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By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Virginia’s chapter of the NAACP plans to take Gov. Glenn Youngkin to court over an alleged failure to respond to public records requests. The chapter’s president, the Rev. Cozy Bailey, said at a news conference outside the state Capitol on Monday that Youngkin was being served legal action that day. The pending legal back-and-forth stems from an initial August public records request by the NAACP to determine if the administration has been complying with state law regarding DEI work.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JASON ARMESTO,
Daily Progress
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Days before the University of Virginia announced its controversial decision to withhold an independent review of the deadly 2022 mass shooting on Grounds, UVa’s police chief sent an urgent email to the Albemarle County commonwealth’s attorney. “I apologize for the last minute and fairly urgent request,” Police Chief Tim Longo wrote to Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley. ... “Fairly urgent and at President Ryan’s respectful request,” he wrote, referring to the school’s President Jim Ryan. The messages sent on Nov. 14 of last year were obtained by The Daily Progress via a Freedom of Information Act request.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DAVE RESS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The ship Dominion Energy needs to install 176 giant wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, 27 miles off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, has been launched, as the utility has won its 11th and final federal permit for the $9 billion project. The ship, called Charybdis, is a U.S. flag vessel. That means Dominion can stage all of the components for the more than 800-foot-tall turbines in Virginia port facilities ... The 472-foot Charybdis’ home port will be Hampton Roads, and it will have an American crew.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By SAMANTHA WILLIS,
published in
Daily Progress
(Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently took action on a flurry of Virginia legislators’ measures related to reproductive health, mostly blocking bills designed to preserve the public’s access to abortions and birth control as these same issues roil national debates and as other states pass laws that restrict women’s bodily autonomy and roll back decades of abortion protections.
First, a surprising signoff: Youngkin, a Republican, signed a bill from Democratic Del. Vivian Watts of Fairfax that prevents electronic menstrual data — often collected in period-tracking digital apps — from being subject to search warrants, subpoenas or court orders.
Willis, a writer and journalist whose experience in digital, print and broadcast media spans 12 years, is editor-in-chief of the Virginia Mercury.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By RYAN NADEAU,
WRIC-TV
The Virginia NAACP has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) for allegedly failing to produce records in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 2023.
According to a press release from the organization, the lawsuit alleges that Youngkin’s administration failed to produce records regarding its Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
The records sought reportedly relate to the administration’s “active subversion” of its responsibilities under the 2020 law relating to that office.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DANIEL EGITTO,
ArlNow
In the wake of a recent veto of a Virginia recreational marijuana bill, proponents are still holding out hope for future change — but not for at least a couple years.
At an Arlington Committee of 100 meeting last week, State Sens. Adam Ebbin and Aaron Rouse said the chances of the Virginia General Assembly overriding Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision earlier this month are slim to none.
Legislation to legalize retail sale of cannabis passed the state House and Senate on thin margins before getting the ax from the governor, who cited public health concerns.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By JANE HARPER,
Virginian-Pilot
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Murder charges against one of two brothers accused of taking part in a 2017 fatal shooting were thrown out Monday after a judge ruled prosecutors had violated his right to a speedy trial.
Judge Brenda Spry issued her ruling at the end of a hearing in Portsmouth Circuit Court, during which attorneys for Alexander Weinschel pointed to repeated lapses in his case over the past six years, including a period of more than two years in which no scheduling or continuance orders were ever filed.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By STEVE ATKINSON,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
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As the dust settles on the Virginia legislative session, one might say it was a decent year for the Chesapeake Bay. From protecting trees to restrictions on pavement sealants, lawmakers passed multiple bills. But once again there was no progress on efforts to fund a badly needed study of menhaden fish in the Chesapeake Bay.
Atkinson of Richmond is president of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association.
VaNews April 16, 2024
Virginian-Pilot
Editorial
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Solemn ceremonies scheduled for Tuesday will mark the 17th anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech that claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty members. As time passes and memory fades, it’s important to remember those lives, young and old, cruelly stolen from the commonwealth by a troubled young man with access to firearms and a determination to use them.
Gun violence remains a crisis in Virginia and the nation, one that demands every tool available and the courage to use them. We should not accept that the thousands of gun deaths each year are required for the preservation of liberty, recognizing that inaction allows the bloodshed to continue.
VaNews April 16, 2024
By DAVID MCGEE,
Bristol Herald Courier
(Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
The Bristol Casino, future home of Hard Rock, reported more than $16.2 million in adjusted gaming revenues in March, its most successful month to date.
The Virginia Lottery, which oversees casino gaming in the state, on Monday reported a combined $65 million in gaming revenues from the state’s three casinos, the temporary Bristol Casino, temporary Caesar’s Virginia in Danville and the permanent Rivers Casino in Portsmouth.
VaNews April 16, 2024
