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VCU Health seeks to end $56 million payment to Richmond

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Commonwealth University Health is seeking to terminate a deal that pays the city of Richmond $56 million, VCU president Michael Rao said Wednesday. The health system agreed to give the city a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, as part of a failed redevelopment project at the Public Safety Building downtown. State lawmakers have called for VCU Health to end the payments, but Mayor Levar Stoney objected, saying the health system should pay what it contractually owes.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Warner speaks during Crooked Road anniversary celebration

By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Now in its 20th year, The Crooked Road began as a dream for Todd Christensen and the late Joe Wilson, who met one wintry day in 2003 at the Carter Fold in Maces Springs. The fold was already established as a popular regional music attraction, started by the late Janette Carter in 1975 to promote the legacy of the Carter Family and the music of this region. ... Ultimately, the grassroots effort caught the attention of state lawmakers and then-Gov. Mark Warner, who signed legislation in 2004 dedicating the 333-mile route as Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Jury rejects claims that Fairfax schools mishandled teen’s rape claims

By SALVADOR RIZZO AND KARINA ELWOOD, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A 24-year-old woman who sued school officials in Fairfax County, Va., for millions of dollars, saying they mishandled allegations more than a decade ago that she was raped, lost her case Wednesday when she was unable to convince a federal jury that the school system had failed her. The woman, identified in legal records only by the initials B.R., testified through tears at times in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that she was bullied and harassed in 2011 as a student at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, a pattern of abuse that she said escalated to gang rape.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Justices’ $1 billion suit against Carter Bank transferred to Virginia court

By MATT BUSSE, Cardinal News

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that a $1 billion federal lawsuit filed by West Virginia’s governor, his family and their companies against a Martinsville-based bank and its board be transferred from a court in West Virginia to Virginia. Gov. Jim Justice; his wife, Cathy; their son, Jay; and more than a dozen of their family companies filed the suit in November. They allege that Carter Bank & Trust and its directors have violated banking laws and prevented the Justices from working with other lenders so that the bank can continue collecting interest on the family’s loan portfolio.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Karmo: Governor’s drug affordability board veto serves cancer patients

By MAIMAH KARMO, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

It’s been almost two decades since I heard the words “breast cancer” come out of my doctor’s mouth. I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly hard-to-treat type with low survival rates and limited treatment options. During my second round of chemotherapy, I vowed that if I survived, I would start an organization to advocate for women like me. Today, my organization, Tigerlily Foundation, does just that. We envision a future in which cancer is no longer a death sentence for so many, but rather a treatable condition. Recently, Virginia legislators sought to pass a law that would have stifled that dream — all while exacerbating health inequities. Thankfully, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed that bill with just hours to go before the deadline.

Karmo of Reston is a breast cancer survivor and is the founder and CEO of Tigerlily Foundation, a national women’s health and oncology organization.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Ohio man in 2017 UVa. torch-bearing mob heads to trial in first test of Virginia law on intimidation

By HAWES SPENCER, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

For the first time, a jury will get to consider one of the felony intimidation charges against a participant in the torch-bearing mob that marched across University of Virginia Grounds in 2017. The early June trial of Jacob Joseph Dix, who marched with at least 200 others the night before the violent Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville, will be a public test of the prosecutorial discretion of Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley, who has lodged the charges against Dix and his fellow marchers. However, Hingeley has been sidelined and replaced by Henrico County’s commonwealth’s attorney, Shannon L. Taylor.

VaNews April 24, 2024


From VPAP Policy Matters: Your Window Into Virginia Politics with VPAP on VPM

The Virginia Public Access Project

This morning on VPM, Ben Dolle engages in a discussion with Chris Piper, Executive Director of VPAP, marking the debut of our monthly recap highlighting key stories from VaNews and showcasing the month’s most popular visual content. Don’t miss out on this discussion; tune in at 7:45 a.m.! If you missed it live, visit vpm.org to hear the recording.

VaNews April 25, 2024


Virginia State Sen. Aaron Rouse announces run for lieutenant governor

By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia State Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Virginia Beach Democrat, announced Tuesday he will run for lieutenant governor in 2025. Two other Democrats are also in the running for the seat, which is currently held by Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also announced Tuesday that he’s dropping his campaign for governor to run for the lieutenant governor role instead. Babur Lateef, a Northern Virginia eye surgeon and chair of the Prince William County School Board, is a third candidate in the race.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Stoney enters growing lieutenant governor field

By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

In dropping out of the contest for governor, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney entered another contest that is anything but a sure thing, according to Virginia political analysts. State Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, a former NFL football player and Virginia Beach City Council member, announced Tuesday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 2025.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Richmond Mayor Stoney drops Va. governor bid, seeks lieutenant governor post

By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced Tuesday that he is dropping out of next year’s race for Virginia governor and running for lieutenant governor instead. Stoney, who has faced a tough contest against U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.) for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, had been calling donors, supporters and others in recent days to say he would bow out of that race. He made it official with an early-morning news release Tuesday.

VaNews April 24, 2024