Javascript is required to run this page
VaNews

Search


Fariss had meth in his pocket at his arrest, records show

By MARKUS SCHMIDT, Cardinal News

Former Republican lawmaker Matt Fariss had the drug methamphetamine on him when he was arrested in Campbell County late Saturday on charges of possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics and violation of a protective order, his arrest record shows. Fariss was the only occupant in his vehicle when he was stopped by an officer of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office. The officer noted that the former state delegate had a rifle in his car and a “crystal substance that field tested positive for meth in his pocket,” the report said. It does not say how much of the substance was found.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Youngkin to speak at VCU commencement in May

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin will speak at Virginia Commonwealth University’s commencement ceremony on May 11. A number of sitting governors have spoken at VCU graduations, including Terry McAuliffe in 2015, Bob McDonnell in 2011, Tim Kaine in 2008, Mark Warner in 2004, Jim Gilmore in 1999 and George Allen in 1997.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Clarke County’s top prosecutor to become a general district court judge

By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Clarke County's top prosecutor is taking a step up the judicial career ladder. The General Assembly recently appointed Clarke County Commonwealth's Attorney Anne M. Williams to be a general district court judge for the 26th Judicial Circuit of Virginia. Williams will begin serving a six-year term on the bench Aug. 1. A temporary commonwealth's attorney will be appointed in August. That person will serve until a special election is held.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Sandbridge residents oppose wind energy cable landing as Avangrid makes another pitch

By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Avangrid Renewables recently renewed its pitch to the City Council for easements needed to connect its offshore wind project to the grid. But Sandbridge residents who oppose the cable landfall in their neighborhood still have unanswered questions about the proposal. In November, City Manager Patrick Duhaney and Mayor Bobby Dyer told Avangrid officials there wasn’t support for the Sandbridge landing, given the amount of community pushback. But the company is forging on and trying to reopen dialogue with the city.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Hutson: In tumultuous times, women are leading the way

By MARY POPE HUTSON, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

In the wake of the highly publicized resignations of two Ivy League university leaders, the national press posed this resounding question: “Who would want to be a college president in this day and age?” It’s not just the fraught politics, which felled the likes of Harvard's Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania's Liz Magill. It’s the increasingly difficult economics of higher education, especially at a time when the pool of college-age students is shrinking and respect for the value of a college education is diminishing.

Hutson is the 14th president of Sweet Briar College in Amherst.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Prince William school board OKs first-ever teacher union contract

By MEGHAN MANGRUM, Prince William Times

Prince William County Public Schools and its teachers have — finally — come to an agreement. After months at the bargaining table, the Prince William County School Board ratified a three-year contract with the Prince William Education Association in what some board members called a historic moment for the division on March 20. “I am proud that PWCS is one of the first, and largest, school divisions in the state of Virginia to have reached a collective bargaining agreement,” board Chair Dr. Babur Lateef said in a statement.

VaNews March 25, 2024


Former Del. Matt Fariss arrested on firearm, drug charges in Campbell County

By JUSTIN FAULCONER, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Former Del. Matt Fariss, who represented Virginia’s 59th House district for a 12-year stint and left office in January after losing a re-election bid for a redistricted seat, was arrested Sunday on three pending charges in Campbell County and booked into the Amherst County Adult Detention Center, according to online jail records. Fariss, 55, of Rustburg, is charged with one count each of violating a protective order, possessing a Schedule I or II drug with a firearm on his person and possession of a Schedule I or II drug, booking information on the Blue Ridge Regional Jail website shows.

VaNews March 25, 2024


VPAP Visual Legislator-to-Lobbyist: 2024

The Virginia Public Access Project

Twenty former General Assembly members have registered to lobby their former colleagues in the 2023-24 lobbying year so far.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Hanover parent hoped Holy Bible would be a lesson in book ban debate

By SEAN JONES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Bible is full of teachings, and in the wake of the debate over whether certain books should be removed from school libraries, a Hanover parent challenged the Bible’s appropriateness in what she hoped would be a teaching moment. Mari Dyer said she never expected — or wanted — the New International Version of the Bible to be taken off school library shelves but made the move as a challenge and message to the Hanover School Board over its recent swathe of book removals.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Stricter federal air pollution standards likely won’t help Hampton Roads communities plagued by coal dust

By KATHERINE HAFNER, WHRO

Growing up in Norfolk, Malcolm Jones spent a lot of time in the Lambert’s Point neighborhood. While playing basketball and hanging out with friends, he noticed what appeared to be an ever-present sheen of dirt or dust, covering just about everything in sight. Later in life, he learned what it was: coal dust. “The coal dust is very visible on cars, on doors, on houses,” said Jones, now a community activist. “You leave anything outside for a couple of days, and you can see coal dust residue on it.”

VaNews March 26, 2024