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Spanberger bus tour visits Roanoke as election season heats up
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger parked her campaign bus in Roanoke on Monday evening and offered her party’s ticket for state offices as a safeguard against “chaos coming out of Washington.” “We turn on the news and it's one difficult story after next,” Spanberger said. “We have to let it fuel us. We have to say, ‘I do not accept what I am seeing, and therefore I will work to change it.’” Spanberger, a former CIA officer and a U.S. representative for Virginia from 2019 until her run for governor, spoke to a crowd of supporters in the Virginia Museum of Transportation rail yard.
Congressman Don Beyer will seek reelection
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) has announced that he is seeking reelection as U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Alexandria. Beyer, who turned 75 on June 20, has been reelected five times to represent the district, serving since January 2015.
New data suggests increased flooding risks for D.C. region’s roads and transit systems
The D.C. region’s roads and other transportation infrastructure is more at risk from future flooding than previously thought, a new analysis found. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) outlined its findings to leaders of member jurisdictions ... at a meeting last Wednesday (June 18). Past efforts using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mapping to determine flooding threats to transportation weren’t “totally sufficient,” TPB planner Katherine Rainone said. To augment FEMA’s available resources, TPB licensed data from flood maps issued by Fathom, a UK-based analytics firm.
Suffolk speed camera case heard by appeals panel
A three-judge panel will decide in the next several weeks if a case challenging work and school zone speed cameras was properly dismissed by a lower court, or if it deserves a full hearing. Monday, the Virginia Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case of Curtis Lytle v. City of Suffolk. Lytle sued the city in 2024 over issue with speed cameras used by the city. He was issued $100 fine by a camera in a work zone and sent the ticket by a third-party vendor. He alleges the city is not following state law by not using the Virginia uniform summons and the local court system for speeding tickets.
Virginia Court of Appeals hears challenge in Suffolk case regarding automatic court dates, speed cameras
The Virginia Court of Appeals on Monday heard arguments on whether the city of Suffolk can be sued over its system to use cameras to catch speeders. Attorney Tim Anderson said Suffolk raked in $10 million last year after a third party vendor issued some 130,000 citations from cameras set up in work zones, school zones and other local roadways. But the city is breaking state law in the process, Anderson contends.
Virginia’s Democrats in D.C. push back on process behind Iran strikes
Minutes before the news broke Saturday that American bombers had struck Iran without congressional approval, US Sen. Mark Warner was addressing Virginia Democrats gathered at Richmond’s Main Street Station for an annual fundraiser. “God knows, if there's anything we should have learned in this country, it's a hell of a lot easier to start a war in the Middle East than to stop one,” said Warner to applause. But in reactions from Virginia’s congressional delegation in the hours after President Donald Trump announced strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the state’s Democrats focused most of their criticism on the process behind Trump’s decision to bomb Iran without congressional approval or standard notification — with others also weighing in on whether the US should involve itself further in the war between Israel and Iran.
Warner, 21 other senators call for limits on Insurrection Act
Sen. Mark Warner wants to rein in a 218-year old law granting presidents sweeping power to send troops to suppress protests, a measure President Donald Trump has said he might use. Warner has joined 21 other senators sponsoring a bill that sets new limits on the Insurrection Act of 1807 — the law that President Abraham Lincoln invoked in the Civil War. “It’s clear that President Trump is unworried about defying the limits on executive power clearly outlined in our Constitution,” Warner said.
Federal judge temporarily halts lawsuit over Dominion’s Virginia Beach offshore wind farm
After a series of delays, a federal judge last week temporarily stayed a lawsuit against Dominion Energy’s wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast. Judge Loren AliKhan of the U.S. District Court in Washington ruled that the groups involved must decide whether they wish to proceed by late September. The lawsuit does not currently affect Dominion’s ability to move forward. The delays in the case stem from changes in federal leadership and policy under President Donald Trump, who has taken action to halt the offshore wind industry.
Petersburg mayor among prominent names chosen for new Richard Bland College Board of Visitors
Petersburg’s mayor and the general manager of one of the city’s pharmaceutical manufacturers will be among the charter members of Richard Bland College’s Board of Visitors. The list, released June 20 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, also includes a former state education official and a longtime area business professional. ... Among the notable names on the board is Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham, a 1996 graduate of RBC.
Youngkin names Richmond hotelier Neil Amin to VCU board, former House leader Eric Cantor to W&M board
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has named local hotelier Neil Amin to the Virginia Commonwealth University board of visitors. Amin is CEO of Shamin Hotels, which is based in Chesterfield County and owns about 75 hotels on the East Coast. His term begins July 1. Each year, the governor nominates people to the board of visitors for each public college in the state. The members typically serve a four-year term that can be renewed once.