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VPAP Visual New Voter Registrations: April 2025
New registrations are slightly lower overall than in 2021 and 2017 but still follow the same trend as the previous two election cycles. Virginia has had 59,130 new registrations so far this year.
Miyares breaks silence, says he will campaign with lieutenant governor nominee John Reid
Attorney General Jason Miyares commented for the first time on the controversy surrounding his running mate, Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid, in an exclusive interview with Virginia Scope on Tuesday. Miyares had remained silent since Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Reid on April 25 and asked him to withdraw from the race. That request followed the discovery of a Tumblr account featuring nude photos of men that shared a username with Reid’s private Instagram account. “Sure,” Miyares responded when asked if he plans to campaign with Reid on the trail as he seeks a second term in office.
Virginia tribe and state officials accuse each other of Medicaid fraud
The administration of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and the Nansemond Indian Nation have traded allegations of deception over a tribal health-care service and its Medicaid expenses, with the state claiming in court filings last week that the Nansemonds “may be engaging in fraudulent billing practices.” On Wednesday, lawyers for the tribe responded in documents: “The only fraud before this Court is the one orchestrated by [the commonwealth].” The escalating legal conflict involves millions of dollars in health-care reimbursements and marks the first instance of Virginia facing a government-to-government clash with one of its newly recognized Native tribes.
Yancey: Australians turn election days into festivals that raise money for the community. Why can’t we do the same?
Australia had a meaty election over the weekend — both politically and gastronomically. Politically speaking, Australians were the Southern Hemisphere’s version of Canadians in their recent election. A left-of-center party that had been trailing in the polls got a big boost out of President Donald Trump imposing tariffs and wound up winning. In both cases, the right-of-center leader who had tried to model himself after Trump not only lost but also lost his seat in parliament. Trump has now been credited (or blamed) with keeping left-of-center parties in power in both countries. That’s not what we’re here to talk about, though. We’re here to talk about food. Specifically, democracy sausages.
Two Democrats join race to succeed Connolly in Congress
The race has begun in Northern Virginia for a successor to Rep. Gerry Connolly, who announced last week that he will not run for reelection after eight terms in Congress. Two Democrats — Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw and state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax — both announced this week that they are running for the 11th District seat in midterm elections next year that will test public reaction to President Donald Trump and the effect of his policies on the Northern Virginia economy.
Lawsuit claims 140 layoffs at Buchanan County mine violated federal law
Four coal miners have sued their former employer, alleging that their termination from a Buchanan County mine last month violated a federal law that requires companies to provide advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs. The suit was filed April 30 against Buchanan Minerals LLC in U.S. District Court in Abingdon by Joshua McCoy, Joey Hill, Timothy Vance and William Stiltner. Buchanan Minerals is a subsidiary of Coronado Coal, which owns the Buchanan mining complex near Oakwood and is headquartered in Beckley, West Virginia.
Pamunkey Indian Reservation named among America’s most endangered historic places
Climate change is threatening the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, and now the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the area as one of the most endangered historic sites in the country. Settled on a 1,600-acre peninsula in King William County, the reservation is surrounded by the Pamunkey River on three sides. Kendall Stevens, cultural resources director for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, said like other coastal communities, the reservation is not spared from the struggle of erosion, rising sea levels, sinking land and more severe storms.
Va. schools assure compliance with parental rights laws
Under the looming threat of federal consequences for inaction, all 136 local education agencies in the commonwealth — including public schools, the Virginia Juvenile Justice Center and Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind — have officially assured the Virginia Department of Education that they’re complying with parental rights laws. On March 28, the U.S. Department of Education directed states to provide evidence that schools are complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) by April 30. These laws ensure parents have the right to inspect and review education records and student safety standards, and to be notified annually about their rights, military recruiter access to their child, and the school’s overall compliance record.
DOJ grants University of Va. extension on DEI response
The University of Virginia has until May 30 to respond to an April 28 letter from the U.S. Department of Justice demanding proof — including video and audio from the U.Va. Board of Visitors’ closed sessions — that the university is dismantling and dissolving its diversity, equity and inclusion apparatuses. According to U.Va. spokesperson Brian Coy, the university requested an extension of the previous May 2 deadline cited in the letter, which was sent to U.Va. President Jim Ryan, Rector Robert Hardie and university legal counsel Clifton M. Iler. The DOJ moved the deadline to May 30, Coy said Tuesday.
Gov. Youngkin can help strengthen federal emergency response
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency ripe for reform. Residents here know that while its work is essential in the aftermath of a disaster, funding can be slow to arrive, the process of receiving aid can be frustrating and overly bureaucratic, and the agency is routinely impeded by staffing and funding shortfalls. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was last week appointed to a presidential review council to study that agency and recommend changes to FEMA. That’s a difficult charge, given that President Donald Trump has called for the agency’s elimination, but the council has an important opportunity to make federal emergency response efforts more effective and financially responsible, which would benefit us all.