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Roanoke Council Told That Assistant City Manager Verbally Attacked, Physically Threatened Employee, Emails Show
A city budget analyst told Roanoke City Council members last month that after a March 6 meeting, then-Assistant City Manager Brent Robertson “began verbally attacking” and “physically threatening” her so severely that she decided to quit. “In all my professional career, I have never been so brutally attacked,” the employee wrote, according to a copy of the April 5 email released to The Rambler in response to a public records request.
UVa allows protesters to remain in ‘liberated zone’ so long as it doesn’t become an encampment
A student-led protest demanding the University of Virginia divest from the state of Israel originally planned for Wednesday got off to an early start Tuesday afternoon. University officials say the nearly 100 protesters gathered on Grounds will be allowed to stay so long as they do not erect tents, as have been seen at other campus protests nationwide. And those protesters — a crowd including students, faculty and Charlottesville community members — were complying even as a light rain began to fall late Tuesday night.
Labor union says it’s filing FOIA suit over secretive Petersburg casino process
A hospitality workers’ union trying to ensure Petersburg picks a labor-friendly developer for its planned casino says it will sue the city over alleged transparency violations after the City Council appeared to make major decisions on the casino project behind closed doors. Unite Here, a union that represents casino workers across the country, announced Tuesday that it will file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Petersburg City Council over its surprise decision to cancel a competitive bidding process and give the casino project to The Cordish Companies, a development company based in Baltimore.
State funding for Norfolk’s flood wall could fall short
Norfolk’s plan to build a flood wall downtown to block damage from catastrophic storms could fall short by $48.8 million in state funds in the next fiscal year, according to changes to the proposed city budget. The city’s fiscal 2025 budget plan includes $25 million allocated to the Coastal Storm Risk Management project, less than anticipated because of a likely reduction in state funding. City officials said that will not affect the immediate next phase of the project, but it could change how the city allocates money to the flood mitigation project later on.
Advocates worry Virginia struggles to provide medications to ailing prison inmates
The Virginia Department of Corrections recently launched a tip line where people could call to report suspected delivery or sale of contraband behind bars. In making the announcement, Department Director Chad Dotson said the safety of employees and inmates was his top priority. But advocates say there’s another drug problem in prisons— a failure to provide prescription drugs inmates need. A recent study published by the American Medical Association found people with common chronic diseases were less likely to get prescription drugs for their condition if they were in prison or jail.
U.S. Postal Service’s DeJoy admits rollout of Virginia regional distribution center was a ‘disaster’
Following months of complaints about slow or missing mail, Virginia lawmakers are finally hearing directly from the man in charge of the U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D - Virginia) and Mark Warner (D - Virginia), as well as U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan (D - Richmond), met with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who agreed that the USPS’s rollout of the Regional Processing and Distribution Center was a “disaster.”
Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority to sell 148-acre property for $6.2 million
The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority found a buyer to take its 148-acre property for $6.2 million. The EDA board of directors voted at its meeting on Friday to approve a motion to enter into a contract with Plein Smith for three, undeveloped plots totaling 148 acres on Progress Drive in the Happy Creek Technology Park. Plein Smith has agreed to buy the plots for $6,260,000 per the contract. ... The sale of the property helps the EDA pay down its multi-million-dollar debt incurred under a previous executive director, Jennifer McDonald ...