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By MICHAEL MARTZ AND DAVE RESS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and General Assembly leaders are starting with a clean slate in an effort to reach a new state budget, avoid a potential government shutdown and buy time to determine how much new revenue they will have to spend over the next two years.
Youngkin and assembly leaders of both parties gathered in the state Capitol around Houdon’s statue of George Washington on Wednesday afternoon to declare a working truce in their ongoing battle over taxes and spending. They have been at odds over the $188 billion two-year budget that the Democratic-controlled legislature adopted last month and the Republican governor tried unsuccessfully to amend this week.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By NATHANIEL CLINE AND CHARLIE PAULLIN,
Virginia Mercury
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers have agreed to work together on the biennium budget, after clashing for weeks over two distinctly different spending plans.
A special session will be held on May 13, Youngkin and lawmakers in both chambers announced Wednesday, to consider the revamped budget and prevent a shutdown ahead of July 1, when the current budget expires.
On Wednesday, the House of Delegates voted to reject all 233 of the governor’s amendments to the budget, and agreed to seek a new budget to present to the legislature May 13, with voting on it expected May 15. They also took up the governor’s other bill amendments and 153 vetoes.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By DWAYNE YANCEY,
Cardinal News
Winston Churchill once said: “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”
That quote comes to mind after Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly defied all expectations and came to an agreement Wednesday on the state budget.
To be sure, there isn’t a budget yet — but neither is there a dramatic confrontation looming between the two branches of government, with the state’s prized AAA bond rating hanging in the balance.
The Democratic legislature did not reject the governor’s 233 budget amendments and send the original spending plan back to him with a dare: Sign it or veto it.
Instead, Democrats and Republicans agreed to work together on a revised budget ...
VaNews April 18, 2024
By THOMAS BAXTER,
Cavalier Daily
The Jewish Leadership Advisory Board, an elected organization of Jewish student leaders, criticized the (UVa.) Board of Visitors for politicizing the experiences of Jewish students at the University in an April 3 letter acquired by The Cavalier Daily. The letter came after the March 1 meeting of the Board of Visitors, where Bert Ellis, Board member and College and Darden alumnus, criticized the University and Rector Robert Hardie for their responses to allegations of rising antisemitism on Grounds.
JLAB is composed of students elected to govern the Hillel Jewish Leadership Council.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By MADISON MOORE,
WRIC-TV
Dozens of Powhatan County residents, teachers and parents showed up to yet another packed Powhatan County School Board meeting Tuesday night, with many voicing their frustrations about the alleged ongoing racial discrimination taking place in the school district.
The public outcry comes in response to a series of recent incidents, including a racist death threat scrawled on a Powhatan High School student’s arm that went viral on social media in February.
“There is a wildfire raging in Powhatan schools and you [Powhatan School Board] are allowing it to escalate,” said a Powhatan resident at the meeting.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By JUSTIN WM. MOYER,
Washington Post
(Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Montgomery County officials said Wednesday that they hope to reopen White’s Ferry — a centuries-old service between Maryland and Virginia that was shut down in 2020 amid a legal dispute — after the owner this week offered to donate it to the county.
Chuck Kuhn, chief executive of JK Moving Services, and his wife Stacy Kuhn — who purchased the ferry in 2021 — said in a statement Tuesday that they are offering to donate the ferry to Montgomery County “contingent on Montgomery and Loudoun counties working together to find a solution to gain access to the Virginia shoreline and reopen the ferry in a timely manner.”
At a news conference Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said it could take a year to get it reopened.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By BRENDA POGGENDORF AND JASON FERGUSON,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Virginia’s college-bound high school seniors and families each spring decide which college or university to call home for the next four years. Typically, students choose between in-state or out-of-state and whether to attend a large public university or a small nonprofit private college. While this selection process is complex enough for a high school senior, in 2024 prospective students and families are also experiencing new concerns about affordability brought on by complications from the latest, so-called “better FAFSA,” which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The admissions process naturally combines excitement with anxiety and even some celebration or disappointment, but the federal government should not make it more difficult.
Poggendorf is vice president for enrollment management at Randolph-Macon College. Ferguson is dean of admissions at Longwood University.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By HENRI GENDREAU,
Roanoke Rambler
Roanoke Assistant City Manager Brent Robertson has been demoted and city officials are staying tight-lipped about the circumstances.
Robertson, who also served as finance director, was stripped of his titles just as city leaders are finalizing a $379-million budget that went before City Council on Monday.
City Manager Bob Cowell appointed Chris Chittum, a longtime employee who leads the planning department, as acting assistant city manager.
Council approved that decision late Monday — but not before tabling the motion and returning after a three-hour closed door session to approve the measure unanimously.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By TIM HENDERSON,
Stateline
Juan Ramirez, watching his dog play in Chandon Park here in suburban Virginia on a Saturday morning, tries to imagine the massive office buildings next to the park becoming apartments and townhouses.
“I guess it’s inevitable. People don’t use offices as much now. I hope it’s affordable. Maybe it’ll bring more young people to town, more taxes for parks,” said Ramirez, 38, who grew up in the area and returned recently to take a restaurant management job after living in Minnesota and Ohio.
Cities and suburbs around the country are struggling with vacant office space as remote work becomes an established post-pandemic reality.
VaNews April 18, 2024
By KATE ANDREWS,
Virginia Business
Petersburg voters will likely get the opportunity to vote on a casino referendum this fall, as a Virginia General Assembly obstacle has been removed from its path.
SB 628, sponsored by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, replaces Richmond with Petersburg among Virginia cities eligible to host a casino following approval by voters on a ballot. An earlier version of the bill had required a second General Assembly vote in 2025 before the law could take effect, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed that section of the measure this spring.
On Wednesday, both legislative bodies passed Youngkin’s version — meaning a vote could take place this fall in Petersburg, expediting the possible development of a casino resort in the city.
VaNews April 18, 2024
