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By BRAD KUTNER,
WVTF-FM
Governor Glenn Youngkin is still looking to spend $100 million on new lab schools across Virginia, and a handful of applications were approved Thursday. But there were concerns about the viability of at least one of the programs.
Lab schools were authorized by the legislature in 2022. They aim to partner with colleges to provide real world experience to students so they can enter the job field more quickly upon graduation. And while the spirit of the program is supported by many, the funding— directly from the state and given to public and private colleges— has been a source of budget fights.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By BILL ATKINSON,
Progress Index
(Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
With Wednesday’s approval of The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprises as Petersburg’s casino vendor of choice, city officials say the next step in the process is getting the Virginia Lottery Board and a Circuit Court judge on its side in approving the November referendum that ultimately decides the future of legalized gambling here. In an email Thursday afternoon, city spokesperson Joanne Williams said Petersburg and Cordish/BSE will draw up the paperwork to submit to the lottery board, the state agency that governs Virginia’s casino operations.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By CHER MUZYK,
Prince William Times
The path to control the U.S. House of Representatives runs through Northern Virginia this fall with two open seats and competitive races in the 7th and 10th Congressional Districts, both of which include parts of Fauquier and Prince William counties.
Recent campaign filings show that in the 10th District race, the Democrats are outraising their Republican candidates.
Collectively, the 12 Democrats in the race have raised more than $4.5 million, while the four Republicans have pulled in about $583,000, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By GRACIE HART BROOKS,
Madison Eagle
Despite numerous resident objections, the Madison County School Board has approved changing “winter break” to “Christmas break” in the 2024-25 school calendar. In March, Madison County resident Mike Sharman made a comment suggesting the change of “winter break” to “Christmas break.” The board then suggested making that change in the 2024-25 draft school calendar. “Christmas is a cultural thing in our community,” board member Christopher Wingate said. “I support the idea.”
VaNews April 26, 2024
By ERIKA CRAVEN,
WTKR-TV
Roughly one month after a container ship hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the first vessels passed through the Baltimore port after a temporary deep channel opened.
The collapse had a ripple effect in Hampton Roads as ports, including the Port of Virginia, absorbed the Baltimore traffic. Even with Baltimore’s port partially reopened, Virginia will still see additional traffic.
Our port is expected to get 18,000 to 20,000 containers of cargo from Baltimore this month.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By ELIZABETH MCGOWAN,
Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
The red brick apartment building Zenobia Wilson called home for a dozen years was a ringside seat to a noisy, polluting, 14-lane jumble of Interstate-264 overpasses, cloverleaf interchanges and ramps whizzing around the majority-Black St. Paul’s neighborhood.
But when the mother of three moved out of Tidewater Gardens in August 2022, it wasn’t by choice.
Norfolk was advancing another long-simmering initiative to “deconcentrate poverty,” christened the St. Paul’s Transformation Project. Its initial $400 million phase called for demolishing all 618 units of the deteriorating, barracks style public housing. Everybody had to relocate.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By GHAZALA HASHMI AND MARK SICKLES,
published in
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
This March, we celebrated the 14th anniversary of one of the most landmark health care laws passed in our lifetimes, the Affordable Care Act. As the chairs of our respective health committees in the General Assembly, we are tasked with considering every bill impacting health policy in Virginia. This year, our Democratic majorities passed bills that build on the progress of the ACA by lowering health care costs, including for prescription drugs (although a bill to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board was unfortunately vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin).
Sen. Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, chairs the Senate Education and Health Committee. Del. Sickles, D-Fairfax, chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By EVAN GOODENOW,
Loudoun Times
(Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Training mandated by the Virginia Literacy Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2022, will keep Loudoun County Public Schools teachers busy over the next year. Jeff Rounsley, the LCPS director of teaching and learning, outlined the professional development requirements from the Virginia Department of Education to the School Board at its April 23 meeting. … For reading specialists for kindergarten through third grade, that means 27 to 54 hours of new training, Rounsley said. All elementary school teachers and all middle school English teachers must complete 18 to 27 hours. And other middle school teachers will be required to have nine to 18 hours of training in math, science and social studies.
VaNews April 26, 2024
By LISA ROWAN,
Cardinal News
Six new college partnership lab schools have been approved to launch in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office announced Thursday, including two in Southwest Virginia.
The six schools, each sponsored by a higher education institution, aim to provide new learning opportunities for students around the commonwealth.
“These schools are establishing innovative pathways for students to explore potential careers and be better prepared for the future, with a specific focus on addressing the needs and demands of their regions,” Youngkin said in a statement Thursday. “These Lab Schools are not just shaping the future of our students, they’re also shaping the future of Virginia.”
VaNews April 26, 2024
By MATTHEW BARAKAT,
Associated Press
A jury on Wednesday rejected a woman’s lawsuit seeking tens of millions of dollars from Virginia’s largest school system over allegations that she was raped multiple times as a middle schooler.
The woman, who was identified in court papers only by her initials, sued Fairfax County Public Schools under Title IX, a law that guarantees girls and women equal educational access. The lawsuit alleged school officials at Rachel Carson Middle School in Reston ignored her complaints that she endured sexual harassment and sexual assaults inside and outside of the school back in 2011 and 2012, when she was a seventh-grader.
VaNews April 25, 2024
