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Virginia Retirement System investments lag benchmark but expect ‘comparable’ rates
The Virginia Retirement System expects to adopt comparable rates for state agencies and school divisions to pay for their employees' long-term pension benefits in the next two-year state budget, even though the system's investment returns were lagging its benchmark target through March 31. The retirement system, with more than 380,000 active employees and almost 250,000 retirees, has not released its rate of return on investments in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, but those investments were earning a return of 6.3% in the first nine months of the fiscal year - below its benchmark of 7.9% and the annual targeted return of 6.75%.
Leffel: When it comes to crypto, Virginia needs CLARITY
Virginia has been a quiet leader in the blockchain and cryptocurrency revolution. From Shenandoah Valley vineyards using blockchain for weather tracking to family owned farms in Highland County accepting crypto to coworking clubs like mine in downtown Richmond selling memberships via Bitcoin, there are many local innovative businesses using this multipurpose technology. However, the legal clarity that would allow these local businesses to thrive has not always been there. Despite legislative efforts in the past, there are still questions on how to classify or separate these businesses and use cases.
DNC pours large donation into Virginia’s high-stakes elections
The Democratic National Committee will contribute $1.5 million to help elect Democrats in Virginia this year, highlighting the national significance of the state’s contests for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates ahead of next year’s congressional midterms. The donation to Virginia’s combined campaign, announced Tuesday, comes on the heels of an even bigger political windfall from House Speaker Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth), who last week made a total of $3 million in contributions for his party’s legislative candidates.
State cited Hopewell for inoperable equipment months before massive sewage spill into James River
Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the City of Hopewell’s wastewater treatment plant for eight discharges of raw wastewater six months prior to Friday night’s massive discharge of raw sewage into the James River and Gravely Run Creek. DEQ said in the NOV it had reason to believe the plant was in violation of the State Water Control Law. The plant, called Hopewell Water Renewal, treats raw sewage from the City of Hopewell, but also industrial wastewater from nearby companies like AdvanSix-Hopewell, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, GP, Smurfit WestRock and Virginia American Water Company, according to DEQ records.
From VPAP Now Live: Mid-Year Campaign Finance Reports
VPAP has posted all mid-year campaign finance disclosures filed by candidates, referendum committees, and party committees. Use our overview page to find what interests you — including candidates for statewide office, House of Delegates, and local offices on the November ballot. We rank each group by amount raised and cash on hand. If you're interested in a specific candidate or committee, you can drill down for a sortable list of donors and expenditures reported during the filing period.
‘They literally blast horns’: Overnight Metro work keeps Virginia residents awake
Track work on the southern end of Metro’s Blue Line is underway in Northern Virginia – and people who live nearby say it’s keeping them awake overnight. The Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations are closed, with shuttle buses replacing usual rail service. Alexandria residents told News4 that overnight and in the early morning hours they hear power tools, blasting horns and conversations on workers’ radios.
DOJ withdraws from Sentara investigation
The federal government is withdrawing from intervening in a whistleblower complaint against Sentara Health that alleges the Hampton Roads health care system improperly inflated local insurance rates in 2018 and 2019. On June 19, the federal government sent a notice of its decision to withdraw its prior notice of partial intervention, and that it is declining to intervene on the matter. The DOJ declined to comment when asked to elaborate on its reason for withdrawing.
Yancey: 223 book titles pulled from school library shelves in Virginia, but 75% were in just 5 places
Across Virginia over the past five years, 223 different books have been removed from school library shelves, many of them by more than one school system. However, those removals have been concentrated in a relative handful of communities. Hanover County has removed more books from its school library shelves than any other locality in the state — 125 in all. That one county accounts for more than one-third of the book removals in the state. Along with another four counties — Rockingham County, which removed 57 books, Goochland County with 34, Madison County with 23 and Spotsylvania County with 19 — those five counties alone accounted for 75% of the book removals in the state.
Norfolk cleared to start construction on first phase of floodwall
People passing through the eastern edge of downtown Norfolk will soon see construction for the first phase of the city’s massive floodwall project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Norfolk Planning Commission recently approved designs for Phase 1A of the more than $2.6 billion project, which the city calls Resilient Norfolk. The effort aims to protect the city from catastrophic flooding during major storms and is part of the Army Corps’ wider Coastal Storm Risk Management program developed after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Virginia Beach and the Peninsula are working on CSRM projects but are still in the study phase.
Judge rules in favor of Norfolk city attorney in feud with commonwealth’s attorney
The Norfolk city attorney’s office earned a win in its ongoing feud with Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi over which office has the authority to prosecute misdemeanor cases. A Norfolk Circuit Judge Joseph Lindsey ruled last week the city attorney’s office could continue to prosecute a misdemeanor city code violation appeal. The case involves a man who was charged with being in a park after sunset, a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.