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ACLU of Virginia demands Department of Corrections ‘recalculate’ prison sentences after court ruling
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia sent a letter to the head of the state’s corrections department demanding that the agency apply a recent court decision ordering a man’s release from prison to others with similar cases so they might be let out too. The Supreme Court of Virginia ordered the release of Jose Garcia Vasquez, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and a count of criminal gang participation, siding with him over the state in finding that the Department of Corrections wrongfully denied him earned sentence credits to be released early.
Norfolk cruise center getting multiple upgrades ahead of year-round traffic
City Council voted Tuesday to approve enhancements to the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in anticipation of becoming a year-round cruise destination in 2025. The changes are huge, said Stephen Kirkland, who runs the cruise terminal as the executive director of Nauticus. “A cruise ship will be here every single week, embarking and debarking passengers, and we need to be prepared for that heightened activity,” Kirkland said.
More than 3,500 tickets issued with Winchester school zone cameras
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.
Rozell: For Democrats, ‘saving democracy’ is no silver bullet
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.
States, Including Virginia, Take On China in the Name of National Security
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 ...
Friday Read Centuries-old bottles of cherries unearthed at George Washington’s home
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.
Patel: I voted for Youngkin. Now he has turned his back on my business.
As one of the leaders of the Asian American Business Owners Association (AABOA), I know firsthand how skill games have not only benefited Virginia small businesses but also helped them survive the onslaught of COVID, skyrocketing inflation, and higher-than-expected wages. AABOA represents more than 300 convenience stores, gas stations, and restaurants in Southwest Virginia. The survival of many of our locations depended on supplemental income from skill games before they were abruptly banned in October.
Virginia Board of Education approves $25.4M for six new lab schools
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.
In Norfolk, Broken Neighborhoods And Broken Trust
The red brick apartment building Zenobia Wilson called home for a dozen years was a ringside seat to a noisy, polluting, 14-lane jumble of Interstate-264 overpasses, cloverleaf interchanges and ramps whizzing around the majority-Black St. Paul’s neighborhood. But when the mother of three moved out of Tidewater Gardens in August 2022, it wasn’t by choice. Norfolk was advancing another long-simmering initiative to “deconcentrate poverty,” christened the St. Paul’s Transformation Project. Its initial $400 million phase called for demolishing all 618 units of the deteriorating, barracks style public housing. Everybody had to relocate.
Loudoun County Public Schools officials criticize new state-mandated training
Training mandated by the Virginia Literacy Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2022, will keep Loudoun County Public Schools teachers busy over the next year. Jeff Rounsley, the LCPS director of teaching and learning, outlined the professional development requirements from the Virginia Department of Education to the School Board at its April 23 meeting. … For reading specialists for kindergarten through third grade, that means 27 to 54 hours of new training, Rounsley said. All elementary school teachers and all middle school English teachers must complete 18 to 27 hours. And other middle school teachers will be required to have nine to 18 hours of training in math, science and social studies.