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One Virginia Community Took a Radical Approach to Fighting Addiction. It’s Working.

By JULIE WERNAU, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

When Officer Chelsea Johnston came across a wanted felon one evening in May, Johnston jerked her cruiser in front of him, sprinted after him and tackled him to the ground. Still catching her breath, Johnston motioned for someone to step out of the cruiser: Joy Bogese. “Thank God,” the man said. “It’s you.” Bogese, who served time for financial crimes that fed a heroin addiction, now spends many of her evenings in a police cruiser as a recovery specialist helping people with addiction get into treatment. The man asked Bogese to help him get into a drug-treatment program at the local jail, where Bogese occasionally facilitates groups. She is part of a growing effort in Chesterfield County’s fight against addiction.

VaNews June 17, 2025


Over 1,000 protesters gather in Manassas for ‘No Kings’ demonstration

By EMILY SEYMOUR, Inside NOVA

Around 1,500 people gathered in Manassas Saturday for an anti-Donald Trump “No Kings” protest, part of the more than 1,900 similar protests happening nationwide. The protests came on the same day President Trump hosted a military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the military’s 250th birthday. It is also Trump’s 79th birthday. Community members and elected officials turned out in droves to the protest, held at the Manassas Community Center on Sudley Road.

VaNews June 16, 2025


‘No Kings’: Hundreds of Charlottesville residents turn out to protest Trump

By EMILY HEMPHILL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia’s official state motto is “Sic semper tyrannis.” Those words — which translated out of Latin mean “Thus always to tyrants” — are emblazoned on the state seal, the state flag and, on Saturday, hundreds of signs held aloft by Charlottesville protesters. Throngs of them gathered along U.S. 29 outside the Shops at Stonefield just north of city limits, part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration.

VaNews June 16, 2025


What’s the future of drone production in the U.S.? Sen. Warner tackles the question at Manassas’ RapidFlight

By EMILY SEYMOUR, Fauquier Now

Sen. Mark Warner visited Manassas-based RapidFlight Thursday for a discussion on the future of domestic drone production. The fireside chat, hosted by Axios reporter Colin Demarest, was held in RapidFlight’s headquarters and production facility in downtown Manassas. RapidFlight was founded in 2021 and announced it would be opening its operation in Manassas in 2022. The company designs and manufactures 3D-printed unmanned systems, more commonly called drones.

VaNews June 16, 2025


Culpeper man drives SUV through crowd at ‘No Kings’ protest; no injuries reported

By ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

A person at a No Kings protest was struck by a vehicle Saturday in Culpeper as a crowd was dispersing near the end of the gathering on the sidewalk in front of Walmart. Police said no injuries were reported and they don't know who was hit, but a Culpeper man has been taken into custody in the incident. Culpeper Police Department officers were in the area of 801 James Madison Highway on June 14 monitoring the conclusion of a lawful protest event organized by Culpeper Democrats as part of a nationwide movement protesting Trump Administration policies.

VaNews June 16, 2025


Remington town officials voice support for new data centers in Fauquier County

By TATE HEWITT, Fauquier Times

Remington officials are voicing support for proposed data centers just outside the town limits and are hoping the county will share some of the tax revenue generated by the developments. Though no proposed data center projects fall within Remington town limits, town council officials are arguing this type of development “offers significant economic benefit and aligns with smart growth (principles) for both town and county residents,” Remington town administrator Racheal Brinson wrote in a June 9 letter to the Fauquier County supervisors and planning commissioners.

VaNews June 16, 2025


Volunteers keep watch over Smith Mountain Lake’s water quality for nearly four decades

By JEFF BOSSERT, WVTF-FM

For nearly 40 years, volunteers and environmental experts have made sure Smith Mountain Lake is ready for a season of fishing, swimming, and other recreational use. And while finding help over that time is rarely a problem, concerns about Harmful Algae Blooms are bringing new focus to their work. Ferrum College laboratory supervisor Carol Love has been monitoring Smith Mountain Lake since the late 1990’s.

VaNews June 17, 2025


Thousands gather across Virginia on Saturday for ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump

By JAHD KHALIL, HANNAH DAVIS-REID, MEGHIN MOORE AND SHABAN ATHUMAN, VPM

Saturday was the first time Elizabeth Prom-Wormley had protested, she said. “But it just … enough's enough already,” she said. “I feel hurt. I feel angry. I feel hopeless, and I don't like feeling that way as somebody who pays their taxes on time and gives to my community over and over and over again.” Prom-Wormley was one of thousands who gathered at the Virginia state Capitol, as thousands more across the commonwealth protested against the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration. And the demonstrations in Richmond, Charlottesville, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., were among thousands of planned protests in the U.S., offering contentious counterprogramming to a military parade for the Army’s 250th birthday, which coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.

VaNews June 16, 2025


Yancey: 10 questions that Tuesday’s primaries will answer

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

I don’t know who’s going to win Tuesday’s Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor and attorney general but I can sure tell you who’s going to lose: Donald Trump. If all you knew was what you saw from the television ads of the six lieutenant governor candidates and two attorney general candidates, you’d think Trump is their opponent, not the others on the ballot. That’s likely good politics in a Democratic primary, but it also highlights just how few policy differences there appear to be between the respective candidates. Some primaries are a battle royale for “the soul of the party.” This year’s Democratic primaries for two of the three statewide offices — Abigail Spanberger is already the party’s nominee for governor — does not appear to be one of those.

VaNews June 16, 2025


Aston and Fleet: Hampton Roads lawmakers continue to deliver for higher education

By BOB ASTON AND CLIFF FLEET, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

It is not common these days to hear voters say positive things about what leaders in government are doing. Yet, in this age of political division, Virginians agree on at least one big thing: Our top-ranked higher education system drives growth and opportunity in our commonwealth. And, in Hampton Roads, our legislators are leading the way. Recently, our organization, the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, released the results of a wide-ranging statewide public opinion survey to gauge voters’ views on higher education.

Aston Jr. of Portsmouth is executive chairman of TowneBank. Fleet of Richmond is president and CEO of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

VaNews June 17, 2025