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Audit: Richmond city credit cards used for $5M in ‘questionable expenditures’
City auditors on Tuesday morning released a damning assessment of City Hall’s purchasing card program that, among other things, identified $5 million in “questionable expenditures” made by cardholders between July 2022 and May 2024. That’s nearly one quarter of the credit card spending during that timeframe. Those transactions were referred to Richmond’s inspector general, who investigates claims of fraud, waste and abuse, auditors said.
Audit finds $5M in dubious Richmond credit card spending
The city of Richmond approved roughly $5 million in questionable purchases on employee credit cards over two years due to lax oversight, according to a just-released internal audit. That's roughly a quarter of all spending in the period through the city's Purchasing Card (P-Card) Program. City auditor Riad Ali's report, published Tuesday, found "significant weaknesses" in the internal review process and general oversight of the P-Card program, which was started in 2018.
Arlington board grants Amazon extended deadline to build next phase of HQ2
Amazon has received another three years to get started on the next phase of its Crystal City headquarters. The Arlington County Board granted a three-year extension to plans to develop the PenPlace site at a meeting earlier this month. Amazon’s new deadline to act on the current site plan, which envisions a futuristic spiral structure towering over the intersection of S. Eads Street and 12th Street S., is June 30, 2028. An Amazon representative told ARLnow that the company has ample space at its current Metropolitan Park location, but continues to look at PenPlace as a long-term investment.
Latest lawsuit fails to stop Botetourt County wind farm
The latest — and likely the last — legal challenge to a proposed wind farm in Botetourt County was turned down by the Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday, as preliminary construction of the project continues. In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the court found that opponents lacked standing to legally object to a temporary facility that will produce concrete needed for the foundations of the massive turbines.
Grand jury refuses to indict UVa student accused of antisemitic hate crime
The criminal case against a University of Virginia student accused of perpetrating a hate crime against a Jewish housemate hit a roadblock last week, at least temporarily, after a Charlottesville grand jury refused to issue a felony indictment against Robert Cabell Romer. While a lower court judge certified a threat warrant against the 20-year-old Romer last month, the grand jury hearing evidence this month marked that charge as "no true bill."
Fort Lee changes are now online as post switches Facebook, social-media account names
The changeover from “Fort Gregg-Adams" to “Fort Lee” may not be physically visible yet, but in cyberspace, the rebranding is complete. The official website and social-media outlets Facebook and X now indicate the Prince George County Army post as Fort Lee, less than two weeks after the Pentagon announced it was reverting the names of military posts mainly in the South from what they were changed to in 2023.
Science agency staff brace for HQ takeover
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to announce Wednesday that it’s moving into the headquarters of the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, according to the union representing NSF employees. But as of Tuesday evening, staff at the science foundation hadn’t been informed by management about their building’s incoming occupants, leaving them feeling blindsided and unsure about where they’re expected to work.
Report: National Science Foundation headquarters to be taken over by HUD, displacing 1,800+ employees
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will reportedly take over the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters building (2415 Eisenhower Ave.), displacing more than 1,833 NSF employees who currently work there. HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin reportedly plan to announce the takeover Wednesday (June 25), according to information provided to journalist Dan Garisto by multiple NSF staff members. The transition will occur over the next two years. ... The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, which represents NSF workers, confirms the takeover in an official statement released Tuesday. The union says it received notice Tuesday afternoon about the planned announcement.
Youngkin responds after ICE detains multiple people at Chesterfield courthouse
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained 14 people over three days at the Chesterfield County courthouse, Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard told CBS 6. "ICE showed up at the Chesterfield courthouse on Friday and detained six people," Leonard confirmed to CBS 6 reporter Cameron Thompson. "They came back yesterday, Monday, and detained six more. They are on the premises today as well." Leonard said his staff received "little notice" about the operation, and he was not sure how long it would last.
Chesterfield becomes focal point in Virginia immigration enforcement debate
Lawyers say they are feeling intimidated by groups of men standing silently in rooms not typically open to the public. Spouses are crying in hallways. Families go days without being able to contact loved ones who have been detained, not knowing if they remain in the same state. These are the realities for some people who have lived in the United States after entering the country illegally but have completed all the required steps to exist within the legal system. Chesterfield was thrust into the spotlight of the national immigration debate this week with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers operating in the courthouse.