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State Democrats start to pick sides early in race to choose Rep. Connolly’s successor
Voters won’t cast their ballots in the Democratic primary election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District for another year, but that hasn’t stopped early candidates from sprinting out of the gates. Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, who was the first Democrat to enter the race to replace retiring Rep. Gerry Connolly, has already garnered support from the incumbent congressman and former 10th Congressional District representative Jennifer Wexton. But three new endorsements come from the Virginia General Assembly — the “backyard” of rival state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, who also announced her candidacy this week.
Dems criticize Youngkin for removing child care program from state budget
Democrats are criticizing Governor Glenn Youngkin for axing an item in the state budget that they say would have helped more Virginia families afford child care. “Families don’t have the luxury of waiting for political perfection. This was needed yesterday,” Delegate Adele McClure (D-Arlington) told 8News. Youngkin used his line-item veto power to remove a $25 million child care pilot program.
Youngkin ripped over voting restoration process for felons
Since his release from prison in 2023, George Hawkins has integrated himself into his community in nearly every way. He runs a bread vendor business, pays taxes and coaches youth basketball. "I impact my community," Hawkins said on the steps of the Fourth Circuit courthouse. "I'm a productive member of my society." Yet despite two applications, Hawkins — convicted of attempted murder and aggravated malicious wounding in 2010 — remains ineligible to vote. On Friday, he argued to a three-judge panel that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's system, or lack thereof, for restoring felons' voting rights is arbitrary.
Their school can censor the student press. These Alexandria teens are trying to change that.
It was past midnight and James Libresco, 17, had not yet started his homework. Instead, the Alexandria City High School senior spent his evening fielding questions about a campaign to give student journalists such as himself more independence to do their work. “Please continue putting the pressure on,” Libresco said on a call with more than 40 attendees. “It’s great, but we need to keep building. We can’t let up.” Libresco is co-editor of Theogony, the high school’s newspaper, where he and fellow student journalists have been lobbying the school board to change a policy that allows their principal to review and edit stories before publication.
Youngkin signs bill into law creating grants for large animal veterinarians
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill into law creating a grant program for large animal veterinarians. Youngkin said on Friday that he signed House Bill 2303 and Senate Bill 921 into law, establishing the Virginia Large Animal Veterinary Grant Program. “[It is] an important step to address critical shortages in large animal veterinary care in communities across the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a post on X.
Fight at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center spotlights requests for independent review
On May 7 — one day after the Office of the State Inspector General announced the launch of a special review into Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center — a fight broke out among youth inside the facility, resulting in two teachers being transported to a local hospital. “Two teachers fell while trying to break up a fight among students in a classroom,” Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice spokesperson Melodie Martin said in an email to VPM News. “DJJ is investigating [Wednesday’s] altercation, which involved a small number of individuals and is suspected of being gang related.”
Virginia Health Department: Increased levels of ‘forever chemicals’ found in Chickahominy fish
The Virginia Department of Health on Friday issued a fish consumption advisory for the Chickahominy watershed because of elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate detected in certain fish species. The affected species include largemouth bass, sunfish, chain pickerel and creek chubsucker. State health officials tested samples taken from the Chickahominy River and White Oak Swamp in Eastern Henrico and Hanover counties between 2021 and 2023, according to a news release from the VDH. The presence of PFOS in the samples exceeded the amount considered safe for long-term human consumption.
Virginia governor’s rights restoration authority debated at federal appeals court
Virginia’s system of voting rights restoration gives the governor sole discretion to choose when to restore a former felon’s rights… or not. An effort to nix that authority was shot down in a Richmond federal court last year, but voting rights advocates returned to Richmond Friday to appeal. Critics point to Governor Glenn Youngkin replacing an automatic rights restoration system embraced by previous Democratic governors with a more rigid “responsible citizen” test which has led to a decrease in re-enfranchisement.
Virginia’s development efforts get a new brand name
Virginia government’s all-hands-on-deck approach to wooing big economic development projects now has a brand name, in a bid to make sure businesses think about the state when considering new or expanded facilities. The “Made in Virginia Investment Accelerator” is a pitch to firms thinking about facilities that employ 500 or more people and represent at least a $250 million investment.
Sewage Sludge Fertilizer From Maryland? Virginians Say No Thanks.
In 2023, sewage plants in Maryland started to make a troubling discovery. Harmful “forever chemicals” were contaminating the state’s sewage, much of which is turned into fertilizer and spread on farmland. To protect its food and drinking water, Maryland has started restricting the use of fertilizer made from sewage sludge. At the same time, a major sludge-fertilizer maker, Synagro, has been applying for permits to use more of it across the state border, on farms in Virginia. A coalition of environmentalists, fishing groups and some farmers are fighting that effort. They say the contamination threatens to poison farmland and vulnerable waterways that feed the Potomac River.