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Several arrested in April protest at Va. Tech taking community service option
Several Virginia Tech students and other community members who were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in April had court hearings originally scheduled Thursday, but all chose a trial diversion route and didn’t have to appear in court. They agreed to do 25 hours of community service, pay a $99 fine and their cases will be reviewed in a year — then likely to be dismissed. They will also be eligible to apply to have their case expunged from their record.
I-95 traffic study shows Virginia on the hook for any attempts to fix
The stretch of interstate 95 that runs just south of Washington D.C. is one of the worst in the country. And investigators with the state’s legislative watchdog agency have bad news about any future attempts to address the problem. Anyone who’s driven from D.C. down to Richmond or back is aware of the traffic terror zone where I-95 crosses the Occoquan River. This stretch of road, which brings Routes 1 and 123 into 95, was found to be the busiest route on the north-south running highway, according to a state study from 2021. An estimated 1.2 million hours of economic and family time is lost for the poor souls trapped in its traffic backups.
Va. House speaker reconvening lawmakers on military tuition program
How much do Virginia politicians value their military constituents? Enough to reconvene the legislature later this month to fix one item in the state budget that limits a popular tuition program for the families of some service members. House Speaker Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth) plans to summon the House of Delegates back into a special session at the end of June to take up changes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents program, he said Thursday. The Senate is likely to reconvene as well, but possibly at a different time, depending on when members are available, Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said.
Youngkin visits Manassas to promote indoor farming industry
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin was in Manassas Thursday to promote the growth of indoor vertical farming in the state. State officials are aiming to address economic challenges faced by indoor farmers. The concept of “vertical farming” may seem straightforward, but implementing it is complex. The new Beanstalk Vertical Farm in Prince William County features 50-foot grow towers, which will soon fill a massive warehouse.
Friday Read Three Colonial-era newspapers in Williamsburg called themselves The Virginia Gazette—at the same time
William Parks learned how to operate a press as a print-shop apprentice in England. After immigrating to the American colonies in 1726, he started a publishing business, including a newspaper, in Maryland. But it wasn’t as lucrative as he had hoped. So Parks cast his gaze south to a more populous colony — Virginia. At the time, Virginia’s government had banned publishing as a threat to its autocratic leadership. Consequently, and inconveniently, all of the colony’s laws and other documents had to be sent to England for printing.
GOP officials in Rep. Bob Good’s district call on Trump to reconsider endorsement of his opponent
Republicans in Rep. Bob Good’s district on Wednesday urged former President Donald Trump to reconsider his endorsement of state legislator John McGuire as the primary election looms. Mr. Good and Mr. McGuire are locked into one of the most bitter GOP primaries in the country that has seen Republicans leave Washington to campaign for both candidates in Virginia’s deep-red 5th District. Mr. Trump’s endorsement of the state legislator in May undercut the second-term congressman, and Mr. Good’s local Republican allies want the former president to take it back.
Mistrial declared for man who participated in 2017 torch march at UVa
In the first test of a Virginia law crafted to prohibit Ku Klux Klan cross-burnings, the jury failed to reach a verdict. The seven-man, five-woman jury announced in Albemarle County court Thursday they were deadlocked over the fate of 29-year-old Jacob Dix of Clarksville, Ohio, charged with using fire to racially intimidate under Virginia's so-called cross-burning statute. Dix was one of hundreds of White supremacists who participated in the torch-wielding mob that marched across University of Virginia Grounds in 2017, the night before the deadly Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville. Judge H. Thomas Padrick declared a mistrial Thursday evening.
UVa researchers accused of animal neglect lose privileges
Two researchers at the University of Virginia had their animal-handling privileges suspended after reports showed they regularly neglected their own protocols and harmed multiple animals on federally funded projects. The pair had their animal-handling privileges suspended for 30 days after the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee found that they repeatedly violated a number of standard operating procedures during their experiments.
Erosion Continues To Concern Mountain Valley Pipeline Neighbors
Some Virginia landowners have reported problems with erosion control on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and they’re looking to West Virginia for a solution. On May 15, a heavy rainfall washed out a section of slope that had been restored on the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s path through Brush Mountain, in Montgomery County, Virginia. There have been similar problems before: Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality has issued fines to MVP for its failure to control erosion on the project.
Holland and Rafia: Alleviate the oral health workforce crisis in Virginia
Good oral health is crucial for overall well-being, yet access to high-quality care remains a persistent challenge for many Virginians. Virginia’s Medicaid program offers comprehensive dental coverage to all members, for example, but slightly more than half of enrolled children saw a dentist last year — and even fewer adults received care. Access issues are multifaceted ... The gap assessment offers actionable recommendations for policy changes to address the workforce crisis; during the recent General Assembly session, legislators and the governor took steps in support of these goals ...