Search
Report warns of deep hit to Virginia’s economy, citing federal government cuts
One in seven jobs in Virginia is directly or indirectly linked to the federal government. Cuts to the federal workforce and government spending will mean a significant hit to Virginia’s economy this year, according a new economic forecast. The University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service forecasts Virginia will lose 32,000 jobs this year because of federal government cuts, economic output will slow and the unemployment rate will rise to 3.9% this year and as high as 4.7% in 2026. Virginia’s current unemployment rate is 3.2%.
Yancey: Rural communities are keeping Va. from becoming an exporter of people. That’s where population growth is.
Virginia lies over top of an earthquake zone, something we’re occasionally reminded of. Some of us felt the 2011 earthquake near Mineral in Louisa County that shook even the Washington Monument and damaged two schools in Louisa so severely they were closed for the rest of the school year. Others felt the much smaller earthquake that originated near Dillwyn in Buckingham County. The strongest Virginia quake in recorded times was in 1897 near Narrows in Giles County; that tremor brought down chimneys as far away as Bedford County and damaged others from Lexington down into North Carolina. We are now living through another seismic event, except this one doesn’t involve geology; it involves demography.
Parastaran: Recovery schools can help teens battling addiction
In 2023, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s annual survey on drug use and health estimated that 2.2 million adolescents aged 12-17 — about 8.5% of this age group — had a substance use disorder. Yet, a staggering 1.8 million received no treatment. Do the math and you’ll find a concerning picture for education: In an average classroom of 30 students, two are likely struggling with an unaddressed addiction. And the future of those students all-too-often includes a spiral leading to academic failures, dropouts and juvenile delinquency. Fortunately, there are initiatives to break this cycle.
Virginia signals it’s ready to explore geothermal energy with new legislation
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is working with Democrats who control the General Assembly to increase renewable energy. It's the hottest new energy source, literally. Geothermal energy is created by boring deep into the ground to release heat from the earth's crust. And now Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin [signed] a bill that would add geothermal energy to Virginia's renewable energy portfolio standards – essentially encouraging geothermal energy production in Virginia. The bill was introduced by Senator Jeremy McPike, a Democrat from Prince William County.
Virginia state lawmakers briefed on potential impacts of federal Medicaid cuts
A bipartisan group of Virginia delegates were briefed Monday on the impact Medicaid cuts could have across the state and local communities. The meeting, the third for the Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions, was held one day after congress unveiled legislation that targeted $880 billion in cuts centered around Medicaid. Currently, there are 1.9 million Virginians enrolled in Medicaid across its Base, FAMIS and Expansion programs.
Transco plans another natural gas pipeline project for Va.
The natural gas pipeline developer The Williams Companies plans another pipeline expansion in Virginia, this time to run from Pittsylvania County to parts north. The Transco Power Express would supply markets north of the Transco compressor station in Chatham with up to 950 million cubic feet of gas daily, serving “the power-hungry Virginia market,” Williams’ President and CEO Alan Armstrong said last week on a quarterly earnings call.
Tariff deal with China doesn’t end uncertainty in Virginia
What does the owner of a beloved Richmond toy store do when almost all of the merchandise it sells ultimately comes from China? For Thea Brown, owner of World of Mirth in Carytown, all she could do was pay the $1,200 tariff imposed on the $5,000 cost of the merchandise she had ordered. “For no reason,” she said. But there was a reason: the trade war that President Donald Trump launched soon after taking office on Jan. 20 that has affected imported goods from almost all of the United States’ trading partners, especially China.
Rep. Vindman, state lawmakers decry federal environmental rollbacks at Prince William Forest Park event
Elected leaders representing Prince William County and nearby areas joined U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman during a Friday news conference denouncing the Trump administration’s approach to environmental policy outside the Prince William Forest Park Visitor Center.
Va. teacher salaries increase, but there is much left to do
Virginia’s leaders don’t strive for a middling commitment to economic development, transportation, law enforcement or any other government responsibility that shapes the state’s quality of life. But the middle is precisely where the commonwealth lands in a new national ranking of teacher salaries — signaling a need to expand major initiatives in recent years to boost classroom pay. Average teacher salaries in Virginia increased 5.1% in 2023-24 and 3% in 2024-25, but the average pay in the state last year — $66,327 — still ranks 26th in the nation ...
Martinsville administration defends city bank card charges
A city council meeting last week has resulted in the disclosure of bank card expenses from city officials showing thousands of dollars in travel, hotel stays, food, and conferences, including trips to Las Vegas and luxury resorts. Bank card statements, downloaded by the Martinsville Bulletin from a publicly available folder on the city of Martinsville’s OneDrive SharePoint server, contain redacted monthly statements from Bank of America from January 2024 through March of this year. City Councilman Aaron Rawls requested the statements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and shared them with the Bulletin.