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Richmond-based UNOS aims to fix how transplanted organs fly
The federal government and a Richmond nonprofit are working to fix how organ transplants fly on commercial airplanes. The United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, championed a bill that President Joe Biden signed into law this month. It’s designed to improve the problem of recovered kidneys not arriving in the needed time and condition to be transplanted. Roughly 1 in 4 kidneys taken from a dying person never makes it to a needy one.
Roanoke College poll finds Trump and Biden tied in Virginia
Virginia isn’t believed to be a battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, but a new poll from Roanoke College suggests the matchup between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump could be closer than expected. Poll results from the Southwest Virginia school’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research released Wednesday showed Biden and Trump statistically tied in a head-to-head matchup, with both earning 42% of polled voters’ support.
Proliferation of mass surveillance erodes personal privacy in Virginia
There’s always been tension in this country, one that’s deepened in the last 20 years, between those who believe mass surveillance tools used by government officials bolster public safety and those who believe such tools are an intrusive invasion of privacy. As instruments such as license plate readers, motion-activated cameras and other warrantless surveillance devices proliferate, it’s incumbent upon state and local officials to establish firm and unambiguous guardrails to limit the reach of these tools and to improve transparency around their use so the public has a clear view of when, where and how they’re being watched.
Richmond schools is overpaying its bus drivers by $150K every month
Bus drivers for Richmond Public Schools are being paid overtime for hours they haven’t worked, according to an audit first reported by the blog RVA Dirt. The errors — which include drivers not always clocking out — are costing RPS an estimated $150,000 per month, an overcompensation the auditor called “an unjustifiable and increasing payroll expense.” It also risks violating federal and state wage and labor laws, per the audit.
McDonald sentenced to 14 years for stealing $5.2M in Economic Development Authority funds
The former executive director of the Economic Development Authority of Front Royal and Warren County (EDA), who was convicted in November of last year of stealing more than $5.2 million in authority funds, was sentenced [Wednesday] to 14 years in federal prison. Jennifer Rae McDonald, 45, of Front Royal, was convicted following a 9-week jury trial in November 2023 of seven counts of wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, sixteen counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Charges reduced for last 3 defendants in Otieno death case
Second-degree murder charges against the last three people with active cases tied to the 2023 death of Irvo Otieno have been reduced to involuntary manslaughter, online court records show. The move to change the charges for the three people comes after second-degree murder charges were dropped against seven others in the case. Earlier this month, Otieno’s family criticized the decision to withdraw murder charges against five people and continued to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to step in for a federal investigation.
Roanoke College poll: Biden and Trump now tied in Virginia
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are tied at 42% in a head-to-head presidential matchup in Virginia, according to the latest Roanoke College poll released Wednesday. Biden holds a two-point lead (40%-38%) when other candidates are included, according poll. The college’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research interviewed 711 likely voters in Virginia between May 12 and May 21. The survey has a weighted margin of error of 4.24%.
Home value disparities are displacing residents of Richmond’s Black neighborhoods
Some Richmond neighborhoods lost between 18% and 45% of their Black residents in the last decade due to rising housing costs and gentrification, according to a new report out Thursday. Decades of racist homelending policies and present-day bias in home appraisal have undervalued many Black Richmonders’ homes. That’s now pushing some longterm residents out of their communities. The report studying disparities in home value is from Richmond-based nonprofit Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, which used metro-area research from the Brookings Institute, city tax assessment data and American Community Survey demographics census stats.
Sources: Department of Justice investigating violence against Norfolk students and district response
Attorneys from the Department of Justice are investigating violence against students in Norfolk Public Schools, according to several people who told WHRO they’ve spoken with the attorneys. WHRO reported in January that Latino students at Norview High School were assaulted because of their race. The families of those students said school administrators weren’t working to prevent the attacks. Patricia Bracknell is the head of the Chamber for Hispanic Progress and was featured in that story. She said a representative from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia contacted her to talk about the incidents.
Charges reduced against 3 facing prosecution in man’s death during admission to psychiatric hospital
Second-degree murder charges against two sheriff’s deputies and a hospital worker have been reduced to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Virginia man who was pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes while being admitted to a state psychiatric hospital. The downgrading of the charges in the 2023 death of Irvo Otieno comes just weeks after prosecutors withdrew charges against five other sheriff’s deputies, a move criticized by Otieno’s family.