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Former EDA director contests $5 million fine sought by U.S.
Former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer McDonald says the government can’t make her forfeit $5.2 million as punishment for her crimes related to her former employer. A federal grand jury indicted McDonald in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in late August 2021 on 34 counts including money laundering, wire and bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. A federal jury found McDonald guilty of all 34 counts against her at the end of a weeks-long trial on Nov. 1.
Steel tubes ready for start of Virginia Beach offshore wind farm construction
The first batch of the enormous metal structures used as wind turbine bases in Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm will soon be headed on a boat to the construction site off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia Port Authority officials said Tuesday. Six monopiles — steel tubes almost as long as a football field — are ready to be loaded onto the Orion vessel to be installed at the wind farm site, Virginia Port Authority Chief Development and Public Affairs Officer Cathie Vick told the port’s board of directors during an April 30 meeting.
McElwain: As other states ban abortion, Va. remains a beacon of hope
In a small town in Florida, a half-day drive from Richmond, a woman takes a pregnancy test after realizing her period is a couple of weeks late. If she goes into her nearest Planned Parenthood in Tallahassee to seek an abortion, she may be too late now that Florida’s six-week abortion ban has taken effect. Even if she makes it into the health center prior to the cutoff, she will have to come back again at least 24 hours later due to Florida’s mandatory waiting period. As Florida’s near-total ban on abortion takes effect, our hearts go out to all impacted. In these troubling times, I want to assure those seeking care: Virginia is here for you.
Drakes: School nurses could be the cure to chronic absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism in K-12 schools is at an all-time high in Virginia as the public education system continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chronic absenteeism is defined as students who miss more than 18 days of school, and this number has doubled across the commonwealth since 2019. The Virginia Department of Education has launched a campaign in response to this issue, as gaps in learning have been revealed by the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores.
Scrap over expanded flights at Reagan National bedevils big aviation bill
This week’s vote on a major aviation bill is reigniting one of the Capitol’s most parochial recurring feuds — a spat over how many flights can take off and land at Congress’ favorite airport. Once again, the senators who represent Virginia and Maryland appear outgunned. The D.C.-area lawmakers are waging a last-ditch fight nonetheless to try to keep Congress from approving additional flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Their arguments include the contention that the extra flights would compromise safety — although the Federal Aviation Administration has said the agency will ensure safety isn’t harmed.
Youngkin’s biggest legacy in Virginia could be his impact on education—for better or worse
With a new sports arena dead in the water and a legislature controlled by political opponents, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s largest impact on the state after he leaves office could be in the education space. Youngkin was clear about his education priorities on the campaign trail back in 2021. “We watched parents all over the commonwealth stand up and try to defend their children, get our schools open, make sure materials are appropriate in the classroom,” then-candidate Youngkin said on the campaign trial. Now, two and a half years later, Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said the governor has delivered on those promises.
Maryland, Virginia senators blast move to add long-distance flights at Reagan airport
A quartet of senators from the greater Washington area tore into a potential provision that would add a number of long-distance flight slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as part of the upcoming reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) panned the plan released by congressional negotiators early Monday that would add 10 slots at National Airport, or five round-trip flights, arguing the airport is already bursting at the seams.
Amazon’s footprint in Hampton Roads grows
In the past year, Amazon.com continued its march across the commonwealth, announcing plans to build a 650,000-square-foot fulfillment center and a 219,000-square-foot delivery station in Virginia Beach, which are collectively expected to produce more than 1,000 jobs. About 60% the size of the Pentagon, Virginia’s second largest building belongs to Amazon — a 3.8 million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk ...
Virginia casinos attract promised out-of-state visitors
In 2019, a state study forecast that if the General Assembly allowed five casinos to operate in five economically disadvantaged Virginia cities — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — that one-third of the revenue generated would stem from out-of-state visitors. In other words, if you build it, casino backers sang out to the commonwealth’s legislators, they will come.
More Americans are working past 65 than ever before. Is it the new normal?
As a registered nurse unit coordinator and charge nurse at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Andrea Samuel spends her days communicating with doctors and nurses in addition to administering direct bedside care. A Miami native, Samuel entered nursing school at age 19 and has worked for Sentara since 1991. She celebrated her 78th birthday in March and has no plans to slow down.