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Norfolk City Council unanimously adopts shoplifting ordinance
Norfolk City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt a new ordinance that will give the city the power to prosecute shoplifters themselves. The ordinance adds a new section to the city code giving city attorneys that power in the wake of higher larcenies in the city, though prosecution is a duty the Commonwealth's Attorney — a separately-elected entity — currently oversees.
Lawsuit that seeks to overturn Roanoke's gun law delayed by judge
A Roanoke judge on Monday paused through the end of this year a lawsuit filed by Second Amendment advocates who are seeking to strike down a city ordinance that bars guns from public buildings and parks. Circuit Judge David Carson granted a motion filed by the city to stay the proceedings while a federal appeals court considers a similar case in Fairfax County. Awaiting the outcome of that case would conserve judicial resources, the city argued. . . . In 2021, the Roanoke City Council passed an ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to have a gun — whether concealed pursuant to an individual permit or carried openly — in city-owned buildings and parks. Offenses are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Chesterfield School Board OKs weapons scanners at middle and high schools
The Chesterfield School Board approved installing weapons scanners at all middle and high schools prior to the 2025-26 school year. "It's extremely important that our children feel safe and our staff feel safe," Steven Paranto, the Matoaca District representative on the school board, said. "This is not an answer that will cure everything in regards to their safety, but it's definitely a tool that we can use." The board voted 5-0 in favor of the scanners during its monthly meeting Tuesday.
Poll: Amid rising costs, Republican and Democratic voters value Va.’s colleges and universities
An overwhelming majority of voters are proud of Virginia’s colleges and universities and feel they are equipping young people to succeed, even as, across the country, frustrations mount due to rapidly shifting federal education systems and rising tuition costs. According to poll results released by Virginia Business Higher Education Council (VBHEC), 90% of respondents both Democrats and Republicans in Virginia are proud of the colleges and universities in the commonwealth because they see a “strong connection” between the work on Virginia’s campuses, the prospects for the state’s economy to grow and for young people to succeed in the job market.
Yancey: Is Fairfax County gaining population or losing population? Here’s why two estimates differ.
In the famous quantum mechanics thought experiment known as Schrödinger’s Cat, the question concerns the status of a feline in a box with a flask of poison and something radioactive: Under some quantum theories, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. Fairfax County is Virginia’s Schrödinger’s Cat. In the annual population estimates from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, the state’s largest locality is losing population. In the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, it’s gaining population. So which is it?
Virginia’s new dashboards track pregnancy risks. But advocate says data alone won’t fix disparities.
Virginia is taking a closer look at what's putting new and expectant mothers at risk, and what it will take to keep them alive. On April 17, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the Virginia Department of Health's updated Maternal and Child Health Dashboard and two new dashboards on maternal mortality and pregnancy-associated deaths. The public dashboards track maternal health and infant outcomes across the Commonwealth, monitoring data like preterm births and low birthweight.
What the six Democratic candidates for Virginia lieutenant governor say on the issues
It’s a big election year in Virginia, with the statewide office of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general on the ballot, plus all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. With just one candidate declared for each party, neither Democrats nor Republicans in Virginia are holding a primary contest in the commonwealth’s closely-watched governor’s race. And Republicans already have presumptive nominees for lieutenant governor (plus a write-in candidate) and attorney general. That leaves the Democratic primary to pick nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general as the only competitive statewide races on this year’s June primary ballot — and of those, the lieutenant governor race has by far the largest field, with six candidates running for the party nod.
Earle-Sears: Right to work is still under threat
Virginia’s right-to-work law that says people cannot be required join a union is still under threat despite Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s recent promise that she would not sign a full repeal, her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, said. In a letter to more than 350 Virginia business leaders, Earle-Sears said the law, dating to the 1940s, is critical to Virginia’s economy.
Amazon to open giant warehouse in Goochland County
Retail giant Amazon broke ground Wednesday on a massive, 3.1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Goochland County. It will be the 10th Amazon facility in Greater Richmond, feature robotic operations and create more than 1,000 jobs, the company said. Amazon is building the warehouse at 2022 Ashland Road, near two dozen other industrial business locations. Expected to open in 2027, it will be the largest Amazon facility in greater Richmond and the second largest in the state, following Suffolk.
Levar Stoney goes on TV with six-figure ad buy in lieutenant governor race
Former Richmond mayor Levar Stoney — one of six Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor June 17 — will appear on TV commercials played across Virginia in a new TV ad blitz starting Thursday. Four different spots will run in the expensive Washington media market as well as in Richmond and Norfolk. The ad buy is “well into the six figures," according to his campaign. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe appears in two of the four ads.