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More than 3,500 tickets issued with Winchester school zone cameras

By C. MAX BACHMANN, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Recently implemented cameras issued 3,553 speeding citations to drivers in Winchester school zones between Feb. 26 and April 16, according to the Winchester Police Department. The cameras were installed in the school zones of John Kerr Elementary School, James Wood Middle School and Daniel Morgan Middle School.

VaNews April 26, 2024


Hampton, Newport News take aim at climate change and wealth inequality

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

With help from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hampton and Newport News are embarking on an ambitious strategy to use newly available federal funds to tackle the related problems of climate change and wealth inequality. The neighboring Peninsula communities are the only two in Virginia among 25 cities nationwide selected for the $200 million Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative. The initiative, to last three years, aims to help cities make the most of federal funds to develop projects that combat climate change, increase resilience and improve economic conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods ...

VaNews April 26, 2024


Zaccardelli: Troops-to-Teachers would address educator shortage

By ALEXANDER ZACCARDELLI, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia is facing a worsening teacher shortage. However, the focus on pure numbers has directed attention away from another problem: a shortage of diverse teachers. Troops-to-Teachers (TTT), a program that helps veterans obtain teaching licenses, offers solutions to both crises, bringing demographic and life experience diversity into our classrooms.

Zaccardelli is an elementary education undergraduate at William & Mary and an ALL-IN tutor at J. Blaine Blayton Elementary in Williamsburg.

VaNews April 26, 2024


Rozell: For Democrats, ‘saving democracy’ is no silver bullet

By MARK J. ROZELL, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A drumbeat among many Democrats is to galvanize persuadable voters in a righteous movement to “save democracy” from a Republican Party now wholly ruled by former president Donald Trump. It’s an appeal to the founding tenet of our nation and one that has resonance for many voters, especially in light of the violent assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Rozell is the dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University where he holds the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel Chair in Public Policy.

VaNews April 26, 2024


States, Including Virginia, Take On China in the Name of National Security

By JAMES T. AREDDY, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

States have a new adversary: China. From Florida to Indiana and Montana, an expanding array of local proposals, bills, laws and regulations aim to block Chinese individuals and companies from acquiring land, winning contracts, working on research, setting up factories and otherwise participating in the U.S. economy. State officials, overriding traditional local interests such as drawing investment and creating jobs, say they are acting where Congress hasn’t to address grassroots American distrust of the Chinese Communist Party. … “There is a real responsibility on behalf of governors and state legislatures to look out for the safety and protection of our citizens,” said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ...

VaNews April 26, 2024


General Assembly updates relationships with federal Virginia Indian tribes

By JAHD KHALIL, VPM News

Two bills passed by the General Assembly this year will affect the commonwealth’s relationship with Native American tribes, after yearslong policy delays. As a result of the legislation, Virginia will consult with federally-recognized tribes on projects with environmental, cultural or historical impact, after the General Assembly accepted amendments from Gov. Glenn Youngkin on legislation. State lawmakers will also have more time to explore how to update Virginia law in light of federal recognition.

VaNews April 26, 2024


Friday Read Centuries-old bottles of cherries unearthed at George Washington’s home

By MICHAEL E. RUANE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Archaeologist Nick Beard was gently pushing aside the hardened dirt in the basement of George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, Va., last fall when he spotted the mouth of a glass bottle. Beard worked his trowel a little more and the neck of the bottle emerged. Not that unusual, he thought. Archaeologists find lots of bottle fragments. But as he dug, more of the object appeared. “It kept [getting] larger and larger,” he said.

VaNews April 26, 2024


More lab schools approved, but not without some controversy

By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM

Governor Glenn Youngkin is still looking to spend $100 million on new lab schools across Virginia, and a handful of applications were approved Thursday. But there were concerns about the viability of at least one of the programs. Lab schools were authorized by the legislature in 2022. They aim to partner with colleges to provide real world experience to students so they can enter the job field more quickly upon graduation. And while the spirit of the program is supported by many, the funding— directly from the state and given to public and private colleges— has been a source of budget fights.

VaNews April 26, 2024


Patel: I voted for Youngkin. Now he has turned his back on my business.

By DHARMENDRA PATEL, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As one of the leaders of the Asian American Business Owners Association (AABOA), I know firsthand how skill games have not only benefited Virginia small businesses but also helped them survive the onslaught of COVID, skyrocketing inflation, and higher-than-expected wages. AABOA represents more than 300 convenience stores, gas stations, and restaurants in Southwest Virginia. The survival of many of our locations depended on supplemental income from skill games before they were abruptly banned in October.

Patel lives in Salem.

VaNews April 26, 2024


Port of Virginia still expects traffic despite Baltimore port partially reopening after bridge collapse

By ERIKA CRAVEN, WTKR-TV

Roughly one month after a container ship hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the first vessels passed through the Baltimore port after a temporary deep channel opened. The collapse had a ripple effect in Hampton Roads as ports, including the Port of Virginia, absorbed the Baltimore traffic. Even with Baltimore’s port partially reopened, Virginia will still see additional traffic. Our port is expected to get 18,000 to 20,000 containers of cargo from Baltimore this month.

VaNews April 26, 2024