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June campaign donations point to hottest House races
If money talks, what it’s saying in the latest House of Delegates campaign finance reports is that Democrats are on the attack deep into what’s long been Republican turf. The campaign finance reports filed this week and reporting on contributions for most of June say metro Richmond will be a hotbed of electioneering. But they also say Democrats see this year’s election putting into play places like western Loudoun and Fauquier counties, where Republicans have romped to easy victories for years, as well as the district that Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, has represented for 35 years in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties.
Two senior U.Va. Health leaders quietly take new jobs without formal announcement
U.Va. Health has now lost two senior leaders in one week as Melina Kibbe, dean of the School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer at U.Va. Health, and University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton will both leave the health system to accept new positions. Kibbe will become president of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the UT System announced Monday, after being named the sole finalist for the position. Horton has accepted a leadership role at the University of California San Francisco Health Center after serving in her position at U.Va. Health since 2020.
SCC says Dominion’s future spending plan ‘legally sufficient,’ warns against impact on consumers
In a ruling on Tuesday, the State Corporation Commission stated that Dominion Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, while “legally sufficient,” raises concerns about the utility’s future spending plans, which will “significantly impact millions of residential and business customers in the monthly bills they must pay for power,” the commission stated in the final order. Utility companies serving Virginia must provide a 15-year plan every two years to explain how they will meet energy demands, and carbon emission reductions standards through the Virginia Clean Economy Act that passed in 2020. The SCC then determines if the plan is reasonable and within the public’s best interest.
Friday Read An 1880 schoolhouse for Black children in Pittsylvania is still standing because of one former student
Annie Mosby sat at her desk inside the one-room schoolhouse where she was once a student before Pittsylvania County schools were integrated. Back when she was a student in the 1950s, a large potbelly stove used to warm the schoolhouse in the winters. But on a sunny Monday afternoon in June, Mosby didn’t miss the stove’s absence. At 79 years old, she still comes back to her hometown once a year for several weeks over the summer, flying from California where she lives now, to catch up with family and spend time in the schoolhouse that she and her husband fixed up.
U.S. Department of Energy Grid Reliability Report Is Unreliable, Virginia Renewable Advocates Say
Advocates for renewable energy in Virginia took aim at a report that the U.S. Department of Energy issued last week on the reliability and security of the nation’s electric grid, faulting it for dated reliance on fossil fuels to meet skyrocketing energy demands from data centers and lacking public input. They noted that the 73-page report–an evaluation ordered by President Trump that champions coal, oil and gas–came at a time when a Dominion Energy-owned Mount Storm coal plant in West Virginia is costing Virginia ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars and exacerbating problems from the climate crisis.
Yancey: New VCU poll gives Spanberger a lead of 12 percentage points. Here’s what to know about that.
This has not been a good month for Virginia Republicans. Last week CNBC released its annual rankings of best states for business, in which Virginia dropped from first to fourth. This wouldn’t be a big deal except that Republicans have spent the past year bragging about how their policies helped return Virginia to the top spot; now CNBC says it’s Republican policies — or, more specifically, the policies of one particular Republican, Donald Trump — that have cost the state its No. 1 position.
Virginia, Maryland rejoin bid for Commanders stadium as DC Council lets exclusivity clause expire
Maryland and Virginia are reportedly off the bench as the state and commonwealth's bids to house the Commanders stadium have reportedly been resurrected. Hesitation within DC Council has pushed the District past a major deadline. While Washington, D.C. remained the frontrunner for the deal, with support from the Commanders franchise and NFL executives, the exclusivity clause that kept its stately neighbors from making their bids expired Tuesday. Leaving the ball in anyone's court -- or field, if you will. Despite the expiration of a key negotiation deadline, D.C. officials say a deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to the old RFK Stadium site is far from dead.
Virginia casinos report $78.5M in June revenue
June gaming revenues from Virginia’s three casinos totaled $78.5 million, down $6.9 million from May, according to a Virginia Lottery report. Last month, Hard Rock Bristol casino reported about $21.44 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $17.24 million came from its 1,397 slots and about $4.2 million came from its 73 table games. ... Rivers Casino Portsmouth ... generated about $18.6 million in June from its 1422 slots and about $7.85 million from its 84 table games, for a total adjusted gaming revenues of about $26.46 million. The state’s newest permanent casino, the Caesars Virginia resort in Danville, reported almost $30.57 million in adjusted gaming revenues ...
Virginia’s $36 million relief deal clears toll debts for Portsmouth and Norfolk drivers
On Wednesday, House Speaker Don Scott and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas announced a major deal to clear millions of dollars in old toll debts for thousands of drivers in Portsmouth and Norfolk. At a press conference in Portsmouth, the lawmakers revealed details of a $36 million agreement between the Virginia Department of Transportation and Elizabeth River Crossings to wipe out outstanding toll balances and related fees that had piled up since 2014.
New poll shows big lead for Democratic statewide ticket
The Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University released a new poll Wednesday showing a big lead for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger over her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Democrats in down-ballot races also have a significant lead over their Republican opponents. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s approval rating is also dropping, and Virginians are largely not supportive of President Donald Trump.