Search
By DWAYNE YANCEY,
Cardinal News
Just like that — snaps fingers — Abigail Spanberger is the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor next year.
To be fair, she’s had that position for a while now, which is no doubt what led Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to drop his gubernatorial bid Tuesday and announce instead for lieutenant governor.
That instantly led state Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, to announce what had been widely known anyway: that he’s also a candidate for lieutenant governor. So is Babur Lateef, the chair of the Prince William County School Board. Will a three-way race induce others to enter on the theory that the vote will be chopped up and a majority may not be necessary to win?
VaNews April 24, 2024
By NATALIE ANDERSON,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Two cities in Hampton Roads with new speed cameras have raked in around $20 million in revenue since implementing the technology over the last two years. But the legality of the processes used to issue citations and collect fees is now being questioned in a lawsuit filed by a former state legislator who says it’s not exactly what the General Assembly intended when it crafted the legislation allowing municipalities to deploy speed cameras.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By MICHAEL MARTZ,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin didn’t have far to look for a new chief executive officer at the struggling Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. Youngkin announced on Tuesday that he is appointing Dale Farino, a retired alcoholic beverage distribution executive whom he named to the ABC Board last month, to lead the authority. The governor also announced that he is replacing Farino as vice chairman of the board with Mark Stepanian, the former owner and CEO of Loveland Distributing Co., a beer wholesaler based in Richmond, which is now owned by Premium Distributors of Virginia.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By EMMA MARTIN,
News & Advance
(Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) made a stop in Lynchburg on Monday to talk with voters at La Vida Coffee and Market, between visits to Roanoke and Farmville. A former Virginia governor and mayor of Richmond, Kaine was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and is seeking a third term this November. “...[I]t’s just good to gather, tell people why I’m running again and how excited I am to keep representing Virginia but also take their questions and take their advice,” Kaine told reporters after the event.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By MEGAN PAULY,
VPM
Relatives, friends and neighbors gathered along Chamberlayne Avenue on Tuesday to honor Frances W. McClenney — who the former Ginter Park Elementary School has been renamed after.
The school, like Richmond’s botanical garden, was previously named for Confederate Maj. Lewis Ginter.
A new school marquee with McClenney’s name was also unveiled.
McClenney was the school’s first Black teacher, as well as its first Black principal. Her daughter, Jacqueline McClenney, said the positions came with death threats.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By MARKUS SCHMIDT,
Cardinal News
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Tuesday ended his gubernatorial bid, saying that he would run for lieutenant governor instead. Stoney’s decision puts Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Henrico County, who was the first candidate to jump into the 2025 race in November of last year, on a clear path to win the Democratic nomination to become the 75th governor of Virginia. … Less than two hours later, Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, who’s not even halfway through his first term in the state Senate, announced his own bid for lieutenant governor.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By LISA ROWAN,
Cardinal News
The Bedford County School Board is suing a local parent for $600,000 for what it calls harassment of school division employees.
The suit follows a complaint the parent made to the state Department of Education in January, in which he claimed that the school had failed to provide services for his son’s learning disability. David Rife, the parent, also has a long history of trying to advocate for his son in the school division, as outlined in documents filed by both parties in the suit.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By DAVE RESS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Not quite a week after the General Assembly brushed off his amendments to two bills ensuring the right to contraception and two more requiring insurance coverage, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he’s still thinking about what do. They’re among some 50 bills where legislators rejected his amendments or — as in the contraception rights bills — simply let the amendments die without a vote.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, joined lawmakers from the House and Senate to urge the Office of Personnel Management to require all health insurance carriers in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to cover in-vitro fertilization treatments and medications.
If the agency were to take up the request, this would affect federal employees, many of whom live in Northern Virginia.
VaNews April 24, 2024
By ERIC KOLENICH,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The city of Richmond will give CoStar Group Inc. a grant worth several million dollars, a recognition of the company’s plan to build an office tower expected to generate more than $30 million in new tax revenue. Richmond City Council on Monday approved an ordinance that will refund some of CoStar’s real estate and business property taxes after the 26-story building is complete. “This project is an incredible success story for the city,” said Leonard Sledge, Richmond’s head of economic development.
VaNews April 24, 2024
