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By GRAHAM MOOMAW,
Virginia Mercury
After a closed meeting that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Petersburg City Council abruptly voted Wednesday to pick Baltimore-based Cordish Companies as the developer that will have a chance to build a casino in the economically struggling city.
There was nothing on the council’s meeting agenda indicating such a monumental decision could be happening on Wednesday afternoon, and council members quickly left the mostly empty auditorium without explaining the move to the handful of reporters in attendance. Several members said “no comment” when approached.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By CHER MUZYK,
Prince William Times
The race for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is shaping up to be very competitive — and very expensive.
In the Democratic primary race, retired Army Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, 48, of Woodbridge, has a solid financial edge, raising more money than all the Republican and Democratic candidates in both primary races combined — by far.
Since launching his campaign late last year, Vindman has raised nearly $3.8 million. That’s more than four times the amount raised by his Democratic rivals, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
VaNews April 25, 2024
Associated Press
Glenn Youngkin will visit Germany, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland next week for his third international trade mission as Virginia governor.
Youngkin, a Republican, will meet with Finland’s president, government officials, strategic business associations, company executives and global industry leaders “to further strengthen Virginia’s economic and cultural connections,” his press office said Wednesday as it announced his itinerary.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Virginia Democrats are falling in line and falling in love. With Levar Stoney’s strategic retreat — rather than risk a pasting for the 2025 gubernatorial nomination, he’s risking a pasting for the 2025 lieutenant governor’s nomination — Democrats are forgoing a contest for their top spot to rally behind Abigail Spanberger, whose politics and posturing seem to give almost everyone in a party still whining over Glenn Youngkin’s squeaker victory in 2021 something to cheer about.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By DAVE RESS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is headed to Europe next week on his third international trade mission. He is scheduled to meet with President Alexander Stubb of Finland as well as with business executives, trade associations and officials there and in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Zurich, Switzerland. … The aim is to further strengthen Virginia’s economic and cultural connections, which already include the 119 German firms operating here, 30 from Switzerland, 13 from Denmark, and eight from Finland.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By DAVID MCGEE,
Bristol Herald Courier
(Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
Now in its 20th year, The Crooked Road began as a dream for Todd Christensen and the late Joe Wilson, who met one wintry day in 2003 at the Carter Fold in Maces Springs. The fold was already established as a popular regional music attraction, started by the late Janette Carter in 1975 to promote the legacy of the Carter Family and the music of this region. ... Ultimately, the grassroots effort caught the attention of state lawmakers and then-Gov. Mark Warner, who signed legislation in 2004 dedicating the 333-mile route as Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By LISA ROWAN,
Cardinal News
The New College Institute in Martinsville appears to be starting a mediation process with its estranged philanthropic arm, but the details remain unclear.
In a meeting Wednesday, the state-run higher education center’s executive committee voted to name board vice chair Richard Hall as sole spokesperson for the board in mediation with its foundation.
Adam Kane from the state attorney general’s office attended the meeting, including the closed session that preceded the vote. The office serves as legal counsel for NCI.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By DWAYNE YANCEY,
Cardinal News
One-third of the localities that are rated the best able to pay for their own schools also have more than 50% of their students living in poverty.
That’s a fact, based on data from the Virginia Department of Education.
Now here’s an opinion: That doesn’t seem right.
The culprit here is the Local Composite Index, the funding formula that determines a locality’s ability (or inability) to pay for its own schools — and therefore determines how much the state will pay to make up the difference.
Bath County, Lancaster County and Surry County are among nine localities all scored at .8000 — the highest score possible, meaning they are more able to pay for their schools than anybody else.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By CAITLYN BURCHETT,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
More than half a billion dollars in construction is in the works at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth as the Navy modernizes the historic yard to repair current and future high-tech warships. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, with roots dating back to 1767, is about five years into a modernization process to better support the maintenance of Ford-class aircraft carriers and Ohio-, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines. The modernization will allow the shipyard to get warships battle-ready at a quicker pace, Mark Edelson, program executive officer for industrial infrastructure, told the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance during a meeting last week.
VaNews April 25, 2024
By CHARLIE PAULLIN,
Virginia Mercury
Another attempt to impose tighter regulations on the menhaden fishery in Virginia was defeated Tuesday and interested parties again called for the state to study the menhaden population.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 5-3 to deny a petition from the Chesapeake Legal Alliance that sought to limit the catch of Omega Protein, the lone menhaden reduction fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.
Recreational fishing groups and other supporters of a cap have argued that overfishing menhaden, a tiny, yet nutrient rich fish, is causing the decline of the Bay’s striped bass population.
VaNews April 25, 2024
