Search
General Assembly, Youngkin still have ‘work to do’ on budget compromise
... The commonwealth’s budget planners will soon have data to answer a key question: Can everyone get what they asked for? On Tuesday, lawmakers involved in the budget writing process met with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was briefed by Finance Secretary Steve Cummings earlier in the day. “We still have an aspiration to present a budget that meets the multiple objectives of the General Assembly and the governor’s office by next week. And that’s what we’re working towards this week,” said Youngkin. “As I said, we still got work to do. But I’m optimistic.”
UVa president: ’Necessary to rely on assistance from the Virginia State Police’ to clear encampment
The organizers of an encampment in support of Palestine at the University of Virginia knew that pitching tents could trigger action against their protest. University officials made that clear when they first gathered Tuesday afternoon. What they and the faculty members who were helping them communicate with police and administrators did not anticipate was the force with which that action would come. Instead of citations and facilities management taking down the tents, they were met with a multi-agency, coordinated police action with officers wearing riot gear and military-grade equipment.
Yancey: Salem is losing population. Here’s how demography drives the proposed HopeTree development
Today we tell a tale of two cities. Charles Dickens told his through London and Paris. I shall tell this one through Salem and Roanoke, although the issues involved here are universal so you don’t need to live in either of those places to find some relevance to the issues they’re dealing with. The Salem City Council faces an upcoming decision: whether to allow mixed-use development of part of the HopeTree Family Services property, often known as the Virginia Baptist Home. It would be the largest residential development in the city’s history. This is broadly similar to a decision that the Roanoke City Council recently made — in that case, on whether to allow development of the Evans Spring property, the largest undeveloped piece of land in the city.
Virginia Dept. of Ed removes private university’s lab school application before committee review
The Virginia Department Of Education on Monday removed from committee review a lab school application from Ferrum College, a religious and private university, asking the commonwealth to pay $10.6 million for the initial four years of its initiative. The committee did recommend three lab school applications to the Board of Education for final approval: Richard Bland College in Petersburg; Old Dominion University in Norfolk; and George Mason University in Fairfax. “The lab school committee had several questions regarding the [Ferrum College lab school] application,” said Todd Reid, a spokesperson for VDOE ...
Williamsburg, James City County residents split on breaking up joint school district
Williamsburg and James City County residents are split on whether creating an independent school district is the best way to help improve the academic performance of Williamsburg students. That’s the main takeaway from the public feedback the City of Williamsburg got over the last few months as it considers ending the joint school district it’s run with James City County since 1955. Mayor Doug Pons said the citizen feedback brings up a lot of issues that need to be resolved. The city council will discuss next steps for exploring the creation of an independent school district at its meeting on May 9.
UVa. president, other leaders defend steps that led to arrests at protest
University of Virginia and police officials defended actions that led to the arrests of more than 25 pro-Palestinian protesters on campus grounds over the weekend, even as faculty members and others criticized what they saw as an overly aggressive response. In a virtual town hall Tuesday, Tim Longo, chief of police at U-Va., said that officials offered to let demonstrators stay if they took down their tents and that authorities moved in Saturday only when they refused. James E. Ryan, the university’s president, said that police were met with “physical confrontation and attempted assault” and that officials then called in Virginia State Police.
Del. Rasoul seeks cease-fire for Gaza
Roanoke citizens and a state lawmaker responded to heightened conflict in Gaza this week, urging people to speak out against Israeli-Palestinian violence. Israeli troops seized control of a border crossing in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to news reports on Tuesday. The latest military action follows months of Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, retaliating for a terrorist attack conducted by Hamas last October. As reports about an incursion into Rafah spread, state Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, on Monday sent an email asking people to call their congressperson and demand President Joe Biden enact a cease-fire.
Free clinics see increased demand following Medicaid unwinding in Virginia
Free clinics across Virginia are seeing more patients than in years past, with fewer volunteers to handle the volume. According to Virginia Free & Charitable Clinics (VAFCC) CEO Rufus Phillips, patient demand was up 11.5% from July 2023 to March 2024, compared to the same period the year prior. He says since the pandemic, the number of volunteers has fallen from 11,800 to 5,600. … VAFCC is requesting more money from the General Assembly to try to keep up with an influx of new patients.
Virginia eviction filings surpass pre-pandemic highs
Eviction filings continue to climb, according to an analysis from researchers with Virginia Commonwealth University. The report, which analyzed eviction cases from the last quarter of 2023, identified nearly 42,000 eviction filings across the state of Virginia — a 15.6% increase from the prior quarter. Eviction filings now stand at 125% of pre-pandemic levels, according to VCU’s RVA Eviction Lab. The lab studies publicly available data and issues quarterly reports on housing instability. ... Eviction filings do not translate directly to executed evictions.
UVa officials say outside agitators, aggressive behavior prompted state police crackdown on protesters
University of Virginia officials held a virtual “town hall” Tuesday, their first public appearance since Saturday’s chaotic crackdown on an anti-war protest on Grounds, during which 27 were arrested and several others were pepper-sprayed by state troopers. The virtual meeting was meant to “provide an update and answer questions about Saturday’s protest near the UVA Chapel that led police to declare an unlawful assembly and arrest demonstrators who didn’t leave.” Many left with their questions still unanswered. That was because the university curated all of the questions it would answer beforehand.