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Loudoun Supervisors Deny Lansdowne Cell Tower Proposal
The Board of Supervisors last night denied a commission permit for a cell tower in Lansdowne, overruling its approval by the Planning Commission. The application was submitted by Milestone Towers which has multiple cell structures within the county. The proposal would have allowed telecommunications monopole within a Virginia Department of Transportation right-of-way at the interchange between Rt. 7 and Claiborne Parkway.
Proposed budget cuts expected to significantly change NASA’s research focus, workforce
NASA is positioned to lose a quarter of its budget and nearly a third of its workforce under a government proposal seeking to slash federal spending. For NASA Langley Research Center, the proposal includes cutting nearly 700 employees and impacts to research in things like aeronautics—which is research related to air and space flight—and earth science, which includes studying the atmosphere, oceans, land and ice.
JLARC: Moving juvenile justice department won’t boost services
Virginia’s juvenile justice officials can connect kids in trouble with services they need faster than the state’s social services, mental health and health agencies often can, a study by the legislature’s watchdog agency found. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study investigated advocates’ recommendations that the state switch the Department of Juvenile Justice from the oversight of the Secretary of Public Safety to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.
Report: Moving Department of Juvenile Justice to another state agency likely won’t improve youth programs
A new report says moving the Department of Juvenile Justice under a different state agency likely wouldn’t improve the programs it offers to incarcerated youth. The report comes as the state Inspector General’s office says it will review mental health services being offered to children at the Bon Air Correctional Center — Virginia’s only state-run youth prison. Research for the nonpartisan report included interviews with Department of Juvenile Justice staff, state cabinet members and national experts.
A look at the views of 2 candidates vying for the GOP nod in 62nd House District
Agreeing on many issues while differing on others, Republican statehouse primary candidates Karen Hamilton, of Orange, and Clay Jackson, of Madison, sat side by side last Thursday night for a candidates’ forum in the District 62 nominating race. A homeschool mom of three, college educated in structural engineering and a first-time political candidate, Hamilton briefly stumbled in her opening statement ... A beef cattle farmer and board of supervisors’ chairman, Jackson admitted he didn’t know what his first three bills would be if elected to the statehouse, but stressed time and again he would fight to represent local interests.
Veterans Affairs workers decry effects of budget cuts
Democratic congressional leaders, including Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Newport News), on Tuesday morning heard accounts from local leaders and experts on the effects to veterans from Trump administration’s policies. The testimony at the event at Norfolk State University centered on the staffing levels at the recently opened North Battlefield VA Outpatient Clinic, cuts to Veterans Affairs, and uncertainty in veterans’ health care and benefits. The VA has plans to lay off as many as 80,000 staff by the end of the year.
Staffing at the Chesapeake VA highlighted in House testimony at Norfolk State
Lawmakers were told the North Battlefield VA Outpatient clinic in Chesapeake remains understaffed, months after it opened in April. Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Susan Hippen told the panel of Democratic House lawmakers that she lives less than 10 minutes away from the clinic but still has to travel to the VA hospital in Hampton for much of her care. ... Hippen described the clinic as a “ghost town.”
McClellan urges constituents to ‘speak up’ to save democracy
Several times during Rep. Jennifer McClellan’s town hall meeting June 2 at Virginia State University, the same question was asked but in different ways: “What can Democrats do to keep Donald Trump and the Republicans in check?” Most of the time, McClellan, D-Virginia, responded with the same answer. Claiming she did not want to get political in a meeting designed to inform constituents about passed and proposed legislation, McClellan said the best thing to do was “mitigate the harm” during the next four years, then go back to the ballot box and vote in the next round of leadership.
Trump-supporting communism survivor jumps into race for Connolly’s seat
A survivor of Soviet Union-era communism is jumping into the race to replace late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Karina Lipsman told Fox News Digital that her family fled the USSR when she was a child and that her childhood in the U.S. began with a single mother raising her in low-income housing in Baltimore. "We ran from socialism and toward the American dream. We came here because America stood for freedom, hard work and the chance to build something better," said Lipsman, a Republican.
Youngkin schedules special election to replace Rep. Gerry Connolly as new candidates join race
Fairfax County voters will return to the polls this fall to choose a representative for the Virginia’s 11th Congressional District seat. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a writ of election today (Tuesday) scheduling a special election for Sept. 9 to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Gerry Connolly’s death on May 21. Candidates must file to enter the race by July 11. So far, 10 major party candidates have launched bids for the seat.