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Florida’s Abortion Ban Will Reach Well Beyond Florida
As of Wednesday, Florida has banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. It will have far-reaching effects. In 2021, abortion was legal in every state, and the average American woman lived less than 25 miles from a clinic. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some states banned all or most abortions, including many in the South. Florida, North Carolina and Virginia were the only states in the South offering abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. For 6.4 million women, the nearest clinic was in Florida. Now, that option is gone. Women in several states will need to travel hundreds of miles farther to reach a clinic. It is the biggest change to abortion access since the period immediately after the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
McElwain: As other states ban abortion, Va. remains a beacon of hope
In a small town in Florida, a half-day drive from Richmond, a woman takes a pregnancy test after realizing her period is a couple of weeks late. If she goes into her nearest Planned Parenthood in Tallahassee to seek an abortion, she may be too late now that Florida’s six-week abortion ban has taken effect. Even if she makes it into the health center prior to the cutoff, she will have to come back again at least 24 hours later due to Florida’s mandatory waiting period. As Florida’s near-total ban on abortion takes effect, our hearts go out to all impacted. In these troubling times, I want to assure those seeking care: Virginia is here for you.
Drakes: School nurses could be the cure to chronic absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism in K-12 schools is at an all-time high in Virginia as the public education system continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chronic absenteeism is defined as students who miss more than 18 days of school, and this number has doubled across the commonwealth since 2019. The Virginia Department of Education has launched a campaign in response to this issue, as gaps in learning have been revealed by the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores.
Scrap over expanded flights at Reagan National bedevils big aviation bill
This week’s vote on a major aviation bill is reigniting one of the Capitol’s most parochial recurring feuds — a spat over how many flights can take off and land at Congress’ favorite airport. Once again, the senators who represent Virginia and Maryland appear outgunned. The D.C.-area lawmakers are waging a last-ditch fight nonetheless to try to keep Congress from approving additional flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Their arguments include the contention that the extra flights would compromise safety — although the Federal Aviation Administration has said the agency will ensure safety isn’t harmed.
Youngkin’s biggest legacy in Virginia could be his impact on education—for better or worse
With a new sports arena dead in the water and a legislature controlled by political opponents, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s largest impact on the state after he leaves office could be in the education space. Youngkin was clear about his education priorities on the campaign trail back in 2021. “We watched parents all over the commonwealth stand up and try to defend their children, get our schools open, make sure materials are appropriate in the classroom,” then-candidate Youngkin said on the campaign trial. Now, two and a half years later, Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said the governor has delivered on those promises.
Roanoke Council Told That Assistant City Manager Verbally Attacked, Physically Threatened Employee, Emails Show
A city budget analyst told Roanoke City Council members last month that after a March 6 meeting, then-Assistant City Manager Brent Robertson “began verbally attacking” and “physically threatening” her so severely that she decided to quit. “In all my professional career, I have never been so brutally attacked,” the employee wrote, according to a copy of the April 5 email released to The Rambler in response to a public records request.
Va. Beach rejects collective bargaining for city employees
Virginia Beach’s City Council voted 5-5 on a measure to allow employees to negotiate their wages and working conditions, ultimately defeating the proposal. Five council members — Sabrina Wooten, David Hutcheson, Jennifer Rouse, Worth Remick and Joash Schulman — voted in favor of the request from the city’s firefighter’s union. Councilmember Amelia Ross-Hammond abstained from the vote. Council measures need a majority vote to pass. Mayor Bobby Dyer and others suggested an ‘enhanced meet-and-confer,’ which would create a formal committee for the city manager to hear employee concerns instead of granting collective bargaining rights.
Former EDA director contests $5 million fine sought by U.S.
Former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer McDonald says the government can’t make her forfeit $5.2 million as punishment for her crimes related to her former employer. A federal grand jury indicted McDonald in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in late August 2021 on 34 counts including money laundering, wire and bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. A federal jury found McDonald guilty of all 34 counts against her at the end of a weeks-long trial on Nov. 1.
Williams: Police crackdown of VCU protest is sad déjà vu
“Four years later and we’re still writing the same headlines about protesters,” read Monday night’s text message from a friend. “History always has a way of repeating itself.” Virginia Commonwealth University responded to a pro-Palestinian encampment by summoning shield-bearing riot police who sprayed students with a chemical irritant. The college showed remarkably little forbearance for what had been a peaceful protest before a busload of police, in an act of provocation and intimidation, rolled up to the Cabell Library to forcefully evict students from the “Liberation Zone for Gaza.”
Yancey: Universities, like some local governments, get pulled into issues beyond their reach
The students and others at Virginia Tech who were protesting Israeli actions in Gaza had multiple demands. Some were beyond the power of anyone in Blacksburg: “Ceasefire now!” Others were more specific to the university, such as wanting a meeting with Tech President Tim Sands. I’m struck, though, by one sign that I saw on what appeared to be a bedsheet. “Our demands,” it announced in red. Below there were three of them.