Search
By SUSAN CAMERON,
Cardinal News
Changes made by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to bills that would allow two electric utilities to seek approval to charge customers for early development costs for small modular nuclear reactors were approved Wednesday by the House of Delegates and Senate.
The governor’s amendments to HB 1491, which apply only to Appalachian Power, were approved by the House in a 64-34 vote with one abstention, while the vote in the Senate was 26-14.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
After years of trying — on both sides of the aisle — lawmakers will have to try again to give localities the option to levy local sales taxes to fund school construction.
An effort to overturn Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of the proposal failed during the reconvened session on Wednesday.
But lawmakers backed a Youngkin amendment that will enable Petersburg residents to vote this year on whether to build a casino resort.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By BEN PETERS,
Inside NOVA
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors appears likely to raise taxes on data centers in hopes of making good on the promise that data center revenue will help to offset the county’s residential tax burden.
In a related move, the board unanimously agreed to cut next year’s real estate tax rate to 92 cents per $100 in assessed value. At that rate, the average tax bill will be about $26 more than the current year, according to county officials.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By JANET ROACH,
WVEC-TV
Vernell Woods is one of the latest Portsmouth city officials to be let go. He worked as deputy city manager for seven months and was fired by interim city manager, Dr. Lydia Pettis-Patton.
“I really thought I was coming to Portsmouth to improve it, “ Woods said.
With more than 30 years of city government experience, he reluctantly left a city job in Newport News after being encouraged by then-Portsmouth interim city manager Mimi Terry to take the leap.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By KATIE KING,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
After months of heated budget negotiations, the legislature’s Democratic majority and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin have agreed it’s best to scrap the current proposals and start from scratch.
“We’ve got work to do,” said Youngkin, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the Capitol. “We will be calling a special session — we believe this is a good path forward for the commonwealth.”
The governor said legislators will return May 13 to review the newly crafted two-year budget plan and vote May 15. The state’s fiscal year starts July 1.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By ROBYN SIDERSKY,
Virginia Business
Mary, the tunnel boring machine that has been paving the way for the expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, hit a milestone Wednesday when she finished the first of twin tunnels that are part of the bridge-tunnel’s expansion.
Launched from the HRBT’s South Island a year ago, the $70 million custom-built tunnel boring machine has been busy
VaNews April 18, 2024
By GAVIN STONE,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project reached another milestone Wednesday as Mary, the affectionate name for the massive tunnel boring machine doing much of the heavy lifting, broke through onto the North Island, marking roughly the halfway point of her journey.
Mary will now have to be turned around to dig back toward Norfolk to create the second tunnel of what will be two new eastbound lanes on I-64, a process expected to take about five months. Once that’s complete, the Virginia Department of Transportation aims to make the return trip in about 11 months, slightly faster than the 51 weeks on the first tunnel. VDOT hopes to use the lessons from the first tunnel to expedite the second, according to Ryan Banas, VDOT project director.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By MATTHEW DALY AND LEAH WILLINGHAM,
Associated Press
Coal miners will be better protected from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease, the Labor Department said Tuesday as it issued a new federal rule on miners’ safety.
The final rule, announced by Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, cuts by half the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By BRAD KUTNER,
WVTF-FM
Virginia’s legislature returns to Richmond Wednesday to review Governor Glenn Youngkin’s vetoes and amendments. While tension remains high, at least one bill with strong bipartisan support could see Youngkin rebuked.
The last Virginia governor to have a veto overridden was Bob McDonnell in 2011. McDonnell said a bill increasing payouts for medical malpractice cases would hurt businesses. Legislators disagreed and after a 2/3rds vote in both chambers, the law is still increasing maximum payouts in the Commonwealth to this day.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JESSICA BLAKE,
Inside Higher Ed
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill last week that would have allowed the governing board of each public college or university to hire its own legal counsel, underscoring his stance on who should be in charge of the state’s higher education institutions.
The legislation, introduced by a Democrat in January, appeared designed to counter an opinion submitted by state attorney general Jason Miyares last year that said that higher education boards have “a primary duty” to prioritize serving the state over their individual institutions.
VaNews April 17, 2024
