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Connaughton: Senate budget plan would decimate Virginia hospitals
At this moment, the future of our health care delivery system is being decided in Congress. Access to care for millions of Americans, and Virginians, as well as the operation of hospitals is hanging in the balance. That is what’s at stake as part of budget reconciliation negotiations now occurring in Washington, D.C.
Amin: For hoteliers like me, reliable energy isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity
For more than 40 years, my family has operated a business that never sleeps. From the front desk and the guest services to the housekeeping and the kitchen and conference rooms, Shamin Hotels runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And every part of that operation depends on one thing most people take for granted — reliable electricity. ... There are only so many ways to generate and deliver electricity, and each comes with trade-offs. We need to take an honest, practical look at our options and invest in what will keep our lights on, our residents employed and our economy strong.
Virginia delegates reflect on potential federal moratorium on state-level AI regulation
Elected officials in Congress are still considering an amendment in President Doanld Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would limit states’ abilities to regulate artificial intelligence. It’s a controversial move according to several Virginia elected officials, even as the Senate parliamentarian okayed its inclusion over the weekend despite Senate rule concerns. A former tech lawyer, Delegate Michelle Lopes Maldonado spoke at the Forum Global’s inaugural USA Artificial Intelligence Summit earlier this month— just as Congress considered adding the ban on states from putting their own limits on AI. “If we don’t have the ability as a state to regulate that, that’s a problem,” Maldonado said.
Anti-abortion group targets Democrats to stop Virginia’s reproductive rights constitutional amendment
Women Speak Out Virginia is sending 100 people out to knock on 150,000 doors in Richmond and Virginia Beach between now and late July. Their aim: influence voters to elect candidates this fall who oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine reproductive rights into Virginia’s constitution. “As the largest pro-life voter contact program in the country, we are known for our impact on elections,” SBA Pro-Life America Virginia state director Marlene Downing said in a statement. “Our doorstep conversations change the minds of persuadable voters and energize pro-life Americans to go to the polls.”
What to expect in this week’s primaries to replace Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly
Voters in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, centered in Fairfax County, head to the polls for yet another election — just a week after the commonwealth’s regular primary last Tuesday. This time, voters have the chance to weigh in on party-run nominating contests, or “firehouse primaries,” which will determine the Democratic and Republican contenders to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died of cancer in May after serving the district for nearly two decades. Connolly’s death opens up a highly blue district in the Northern Virginia suburbs, and leaves the district temporarily without representation — at a time when the local federal workforce is reeling from federal government cuts. The House of Representatives is also narrowly divided, meaning that every vote counts.
Citizens tell Griffith’s staffer of the power of ‘A thousand whispers’
More staff from the Blue Ridge Job Corps wanted to speak to Rep. Morgan Griffith’s staffer Thursday in Marion, but a Rapid Response Team was at the educational institution to help employees prepare for unemployment while they’re trying to help students prepare for their uncertain future. Jeanette Winston was one of the BRJC staffers who did come and told the gathering of like-minded citizens and Griffith’s representative that the proposed closure “just breaks my heart.” If BRJC is closed, she said, many of the students will be going to nothing. About 12%, she said, are homeless. Yet, at BRJC, those students have a home, a bed.
Loudoun congressional delegation critical of U.S. bombing of Iran
Members of Loudoun County's congressional [delegation] condemned President Trump's bombing of Iran on Saturday, saying it was unconstitutional. After the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said in an online statement that the majority of Americans oppose war with Iran and noted Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on June 20 that Israeli bombing had set back Iran's nuclear program "at least two or three years."
D.C. region leaders criticize, endorse U.S. attack on Iran
U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites drew mixed reactions from Washington, D.C.-area leaders, whose response to President Donald Trump’s actions split along partisan lines. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) called Trump’s orders a reckless display of “horrible judgment,” as Democrats suggested that the United States was being drawn into Israel’s war with Iran.
Controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming looking up in rural Virginia
One by one the frizzle sizzles, brush strokes and violas make their way from plastic tubs to greenhouse beds. The tiny flowers rise just an inch or two out of rockwool, peat and oasis foam. They had germinated in a vertical grow room at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center in Danville. Now that they’ve sprouted, plant science student Jacob Haymore carefully places each one in the greenhouse slots where they will grow for the next several weeks. Soon they’ll stand about 8 inches tall, ready to add color to a summer salad.
Clean Virginia looks for change with entire Democratic ticket as allies
After hard-fought primaries for lieutenant governor and attorney general — where Clean Virginia and Dominion Energy poured money into opposing candidates — Clean Virginia now backs the entire Democratic ticket, an unprecedented shift that the group hopes will weaken Dominion’s political influence. Clean Virginia, a nonprofit that advocates for clean government and clean energy by fighting what it terms utility monopoly corruption in Virginia politics, donated $957,543 directly to statewide candidates this year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Dominion, the state’s largest public utility, donated $1.27 million to their candidates this year.