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Federal policies could put a damper on regional summer tourism
Hampton Roads is fortunate to be a popular tourism destination each summer for visitors who flock to the beaches and enjoy the many historic attractions throughout our region. These guests fill our hotels, eat at our restaurants and represent a significant share of the region’s annual economic activity. Yet, as the summer season starts, many in the area are justifiably concerned that President Donald Trump’s hostility to foreign nations, including traditional allies, and his administration’s zealous and often ham-fisted deportation efforts will drive away tourists ...
Virginia Beach man awaits governor’s decision on absolute pardon: ‘It would make me whole’
The months following Darnell Phillips’ 2018 release from prison were a whirlwind. Most notably was the standing ovation Phillips received from Virginia lawmakers after he was introduced on the Senate floor several months after being set free. Afterward, senators shook his hand. Some even offered their apologies for the more than 27 years Phillips spent behind bars for the rape and beating of a 10-year-old girl that he’d always maintained he didn’t commit — and that now even the victim was saying he was innocent of.
Nelson officials raise major concerns with county social services leadership
Nelson County officials recently voiced major alarm in a letter to the county department of social services over an “inexcusable decline” in its level of collaboration and communication with key local partner agencies on several child protective services cases. The May 23 letter from the Nelson County Board of Supervisors sent to the Nelson County Department of Social Services Board states those agencies include members of a multi-disciplinary team, some of which expressed “these deep concerns and frustrations” at the DSS board’s April meeting.
Local judge indicted on bribery charge in Spotsylvania
The chief general district court judge for the judicial circuit that includes the Fredericksburg area was indicted last week on a felony bribery charge, court records show. Richard Tyler McGrath, who sits primarily in Spotsylvania General Court in the 15th Judicial Circuit, is charged with bribery of a public official. A special grand jury brought the charge June 2 in Spotsylvania Circuit Court. McGrath had not been arrested as of Friday, and court records show he will be released on a $5,000 unsecured bond once a capias for his arrest is served.
Norfolk’s top FBI deputy ousted
The F.B.I. has targeted another round of employees who ran afoul of conservatives, forcing out two veteran agents in Virginia — one of whom is friends with a critic of President Trump — and punishing another in Las Vegas, according to several people familiar with the matter. Two of the men, Spencer Evans and Stanley Meador, are senior agents who ran F.B.I. field offices in Las Vegas and Richmond, Va. The third, Michael Feinberg, a top deputy in the Norfolk, Va., office, had ties to a former agent whom Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, identified in his book as part of the so-called deep state.
As expansion continues, summer drivers to see new looks at Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
As the summer travel season picks up, visitors will have a much different view — and some different routes — at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel as a result of the ongoing expansion project. Traffic counts at the primary route between the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads have grown steadily ever since it opened in the 1950s. In 2011, for example, the state transportation department reported that on a daily basis, more than 44,000 vehicles used the artery each way, and projected that number to rise to about 56,000 by 2040. Last year, according to the department, roughly 100,000 vehicles used it daily during the tourism season, which begins on Memorial Day weekend.
Hampton Roads jobless claims up this year, but economists say region faring better than Northern Virginia
Hampton Roads’ economic reliance on the military has been seen as a crutch by business and community leaders hoping to diversify its economy and compete with thriving metro areas such as Richmond and Raleigh, North Carolina. But that same pillar of the economy is also a major reason why federal workforce cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration haven’t sent local unemployment claims soaring, an Old Dominion University economist said Friday.
Amherst Job Corps students, staff scramble to find new homes, jobs after closure
After a nearly 50-year stint in Amherst County, the Old Dominion Job Corps in Monroe is wrapping up operations and more than 100 employees are looking for new jobs — an abrupt measure that caught many in the Lynchburg region by surprise. Layoffs from the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to close the center on Father Judge Road, one of 99 contractor-run Job Corps centers across the country, will affect 130-plus staff, according to Virginia Works, a Virginia Workforce Development and Advancement equal opportunity employer/program.
Judge and lawmakers question Trump administration’s plan to gut Job Corps centers
Members of Congress and a federal judge are questioning the Trump administration’s plan to shut down Job Corps centers nationwide, including the Old Dominion Job Corps in Amherst County, and halt a residential career training program for low-income youth that was established more than 50 years ago. ... Lawmakers asked Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer about the decision when she appeared before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Thursday. “Job Corps, which you know has bipartisan support in Congress, trains young, low-income people, and helps them find good-paying jobs and provides housing for a population that might otherwise be without a home,” U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott said.
Elections officials appoint new Richmond registrar to replace Keith Balmer
Richmond’s Board of Elections has appointed a permanent registrar to replace Keith Balmer, who led the city’s elections office until he resigned last year following allegations of nepotism and fraud. Electoral Board Chair Starlet Stevens said David Levine will start in the role on July 1, less than two weeks after Virginia’s June 17 primary elections. Levine formerly worked in Richmond’s elections office as a deputy registrar from 2012 to 2014, Stevens said.