data center
Thomas Johnson spent some time working at Hugh Mercer Elementary School, which means he was already familiar with a couple of the proposed transmission line routes for a data center project discussed at Wednesday’s Fredericksburg Planning Commission meeting. “With what I see, one goes through the car [rider] line and one goes through the play area,” said Johnson, a planning commissioner. “So, both would be very difficult obstacles for that entity.” Ultimately, concerns surrounding the transmission lines that would be required to feed power to the proposed 2.1 million square foot campus led to the project’s undoing.
A historic Black school in Powhatan was her 'home away from home.' It’s set to be demolished Monday.
A historic school building that once served Black students in Powhatan County during segregation is scheduled for demolition on Monday, despite objections from former students and some local officials. The building, now called the Pocahontas Landmark Center, holds special memories for Sandra Morris Kemp, who attended the school for 10 years. She said she had lots of friends, the teachers were friendly, and she learned a lot. . . . . "I do not want to see that school demolished," Kemp said. In June, the school board voted 4-1 to approve about $830,000 to demolish the buildings. School board spokesperson Laura McFarland told CBS 6 that the parts being torn down are currently vacant and deteriorated.
Fleet of laser-equipped robots begins survey of Arlington sidewalks
A fleet of robots has begun wandering the sidewalks between Ballston and Rosslyn, searching for any defects to report back to the county’s Department of Environmental Services. The bots, which went live at the start of this month, use a combination of laser scanners, mobile mapping, AI and machine learning to look for defects like cracks, weeds or gaps of at least half an inch. Owned by the company Kiwibot, the robots are surveying around 45 miles of linear sidewalk, primarily focused around Wilson Blvd, Clarendon Blvd and Fairfax Drive.
Formerly ousted U.Va. president has questions about Ryan’s departure
Teresa Sullivan first wants to make one thing clear: She doesn’t have any inside scoop on what took place behind the scenes with the unexpected resignation of University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, whose last day leading the university was Friday. “I’m 1,400 miles away,” she says, having moved to Texas following her retirement last year as a member of U.Va.’s faculty. “I don’t understand what happened. For starters, does the Justice Department have some evidence of wrongdoing? What is the evidence? Did the board play any role in this, or do they just stand by and accept the resignation? I don’t know. Did the governor play any role? I don’t know.” Other than questions about Ryan’s resignation in June, which he acknowledged was due to the federal government’s pressure to oust him from the university he led since 2018, what Sullivan has is experience and context.
'People are scared': N.Va. Korean community faces tariffs
Steve Lee hasn’t seen costs increase yet for the products he imports from South Korea for the specialty chicken franchise he runs here in the heart of Fairfax County’s thriving Korean community. But Lee, a former Democratic candidate for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, knows it’s coming if President Donald Trump carries through on his latest threat to impose a 25% tariff on most goods coming from one of the United States’ most reliable trading partners. . . . “Eventually (the cost of) products from Korea coming over will change, and our consumers will have to pay for it. And it hurts.”
Who was arrested in Virginia’s immigration crackdown? State, federal officials won’t say.
The Virginia Homeland Security Taskforce has been busy this year, arresting more than 2,500 people in the United States illegally. That’s according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who boasted the arrest data during a July 2 news conference at the Virginia State Police headquarters in Richmond. But while the governor’s office has described the 2,512 people arrested as “violent criminals who are illegally in the United States,” neither Youngkin’s office nor state or federal agencies involved in the operation have provided any documentation about those arrested to be able to verify who they are, what they were charged with or whether they’ve been deported.
Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears visits Newport News Shipbuilding
When Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears arrived at the Victory Arch near Newport News Shipbuilding Friday, she couldn’t help but feel like she was back home again. It was in 2001 when she emerged on the political landscape, taking down longtime Democratic Del. Billy Robinson. “I feel like in my old stomping ground — this is where my children grew up,” Earle-Sears said. “People really need to see you, so that is why I am in our great Hampton Roads.”