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Dominion and Clean Virginia flood statewide races with millions
Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest public utility company and one of state’s most prolific political donors, is once again flexing its power in politics — giving more than $2.6 million to candidates from both parties between April 1 and May 25. At the same time, Clean Virginia, another major donor organization with a stated mission to promote clean government and clean energy, continues to fund candidates who do not accept Dominion’s money, giving more than $1 million during the same time period. While the gubernatorial race is top of the ticket for Virginians this year, Dominion appears to be focused more on down-ballot contests.
Senate majority leader requests investigation into Virginia Birth Injury Fund
Virginia's legislature is seeking an investigation into the Virginia Birth Injury Fund, a troubled state agency that was recently robbed of nearly $7 million by an insider. The Virginia Birth Injury Fund is meant to help the families of children who suffered devastating injuries during childbirth. Many are incurred as a result of mistakes made by doctors. Children in the fund live with expensive, lifelong disabilities. The fund, which has over $700 million, is meant to support the children's therapies, wheelchairs and day-to-day medical needs.
2 newcomers to Newport News compete in House District 70 GOP primary
An Army combat veteran and former Iowa Board of Supervisors representative are on the ballot in the Republican primary for House District 70 as newcomers to Newport News. Republicans Hailey Dollar and Cynthia Scaturico are running in the June 17 primary to see who will face Democrat incumbent Del. Shelly Simonds.
Va. attorney general says Loudoun County school system misused authority in locker room case
Virginia's attorney general found “disturbing misuse of authority” by a school district that investigated three boys regarding claims of sexual harassment of a transgender student in a boys’ locker room. Jason Miyares referred the Title IX investigation of the incident to the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked Miyares to investigate Loudoun County Public Schools over its handling of an alleged incident in which three boys at Stone Bridge High School expressed concern about a transgender boy in the locker room in March. The transgender student allegedly recorded cellphone video of their reactions.
Krizek and Ebbin: As gaming explodes, lack of oversight puts Virginia at risk
Nearly a decade ago, Virginia became the first state to establish a framework that legalized and regulated fantasy sports. Since then, fantasy sports and other forms of gaming have proliferated amid a marketplace that has continually evolved. Virginia’s once-innovative regulatory model, unfortunately, is now outdated and fails to provide the clarity, fairness and accountability that Virginians deserve. The solution is simple. Virginia needs to establish and empower a single, self-funding agency to protect consumers and ensure operators comply with legal requirements for responsible play.
Grants funded by your car insurance pay for surveillance tech in Virginia
More than 30 years ago, the General Assembly created a fund to reward tipsters who shared information leading to motor vehicle theft arrests. If there’s leftover money in the Help Eliminate Auto Theft — better known as HEAT — reward fund, the Virginia State Police can allocate it to educational programming to help drivers prevent auto theft or to support local law enforcement or judicial agencies in their efforts to reduce theft. Since 2022, the Virginia State Police has been using an increasing amount of money from the fund to help local law enforcement agencies buy equipment to help them prevent and solve vehicle theft and related crimes.
Where the hot spots are for immigration enforcement
Efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive in five southern states with Democratic-leaning cities, while deeply red, rural states are seeing less activity, according to an Axios analysis. Our review of removal orders, pending deportation cases and agreements between immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies sheds light on where the Trump administration is dispatching resources to support its mass deportation plan. The analysis shows local law enforcement agencies in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have been most cooperative with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in rounding up immigrants through deals known as 287 (g) agreements.
Yancey: Earle-Sears might benefit more from a big voter turnout than Spanberger. Here’s how.
We begin with one basic fact: Only about half of Virginia’s registered voters will bother to cast a ballot in this year’s election for governor. On the night of Nov. 4, we’ll know how that half of the electorate felt about who the next governor should be, Democrat Abigail Spanberger or Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. What, though, about the other half that won’t vote? Put another way, who would a larger turnout benefit — Democrats or Republicans?
Early childhood education programs deserve robust support
President Donald Trump’s ill-suited choice to lead the Department of Education, World Wrestling Entertainment founder Linda McMahon, got it exactly right in recent testimony before the House Appropriations Committee: “The earlier we can start education, the better it is for every child.” Yet the Trump administration and many state governments — including Virginia — follow spending plans and policies that continue to fall short of providing universal access to early childhood education.
Pete Buttigieg endorses Levar Stoney in Lt. Gov. race
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg endorsed former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney in the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race. Stoney faces five other Democrats in the June 17 primary. “As a fellow former mayor, I know that some of the best leadership comes from our local leaders, because mayors have to solve problems,” Buttigieg said in a statement.