Javascript is required to run this page
VaNews

Search


President Biden visits Prince William park to talk solar, youth involvement on Earth Day

By CHARLIE PAULLIN, Virginia Mercury

President Joe Biden stopped by Prince William Forest Park in Triangle on Monday, as the country celebrated Earth Day, to tout two initiatives to combat climate change: expanding solar access and creating jobs to fuel America’s environmental efforts. Called the Solar for All program, Biden told the crowd that families could save about $400 a year on their electric bills by tapping into the federal initiative that will provide grant funding to expand the development of solar projects nationwide.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Richmond man charged with assaulting officer in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

By LUCA POWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A Richmond man associated with the white supremacist group Patriot Front is accused of striking a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Nathaniel Noyce of Richmond is charged with assaulting law enforcement officers, civil disorder, and violence and disorderly conduct at the Capitol.

VaNews April 23, 2024


New law closes marriage loophole to protect Virginia children

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

By signing a bill last month that abolished child marriage, Gov. Glenn Youngkin made Virginia one of only a dozen states to prohibit the practice and the first Southern state to do so. That’s a landmark for the commonwealth, one that should have earned unanimous support in the legislature. Those who voted against, including three Republicans from Hampton Roads, should account for their opposition.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Beyer votes for Ukraine funding, against Israel military aid

ArlNow

Arlington’s Congressman split his votes on security funding bills for U.S. allies over the weekend. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) voted for bills to aid the defense of Ukraine, which is under Russian invasion, and Taiwan, which is under the threat of Chinese military action. He voted against defense aid for Israel, which is battling Hamas in a bloody conflict that has killed scores of civilians on both sides.

VaNews April 23, 2024


England: Thankfully, Virginia rejects measures that would unleash chaos upon voters

By TRENT ENGLAND, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia voters can have confidence in November that the election process will be simple and their votes will count. That’s because of the defeat of two radical election proposals pushed by well-financed lobbying groups. Each would have made voting less transparent and more confusing. Voters were spared the latest mess only by gubernatorial veto on April 8. That bill, Senate Bill 428, would have required the commonwealth to assist local implementation of an election system known as ranked choice voting, or RCV.

England is founder and executive director of Save Our States and co-chairman of the Stop Ranked-Choice Voting Coalition.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Tuition and Fees to Increase at University of Mary Washington Next Year

By ADELE UPHAUS, FXBG Advance

After several years of remaining flat, in-state tuition at the University of Mary Washington will increase by 2% next year. “A small increase, still below the rate of inflation, is needed to support state-mandated compensation actions for faculty and staff and the continued success of academic programs and the campus experience,” the university wrote in a press release Monday afternoon.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Richmond Mayor Stoney tells Democrats he’ll drop bid for Va. governor

By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney is telling fellow Democrats that he intends to drop out of next year’s race for Virginia governor and is weighing a run for lieutenant governor instead, according to four people familiar with his plans. Stoney, who has faced a tough contest against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, has been calling donors, supporters and others in recent days to say that he will bow out of that race, according to the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Mountain Valley Pipeline largely completed, company says

By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is largely completed, the company said Monday in requesting federal approval for it to be placed in service. Although some work remains, the company asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue an order by May 23 that would allow it to begin operations. “Mountain Valley has completed all waterbody and wetland crossings project-wide,” Matthew Eggerding, deputy general counsel for the joint venture building the natural gas pipeline, wrote in a letter filed late Monday to the FERC docket.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Yancey: State says some rural counties are better able to pay for their schools than the most affluent localities

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

Craig County was home to just 4,892 people in the most recent census and is getting smaller in each subsequent estimate. The third least-populated county in the state, Craig is a beautiful land of mountains and valleys with virtually no industry — 78% of the workers leave the county every day to work. The state of Virginia also says it’s almost as capable of paying for its own school as Prince William County in Northern Virginia is, with one key difference. In the state’s funding formula known as the Local Composite Index, Prince William County, the land of more than 40 data centers where payrolls are calculated in the billions, saw its ability to pay for schools drop — while Craig County saw its supposed ability rise.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Stoney drops out of governor’s race to run for lieutenant governor

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is getting out of the race for governor and jumping into the Democratic nominating contest for lieutenant governor. Stoney, 42, in the final year of his second term as mayor, will formally bow out of the race on Tuesday morning at the same time as his announcement that he will run for lieutenant governor. That is the path then-state Sen. Doug Wilder took almost 40 years ago before becoming the nation’s first elected Black governor four years later.

VaNews April 23, 2024