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Veterans rally the troops, state leaders in support of education benefits
When this year’s high school seniors started applying for scholarships, Stuart McFaden told his son, Riley, he didn’t have to worry about finances. “I paid your bill with my body, my sacrifice, my mind,” said McFaden, a Spotsylvania County veteran who served 20 years in the Marine Corps. “I told him to save those scholarships for other kids who could use the leg up.” ... McFaden and other veterans statewide recently discovered language in the state budget bill that would lessen VMSDEP’s benefits. Instead of covering the full costs, the program would become a last payer, used only after students have exhausted other local, state and federal funding.
Metro’s new bus system proposal could eliminate more than 600 stops, rename routes
On Tuesday, the Metro’s board of directors approved a resolution to hold a series of public meetings next month so riders can weigh in on a major proposed overhaul of Metro’s bus routes. For well over a year, Metro leaders have been working on a plan to make major changes to the bus system. This week, Metro has finally put out concrete plans for the changes they are proposing.
Congresswoman Speaks Candidly About Her Incurable Brain Disease: ‘I’m Too Young for This’
Jennifer Wexton was gearing up for her third term as a United States congresswoman in late 2022 when she received the difficult news that, even if she felt she had a lot left to give to the people of Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, her body didn’t. “Cognitively, I’m the person I’ve always been,” Wexton, 55, tells PEOPLE, her voice muffled and speech somersaulting. “But there are things that it takes me a lot longer to do.” Less than two years ago, the rising Democrat from Leesburg, Va., had a clear vision for her future. She entered Congress in 2018 with a few key bipartisan goals — including fighting childhood cancer in honor of a young girl in Wexton’s community who died of an inoperable brain tumor.
Budget deal reached by Virginia governor and negotiators, chairman says
After an earlier breakdown in state budget negotiations, General Assembly budget negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin reached a consensus on a two-year spending plan for Virginia that does not raise taxes. House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian confirmed the budget conferees reached a deal Thursday, though he said the full details of the plan would not go public until this weekend. “It will not be released until Saturday; there are a lot of administrative things that need to be done,” Torian, D-Dumfries, said Thursday. “We just reached an agreement this afternoon.”
General Assembly budget leaders, Youngkin reach compromise
General Assembly budget leaders and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have reached a compromise on the next two-year state budget that would use an additional $525 million in state revenues to pay for Democratic spending priorities — including raises of 3% each year for state employees and teachers — without raising taxes and crossing the Republican governor’s red line for a potential veto. House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, confirmed on Thursday afternoon that assembly budget negotiators had reached a deal with Youngkin that they hope to approve on Monday in a special session that would last one day instead of three.
Yancey: 37 years ago, one of the Republican Senate candidates tried to run in Roanoke. Here’s what happened.
None of the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to run against Democrat Tim Kaine have ever held public office. In some quarters, that’s considered a plus. Some of them, though, have tried. One of them has tried more than any other. In 2010, Virginia Beach attorney Chuck Smith ran for the U.S. House of Representatives against Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, in the 3rd District but lost, as Republicans typically do in that strongly Democratic district. In 2012, Smith ran for the Kempsville district seat on the Virginia Beach City Council, but finished fourth out of a field of four candidates. In 2017, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for attorney general but failed to qualify for the ballot. In 2021, Smith did far, far better ...
Virginia judge to decide whether state law considers embryos as property
A trial is underway in Virginia that will determine whether state law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and assigned a monetary value. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two embryos that they created when they were married. Honeyhline Heidemann says the embryos are her last chance to conceive a biological child after a cancer treatment left her infertile. Jason Heidemann, says he does not want to be forced to become a biological father to another child.
Shenandoah County School Board votes to restore Confederate names of schools
For the first time in United States history, a school district that changed the name of schools that honored Confederate generals, voted to restore the Confederate names years later. The Shenandoah County School Board held a public hearing on May 9 at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School to discuss restoring the names of Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School to Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School. At the hearing, residents voiced their opinions on the school’s current names and whether they agreed with the restoration or were against it.
Inside the Port of Virginia’s $450 million plan to lead in era of super-sized ocean containerships
The Port of Virginia is on track to become the functionally widest and deepest port on the U.S. East Coast by early 2025, as massive ocean containerships upend the economics of port terminals. Norfolk Harbor will be the only waterway channel on the East Coast with Congressional authorization for 55-foot depth from end to end and side to side. While there are channels on the East Coast that are wider than the Port of Virginia, they are not uniformly deep from end to end and side to side, regardless of tide. A $450 million dredging project at the Port of Virginia, which began in 2019, completed its widening measures in March, allowing two ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) to pass each other at the same time.
VCU Health planning massive redevelopment of campus
The Virginia Commonwealth University Health system is planning a significant reimagining of its campus in downtown Richmond, a preliminary plan that could take more than 15 years to implement and seemingly cost north of $1 billion. The vision includes a new dental school, an expansion to the inpatient hospital, more space for research, and removal of the 83-year-old West Hospital. With few formal plans made, the vision is considered a “roadmap,” and it’s possible not all projects will come to life, said Meredith Weiss, VCU’s vice president for administration and interim chief financial officer. She presented the plan to VCU’s board of visitors on Thursday.