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Kaine talks Israel-Hamas war during stop in Lynchburg

By EMMA MARTIN, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) made a stop in Lynchburg on Monday to talk with voters at La Vida Coffee and Market, between visits to Roanoke and Farmville. A former Virginia governor and mayor of Richmond, Kaine was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and is seeking a third term this November. “...[I]t’s just good to gather, tell people why I’m running again and how excited I am to keep representing Virginia but also take their questions and take their advice,” Kaine told reporters after the event.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Yancey: 20 questions for the next governor

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

Just like that — snaps fingers — Abigail Spanberger is the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor next year. To be fair, she’s had that position for a while now, which is no doubt what led Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to drop his gubernatorial bid Tuesday and announce instead for lieutenant governor. That instantly led state Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, to announce what had been widely known anyway: that he’s also a candidate for lieutenant governor. So is Babur Lateef, the chair of the Prince William County School Board. Will a three-way race induce others to enter on the theory that the vote will be chopped up and a majority may not be necessary to win?

VaNews April 24, 2024


Ohio man in 2017 UVa. torch-bearing mob heads to trial in first test of Virginia law on intimidation

By HAWES SPENCER, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

For the first time, a jury will get to consider one of the felony intimidation charges against a participant in the torch-bearing mob that marched across University of Virginia Grounds in 2017. The early June trial of Jacob Joseph Dix, who marched with at least 200 others the night before the violent Unite the Right rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville, will be a public test of the prosecutorial discretion of Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley, who has lodged the charges against Dix and his fellow marchers. However, Hingeley has been sidelined and replaced by Henrico County’s commonwealth’s attorney, Shannon L. Taylor.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Graves and Hernandez: Governor should sign bill to protect health workers

By ANGELIA WILLIAMS GRAVES AND PHIL HERNANDEZ, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Right now on the governor’s desk sits landmark legislation that is essential for the safety of doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers. House Bill 861, which we passed through the General Assembly earlier this year, is known as the “Protecting Frontline Healthcare Workers Act.” We call on the governor to sign it into law. This bipartisan bill would finally make it illegal to knowingly bring a firearm, large-blade knife, explosive or other dangerous weapon into a hospital or emergency department. Believe it or not, there is no current state law that directly prohibits this conduct.

Del. Hernandez represents Norfolk’s 94th House District and sponsored HB861. Sen. Graves represents Norfolk’s 21st Senate District and sponsored SB515.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Petersburg nonprofit helps girls advocate school issues to General Assembly

By ALLIE PITCHON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Lauren McCray and Khloe Atwood are just 11 years old. That didn’t stop them from traveling to the General Assembly in February alongside two other young girls with the help of Petersburg non-profit Pretty Purposed, where they spoke to lawmakers about underfunding issues affecting their schools. “Most of our milks and stuff are either expired or are going to be expired the next day, and our water fountains weren't turning on for like two years," said Atwood, who attends the fifth grade at Sunnyside Elementary School in Dinwiddie County.

VaNews April 24, 2024


GOP congressional hopefuls in 7th District make case at candidate forum

By JOEY LOMONACO, Fredericksburg Free Press

Two of the five candidates who took the stage at the Fredericksburg Convention Center on Tuesday night are military veterans who spent time in the special forces. Two others immigrated to the United States, while yet another is an ordained minister who claimed his bishop told him 10 years ago that “the Lord was sending me to Washington.” However, seeing as voters and not providence will determine the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, Derrick Anderson, Cameron Hamilton, Maria Martin, John Prabhudoss, and Terris Todd gathered for a wide-ranging candidate forum that covered issues from immigration to inflation, while also serving as a platform for the candidates to tout their credentials.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Youngkin taps Virginia ABC Authority board member to lead struggling agency

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin didn’t have far to look for a new chief executive officer at the struggling Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. Youngkin announced on Tuesday that he is appointing Dale Farino, a retired alcoholic beverage distribution executive whom he named to the ABC Board last month, to lead the authority. The governor also announced that he is replacing Farino as vice chairman of the board with Mark Stepanian, the former owner and CEO of Loveland Distributing Co., a beer wholesaler based in Richmond, which is now owned by Premium Distributors of Virginia.

VaNews April 24, 2024


Tuition and Fees to Increase at University of Mary Washington Next Year

By ADELE UPHAUS, FXBG Advance

After several years of remaining flat, in-state tuition at the University of Mary Washington will increase by 2% next year. “A small increase, still below the rate of inflation, is needed to support state-mandated compensation actions for faculty and staff and the continued success of academic programs and the campus experience,” the university wrote in a press release Monday afternoon.

VaNews April 23, 2024


New law closes marriage loophole to protect Virginia children

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

By signing a bill last month that abolished child marriage, Gov. Glenn Youngkin made Virginia one of only a dozen states to prohibit the practice and the first Southern state to do so. That’s a landmark for the commonwealth, one that should have earned unanimous support in the legislature. Those who voted against, including three Republicans from Hampton Roads, should account for their opposition.

VaNews April 23, 2024


Richmond man charged with assaulting officer in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

By LUCA POWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A Richmond man associated with the white supremacist group Patriot Front is accused of striking a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Nathaniel Noyce of Richmond is charged with assaulting law enforcement officers, civil disorder, and violence and disorderly conduct at the Capitol.

VaNews April 23, 2024