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Shadow of Trump looms large in viciously fought GOP primary battle in Virginia’s 5th District
Less than two months before the June 18 primary elections, Rep. Bob Good, R-Campbell County, the incumbent, continues to enjoy the backing of local party leadership, despite ongoing attempts by state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, to make the Republican nomination contest in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District a referendum on which candidate is the most loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump. McGuire alleges that Good is “working against Trump … and against our party” any chance he gets. … But Rick Buchanan, the chairman of the district’s GOP committee, said that he doesn’t believe that even a formal endorsement of McGuire by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — should he offer one — would move the needle much in favor of the ambitious McGuire.
Congress to add flights at Washington National
Key members of Congress announced an agreement Monday on a $105 billion bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years ahead of a May 10 deadline. The 1,000-page bill would raise hiring targets for air traffic control and would codify in law a rule the Biden administration introduced this month requiring airlines to offer refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights, among other consumer-focused provisions. The legislation also would add flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, despite opposition from U.S. senators from Virginia and Maryland who said in a letter Monday the move would hurt safety efforts.
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi files paperwork for Virginia lieutenant governor run
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) has filed paperwork for a run for Virginia lieutenant governor. Sen. Hashmi, a two-term state senator, has not formally announced a campaign for lieutenant governor. But the filing with the state she submitted is a needed step to take political donations and begin campaign work. “Senator Hashmi isn’t offering any comments today, but big news is coming soon,” the senator’s office said in a statement Monday.
Fitch and Jenner: Virginia must prioritize justice for survivors of childhood sex abuse
Last week, a prominent Northern Virginia church, The Falls Church Anglican, released the findings of its investigation into a former director of youth ministries who sexually abused children for more than a decade while serving as the church’s youth director and subsequently as director of adult discipleship. This horrific, years-long abuse by Jeff Taylor highlights the need for change in how Virginia enables survivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice against their abusers and the organizations that turn a blind eye. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse face immense challenges in coming forward and seeking justice.
Faltering weather service infrastructure needs urgent upgrades
Even among natural disasters, only hurricanes can come close to inspiring the terror of a tornado. A powerful funnel cloud can form quickly, move unpredictably and often gives those in the path of destruction only minutes to take shelter. So much depends on the timeliness of warnings from the National Weather Service, whose alerts can be the difference between life and death. But recent outages have shown the fragility of NWS infrastructure, making its improvement a matter of national urgency.
Initiative aims to address child care crisis, workforce shortages in Lynchburg
In Lynchburg, there is a pressing need for affordable child care, with a current shortage of licensed slots impacting the workforce. The United Way of Central Virginia (UWCV) is launching an initiative to tackle workforce and child care issues in the Greater Lynchburg area. Inspired by a successful project in Southwest Virginia, UWCV plans to establish the Childcare and Workforce Development Center.
As internet data centers multiply, efforts to control them are growing
A backlash against internet data centers has triggered a wave of laws around the country to restrain the rapidly growing industry that uses massive amounts of energy to make cloud computing and smart technology possible. In Northern Virginia, home to the world’s largest concentration of data center buildings, Prince William County last week increased its tax rate on the equipment inside data centers by 72 percent, a response in part to complaints about too many of the football-field-sized facilities being built there. Neighboring Loudoun County — which is home to most of the data centers in Northern Virginia — is moving to keep the buildings away from homes and some commercial corridors, in part by making all data center projects subject to the county board’s review instead of allowing them as a “by right” development in certain areas.
Virginia Beach council to vote on collective bargaining for employees
Allowing city employees to negotiate over their wages and benefits will be up for a vote by the City Council Tuesday. The council will be presented with two options, at the request of the mayor: To allow collective bargaining or to allow a “meet and confer” process whereby employee committees will be able to regularly share concerns with the city manager. If the council approves collective bargaining, city staff will negotiate with city workers’ unions to draft a new law, which could take months, according to City Attorney Mark Stiles.
Richmond School Board violating state agreement on professional training
The Richmond School Board is out of compliance with part of its agreement with the state and could lose some state funding if board members do not come together to meet its contractual obligations to attend annual training. The agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, is in place because of the district’s troubled schools. State Superintendent Lisa Coons sent a letter to the Richmond School Board on Wednesday to notify its members of their requirement to fulfill annual professional development and training requirements.
Richmond attempts to throw out $250K FOIA whistleblower lawsuit
The city of Richmond filed a motion in Circuit Court on Friday challenging a $250,000 whistleblower complaint that alleges the city withheld public information and unlawfully fired an employee to cover it up. Connie Clay, the city’s former Freedom of Information Act officer, filed the 17-page complaint on March 1. In it, Clay alleges she was unlawfully terminated by Petula Burks, the city’s strategic communications and civic engagement officer, on Jan. 19 for “refusing to engage in illegal and unethical activities in violation of FOIA.”