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’No other choice’: UVa president defends decision to call in state troopers amid protest
Hours after calling in state troopers to break up a quiet, rain-soaked encampment of anti-war protesters, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan issued a public statement calling the episode “upsetting, frightening and sad.” Ryan had been noticeably absent from the episode itself. His public statement Saturday evening, his first on the matter, came well after the encampment had been raided and the 25 demonstrators who had pitched tents on the patch of grass by the university's chapel were arrested and carried off to Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
VCU should embrace peaceful dissent, not send in the riot police
No matter one’s religious or political beliefs, there is no denying the anger and passion fueling the recent nationwide surge in student protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In the city, after a violent clash between police and demonstrators at Virginia Commonwealth University on Monday night, the streets are once again littered with proverbial eggshells. To this point, Richmond is but a snippet. The pro-Palestinian movement has been slowly building in RVA for months, but so far most of the violent imagery flashing across our screens is from elsewhere.
Democrats hold 5th District candidate forum in Danville
Three Democrats vying for the nomination to run for the 5th District Congressional seat faced off during a candidate forum at Danville Community College on Thursday evening. The three contenders, Gary Terry, Paul Riley and Gloria Witt, hope to replace current Rep. Bob Good, R-Campbell County, who is being challenged for the Republican nomination by state Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland.
General Assembly budget leaders might back off expanded sales tax
General Assembly budget leaders say they will back off expansion of Virginia’s sales tax if state revenues continue to be high enough to pay for legislative priorities. Those priorities include expanded state funding for public education and health care, as well as toll relief in Hampton Roads and additional money for the Washington Metro public transit system. Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, confirmed on Friday that state tax collections appear to be high enough to support spending priorities in the next two-year budget without expanding the sales tax to digital services ...
Bids for SPSA landfill alternative arrive
Bids proposing alternatives to the Southeastern Public Service Authority’s near-capacity Suffolk landfill are in but staying secret for now. SPSA, which operates the regional landfill on behalf of Isle of Wight County and seven other Hampton Roads localities, solicited proposals due May 1 from companies looking to fill the void come June 30 when the WIN Waste, formerly Wheelabrator, waste-to-energy plant that had been diverting more than 70% of the region’s municipal waste from the landfill shutters.
Chesapeake Bay cleanup far from 2025 goals, despite some progress
Virginia and the other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are continuing to cut pollutants flowing into the bay but are still well short of targets for nitrogen and phosphorus that they have promised to hit by next year. Nitrogen and phosphorus feed the summertime algae blooms that starve the bay and its creatures of oxygen, which fish and shellfish alike need to stay alive.
Excavation of graves begins at University of Richmond
After gaining state approval, the University of Richmond has begun excavating graves on campus that might belong to enslaved workers who lived on a plantation there 180 years ago. The state’s Department of Historic Resources on Monday approved UR’s application to excavate, and work began immediately, said Joanna Wilson Green, an archaeologist who oversees cemetery preservation for the department.
VCU protesters arraigned as dozens appear in court to support them
Twelve people were arraigned in a packed courtroom at the John Marshall Courts Building on Friday morning on charges related to Monday’s violent clash between pro-Palestine protesters and police outside the James Branch Cabell Library on VCU’s Monroe Park campus. [They] have all been charged with participating in an unlawful assembly and trespassing on VCU property after a group of protesters established an encampment on the lawn outside the library and refused to disperse when ordered by officers dressed in riot gear and carrying guns and pepper spray.
Dominion: Big development projects get electric bill discounts
Wooing Virginia development projects for the kind of growth that generates scores of jobs and millions of dollars of new investments can sometimes mean millions of dollars of breaks on electric bills. In Virginia, such projects received some $24 million worth of discounts on utility bills since Dominion Energy’s launch of an incentive program nine years ago, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch analysis of State Corporation Commission filings.
Two Democrats seek to unseat Virginia Beach Rep. Jen Kiggans
Two Democrats are running in the June 18 primary to get the chance to challenge Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia) in the fall. Early voting for the race kicked off Friday. Missy Cotter Smasal is a Navy veteran and former small business owner. She ran for State Senate in 2019, but lost. The establishment of the party has lined up behind her. … Jake Denton is a lawyer and first time political candidate. He says many of the endorsements came before he entered the race.