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Southwest, Southside Virginians could bear the brunt of Medicaid cuts
More than one-third of Virginia’s rural hospitals are operating in the red, and federal threats to Medicaid funding could put many hospitals that mainly serve residents in Southwest and Southside Virginia at risk. Virginia has 28 health care facilities that fit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ definition of “rural hospitals.” They serve populations that are older, with higher rates of chronic illness and poverty. Many of their patients have a greater reliance on government-funded health insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare, according to a Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association report.
Brandon, Capps and Sandel: Future of Virginia's community colleges is embracing collaboration
Around the country, colleges such as ours recently celebrated Community College Month, an annual recognition of the vital roles that community, junior and technical colleges play in American life. . . . While it’s incumbent on each college to adapt to the unique needs of the geographical area it serves, a growing trend here in Virginia is to reach across the traditional boundaries of established service regions and pool resources to accomplish more than would be possible for any one college alone.
Virginia Beach GOP chair ousted in bitter party feud over control and transparency
In a dramatic late-night vote that capped more than a year of escalating infighting, the Republican Party’s 2nd Congressional District Committee voted Wednesday to remove Laura Hughes as chairwoman of the Virginia Beach GOP, accusing her of mismanagement and failing to perform her duties. But Hughes says the move was political payback — and an affront to the grassroots Republicans who elected her. “This was a ‘screw you’ to the Virginia Beach voters,” she said of her detractors’ actions in a phone interview Thursday, “because they wanted this small little group who likes to stay in charge, and they installed a chair that will do their bidding. And I am most likely going to file an appeal with the state Republican party.”
Yancey: Nationally, Republicans have lost faith in higher education. Virginia Republicans have not, new poll shows.
President Donald Trump wants to revoke the tax-exempt status for Harvard University. A few years ago, future Vice President JD Vance gave a speech entitled “The Universities Are the Enemy.” You’d think that Republicans don’t have a lot of faith in the nation’s system of higher education. Nationally speaking, you’d be right. The Gallup polling group has documented how American confidence in higher education has fallen over the past decade, with much of that decline coming from a sharp drop among Republicans. That’s why a recent survey about Virginians’ attitudes on higher education stands out: Not only do Virginians have more confidence in higher education than Americans as a whole, the main reason is because Virginia Republicans are much more supportive of higher ed — as in, more than twice as enthusiastic as their national counterparts.
VPAP Visual Lobbyists in Virginia: 2024-25
The latest lobbying year in Virginia has just ended. See information on the lobbyists who registered in Virginia from May 2024 through April 2025, including the number of clients they represented, their years of experience and more.
Fairfax County teachers’ union blames supervisors after budget crushes labor agreement
Fairfax County teachers’ elation at securing a collective bargaining agreement, the first of its kind in nearly 50 years for the district, has proven short-lived. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2026 that transfers $2.93 billion to Fairfax County Public Schools — up $119 million from the current fiscal year, but well short of the $248 million increase that Superintendent Michelle Reid requested primarily to cover employee pay raises promised by the union contract.
Pushback in Petersburg City Council after planning commission asks for pay
“This is a don't shoot the messenger item,” City Manager John "March" Altman cautioned city council Tuesday evening. He did so before Planning and Community Development Director Naomi Siodmok began her presentation on the Planning Commission’s request to be paid for the work they do for the city — a contentious item that caused some debate during the city council meeting’s public comment period.
Calls made for Northumberland School administrators to be put on leave
As Northumberland pushes for a Virginia State Police investigation of the school system, the Board of Supervisors and School Board agreed that the School Board needs to consider placing the superintendent, Dr. Holly Wargo, and the finance director, Tara Booth, on administrative leave.
Yancey: A myth busted: Our kids aren’t leaving for Charlotte and Atlanta. Not as many as we think, anyway.
For all the time I’ve lived in the Roanoke Valley, which is now more than four decades, I’ve heard a constant lament: We lose people to Charlotte and Atlanta. Our young adults leave for there. Our mid-career adults leave for there. From time to time, our major employers have left for there. The latter is certainly true: The railroad that turned a salt lick into a boomtown is now in Atlanta, by way of Norfolk. The former, though, is not, at least not in appreciable numbers.
Danish manufacturer Topsoe files formal plans for $400M plant in Chesterfield
While it navigates an uncertain outlook for federal clean-energy financial incentives, Danish company Topsoe continues to take incremental steps toward building a nine-figure manufacturing facility in Chesterfield. The company last week submitted formal site plans with the county for a $400 million plant that would make electrolyzer cells for “clean hydrogen” fuel. Documents show a 300,000-square-foot, two-story facility to be built on a 43-acre site at Meadowville Technology Park.