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York County School Board removes controversial right-wing board chair
After months of contention, the York County School Board has removed its controversial right-wing board chair and appointed her longtime ally to the position. Lynda Fairman was removed as chair in a 3-2 vote Tuesday afternoon in a special meeting at York Hall. Fairman and board member Zoran Pajevic voted no. The motion ironically was made by now former Vice Chair Kimberly Goodwin, who, along with Pajevic, has made up the new three-member right-wing majority that was voted in this past November. Goodwin said it was a hard decision for her to make.
Some York County school board members say they still won’t go to rescheduled training
York County’s school board voted Monday night to reschedule a training retreat that was previously postponed due to concerns that the meeting could expose the school division to legal challenges. In a 3-2 vote — with Chair Lynda Fairman, Vice Chair Kimberly Goodwin and Zoran Pajevic voting in favor — the board opted to reschedule the retreat to May 31. The board also voted, by the same three-member majority, to follow the same agenda that had been proposed for the postponed training, with the School Board Member Alliance organizing the presenters.
Some legislative aides in Virginia do double duty as campaign staff
In Congress, elected representatives are supposed to keep their taxpayer-funded offices mostly separate from their political campaigns. In the part-time Virginia General Assembly, rules walling off legislative offices from campaign activity are less clear. The congressional rule exists to prevent incumbents from using government resources, including staff time, to help win reelection or move up to a higher office. Congressional staffers can engage in political activity, but only on their own time, without pressure from their boss and without their official duties being altered to free them up for campaign-related work, according to guidance published by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics.
State funds cut from Health Wagon had supported health expo for uninsured, underinsured residents
More than $800,000 that had been allocated to a Southwest Virginia free clinic — then abruptly pulled from the state budget following concerns about executive compensation at the nonprofit — had been earmarked to fund a free summer health care expo. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money had flowed to the Health Wagon for the expo since at least 2018, even during two years when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators cut the funding from the state budget earlier this month after Cardinal News reported that the Health Wagon’s leadership had been receiving outsized compensation packages.
Tysons-based Capital One pursues historic $35 billion merger with Discover Bank
One of the largest bank mergers in U.S. history may be happening in Fairfax County’s backyard. Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — the federal agency that regulates national banks — announced plans to hold a virtual public meeting on July 19 at 9 a.m. on Capital One Financial Corporation’s proposal to acquire Discover Bank. Capital One, headquartered in Tysons, would purchase the Riverwoods, Illinois-based bank for $35.3 billion. If approved, the merger would be the fifth-largest bank deal ever in U.S. history.
Federal judge rejects request to halt Dominion’s Virginia Beach offshore wind farm
A federal judge has denied a request from a coalition of conservative interest groups that sought to halt construction of Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm in Virginia Beach. The groups sued the Biden administration earlier this year, arguing federal agencies ignored threats to endangered whales when approving the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. The suit will still move forward this fall, but the decision issued last week denied plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop construction while the lawsuit is decided. U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan said there wasn’t enough proof that plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm from construction on the project moving forward.
Virginia board considers ousting GOP election official accused of sharing voting machine information
Two members of the Charles City County Electoral Board have asked Virginia officials to begin the process of removing the third member of the board, who is accused of sharing sensitive election machine information with a local GOP leader. In a May 14 letter to the Virginia State Board of Elections, election officials in Charles City … formally requested the ouster of local Electoral Board Member Maria A. Kinney, a Republican who just joined the board in January. The cause listed in the request was “severe dereliction of duties,” including a claim Kinney allowed a former Charles City County GOP chair, Irene Churins, to view election equipment passwords during an accuracy test.
School-Based Money Largely Unspent in Loudoun Amid Teachers Asking for Help with Costs
About 88.3% of money given to individual schools for instructional and administrative uses—including for teacher classroom supplies—goes unspent, according to division administrators. The report surprised School Board members as many teachers still ask parents to help offset classroom costs. The School Board’s Finance & Operations Committee on May 21 was briefed on the funding by members of the Department of Business and Financial Services.
Trump endorses Va. state Sen. McGuire over Bob Good for Congress
Former president Donald Trump has endorsed state Sen. John J. McGuire III (R-Goochland) over incumbent Rep. Bob Good in the GOP primary battle for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District seat, dealing a blow to Good as the House Freedom Caucus chairman seeks a third term. Trump took to his Truth Social platform Tuesday to hail McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, as a “true American Hero” and to blast Good, who initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over Trump for the White House.
Va. Department of Health to standardize data collected about marijuana-related child ER visits
Virginia health care providers are being asked to step up reporting of cases in which CBD or THC products are making kids sick, after a surge in the number of emergency room visits for children in recent years following exposure to marijuana. That includes tragic and extreme examples of the danger a THC product can pose to young children, like the case of one 4-year-old Spotsylvania boy who died in 2022 after ingesting THC gummies. Health care experts say, as cannabis and products with THC and CBD become more available, the risk to children is on the rise. That’s part of why the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is issuing new surveillance guidelines to better track the trends.