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CEO of free clinic serving Appalachia saw pay package nearly double over 2 years, tax forms show
The director of the Health Wagon, a nonprofit free clinic that serves one of the poorest and medically underserved areas in the state, earned $520,000 in 2022, a pay package that nearly doubled over the last two years and was 12 times that of the average income of the people she serves. The increase places her compensation well beyond that of comparable executives in wealthier regions of Virginia, who are paid between $100,000 and $200,000.
Virginia offshore wind project hits whale trouble
A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to clarify its plans for protecting endangered whales during construction of one of the nation’s largest offshore wind farms. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has until Friday to file a report on whether NOAA Fisheries approved mitigation plans to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The order from Judge Loren AliKhan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes as Dominion Energy prepares to lay the foundation for wind turbines off Virginia’s coast.
Students, faculty arrested at Virginia Tech now face possibility of university discipline
Emon Green was one of 82 people arrested and charged with trespassing on Sunday night at a pro-Palestinian encampment as it was being broken up by Virginia Tech campus police. But dealing with the aftermath with the university could be worse than facing his misdemeanor charge. “I’m more concerned about what the school is going to do, than what the law is going to do,” Green said Wednesday while visiting the protest that had once again formed outside the student center, across the sidewalk from the Graduate Life Center where the encampment had convened for three days.
Hashmi cites record of wins in bid for lieutenant governor
Virginia state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi will announce Thursday that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in her party’s June 2025 primary. A former literature professor and community college administrator, Hashmi (Chesterfield) became the first Muslim in the Virginia Senate and the first Muslim woman in either chamber after flipping a redrawn suburban Richmond district in 2019.
Early voting starts Friday for June primaries; 13 on ballots in 7th District
Early voting starts Friday for the June 18 primary elections, which feature a crowded field of candidates. Seven Democrats and six Republicans are in the running for the 7th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat from Henrico County, has held the post since 2018 and is running for Virginia governor in 2025.
Report shows Va. teachers make less than national average
Educators have long called for higher salaries, and while efforts to achieve that were successful in some parts of the country in the last year, it isn’t enough to keep up with inflation, according to a new report. The National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the U.S., released its newest data on teacher salaries on Tuesday. On average, teachers in the U.S. are making $69,544.
Petersburg mayor says city ‘told the truth’ about casino pressure from legislature
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said Wednesday that he stands by the allegation that his city faced political pressure from the General Assembly to choose a particular casino developer or risk losing the opportunity to have a casino altogether. Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, whom the Petersburg City Council has alleged had a hand in that pressure, has disputed the city’s characterization of events as “revisionist history.” Speaking with reporters late Wednesday afternoon following a closed council meeting on the casino project, Parham didn’t back down.
UVa. student protest remains subdued in its second day
A student-led protest at the University of Virginia remained peaceful as it entered its second day Wednesday, standing in stark contrast to how similar anti-Israel protests have unfolded across the country and the commonwealth. Roughly 80 protesters — a crowd including students, faculty and Charlottesville community members — spent the day on the school’s Lawn ...
Virginia Beach denies collective bargaining of city employees
The City Council denied collective bargaining of city employees in a 5-5 vote with one abstention Tuesday, and instead decided to establish employee relations committees for full-time city workers. Police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services and public works personnel wanted to negotiate better wages and enhanced employment conditions. But Mayor Bobby Dyer said the timing wasn’t right yet “given the budget constraints we have now.”
Virginia lawmakers want postmaster general to deliver on promises
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy may have bought time with an apology to a bipartisan Virginia congressional delegation that is irate over delays in mail deliveries — including essential medications — to people in the Richmond area. But U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Virginia Democrats, and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, and Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-4th, say they will not relax scrutiny of the Postal Service and its regional mail distribution center in Richmond.