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Loudoun Groups Oppose School Safety Panel’s Recommendations, Call for New Panel
After the release of 11 recommendations from a Blue Ribbon Panel that looked into safety and security in Loudoun County Public Schools, several groups in the county are calling on school leaders to reject the panel’s findings and reconvene a new review group with more diverse community voices. ... The panel was charged with assessing safety processes and protocols in schools and came up with 11 recommendations to enhance security. ... The statement pointed to a heavy law enforcement presence on the panel ...
It’s official: Madison School Board declares Christmas a holiday
Madison County School Board Vice-Chair Chris Wingate acknowledged at the start of Monday night’s meeting the discussion about the Christmas Holiday has “caused some controversy,” so he just wants to have a policy so that “we don’t argue about it every year.” “We’re going to be really neutral, not hostile to religion in our public life,” Wingate added.
Hot mic catches Spotsylvania School Board rep mocking constituent
When Carol Medawar decided to run to represent the Courtland District on the Spotsylvania County School Board last year, she said she did so with the intention of stabilizing a group that was constantly embroiled in controversy. But it was Medawar who found herself apologizing Monday night after a recording of a hot mic conversation last month with Battlefield District representative Nicole Cole was played during the school board meeting by a member of the public.
622-acre data center project greenlit by Henrico Board of Supervisors
The Henrico County Board of Supervisors has approved a request for over 600 acres of land in the eastern part of the county to be used for the development of data centers. In a scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 14, the board voted unanimously to allow a total of just over 622 acres of land be used for manufacturing and production by developer Hourigan. Specifically, the request describes both data center and “advanced manufacturing” facilities.
Body-worn cameras for Virginia State Police dropped from new budget
An effort to purchase body-worn cameras for the Virginia State Police died during this year’s prolonged budget talks, which concluded on Monday. That means the state police, Virginia’s largest law enforcement agency with over 1,800 officers, will remain without the devices at least until next session. The effort was initiated this session by State Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg.
Va. ABC ousts CIO responsible for modernizing systems
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority has lost its fourth executive officer in nearly 10 months in the latest sign of instability within the authority’s leadership. Paul Williams is out as ABC’s Chief Information Officer after serving in the role since 2016. Williams told the Virginia Mercury he was “separated from employment at ABC” by CEO Dave Farino with no notice May 8 without severance or compensation for his time at the authority. Williams said the reason Farino gave is he, “doesn’t want me on his executive team; doesn’t trust me to be his leader of a section of the ABC business.”
Virginia approves $26.5M for Bristol landfill remediation
Bristol Va.‘s challenging task of environmental remediation at its former landfill got a huge economic boost Monday with the inclusion of $26.5 million in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s final approved fiscal 2025 budget. The state funding greatly eases the potential burden on city taxpayers as Bristol continues extensive efforts to prevent further release of noxious gases that prompted community outcry in 2020 and led to the landfill’s closure in September 2022.
Richmond finalizes labor deals with unions for police, firefighters and other city employees
The Richmond City Council approved collective bargaining agreements between the city and unions representing police, firefighters, emergency workers and other city employees. The city’s three-year labor deals with the unions — the Richmond Coalition of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 995 and the Service Employees International Union, Virginia 512 – take effect on July 1 through June 30, 2027.
Forever chemical cleanup could cost Fauquier County $44M
Fauquier County now has a price for cleaning up its drinking water. It could cost the county about $44 million to upgrade its drinking water wells to meet new EPA standards, officials say. More than a third of Fauquier County’s drinking water wells would need those upgrades because they tested over the limit for forever chemicals. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.
Pro-Palestine protesters block traffic, march to Virginia State Capitol
Several dozen pro-Palestine protesters on Tuesday afternoon marched in the rain through downtown Richmond, blocking traffic as they made their way down Ninth Street to the Virginia State Capitol building. A Virginia Capitol Police officer told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the western grounds of the Capitol were shut down as protesters staged a demonstration on the sidewalk along West Broad Street. At least two dozen officers formed a line between the group and the building.