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Arlington Republicans introduce candidates for statehouse and County Board
Arlington Republicans introduced two candidates for the House of Delegates and one County Board challenger at a Monday meeting. The party acknowledges that, as always, November will be an uphill battle in Arlington. However, the goal is to put forward “candidates who are well-versed in what’s happening locally” as part of a five-year strategy, party chair Matthew Hurtt said.
Virginia’s statewide GOP candidates finally appear together — briefly
After more than two months of snubs and internal squabbling, the GOP candidates for Virginia’s statewide offices finally appeared in the same place at the same time Tuesday night — though they shared the stage at a packed firehouse in Vienna for just a moment after speaking separately to a raucous crowd. Gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears never mentioned lieutenant governor nominee John Reid, the first openly gay nominee for statewide office in Virginia, who some evangelicals in the GOP base have opposed. Earle-Sears praised state Attorney General Jason S. Miyares — who is seeking reelection — and urged the crowd to support Republicans running for Congress and the House of Delegates.
Critics clash with Gov. Youngkin over Medicaid, SNAP impacts of 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is throwing his support behind the Republican-led “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping federal budget package that’s stirred controversy over its potential impact on low-income Americans. Youngkin, in an interview with WUSA9 Wednesday, called the need to pass the bill “very important” and emphasized its promises of tax relief, border security funding and fiscal responsibility. . . . “I don't believe there will be people who need services who will have to go without,” the governor said.
Youngkin says 2,500 'violent illegals' arrested. But ICE data, advocates say otherwise
This week, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a partnership between federal and state law enforcement has hit a new benchmark in removing what he called “violent criminals here illegally.” But statistics provided by federal immigration authorities and immigrant advocates tell a different story. “Violent criminals that represent the most violent drug cartels and gangs who are living among us in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Governor Glenn Youngkin told the press at a Virginia State Police facility outside Richmond Wednesday. . . . But according to recent reporting on federal data by WRIC, roughly half of those being kept in migrant detention at Virginia’s two Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, facilities have no criminal history.
Youngkin: Arrests of immigrants in the country illegally make Virginia safer
Virginia’s cooperation with federal immigration officers has resulted in the arrests of 2,500 people who don’t have visas or other official permission to be in the United States, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday. He described them all as violent criminals, but when asked about an arrest at the Chesterfield County Court House of an individual who was there to deal with a traffic offense, he told reporters: “If you break the law and you’re here illegally then you should be arrested.”
Judge’s ruling means Charlottesville has no zoning laws whatsoever right now
Right now, Charlottesville has no zoning ordinance. During a 10-minute hearing for an ongoing lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court on Monday, June 30, Judge Claude Worrell ruled that the city had to toss out its new zoning ordinance and revert back to the old rules. But there’s a catch, City Manager Sam Sanders told Charlottesville Tomorrow in an email Wednesday afternoon. “The old ordinance had to be repealed in order for the new one to be adopted,” Sanders wrote. “The void of the new one leaves us without one temporarily.”
‘They should be arrested’: Youngkin holds firm on support for ICE raids at Virginia courthouses
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday doubled down on the controversial use of courthouse arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, brushing off criticism that some of the individuals detained were simply in court to pay fines for traffic infractions and had no criminal record. “Let’s just be clear, the vast majority of the people that have been arrested at courthouses around the country are committing violent crimes,” Youngkin said at a press conference at the Virginia State Police headquarters in Richmond. “If someone breaks the law and is here illegally, they should be arrested.”
‘Time is running short’: Letters show growing Justice Department ire at U-Va.
Over two months this spring, Justice Department officials sent seven letters to the University of Virginia, alleging possible racial discrimination in admissions and hiring, inaction to address antisemitism on campus, and a failure to remove diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the institution. The letters, obtained by The Washington Post through a records request, revealed the agency’s increasing frustration at U-Va. They warned that a failure by the university to take “immediate corrective action” could lead to punitive steps, including possible termination of federal funding.
The first Democrat to declare for a House seat from Virginia's fifth congressional district
A small crowd gathered in the shade of a picnic shelter at Crozet Park near Charlottesville to hear from a man who’d like to represent them in Congress – but from the moment he spoke it seemed people were not quite ready for that election. “Morning everybody!” the candidate called out. The crowd continued to chatter until someone finally insisted they quiet down. 58-year-old Paul Riley ran for a seat in the U.S. House two years ago but lost in the Democratic primary to Gloria Witt. Now he’s back, having learned an important political lesson.
How do you get 850 students to improve their attendance? In Norton, it’s all about relationships
Improving attendance at Norton public schools sometimes looks like tracking down one chronically absent student at a time. Sometimes, that entails going to find them at their part-time jobs. Sarah Davis, the attendance specialist at the small Southwest Virginia school division, recalled one student who was skipping afternoon classes so she could pick up extra shifts at a local fast-food chain. . . . Davis’s efforts, combined with those of school administrators and a nonprofit partner organization, have made significant progress to improve attendance in Norton. For the 2022-2023 school year, more than one-third of the 325 students at J.I. Burton High School were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 18 days of school for any reason. For the 2023-2024 school year, chronic absenteeism dropped from 37% to just 2%.