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VCU suspends fraternity for hazing, sorority for selling pills
A Virginia Commonwealth University fraternity has been suspended two years for hazing, and a sorority has received a four-year punishment for using its group forum to buy and sell prescription pills. Two other student groups received interim suspensions after allegations of hazing were made against the fraternities. These represent the latest reports of misconduct among student groups, which universities are now required to publish.
Roanoke city staff emails allege hostile work environment
Emails from city staff to the Roanoke City Council decry a hostile work environment, and City Manager Bob Cowell clarified that an assistant city manager he reassigned was demoted. Following a three-hour closed-door meeting in April, the city council approved Cowell’s appointment of an assistant city manager to replace Brent Robertson. ... a series of emails, obtained via a freedom of information request and first reported on by The Roanoke Rambler, details a previously unmentioned series of events leading to Robertson’s reassignment.
Williams: The backlash to antiracism is nothing new
America’s historical backlash against antiracism can be likened to a human body rejecting a transplanted heart. Antiracism in America remains a foreign object, given the pervasive and systemic racism so foundational at the nation’s birth. Racism is the American default, which is why attempts to cure it seldom take hold. “It’s happened repeatedly throughout American history,” says University of Virginia historian Kevin Gaines.
Fewer Virginia kids are overdosing on cannabis products following new law
The number of children and teens in Virginia going to the emergency room for cannabis-related sickness has declined, following a law passed last year that regulates the sale of THC in commercial hemp products or extracts. An analysis from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association determined the number of cannabis-related pediatric ER visits dropped 14% between the second half of 2022 and the second half of 2023. The decline is a sign the new law is working, said Ryan McKinnon, a spokesperson for a group called Virginians for Cannabis Safety.
Loudoun Co. proposes 16 delayed-start days next year to allow teachers to meet state training requirements
Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia is considering adding 16 delayed-start days to the calendar for the 2024-25 school year, as part of a plan to give teachers more time to complete critical trainings. The proposal, which Superintendent Aaron Spence presented to the school board Tuesday night, is the result of new standards covering several subject areas getting implemented at the same time. Under the plan, the school district would have teachers start their days at the regular time, but students would arrive two hours late. That would happen roughly two days per month, Spence said.
Yancey: 5 questions about the 5th District
Five weeks from today, we’ll be talking about who won the 5th District Republican primary between U.S. Rep. Bob Good and challenger state Sen. John McGuire — and why. Today, we’ll pose five questions, the answers to which we don’t know right now, but which will help determine the winner in the June 18 primary. So let’s go! 1. Who benefits most from a high turnout? Here are the facts we start with: Good has never had to run in a primary before. When he won the nomination in 2020 by defeating incumbent Denver Riggleman, he won it in a convention where 2,375 people were registered. When he was renominated in 2022 over challenger Daniel Moy, he did so in a convention where 1,795 votes were cast.
Loudoun Groups Oppose School Safety Panel’s Recommendations, Call for New Panel
After the release of 11 recommendations from a Blue Ribbon Panel that looked into safety and security in Loudoun County Public Schools, several groups in the county are calling on school leaders to reject the panel’s findings and reconvene a new review group with more diverse community voices. ... The panel was charged with assessing safety processes and protocols in schools and came up with 11 recommendations to enhance security. ... The statement pointed to a heavy law enforcement presence on the panel ...
Will Youngkin appoint a DEI director, as the state budget directs?
After signing a new state spending plan on Monday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin must appoint a director for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by July 1 or risk losing money for the office, whose title he renamed by replacing “equity” with “opportunity,” a move which Democrats criticized as contrary to state code. “If the governor is not going to follow the laws, then there are consequences for it,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. “Sometimes following a law you don’t agree with is uncomfortable, but when you raise your right hand and swear to God that you are going to follow the laws of the of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, it was my understanding he took that stuff pretty seriously, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case if he doesn’t agree with the law.”
Virginia lawmakers to study campus safety policies after series of protests
The Virginia House of Delegates has formed a select committee on maintaining campus safety and allowing students to exercise their First Amendment rights, after more than 125 arrests at four of Virginia’s college campuses. According to Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, the Senate will announce its plans to form a similar committee on Tuesday. “I’ve heard very different scenarios from those who were on the ground and in encampments either as students or as community members that were part of those protests,” Hashmi said. “I think it’s important to get a very clear picture of what’s happened.”
600-acre data center project in Henrico up for deciding vote
Two years after a previous rezoning attempt by another group fizzled out, local development firm Hourigan is one vote away from securing approval for a massive industrial development in Varina that’s planned to include multiple data centers. Henrico supervisors are slated to vote tonight on Hourigan’s request to rezone 622 acres southeast of the Interstate 64-295 interchange from agricultural use to the county’s Light Industrial district. The change would allow more than half of the largely wooded site to be developed for manufacturing, office and production uses, including advanced manufacturing and data centers.