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DOJ officials call for UVa President Jim Ryan to resign
In an unprecedented move, U.S. Department of Justice officials are calling on University of Virginia President Jim Ryan to resign, saying he has slow-walked the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the school and misrepresented the steps UVa has taken to end them. DOJ officials have asked Ryan to step down on multiple occasions, as first reported by the New York Times on Thursday. The DOJ did not immediately respond a Daily Progress request for confirmation.
‘Hallowed ground, desecrated’: ICE sweeps at Chesterfield court draw fierce backlash
Jessica Schneider, a member of Chesterfield County’s Board of Supervisors, was about to address a growing crowd of people protesting area immigration raids outside the Chesterfield County Courthouse Wednesday morning when her phone buzzed with news that visibly shook her. Another immigrant, Salvador Calderon-Cuella — whose immigration status remains unclear at this time — had just been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and quietly whisked away through the courthouse’s back entrance. Calderon-Cuellar had pleaded guilty in April to two misdemeanor traffic offenses — driving without a license and failing to yield when entering a highway. The fines totaled $130, according to Chesterfield General District Court records. On Wednesday, he arrived at the court to make the payment.
Editor-in-chief position eliminated for The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press
Virginia Media recently changed the leadership of its newsroom operations. Tribune Publishing, owned by Alden Global Capital since 2021, eliminated the editor-in-chief position held by Kris Worrell since August 2019. As executive editor, she oversaw The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, The Virginia Gazette and Tidewater Review and was dedicated to serving readers and the communities with engaging, informative and meaningful stories.
Appeals Court puts Missing Middle back on the books in Arlington
Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning ordinance is back on the books, at least for the time being, following a ruling in the Virginia Court of Appeals. In the latest development in the dramatic legal battle over the county’s Expanded Housing Options (EHO), three appeals court judges issued a ruling yesterday (Tuesday) that reverses a circuit court decision declaring the zoning change void. The move sends the case back to the lower court for further review, according to court documents reviewed by ARLnow. The disposition doesn’t touch on the legal arguments at the heart of the lawsuit, which seeks to overturn an ordinance allowing for the development of multi-unit buildings in previously single-family neighborhoods.
Virginia appeals court says Arlington can end single-family-only zoning
An Arlington policy eliminating single-family-only zoning was effectively reinstated Tuesday by a Virginia panel of judges, who ruled that homeowners challenging the county over that effort in court should have also sued real estate developers who built projects under the zoning change. The ruling marks another development in a dizzying legal saga over the Northern Virginia county’s push for more “missing middle” housing, which is aimed at bringing more homes into a tight real estate market and eventually lowering costs in the expensive D.C. suburb.
Hashmi to receive $1M from Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association
Virginia’s Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, will receive a $1 million donation from the national Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association — the largest donation ever received by a lieutenant governor nominee in the state, the group says. The DLGA is a national organization that works each year to elect Democratic lieutenant governors and candidates across the U.S.
From VPAP New Episode of Policy Matters: Your Window Into Virginia Politics with VPAP on VPM
Join VPAP’s Chris Piper and VPM’s Ben Dolle as they recap Virginia’s June primaries and VPAP's campaign finance resources that helped voters prepare. They dig into a trove of features on vpap.org: primary night results and interactive maps that break down votes by contest and district, plus helpful post-primary tools that let users explore results down to their ballot. You’ll also hear about new data on legislator stock holdings, paid conferences, and the top VaNews headlines covering government and politics across the commonwealth.
Housing Department to Move Headquarters to Virginia, Booting National Science Foundation
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Wednesday that it was moving its headquarters out of Washington and into a building in Alexandria, Va., already occupied by the National Science Foundation, with no clear plan in place for the foundation’s employees. It is the first major shift of a federal agency’s operations out of the capital under President Trump’s plans to relocate parts of the government. But the science foundation will need to move out before the housing agency moves in. Union representatives for the foundation’s employees said that more than 1,833 people with the agency work in the building, and that they did not know where those employees would go.
HUD plans move to Alexandria, booting National Science Foundation from headquarters
The Department of Housing and Urban Development will move its employees out of D.C. to Alexandria, Virginia, booting the National Science Foundation from its headquarters, officials announced Wednesday. Government officials said it’s the first major agency to relocate its headquarters as part of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce federal real estate.
Wet spring keeps Virginia crops growing despite early summer’s blazing heat
This week Virginia has set new heat records and come close to beating old ones for this time of year. The Richmond airport recorded a temperature of 99 degrees at the hottest part of the day on Tuesday, Roanoke reached 99, and Alexandria reached 98. Those high temperatures come at a crucial time for many crops growing across the commonwealth. “We are at a critical point for certain crops like corn that are either about to pollinate or our pollinating and so it will have an impact,” said Wilmer Stoneman, vice president of agriculture development and innovation for the Virginia Farm Bureau.