Search
Youngkin Takes Final Action on 2025 Legislation: How Loudoun Delegation Bills Fared
Friday marked the deadline for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to make final decisions on legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2025 session. In March, the governor took action on the 916 bills, with 53 of those coming from Loudoun’s legislators. He signed 30, vetoed 11 and sent 12 back with proposed amendments. The General Assembly convened for a one-day session April 2, sending back six Loudoun bills for a final decision by the governor.
Virginia Tech preparing for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ Metallica concert—and its economic impact
The lush grass of Worsham Field was stripped away. The sprinkler heads were removed. The field that is home to the Virginia Tech football team was barren and level. Part of the crew that sets up the stage for Metallica’s concerts spent the early parts of Friday afternoon beginning the process of laying down the flooring that signaled the transformation of a football stadium into a temporary concert venue. The group began the multi-day process that will culminate Wednesday with a long-awaited concert that features Metallica performing “Enter Sandman,” the song that has welcomed the Hokies onto the field for nearly a quarter of a century, in front of a sold-out crowd inside Lane Stadium.
Most Virginia teachers are women, but most superintendents are men
Early in her administrative career, before she became the first female superintendent of Henrico County Public Schools in 2018, Amy Cashwell recalled being the only woman in a boardroom full of men. As they discussed a major project, one of the men asked if she would be hindered from giving a project her all. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. He said: “Well, you have kids.” She responded: “So do you.” It’s a moment many women in education leadership recognize — a quiet but persistent skepticism about whether they can lead and mother at the same time.
Virginia sees spike in superintendent turnover
More than 40% of Virginia's K-12 public school districts had at least one new superintendent between 2019 and 2024, according to national data collected by Superintendent Lab and reviewed by Axios. The Trump administration wants to empower local schools by dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Turnover among systems' leaders is evidence of school districts' instability, as they struggle with teacher shortages and falling test scores.
Republicans Hold Annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Amid Record Attendance
Republicans from across Prince William County gathered at Fox Chase Manor for their annual black-tie Lincoln Reagan Dinner, drawing a record crowd and laying out their strategy ahead of the 2025 election cycle. County GOP Chairman Jacob Alderman said the party sold more than 300 tickets for the fundraiser, which brought in over $30,000 to support local political efforts. . . . Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched a direct attack on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, calling her voting record more extreme than that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Bernie Sanders, despite her moderate branding. Roberts pledged that Heritage’s political action committee would invest heavily in the 2025 election to defeat Spanberger and promote conservative values across the state.
Bert Ellis reflects on time as member of UVa. Board of Visitors
The Cavalier Daily spoke with former Board of Visitors member Bert Ellis, who was fired by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin March 26, about the goals he had hoped to accomplish as a member, many of which he believes remain unachieved. These goals included key priorities of removing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, firing President Jim Ryan, lowering costs and reducing the University’s operating budget and rejuvenating the Honor system.
Helicopter forces 3 planes to change landing plans at DCA
Three planes coming into Reagan National Airport were required to alter their landing plans about 11 a.m. Sunday when a police helicopter took on an urgent mission in the same airspace at about the same time they were supposed to land, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. All three flights landed safely after making second approaches into the airport. . . . The incident came after one Thursday in which two planes coming into National Airport were forced to abort landings when an Army Black Hawk helicopter took a lap around the Pentagon before landing at a military heliport, according to the FAA.
5 Virginia prison guards are injured by inmates accused of being MS-13 members
An attack by inmates at a Virginia prison injured five guards, according to state corrections officials who said most of the assailants were MS-13 gang members who entered the U.S. illegally. Three guards were stabbed and were transported for medical treatment along with two others hurt Friday at Wallens Ridge State Prison in western Virginia, the state Department of Corrections said.
Yancey: Spanberger wants state to take stronger role in helping local governments with solar decisions
Abigail Spanberger says the state shouldn’t force localities to accept solar projects or data centers that they don’t want, but that the state could do a better job of offering localities technical information so they can make better-informed decisions. She supports nuclear energy and says that the small modular reactor proposed for Dominion Energy’s North Anna power station in Louisa County is a good way to test the commercial viability of that technology. She also says that Virginia is headed toward an energy crisis and the next governor needs to address it, but that any solution must be done in coordination with neighboring states that are on the same electric grid.
Racial tensions, community outrage rises over firing of Hopewell city manager and clerk
There was an uproar in Hopewell’s city council chambers Thursday night. Some city leaders sat sobbing at the bench, and some stormed out. Mayor Johnny Partin lost control of the meeting. “Step down, Johnny Partin, step down!” Shouted community members from the crowd, after the decision to terminate City Manager Dr. Concetta Manker and City Clerk Brittani Williams without cause. The community now wants to know if the vote was legal because it concerns a conflict of interest.