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Clean Virginia endorses Spanberger in governor’s race

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


16 candidates qualify for congressional primaries

By STAFF REPORT, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Twelve Democrats and four Republicans have qualified for the ballot for the June 18 10th Congressional District primary elections, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. Early voting for the primaries begins May 3. ... The winner of the November general election will take the seat held since 2019 by Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Leesburg), who is stepping down at the end of her term due to a serious health condition.

VaNews April 16, 2024


Bristol Casino shatters single month revenue record at $16.2M

By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

The Bristol Casino, future home of Hard Rock, reported more than $16.2 million in adjusted gaming revenues in March, its most successful month to date. The Virginia Lottery, which oversees casino gaming in the state, on Monday reported a combined $65 million in gaming revenues from the state’s three casinos, the temporary Bristol Casino, temporary Caesar’s Virginia in Danville and the permanent Rivers Casino in Portsmouth.

VaNews April 16, 2024


‘Panicked rush to gas’ could hike energy costs, report warns regulators

By ROBERT ZULLO, Virginia Mercury

The nation’s largest public power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which serves 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six neighboring states, has put forward plans for eight new natural gas plants since 2020. In South Carolina, Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper are pushing the state legislature to pave the way for a 2,000-megawatt natural gas power plant. Farther north, Dominion also plans new gas generation in Virginia. In its most recent plan filed with state regulators, Georgia Power is looking to add new gas turbines. Likewise, Duke Energy in North Carolina is proposing new gas plants and delaying coal power retirements.

VaNews April 16, 2024


Rotherham: Virginia can invest in schools while holding them accountable

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


Courage needed in gun debate, 17 years after Virginia Tech shooting

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

Solemn ceremonies scheduled for Tuesday will mark the 17th anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech that claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty members. As time passes and memory fades, it’s important to remember those lives, young and old, cruelly stolen from the commonwealth by a troubled young man with access to firearms and a determination to use them. Gun violence remains a crisis in Virginia and the nation, one that demands every tool available and the courage to use them. We should not accept that the thousands of gun deaths each year are required for the preservation of liberty, recognizing that inaction allows the bloodshed to continue.

VaNews April 16, 2024


Virginia NAACP plans to take Youngkin to court over DEI office records

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


Third major Portsmouth felony case dismissed after judge rules prosecutors violated speedy trial rules

By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Murder charges against one of two brothers accused of taking part in a 2017 fatal shooting were thrown out Monday after a judge ruled prosecutors had violated his right to a speedy trial. Judge Brenda Spry issued her ruling at the end of a hearing in Portsmouth Circuit Court, during which attorneys for Alexander Weinschel pointed to repeated lapses in his case over the past six years, including a period of more than two years in which no scheduling or continuance orders were ever filed.

VaNews April 16, 2024


UVa. Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion faces scrutiny after OpenTheBooks Report

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


Convenience stores shut down Virginia Lottery sales in protest for skill games

By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

At Krunal Patel’s convenience store outside Richmond, a row of Queen of Virginia skill games has been powered off and turned around against a wall. On Monday, in response to what he sees as unfair treatment in a state that’s embraced legalized gambling, Patel also turned off the Virginia Lottery machines in his store. He posted signs on his front doors and above the checkout counter explaining the one-day shutdown of lottery sales was a protest against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed changes to a pending Virginia bill that would legalize, tax and regulate skill games instead of leaving them banned as a type of illegal gambling.

VaNews April 16, 2024