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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
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
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
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
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
By GHAZALA HASHMI AND MARK SICKLES,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
This March, we celebrated the 14th anniversary of one of the most landmark health care laws passed in our lifetimes, the Affordable Care Act. As the chairs of our respective health committees in the General Assembly, we are tasked with considering every bill impacting health policy in Virginia. This year, our Democratic majorities passed bills that build on the progress of the ACA by lowering health care costs, including for prescription drugs (although a bill to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board was unfortunately vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin).
Sen. Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, chairs the Senate Education and Health Committee. Del. Sickles, D-Fairfax, chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By ANNA BRYSON,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The Virginia Board of Education approved $25.4 million for six new lab schools Thursday as state officials find ways to accelerate the approval process to use the existing lab school funding before the current budget cycle ends. Some education officials worry that the expedited approval process might affect the quality of lab school plans, but proponents say officials thoroughly vet the applications.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By NATALIE ANDERSON,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
City leaders are submitting plans to the state to acquire the Hampton Roads Regional Jail for use as the new Portsmouth city jail and aim to make the transition no later than the start of 2025.
The Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, which comprises city managers and other representatives from the five participating jurisdictions, voted unanimously last week to allow Portsmouth to purchase the facility. The move means the facility could serve as Portsmouth’s new city jail, allowing the city to convert the current aging waterfront jail facility into a tax-generating property — a goal the city has been working toward for years. It could also provide a safe place to accommodate juvenile detention services.
VaNews April 26, 2024
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
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
