Javascript is required to run this page
VaNews

Search


New College Institute, philanthropic board move toward mediation, board committee indicates

By LISA ROWAN, Cardinal News

The New College Institute in Martinsville appears to be starting a mediation process with its estranged philanthropic arm, but the details remain unclear. In a meeting Wednesday, the state-run higher education center’s executive committee voted to name board vice chair Richard Hall as sole spokesperson for the board in mediation with its foundation. Adam Kane from the state attorney general’s office attended the meeting, including the closed session that preceded the vote. The office serves as legal counsel for NCI.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Vindman has huge fundraising lead in 7th District race

By CHER MUZYK, Prince William Times

The race for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is shaping up to be very competitive — and very expensive. In the Democratic primary race, retired Army Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, 48, of Woodbridge, has a solid financial edge, raising more money than all the Republican and Democratic candidates in both primary races combined — by far. Since launching his campaign late last year, Vindman has raised nearly $3.8 million. That’s more than four times the amount raised by his Democratic rivals, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

VaNews April 25, 2024


TikTok law’s ramifications are international — and local

By TAD DICKENS, Cardinal News

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a legislative ultimatum to social media giant TikTok: sell or be banned in the United States. In Virginia, one very prominent voice was glad to see it happen. Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, is certain that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is beholden to its country of origin, China. That poses multiple problems, including reaping U.S. citizens’ data and influencing them with propaganda, Warner said in a recent interview.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Schapiro: Angling to offer something for everyone

By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Democrats are falling in line and falling in love. With Levar Stoney’s strategic retreat — rather than risk a pasting for the 2025 gubernatorial nomination, he’s risking a pasting for the 2025 lieutenant governor’s nomination — Democrats are forgoing a contest for their top spot to rally behind Abigail Spanberger, whose politics and posturing seem to give almost everyone in a party still whining over Glenn Youngkin’s squeaker victory in 2021 something to cheer about.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Warner speaks during Crooked Road anniversary celebration

By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Now in its 20th year, The Crooked Road began as a dream for Todd Christensen and the late Joe Wilson, who met one wintry day in 2003 at the Carter Fold in Maces Springs. The fold was already established as a popular regional music attraction, started by the late Janette Carter in 1975 to promote the legacy of the Carter Family and the music of this region. ... Ultimately, the grassroots effort caught the attention of state lawmakers and then-Gov. Mark Warner, who signed legislation in 2004 dedicating the 333-mile route as Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Yancey: Some high-poverty counties told they can better pay for own schools than richest county in country

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

One-third of the localities that are rated the best able to pay for their own schools also have more than 50% of their students living in poverty. That’s a fact, based on data from the Virginia Department of Education. Now here’s an opinion: That doesn’t seem right. The culprit here is the Local Composite Index, the funding formula that determines a locality’s ability (or inability) to pay for its own schools — and therefore determines how much the state will pay to make up the difference. Bath County, Lancaster County and Surry County are among nine localities all scored at .8000 — the highest score possible, meaning they are more able to pay for their schools than anybody else.

VaNews April 25, 2024


$520 million in construction at Norfolk Naval Shipyard aims to meet needs of high-tech warships

By CAITLYN BURCHETT, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

More than half a billion dollars in construction is in the works at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth as the Navy modernizes the historic yard to repair current and future high-tech warships. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, with roots dating back to 1767, is about five years into a modernization process to better support the maintenance of Ford-class aircraft carriers and Ohio-, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines. The modernization will allow the shipyard to get warships battle-ready at a quicker pace, Mark Edelson, program executive officer for industrial infrastructure, told the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance during a meeting last week.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Latest petition to reduce Omega Protein’s menhaden catch limit is rejected

By CHARLIE PAULLIN, Virginia Mercury

Another attempt to impose tighter regulations on the menhaden fishery in Virginia was defeated Tuesday and interested parties again called for the state to study the menhaden population. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 5-3 to deny a petition from the Chesapeake Legal Alliance that sought to limit the catch of Omega Protein, the lone menhaden reduction fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. Recreational fishing groups and other supporters of a cap have argued that overfishing menhaden, a tiny, yet nutrient rich fish, is causing the decline of the Bay’s striped bass population.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Virginia sex offender registry displayed inaccurate data for months

By RYAN NADEAU, WRIC-TV

There are nearly 1,800 registered sex offenders who live, work or go to school in the City of Richmond — but it still isn’t the community with the most registered sex offenders per capita in Central Virginia, according to new data from Virginia State Police. Following a recent report stating that the City of Richmond has the highest rate of registered sex offenders per capita among over 430 total major cities surveyed, 8News investigated more local cities and counties to learn how many registered sex offenders are in the Richmond region and some surrounding localities. As the 8News team looked into this topic, multiple issues were discovered in how Virginia’s sex offender registry returns information to users.

VaNews April 25, 2024


VCU Health seeks to end $56 million payment to Richmond

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Commonwealth University Health is seeking to terminate a deal that pays the city of Richmond $56 million, VCU president Michael Rao said Wednesday. The health system agreed to give the city a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, as part of a failed redevelopment project at the Public Safety Building downtown. State lawmakers have called for VCU Health to end the payments, but Mayor Levar Stoney objected, saying the health system should pay what it contractually owes.

VaNews April 25, 2024