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White: U.S. security at sea depends on NOAA
A recent executive order, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” seeks to “promote national security and economic prosperity” by revamping U.S. shipbuilding capacity and rebuilding domestic maritime industries. It’s worthwhile indeed to have modern vessels and efficient maritime supply chains. But I cannot reconcile this push for robust ocean commerce with the Trump administration’s gutting of our ocean expertise. The U.S. has long had an exceptional understanding of the world ocean — operating on, under and above it with impunity. What is happening at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is devastating.
Chesley: Virginia sheriff’s stance on illegal immigration colors landscape on searches of Latino motorists
Traffic stops and searches of Latino motorists in Loudoun County have increased dramatically the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, sparking complaints from activists and some residents. The Sheriff’s Office asserts that deputies are simply patrolling more vigorously where serious crimes, historically, have occurred in the county. “We are not stopping vehicles nor doing searches on the basis of ethnicity,” Tom Julia, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said flatly, rejecting allegations of racial profiling. “We completely disagree that it’s targeting of any group.” Julia made convincing arguments.
Yancey: If manufacturing grows, those new jobs probably won’t be where the old ones were. What that means for Va.
Detroit is a real place but also a mythical one. It’s a city that lives in the American imagination as a symbol of the nation’s manufacturing prowess. The name “Detroit” serves as a kind of cultural shorthand — so when President Donald Trump, speaking recently about American automakers making cars in Canada, said, “I’d rather make them in Detroit,” he might have been speaking literally or he might have been speaking metaphorically. For his purposes, he might be just as happy to see those cars built in the actual Detroit, or somewhere else in the United States — both would satisfy his goal of reshoring American manufacturing jobs. Or would it?
Yancey: Gilbert steps down as House Republican leader; Kilgore named to replace him
Virginia House Republicans have made an unusual out-of-cycle leadership change. House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, and Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, has been elected to replaced him. Generally, parties elect their legislative leaders after the election, so the timing of this switch is a surprise. It also comes as Gilbert is one of several Republican under consideration to be named the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, the top federal prosecutor in the western half the state, and as both parties head into a fall election where all 100 seats in the House of Delegates will be on the ballot. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 advantage.
Federal cuts lend urgency to Virginians’ preparations for storm season
On the eve of the Atlantic hurricane season starting, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an important message to Virginians stressing the importance of personal preparations long before a storm threatens the coast. These are instructions that everyone, especially residents here in Hampton Roads, should heed. Left unsaid by the commonwealth’s top elected official is that the emergency safety net that protects Americans from severe weather and organizes recovery efforts in its aftermath has been shredded in the four months since President Donald Trump took office.
FBI shows up at Charlottesville public defender’s home unannounced after ICE raid
It was before 7 a.m. on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend when the wife of Charlottesville public defender Donald Bellah, asleep inside the couple's rural Albemarle County residence, was awakened by two FBI agents. They told her they wanted to speak with her husband. Around that same time, other agents were arriving at other lawyers' homes. "There was no attempt to contact any one of us other than just showing up at our houses at the same time," Bellah told The Daily Progress. "I'm angry; it was intending to intimidate us."
List of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ removed from US government website following criticism
A widely anticipated list of “ sanctuary jurisdictions” no longer appears on the Department of Homeland Security’s website after receiving widespread criticism for including localities that have actively supported the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies. The department last week published the list of the jurisdictions. It said each one would receive formal notification the government deemed them uncooperative with federal immigration enforcement and whether they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.
Rappahannock cited as ‘Sanctuary Jurisdiction’ by DHS
Rappahannock County found itself last week on a Department of Homeland Security list of 500 sanctuary jurisdictions in the United States that are “deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens”. Reached Sunday, Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie S. Compton said the county should not be on the list, adding she believed the county had been removed. “When we arrest illegal aliens, we take them to RSW [Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren Regional Jail in Front Royal], the sheriff wrote in a text message. “The jail notifies ICE, DHS, or the appropriate organizations.”
New plan to stop ABC store shoplifters in Richmond
Richmond prosecutors have a plan for tackling the city’s repeat liquor store shoplifters. The city has struggled with liquor thefts, and nowhere more so than at Virginia ABC’s location on West Broad Street in the city’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood. The store was the most looted in 2024 and is frequently hit multiple times a day by casual thieves wearing facemasks. Virginia ABC stores in the Richmond region lost around $170,000 to theft in 2024, according to a May report from The Richmonder.
Richmond and surrounding counties included on federal list of ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions
The city of Richmond, as well as Henrico, Chesterfield and — curiously — Hanover counties are included on a list of local jurisdictions that President Donald Trump’s administration says are “deliberately and shamefully” refusing to enforce federal immigration laws. The list, in line with an executive order issued by Trump this April, was posted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Thursday night. Jurisdictions were identified based on “compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”