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No personnel relocation decisions yet for Fort Eustis’ Army training headquarters move
The Army’s chief of staff testified to a House subcommittee earlier this month that the Army Training and Doctrine Command headquarters at Fort Eustis is set to relocate to Austin, Texas. What that means for the thousands of men and women stationed at Fort Eustis has yet to be determined, Army officials said this week. But it’s raised questions for congressional leaders representing Hampton Roads, who say they will be closely scrutinizing the plans.
Accused of making Metro less safe, watchdog relents on self-driving trains
After a two-month standoff with its safety watchdog, Metro received approval Tuesday to use self-driving trains on three of its six subway lines. Automation will expand beyond the Red Line to the Green and Yellow lines Friday. But a broader conflict between the two agencies continues, and multiple elected leaders say the commission created in 2018 to address Metro’s dysfunctional safety culture is now creating problems that add risk instead of reducing it. They are pushing back on a commission plan to start fining Metro for failing to follow orders — and backing Metro’s calls for an outsider to resolve future conflicts instead.
Warren County Supervisor: ‘Heck No’ to Data Centers, Yes to Smart Growth
Warren County Supervisor Cheryl Cullers is making her position clear: data centers do not belong in Warren County. During a wide-ranging interview, Cullers addressed concerns about data centers, economic development, tourism, schools, and what she sees as divisive rhetoric in the community. “I’m going to use my nice language and say, heck no, as far as I’m concerned,” Cullers said when asked if data centers are coming to Warren County. “I have no intentions of voting for a data center, and I have not heard anybody else say they were either.”
After Black lawmaker is targeted by racial slur, Democratic leaders want more than condemnation
Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, was recently targeted with a racial slur by an anonymous social media account. Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears publicly condemned the post, but House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and Mundon King are calling for more than statements. They say Republican leaders must follow their words with action. “So original!” Mundon King said in response to the slur directed at her. “This is what Black elected officials have to face for simply doing our jobs. I will wait for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to condemn this…” Youngkin posted later in the day, condemning the attack.
Virginia lawmakers prepare for new restrictions on campaign funds
Candidates for state office are about to get some new restrictions about how they can use campaign cash. Paying your home mortgage with a campaign account? That would be prohibited under a new law signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin. So would using campaign cash for clothing, automobiles, vacations, tuition, sporting events, concert tickets or even country club memberships. Senator Jennifer Boysko is a Democrat from Herndon who says she would have liked to have seen an exemption for candidates to use political contributions to buy a wardrobe.
TRADOC ‘isn't going anywhere right now,’ Army officials at Fort Eustis say
Army officials say no final decisions have been made about relocating the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, to Texas. The officials confirmed that part of the Army Transformation Initiative includes merging TRADOC with the Army Futures Command. Together, they will create the Army Transformation and Training Command. ... However, after conversations with Army leadership, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the merger would not impact day-to-day operations at Fort Eustis.
Despite federal backlash, Albemarle County teaching students ‘whole truth history’
“Remember, your listeners are from Mars,” teacher Susan Greenwood told one of her fifth graders at Brownsville Elementary. “They know nothing about slavery, they know nothing about the Civil War.” Greenwood was circulating the classroom on February 4, giving pointed feedback on students’ writing for an assignment in her Virginia Studies class. The goal was to develop arguments to answer the core question in this unit on the Civil War: Was violence justified to resist slavery? Educators in Albemarle County, such as Greenwood, are practicing a new approach to teaching social studies that requires students to think critically and understand key events from a range of perspectives, including those whose voices are often omitted from standard accounts.
Virginia’s budget surplus grows as revenues beat expectations despite national slowdown
Virginia’s general fund revenues rose sharply in April, bucking signs of a national economic cooldown as the state continues to post steady long-time job growth and rake in more tax dollars than projected. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that general fund revenues are up 6.3% — nearly $1.5 billion — compared to the same 10-month period last fiscal year. April alone brought in $322.4 million more than the same month in 2024, marking an 8.8% jump.
‘It’s going to be tough’: Virginia Republicans brace for a grim November
Virginia Republicans are bracing for November with a growing sense of doom. The GOP already faced a tough climate in this year’s elections thanks to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s war on the state’s robust federal workforce. Then came a bitter, intraparty feud over Republicans’ lieutenant governor candidate. Now, some Republicans are privately expressing concerns about the viability of their gubernatorial nominee, Winsome Earle-Sears. “With the demographics of Richmond, in an off year with the Republican White House, it’s going to be tough,” said longtime Virginia Republican strategist Jimmy Keady. “To be a Republican to win in Virginia, you have to run a very good campaign. You’ve got to have [tailwinds] and the Democratic candidate’s got to make a mistake.”
Youngkin urges vigilance to combat antisemitism
A new executive order will expand Virginia's fight against antisemitism, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Monday night at the Combat Antisemitism Movement's Faith, Freedom, and Legacy: Honoring Virginia’s Jewish Heritage dinner in Richmond. "Antisemitism exists, and we must acknowledge it, we must educate people to it, and we must go to work to eradicate it," Youngkin said at the dinner, held at The Commonwealth Club.