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By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Virginia’s chapter of the NAACP plans to take Gov. Glenn Youngkin to court over an alleged failure to respond to public records requests. The chapter’s president, the Rev. Cozy Bailey, said at a news conference outside the state Capitol on Monday that Youngkin was being served legal action that day. The pending legal back-and-forth stems from an initial August public records request by the NAACP to determine if the administration has been complying with state law regarding DEI work.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By ANDREW ROTHERHAM,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
It’s a question that keeps coming up: Does Virginia need to invest more in its schools? Or, does Virginia need a school accountability system that’s more transparent, honest and responsive to parents? The answer is: Yes. Somehow these two commonsense ideas for improving Virginia's schools continue to be pitted against each other when we have an opportunity to address both.
Rotherham is a member of the Virginia Board of Education. He is a cofounder and partner at Bellwether, a national not for profit consulting organization focused on underserved students.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By BEN PETERS,
Inside NOVA
Election season is getting underway in Prince William County and across the region, with two crowded and competitive races to replace outgoing members of Congress in both the 7th and 10th districts.
In the 7th District, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, is stepping down to run for Virginia governor in 2025. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, also a Democrat, is stepping down in the 10th District due to health issues. Those are considered the two most competitive congressional races in Virginia in 2024, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JASON ARMESTO,
Daily Progress
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Days before the University of Virginia announced its controversial decision to withhold an independent review of the deadly 2022 mass shooting on Grounds, UVa’s police chief sent an urgent email to the Albemarle County commonwealth’s attorney. “I apologize for the last minute and fairly urgent request,” Police Chief Tim Longo wrote to Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley. ... “Fairly urgent and at President Ryan’s respectful request,” he wrote, referring to the school’s President Jim Ryan. The messages sent on Nov. 14 of last year were obtained by The Daily Progress via a Freedom of Information Act request.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DAVE RESS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The ship Dominion Energy needs to install 176 giant wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, 27 miles off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, has been launched, as the utility has won its 11th and final federal permit for the $9 billion project. The ship, called Charybdis, is a U.S. flag vessel. That means Dominion can stage all of the components for the more than 800-foot-tall turbines in Virginia port facilities ... The 472-foot Charybdis’ home port will be Hampton Roads, and it will have an American crew.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By RYAN NADEAU,
WRIC-TV
The Virginia NAACP has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) for allegedly failing to produce records in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 2023.
According to a press release from the organization, the lawsuit alleges that Youngkin’s administration failed to produce records regarding its Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
The records sought reportedly relate to the administration’s “active subversion” of its responsibilities under the 2020 law relating to that office.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By SAMANTHA WILLIS,
published in
Daily Progress
(Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently took action on a flurry of Virginia legislators’ measures related to reproductive health, mostly blocking bills designed to preserve the public’s access to abortions and birth control as these same issues roil national debates and as other states pass laws that restrict women’s bodily autonomy and roll back decades of abortion protections.
First, a surprising signoff: Youngkin, a Republican, signed a bill from Democratic Del. Vivian Watts of Fairfax that prevents electronic menstrual data — often collected in period-tracking digital apps — from being subject to search warrants, subpoenas or court orders.
Willis, a writer and journalist whose experience in digital, print and broadcast media spans 12 years, is editor-in-chief of the Virginia Mercury.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By MICHAEL MARTZ,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, collected a big endorsement for her 2025 campaign for governor on Monday from Clean Virginia, a deep-pocketed advocacy organization in Charlottesville that played a prominent role in legislative elections last fall that gave Democrats majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. The Clean Virginia Fund, the organization’s political action committee, also pledged “an initial contribution” of $250,000 to Spanberger, who is running for the Democratic nomination against Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. No Republican candidates have jumped into the race yet ...
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JACKIE BOND,
Cavalier Daily
The University’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is facing scrutiny from two online news publications after OpenTheBooks — a nonprofit organization dedicated to government transparency — reported that the University currently has 235 DEI-related employees, totaling $20 million in University spending. The University contests this report, claiming that these numbers are highly inflated.
The University’s DEI office provides several resources and programs, including the Equity Center, which works to redress racial and economic inequalities, the Diversity Council, where elected representatives discuss strategies for making the University a more welcoming environment, and resource groups for Black, LatinX and veteran employees to help recruit, mentor and support staff members in each of these identity categories.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DANIEL EGITTO,
ArlNow
In the wake of a recent veto of a Virginia recreational marijuana bill, proponents are still holding out hope for future change — but not for at least a couple years.
At an Arlington Committee of 100 meeting last week, State Sens. Adam Ebbin and Aaron Rouse said the chances of the Virginia General Assembly overriding Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision earlier this month are slim to none.
Legislation to legalize retail sale of cannabis passed the state House and Senate on thin margins before getting the ax from the governor, who cited public health concerns.
VaNews April 16, 2024
