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Norfolk repeals longtime, unenforced psychic reading ban
Norfolk psychics, start your readings. Norfolk City Council members repealed a decades-old, unenforced ban on psychic readings Tuesday. The 7-1 vote repealed a section of the city code that forbade “the practice of palmistry, palm reading, phrenology or clairvoyance” for money or other compensation in the city. Carol Peterson owns the Crystal Sunflower store in West Freemason, which sells items like crystals and tarot decks and routinely hosts tarot readers and other mediums. Peterson said she was relieved to see the fortune telling ban repealed.
Fisher: Going for gold in the Trump Loyalty Olympics
In the Donald Trump Loyalty Olympics, next week’s congressional competition in central Virginia is the medal match to watch. In one corner, we have the incumbent, Rep. Bob Good, a very conservative Republican who beat the previous conservative Republican holder of the seat by running sharply to that guy’s right. Good, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, is one of the handful of hard-right House members who orchestrated the ouster of former speaker Kevin McCarthy and has the endorsement in next Tuesday’s GOP primary of such Trump loyalists as Stephen K. Bannon and Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.
Reston Association seeks firm to assist with ‘anti-casino’ lobbying
Though the Virginia General Assembly won’t convene for another six months, Reston Association is starting to lay the groundwork for a major advocacy push. The homeowners’ association recently issued a request for proposals seeking research and communications firms that could assist it in lobbying state lawmakers, particularly regarding the expected return of legislation to make Fairfax County eligible for a casino.
Chesapeake council rejects poll of residents on election system overhaul
City Council rejected a request to poll voters in the November election on a potential change to how elections work in the city. After roughly 60 speakers showed up to nearly fully packed City Council chambers Tuesday, a 6-3 vote rejected a request to place an advisory referendum on the ballot asking voters about transitioning to a single-member ward voting system.
Certification rules for Virginia geologists, who help reduce environmental hazards, change
As part of a request from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s agency for professional certifications has cut back regulations for geologists that workers in that field want to maintain. Tuesday, the Board of Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists approved the regulation reductions for a voluntary professional geologists certification under the directive of Youngkin’s Executive Order 19, designed to cut down “discretionary” regulatory requirements for job certifications by 25%.
Yancey: How a sex scandal in North Carolina helped get the Mountain Valley Pipeline approved
Natural gas will soon be flowing through the Mountain Valley Pipeline, 10 years after it was first proposed and six years after its initial anticipated completion date. This is a profound disappointment for opponents, who warned that the pipeline will produce 89 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses each year, the equivalent of 24 coal-fired power plants at a time when we’re phasing out coal-fired power plants. Opponents managed to delay the pipeline through years of legal action and for a while held out hope that they might simply bankrupt the pipeline operators. They didn’t.
Effort to ban kratom in Virginia sparks uproar
For a few days, Jennifer Brandt’s petition drew very little attention. In April, Brandt requested that the Virginia Board of Pharmacy make big changes to how it regulates kratom, a widely available medicinal plant. Kratom is marketed as a natural pain reliever, mood booster and at-home solution for addiction cravings. The petition has since received more than 2,900 comments — primarily from addicts describing how kratom has repaired their lives. Despite that, pharmacists say there need to be guardrails around kratom for community safety.
Most GOP primary candidates criticize Trump’s conviction
Most Republican candidates for Virginia seats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are rallying around former President Donald Trump following his criminal conviction. The former president was found guilty last month of 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records to pay hush money to a former adult film star. Trump has falsely alleged that the trial was “rigged” and that the Biden Administration ordered the prosecution to hurt his presidential campaign. “What has become of America? This is the kind of thing you see in third-world countries. I never thought I’d see it here,” said Hung Cao, a retired Navy captain and the frontrunner in the GOP Senate primary, on X, formerly Twitter.
Child care challenges are threatening economic growth in Southside, study finds
About 52% of the Danville-Pittsylvania County area is considered a child care desert, according to a new Virginia Tech study. This means that there’s inadequate access to quality child care — an issue that the study found is hindering the region’s economic growth. Alongside housing and infrastructure, child care was identified by community workshop events over the last year as a main inhibitor of economic progress.
Rockingham County School Board votes to leave Virginia School Board Association
The Rockingham County School Board voted to leave the Virginia School Board Association at its June 10 meeting. In a 3-1 vote, the school board decided to leave VSBA and join the School Board Member Alliance. Vice Chair Sara Horst made the motion to leave VSBA, and it was seconded by Chair Matt Cross. Horst said at the meeting that she would like the school board to leave VSBA as members but still utilize its policy services. … Jackie Lohr, the only board member who voted against the change, raised concerns about leaving VSBA. She said it would be important to stay members to provide VBSA with a conservative voice.