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Richmond mayor has ‘no appetite’ to pursue $56M from failed VCU Health deal
Richmond Mayor Danny Avula has “no appetite” to sue over nearly $56 million the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System agreed to pay the city for a failed development project. But that’s where things stand now, and a lawsuit isn’t entirely off the table, Avula spokeswoman Mira Signer told VPM News. “He has no appetite pursuing a lawsuit at this point. It’s not dead," Signer said about Avula’s intentions during a phone call last week. “At this point, he is interested in finding places where they can co-invest.”
Chesapeake’s Planning Commission says no to data center proposal
The Chesapeake Planning Commission recommended the City Council deny a rezoning request for a major data center project. Citing a lack of information on key questions like water usage and noise, the commission voted 6-1 against the project. The lone vote against denying approval was commissioner Michael Malone, who instead put a motion forward to delay the vote for 120 days to get answers to those questions.
Salem to implement AI weapons detection system at high school
Salem City Schools will soon begin piloting a security system at Salem High School that uses artificial intelligence to detect weapons. The system works by using AI to monitor the school’s existing camera feeds for any sign of weapons. If a threat is detected, the system notifies a designated group of staff and administrators, as well as members of the Salem Police Department. Anyone who receives the alert can review the footage on their phone and assess the situation.
Chesley: Va. GOP congressman’s scrutiny on federal cuts, job losses needs company from other Republicans
U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, you wrote an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this week pushing back against the madness emanating from Washington regarding budget cuts and federal job layoffs. It was welcome, given the chaos in D.C., but what took you so long? Are you, a Republican representing Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, really bucking a president from your own party – or is this just PR?
Ramadan: Spanberger displays a rare trait in politics – intellectual honesty
Last week, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, now the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, made headlines by announcing she would not sign legislation that fully repeals Virginia’s right-to-work law if elected. Her decision may have removed a wedge issue from the campaign trail, but more importantly, it revealed something increasingly rare in politics: intellectual honesty.
Youngkin signs bipartisan child welfare reforms and sets new goals for foster care
Katie Jones was 11 the last time she saw her childhood home, where her father, an alcoholic, stayed between jail stints and her mother struggled with heroin addiction. One day after school, just moments after she had settled in with a bag of chips and her homework, police and social services workers pulled up outside. Within minutes, Jones and her five siblings were loaded into vehicles, separated from each other, and plunged into the foster care system — an experience that would shuffle her through five homes, three schools, and years of uncertainty before she aged out at 18, never adopted.
Virginia education department violated procurement rules in extending $83M contract
The former leadership at the Virginia Department of Education failed to follow state procurement rules when it extended a major student assessment contract worth nearly $83 million, according to a finding by the Office of the State Inspector General. The state’s contract with the education company Pearson is one of the biggest and most politically sensitive in state government. It includes work to develop, administer, score and report statewide students’ assessments, including the Standards of Learning tests.
After Virginia clerk says Youngkin vetoes aren’t valid, a defiant governor digs in
Gov. Glenn Youngkin insisted Thursday that he properly stripped three items from the state budget despite a finding by the clerk of the House of Delegates that his “purported vetoes” violate the state constitution. The Republican governor, up against a General Assembly fully but narrowly under Democratic control since the midpoint of his four-year term, has racked up more than 400 vetoes — more than any of his predecessors. Democrats have never mustered the supermajority needed to override any of them.
Reaser: Va.’s children are safer, but we still have work to do
Virginia’s legislative season is over, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin has sifted through dozens of bills and issued a record number of vetoes. While the governor vetoed most bills increasing gun safety, he also signed two gun safety measures into law that have flown under the radar: House Bill 2055 and House Bill 2679. I, along with my chief co-patrons Dels. Michael Feggans and Laura Jane Cohen, championed these bills with one goal in mind: protecting Virginia’s children from needless gun violence. And that’s exactly what these bills do.
Denied for dissent?
Several Virginia Commonwealth University students who did everything they needed to do to graduate were denied their degree for sitting on the wrong patch of grass on April 29. The students were part of an event, which VCU officials said was unauthorized, that marked the one-year anniversary of a prior pro-Palestinian protest on the campus. The 2024 pro-Palestinian protest at VCU led to a clash between student demonstrators and law enforcement. It wasn’t a good look for a university that prides itself on promoting free expression and diversity of thought.