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Williams: Stoney's ambitions ran aground in Richmond
Richmond was going to be a problem for former mayor Levar Stoney even before the city’s water system ran dry in early January. Stoney, a former secretary of the commonwealth and protege of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, once appeared destined for big things as an energetic millennial mayor riding the wave of a resurgent capital city. He seldom bothered to camouflage his ambition.
Shields, Deane, Redican, Broening, Quach and Miller: How that ‘big, beautiful bill’ discards RVA’s children
On May 21, the House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which made deep cuts to the country’s social safety net. The list of programs that would be changed and/or reduced is steep and significant: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and many others. If the bill passes the Senate, the impact would be enormous and fall mainly on low income families, caregivers and children. The “one big beautiful bill” would significantly cost-shift the funding of these programs to the states.
From the classroom to the campaign trail: Ghazala Hashmi’s rise
Before she was a state senator from Chesterfield County, and long before she became Virginia's Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi was known by colleagues as a calm, soft-spoken English professor who led meetings with precision and brought her deep love of early American literature to the classroom. After nearly 30 years in the classroom, Hashmi has made a swift rise in politics and is now the first Muslim woman in the U.S. to be nominated to a statewide ticket, according to her campaign.
Judge approves settlements for 5 babies hurt at Henrico Doctors’ NICU
A judge in Salem approved settlements Friday that resolved likely lawsuits from the families of five toddlers, who as newborn babies suffered broken bones and other injuries while being cared for at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. Circuit Judge David Carson said he was keeping confidential the amounts of money to be placed in trust accounts structured to provide payments to the victims, once they come of age, “over quite a long period of time.” The civil settlements are related to the criminal case of Erin Strotman, a former nurse at the Richmond-area hospital, who is facing 20 felony counts of child abuse and malicious wounding of the patients under her care.
Experts warn of the economic and environmental impacts of federal cuts on Hampton Roads
During a committee meeting Friday at Norfolk State University, Virginia lawmakers heard from experts from a variety of sectors about how the volatility of federal cuts is having a profound impact on Hampton Roads. The Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions convened for the fourth time, having heard presentations at the General Assembly Building in Richmond as well as in Alexandria and Wytheville. In Norfolk, speakers highlighted significant federal workforce populations and reliance on federal funding for climate resiliency and other initiatives.
After Va. elections, governor’s race begins a new phase
Virginia’s election season kicked into high gear Saturday as the newly formed Democratic lineup for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general launched a statewide bus tour on a blistering hot afternoon while their Republican rivals kept to a far more low-key campaign approach. “Everywhere we travel, people get to hear from us about the things we are for,” gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger said at an afternoon rally at Richmond’s Abner Clay Park with her ticket mates, state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi (Richmond) for lieutenant governor, and former Norfolk delegate Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones for attorney general.
Virginia Beach police to launch drones as first responders at the Oceanfront
Before the first police officer sets foot on the ground of a possible crime scene, officials may already have gathered critical information with the help of a self-flying drone. Drones as first responders is a growing program in police departments across the country, and Virginia Beach will soon be the first Hampton Roads city to use the technology.
Virginia’s cellphone ban will return students’ focus to education
Mark July 1 on your calendar (which is probably in your cellphone). That’s the day a state law goes into effect mandating that public school students not use cellphones during the school day. When the new 2025-26 school year starts toward summer’s end, that new reality may take a little getting used to, but before long it should promote learning and student engagement. It should make teachers’ jobs a bit easier. The ban also should reduce the emotional and mental stress that constant attention to the world as presented by mobile phones can inflict on adolescents.
Miller: What responsibility does higher education have to America?
If you haven’t noticed, the future of education in the United States is suddenly looking much more uncertain than at any point in the past half-century. For some students, changing economic indicators are causing them to reconsider whether attending college is the best next step on their career path. Meanwhile, shrinking population numbers are contributing to an upcoming “enrollment cliff” that education leaders have been preparing for since the early 2000s. But the most unexpected complication of all has been the sudden interest the federal government has taken in dismantling certain functions and freedoms of education that America has taken for granted since its inception.
Bray: Federal ‘choice’ bill would harm local public schools
There’s nothing wrong with a family choosing to send their child to a private school; that’s their right and choice. However, a component of the federal budget reconciliation bill called the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) brings Virginia Beach to a crossroads in educational reform. This legislation would have serious consequences for our neighborhood public schools and threatens our community.