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Youngkin: FEMA review won’t affect hurricane response
President Donald Trump’s call for dramatic reform of FEMA is on a fast track but won’t affect current preparations for this year’s hurricane season, said Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who serves on the panel that will recommend ways to transform the agency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency leads the nation’s response to natural disasters, and Trump has called the agency “a very big disappointment” that is too costly and too bureaucratic.
Report finds 44% of working Hampton households are struggling to meet basic needs
Nearly half of Hampton households cannot afford basic necessities, and most of them are making too much money to receive benefits, according to a new report from the city’s Economic Empowerment and Family Resiliency department. The study looked at poverty, with 2023 Census data showing 13% of Hampton households fall below the federal poverty line — roughly 2% higher than national average. However, another 31% of the city’s households are classified as Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE), meaning they earn above the federal poverty line, but not necessarily enough to afford necessities like health care, food or transportation.
Howard: There is fraud and abuse in Medicaid, but it won’t cover $700 billion
To preserve tax cuts for the richest Americans, Republicans plan to add almost $3 trillion to the national debt and make deep cuts to a wide range of government programs. Medicaid is a prime target. As much as Republicans claim that these reductions will simply minimize waste, fraud and abuse, it is impossible to make sizable cuts to Medicaid without hurting thousands and thousands of Virginians. Let’s do a little math. The GOP budget would reduce federal Medicaid spending by $700 billion over the next decade. Virginia’s share of that would be at least $2 billion. Could Virginia find $200 million dollars a year in Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse for 10 years in a row? No.
Advocates say contraception initiative for low-income women will be lifeline with federal government cuts looming
A state-funded initiative that provides free contraception to low-income Virginians is reducing unintended pregnancies across the state, according to a new report delivered to the General Assembly. This report comes as Republicans in Virginia have opposed codifying the right to access contraception in recent years. The Virginia Contraceptive Access Initiative, or CAI, launched as a pilot in 2018 and expanded in 2020. About 95% of women served are between 15 to 44 years of age and 60% of women served are 100% at or below the federal poverty level, which is $25,820 for a family of three, according to VDH.
As Virginia police reforms take hold, decertifications jump
Decertifications of Virginia law enforcement officers have jumped fourfold annually since 2020, when lawmakers passed reforms during a push for police accountability, according to a data analysis by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO and MuckRock. The dramatic jump in decertifications – once an exceptionally rare punishment – has both advocates for police reform and law enforcement officers saying the new regulations have made a difference. Five years after the murder of George Floyd energized national change for police accountability, Virginia lawmakers and advocates agree that further reforms are ahead.
Lynchburg business owners keep pressure on city council behavior
Lynchburg business leaders brought their concerns about the conduct of elected officials to City Hall on Tuesday, letting council members know their patience has run out and they want to see changes that will allow the city to move forward. The criticism ramped up after the previous city council meeting on May 13 when Dave Henderson ... sent an email to city leaders and the business community letting them know about his worries about council’s actions possibly costing the city business. During the public comment period Tuesday, business owners told council about the messages of support they received after they decided to speak out about council in response to Henderson’s email.
Friday Read These Founding Fathers Were Frenemies. Maybe We Can Learn Something.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is one of the most beloved sites in America, drawing more than 300,000 visitors a year up a steep mountain road to enjoy majestic views of the Virginia Piedmont and house tours that can feel like stepping into its creator’s complicated mind. But in 1775, it was a muddy construction site — and, as a guide told a tour group gathered on its front portico on a recent morning, a pretty good metaphor for the not-quite-born United States itself. “Things were just getting started, and they weren’t going great,” the guide said.
Virginia House District 62 primary candidates square off in GOP political forum
Republicans and potential independent voters in Virginia House District 62 had a forum Thursday night in Unionville giving voters in the June 17 primary election a chance to hear the views of the two candidates. Madison County farmer, small-business owner, and Board of Supervisor Chair R. Clay Jackson, 41, – a 12-year BOS veteran with 10 years of experience as chair – and Orange County businesswoman and homeschool mom Karen Hamilton squared off answering submitted questions.
Former Venezuelan congressman joins race to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly
The race to find a replacement for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly has added another contender. Leopoldo Martínez, a lawyer who once served in Venezuela’s National Assembly, launched a campaign today (Thursday) for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, where he’ll compete for the Democratic nomination in an increasingly crowded field.
Trump signs tire plant legislation from Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith
Congressman Morgan Griffith is celebrating a win for the rubber tire manufacturing businesses in Virginia. Environmentalists are worried about the consequences. Virginia has more than 3,000 employees who work in the rubber tire manufacturing business. That’s according to Census records. It’s also why a Biden-era rule requiring these businesses to install new equipment to reduce emissions was such a concern to Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith, who says the industry calculates fabricating and installing these new devices will cost more than $100 million nationwide.