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Richmond Public Schools fires teachers union president
Richmond Public Schools has fired the local teachers union president, Neri Suarez — a move that the Richmond Education Association is calling “union busting.” In a Sunday afternoon email obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said to the union’s vice president: “Ms. Suarez is not being terminated because she is president of the REA or because she requested leave to serve as president. She is being terminated because she refused to return to work when required to do so. She could have returned to work and simultaneously advocated for a change to the leave policy.”
Tests of Mountain Valley Pipeline point to more potential problems
Tests of the almost-completed Mountain Valley Pipeline through the end of March revealed about 130 potential problem areas that required additional analysis, according to records from a federal safety agency. Caliper tool runs, which involve running a device though sections of the buried pipe to check for dents and other weaknesses, “showed that 50 anomalies needed to be excavated for further analysis or remediation,” the records state.
Texas man who participated in 2017 torch-wielding mob at UVa sentenced
Days before one of the White supremacists who participated in the 2017 torch-carrying mob at the University of Virginia was set to go to trial — the first such case to make it to trial — one of the other participants was sentenced. Colton Gene Fears, a 35-year-old resident of Pasadena, Texas, was sentenced Friday to five years behind bars. But that sentenced was drastically reduced by presiding Judge Claude Worrell, effectively rendering Fears' sentence the shortest of any of the participants who have thus far pleaded guilty to using fire to racially intimidate the night of Aug. 11, 2017. "All suspended but time served," according to the clerk's worksheet filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court.
Rand Paul rallies for Bob Good in Lynchburg
A large crowd showed up in Lynchburg on Monday afternoon for a rally featuring U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who was in town to campaign for U.S. Rep. Bob Good, the two-term Republican congressman who is facing a tough primary challenge from state Sen. John McGuire in Virginia's 5th Congressional District. McGuire has received the coveted endorsement of former President Donald Trump, and his own polling suggests he leads Good by some 14 points in the race.
Fifth District GOP candidate John McGuire accused of defamation, facing lawsuit
VA-05 Republican candidate John McGuire is facing a lawsuit for defamation after naming an individual in a press release earlier this year. In March, the McGuire campaign sent out a press release saying that a supporter of his primary opponent, Rep. Bob Good, R-VA05, assaulted a woman at an event. Paul Raymond was cited in the press release as the Good supporter who allegedly committed the assault. A judge dismissed the charge against Raymond. The press release sent out by the McGuire campaign had the subject line: “POLICE CALLED: Team Good attacks Team Trump AGAIN.”
Cline backing Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good in closely-watched GOP primary
U.S. Rep Ben Cline (R-6th) has endorsed Rep. Bob Good in the high-profile GOP primary race in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. Good, who heads the House Freedom Caucus, is being challenged by state Sen. John McGuire III (R-Goochland). Good’s website notes that Cline is among the congressional Republicans backing him in the June 18 primary, for which millions of dollars are being spent in campaign advertising. Cline told the Frederick County Republican Committee that he will “fight” for Good earlier this year. “I endorsed Bob from the get-go,” Cline, a member of the Freedom Caucus, told the local GOP in February.
Confederate names restored quickly to Shenandoah County schools
The names of three Confederate generals have been restored to two schools on the southern end of Shenandoah County. Late last week, the signs on the outside of Mountain View High School were replaced with Stonewall Jackson High School. The name of Honey Run Elementary School was replaced with Ashby-Lee Elementary School.
Company that bred beagles for research pleads guilty to neglect, ordered to pay record $35M fine
A company that bred beagles for medical research agreed Monday to pay a record $35 million as part of a criminal plea admitting it neglected thousands of dogs at its breeding facility in rural Virginia. Prosecutors said the penalties amount to the largest ever levied in an animal-welfare case. The plea deal also bars the company that operated the facility, Envigo RMS, as well as parent company Inotiv, from breeding or selling dogs in the future.
Why D.C.-area schools are grappling with tighter budgets
School systems across the D.C. region are bracing for tighter budgets — including some cuts — as costs rise, local tax revenue is strained and one-time pandemic relief money goes away. Many local governments in the region have approved budgets, or will do so in coming weeks, leaving districts to reconcile what programs or needs they can fund within their allocated budgets. ... In Northern Virginia, meanwhile, many school districts saw increases in their budgets. However, rising costs mean the budgets are really only maintaining existing initiatives. ... In Virginia, a report released last summer by a watchdog for state lawmakers found that schools were drastically underfunded compared with nearby states.
Appeal denied for former Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe, who is serving 12 years for bribery, corruption
A U.S. appeals court has denied former Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe’s attempt to overturn his 12-year prison sentence for bribery and public corruption. In an appeal, McCabe, the sheriff from 1994 to 2017, challenged the timing of his trial, the use of out-of-court statements against him, and certain jury instructions. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit wrote, “We are satisfied that each of Sheriff McCabe’s appellate contentions lacks merit, and we affirm his convictions and sentences.”