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Youngkin vetoes bills that would safeguard right to birth control, end tax exemptions for Confederate groups
Gov. Glenn Youngkin took action Friday on the last remaining legislation from the recent session, signing seven bills and vetoing 48 others, including high-profile measures related to birth control, skill games and tax exemptions for organizations with Confederate ties. “While I look forward to working with the General Assembly to see if we can reach agreement on language in the future, today I must act on the language before me, and there are several bills which are not ready to become law,” Youngkin said in a statement. Del. Cia Price and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, carried the birth control bill in their respective chambers. “This is such a popular issue,” said Price, D-Newport News. “It was the one thing that I was holding out hope for, but the governor has his allegiances to the most extreme part of his party.”
Youngkin calls out Biden for refusal of VSU presidential debate: ‘Huge snub’
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called out President Biden for refusing to participate in a debate originally scheduled by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) for Oct. 1 at Virginia State University (VSU), which would have been the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to host a presidential debate.
Republican candidates for Virginia U.S. Senate seat speak at public forum
In a divisive political atmosphere, and a divided Virginia government, the 2024 election is important in the Commonwealth. The presidential election is not Virginians’ only item on the ballot this year—the U.S. Senate spot held by Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine is up for election this year. Kaine plans to rerun for the spot, launching his campaign in Virginia. The Republican Party is looking to take control of the seat and take down the Democrat’s lead in the Senate.
Youngkin vetoes bills on skill games, contraception and Confederate heritage tax breaks
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took action on a final batch of bills from the year’s regular legislative session Friday, signing seven but vetoing 48, including closely watched measures that would have ended a tax break for a Confederate heritage organization and allowed small businesses to host skill games, which are similar to slot machines. The vetoes came after Youngkin first proposed amendments that the legislature rejected. In a nighttime statement, he said he was willing to keep working with the Democratic-controlled General Assembly on the issues but was vetoing measures that were “not ready to become law.”
Biden-Harris campaign responds to Youngkin’s veto of contraceptive rights measure
On Friday, May 17, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin took final action on a last set of bills from 2024’s regular legislative session; Youngkin signed seven of the measures and vetoed 48. The Biden-Harris campaign released a statement Saturday in response to Youngkin’s veto of a bill that would have protected contraceptive rights in the Commonwealth.
Richmond suspends registrar’s city credit card after $70K in 2023 charges
City officials on Thursday suspended the purchasing card of Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer — who is under investigation by the Richmond Inspector General’s Office for claims of nepotism and financial impropriety — after he spent nearly $70,000 on the card in 2023, according to records obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The charges included almost $15,000 for furniture, $8,903 at a local art supplier, about $6,500 on hotels and lodging, and over $6,000 on food and beverages, a transaction log for Balmer’s card shows.
Fox News requests chance to host vice presidential debate at Virginia HBCU
Fox News has requested the opportunity to host a vice presidential debate at Virginia State University, an HBCU, after President Joe Biden ignored the proposal for a presidential debate on the network for Oct. 1. Anchor Bret Baier said former President Donald Trump has accepted the request on behalf of his future vice president, who has yet to be announced, but Biden’s campaign has not accepted yet.
HCA Healthcare trying for third time to build facility in Hanover
For the third time, HCA Healthcare is trying to build a medical facility at a site on Sliding Hill Road in Hanover County. And for the third time, rival health system Bon Secours is pushing back. After failing to build a hospital and a freestanding emergency room last year, HCA has now applied for a Certificate of Public Need to erect a $21 million outpatient surgery center. The health system said the new facility would better distribute resources throughout the Richmond area and lower patients’ costs.
In a GOP stronghold, two Democrats seek chance to take on Wittman
Two Democrats — the former legal director of the ACLU of Virginia, and New Kent County’s former treasurer — are vying for the nomination to challenge a long-serving GOP incumbent in a strongly Republican district. New Kent’s Herb Jones, a retired Army colonel who tried but failed to unseat Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st in 2022, is facing Leslie Mehta, currently on leave as counsel and chief of staff of the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in the June 18 Democratic primary.