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U.S. Postal Service’s DeJoy admits rollout of Virginia regional distribution center was a ‘disaster’
Following months of complaints about slow or missing mail, Virginia lawmakers are finally hearing directly from the man in charge of the U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D - Virginia) and Mark Warner (D - Virginia), as well as U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan (D - Richmond), met with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who agreed that the USPS’s rollout of the Regional Processing and Distribution Center was a “disaster.”
Youngkin’s biggest legacy in Virginia could be his impact on education—for better or worse
With a new sports arena dead in the water and a legislature controlled by political opponents, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s largest impact on the state after he leaves office could be in the education space. Youngkin was clear about his education priorities on the campaign trail back in 2021. “We watched parents all over the commonwealth stand up and try to defend their children, get our schools open, make sure materials are appropriate in the classroom,” then-candidate Youngkin said on the campaign trial. Now, two and a half years later, Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said the governor has delivered on those promises.
House committee tasked with examining rural health care access holds first meeting in Southwest Virginia
A team of state delegates descended upon Southwest Virginia this week to kick off the first meeting for a new House Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care. Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico County, who chairs the committee, and a panel of 11 other legislators made the drive to Tazewell County, where they toured three health care facilities over two days before meeting with leaders in workforce development, telehealth, hospital administration and others. The committee, created by House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, is tasked with exploring the barriers to health care in rural Virginia and creating a list of five actionable items or recommendations that could be introduced during the 2025 General Assembly session.
Roanoke Council Told That Assistant City Manager Verbally Attacked, Physically Threatened Employee, Emails Show
A city budget analyst told Roanoke City Council members last month that after a March 6 meeting, then-Assistant City Manager Brent Robertson “began verbally attacking” and “physically threatening” her so severely that she decided to quit. “In all my professional career, I have never been so brutally attacked,” the employee wrote, according to a copy of the April 5 email released to The Rambler in response to a public records request.
Va. Beach rejects collective bargaining for city employees
Virginia Beach’s City Council voted 5-5 on a measure to allow employees to negotiate their wages and working conditions, ultimately defeating the proposal. Five council members — Sabrina Wooten, David Hutcheson, Jennifer Rouse, Worth Remick and Joash Schulman — voted in favor of the request from the city’s firefighter’s union. Councilmember Amelia Ross-Hammond abstained from the vote. Council measures need a majority vote to pass. Mayor Bobby Dyer and others suggested an ‘enhanced meet-and-confer,’ which would create a formal committee for the city manager to hear employee concerns instead of granting collective bargaining rights.
Former EDA director contests $5 million fine sought by U.S.
Former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer McDonald says the government can’t make her forfeit $5.2 million as punishment for her crimes related to her former employer. A federal grand jury indicted McDonald in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in late August 2021 on 34 counts including money laundering, wire and bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. A federal jury found McDonald guilty of all 34 counts against her at the end of a weeks-long trial on Nov. 1.
Williams: Police crackdown of VCU protest is sad déjà vu
“Four years later and we’re still writing the same headlines about protesters,” read Monday night’s text message from a friend. “History always has a way of repeating itself.” Virginia Commonwealth University responded to a pro-Palestinian encampment by summoning shield-bearing riot police who sprayed students with a chemical irritant. The college showed remarkably little forbearance for what had been a peaceful protest before a busload of police, in an act of provocation and intimidation, rolled up to the Cabell Library to forcefully evict students from the “Liberation Zone for Gaza.”
Yancey: Universities, like some local governments, get pulled into issues beyond their reach
The students and others at Virginia Tech who were protesting Israeli actions in Gaza had multiple demands. Some were beyond the power of anyone in Blacksburg: “Ceasefire now!” Others were more specific to the university, such as wanting a meeting with Tech President Tim Sands. I’m struck, though, by one sign that I saw on what appeared to be a bedsheet. “Our demands,” it announced in red. Below there were three of them.
Disagree with student protesters, but don’t silence their voices
As student protests grow on college and university campuses in Virginia, as they have across the nation, presidents of these commonwealth schools have lost sight of their mission. Quelling peaceful protests with excessive force — calling in law enforcement to arrest, manhandle and use tear gas against their own students — unnecessarily inflamed situations that needed a more measured, thoughtful response. This is an opportunity for education — for lectures, discussion, study and everything else the academic heft of a school can bring to bear on a subject — and these young people should be heard, not silenced.
Virginia attorney general visits Danville, touts Operation Ceasefire campaign to combat violent crime
A statewide initiative to reduce gun crimes has led to a drop in homicides in the commonwealth, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said Tuesday. "We've seen absolutely fantastic numbers," he said during a news conference in front of the Danville Police Department headquarters. Operation Ceasefire's goal was to decrease homicides by 10%, but they dropped by 17% across the state in the program's first year, Miyares said. The campaign started in October 2022 and has focused on 13 cities, including Danville, Martinsville, Lynchburg and Roanoke.