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Fewer Virginia kids are overdosing on cannabis products following new law
The number of children and teens in Virginia going to the emergency room for cannabis-related sickness has declined, following a law passed last year that regulates the sale of THC in commercial hemp products or extracts. An analysis from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association determined the number of cannabis-related pediatric ER visits dropped 14% between the second half of 2022 and the second half of 2023. The decline is a sign the new law is working, said Ryan McKinnon, a spokesperson for a group called Virginians for Cannabis Safety.
Former Sen. Amanda Chase in court for assault charge
Former state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, was in court Monday for an assault and battery charge after an altercation earlier this year at a local GOP event. Chesterfield Republicans met in March to select new committee leaders, but a confrontation involving Chase became the main attraction. Chase was charged with assault and battery after a confrontation with Adaire Lazaro outside of the meeting.
Virginia budget includes $26.5M for Bristol landfill remediation
Funding to support Bristol Virginia’s landfill remediation efforts survived the final cut of Virginia’s embattled biennial budget. On Monday, the General Assembly approved a two-year spending plan that includes $26.5 million to aid with work to resolve environmental issues with the city’s landfill. Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the compromise budget Monday afternoon. “The city would like to thank Virginia lawmakers, especially Gov. Glenn Youngkin and our local representatives, Sen. Todd Pillion and Del. Israel O’Quinn, for ensuring this critical funding remained in the final budget,” the city said in a written statement.
Yancey: 5 questions about the 5th District
Five weeks from today, we’ll be talking about who won the 5th District Republican primary between U.S. Rep. Bob Good and challenger state Sen. John McGuire — and why. Today, we’ll pose five questions, the answers to which we don’t know right now, but which will help determine the winner in the June 18 primary. So let’s go! 1. Who benefits most from a high turnout? Here are the facts we start with: Good has never had to run in a primary before. When he won the nomination in 2020 by defeating incumbent Denver Riggleman, he won it in a convention where 2,375 people were registered. When he was renominated in 2022 over challenger Daniel Moy, he did so in a convention where 1,795 votes were cast.
As Danville Casino marks 1 year, full resort expected to draw ‘different type of visitor’
Exactly one year ago Wednesday, Danville’s temporary casino opened, inching the city closer toward becoming a tourism destination. Housed in a giant tent-like structure — although once inside it’s hard to believe it’s a makeshift building — lines of eager patrons with money in hand awaited the doors to officially open at 10 a.m. May 15, 2023. With the full resort expected to be in operation by the end of the year, the shift will move from a day-trip style visit to more of a vacation getaway. “This is a different type of visitor that we truly haven’t seen as much of in this community,” Lisa Meriwether, tourism manager with Visit SoSi, told the Register & Bee in an interview Monday.
Hutchins: Mr. Jefferson’s Tears, or how to quell a student rebellion
It’s been days now since dozens of unruly masked students were cleared from University of Virginia Grounds. The school and the surrounding Charlottesville community are still coming to terms with what happened, how and why. Partisan newspapers across the country have blown the story out of proportion, claiming without evidence there was more violence and destruction than eyewitnesses remember. Politicians in Richmond and Washington have openly questioned the university’s direction. Some blame a weak-willed administration, others blame professors instructing students in thoroughly un-American studies and others blame the students themselves, too young, too spoiled, too choleric to control their baser instincts.
VPAP Visual Early Voting by District: June 2024 Primaries
Early voting for the June 18th primary elections is underway in Virginia. Check back daily to see an updated map of early ballots cast by U.S. House district.
VDOT buys Hanover building for $33.5M
The Virginia Department of Transportation has purchased the Mechanicsville headquarters of Owens & Minor for $33.5 million, with plans to move the state agency’s central office there in summer 2025. Much of VDOT’s staff will move from the Annex building at 1401 E. Broad St. into the new building at 9120 Lockwood Blvd. in Hanover County, according to Jessica Cowardin, assistant director of communications for the state agency. The 160,000-square-foot campus in Atlee Station Business Park was built by Timmons Group in 2006. VDOT also purchased an additional 50 acres, according to Newmark Group, which brokered the deal.
Youngkin signs bipartisan state budget, ending stalemate
The General Assembly on Monday approved a budget compromise for fiscal years 2024-26, ending a stalemate between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Democrats that began in early March, when the legislature adjourned its regular session. The $188 billion spending plan, which includes no new tax increases, no additional tax relief and more than $2.5 billion in K-12 funding, passed in the House of Delegates 94-6 and in the Senate 39-1. The agreement averted an unprecedented government shutdown that loomed large ahead of July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
Yellen visits Stafford amid effort to ensure rural areas no longer lag behind with broadband access
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visited Stafford County Monday as part of President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America Agenda” to promote high-speed internet in rural areas. Representatives from Comcast walked Yellen through some examples of the equipment used to set up and maintain high-speed broadband networks, although much of the fiber-optic cable network is underground. The site on Richland Road represents nearly 700 homes in the western part of the county that now have access to service.