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Hundreds of stores to stop Virginia Lottery sales until path forward for skill games added to budget
Virginia residents with plans on playing a lottery ticket anytime soon may have just run out of luck — at least for the foreseeable future. Hundreds of stores across the state stopped selling lottery tickets at 5 p.m. on Thursday May 9, and it’s unclear when they will start sales back up again. Convenience store owners like Munir Rassiwala are hoping that their halt of lottery ticket sales will prompt law makers to lift the restrictions against skill games, allowing the money-making machines to start operating again.
The Buc-ee’s stops here? Stafford residents put off by potential gas giant
The mascot for Buc-ee’s may be the beaver, but many Stafford residents aren’t eager for the business to come to the county. Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain of large gas station/convenience stores, is seeking a permit to build what would be its third Virginia location near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Courthouse Road in Stafford. The initial public hearing on the proposal likely won’t be held until late fall or early winter at the earliest, but some Stafford residents who live near the proposed site have already begun voicing their opposition to it with county officials.
Budget deal reached by Virginia governor and negotiators, chairman says
After an earlier breakdown in state budget negotiations, General Assembly budget negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin reached a consensus on a two-year spending plan for Virginia that does not raise taxes. House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian confirmed the budget conferees reached a deal Thursday, though he said the full details of the plan would not go public until this weekend. “It will not be released until Saturday; there are a lot of administrative things that need to be done,” Torian, D-Dumfries, said Thursday. “We just reached an agreement this afternoon.”
As General Assembly special session approaches, are skill games dead or alive?
At a meeting of Virginia’s advisory council on gambling addiction late last month, Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, made a bold prediction. The battle over whether the state should legalize the slots-like gambling machines known as skill games reached a standstill in April due to policy disagreements between the General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin. There have been signals the skill game legalization effort could potentially be revived by being folded into the unfinished state budget lawmakers are supposed to finish next week. But Krizek said he doesn’t see that happening and thinks the skill game legalization effort is probably dead for the year.
Shenandoah County Fair pig scramble called ‘unfair and unjust’
The Shenandoah County Fair pig scramble was scrutinized during Woodstock’s Town Council’s meeting Tuesday night after a Lorton resident made the 90-minute drive to speak against the popular event. The pig scramble is held annually, with over 300 local children participating in last summer’s rendition. Children from 3 to 8 years old, their hands covered in lard, are tasked to catch one of a group of running pigs. If a child manages to capture one of the 3-month-old pigs up for grabs, it is theirs to take home.
Louisa Co. supervisors reverse decision to cut Piedmont Virginia Community College funding over Jewish film
What exactly Piedmont Virginia Community College President Jean Runyon said to convince the Louisa County Board of Supervisors that a documentary called “Israelism” by two Jewish filmmakers wasn’t antisemitic remains unclear. Though it must have done the trick, as the board unanimously voted Monday night to overturn the resolution it had passed just one week prior that cut off the county’s funding to the school, a sum of $6,000 this year.
Loudoun in preliminary ‘priority’ corridor for new electricity transmission lines
The U.S. Department of Energy released May 8 a list of potential “priority” corridors for new transmission infrastructure that would give a federal commission the authority to overrule state agencies when ruling on transmission projects. One possible corridor includes existing transmission rights-of-way across Loudoun County along with a new path through western Loudoun. The maps of the possible new transmission line corridors are “rough approximations,” according to the department, and provide little detail. The department did not respond May 8 to a request for the detailed mapping data used to create the high-level maps ...
Alexandria anti-‘Zoning for Housing’ case gets another day in court
Alexandria succeeded in its bid [Wednesday] to dismiss a case filed by residents furious with a citywide zoning overhaul that allows developers to build homes with up to four units on any property, but residents will get a chance to try again in a month. … The zoning reform package was unanimously approved last year by City Council after an extensive public engagement process. It includes citywide changes to single-family zoning, expansion of transit-oriented development, reducing parking requirements for single-family homes and analyzing office-to-residential conversions. The effort is meant to increase affordable housing options, as well as eliminate segregationist zoning practices of the past.
Southwest Va. region to get $845M as part of six-year transportation plan
The Virginia Department of Transportation’s Bristol district is slated to receive over $800 million, or about 3% of the state’s total proposed transportation funding, during the next six years. The district, which includes the 12 counties and two cities of far Southwest Virginia, is budgeted about $845 million in transportation funding as part of the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s proposed $25.4 billion six-year plan for fiscal years 2025-2030.
Texas man gets a year for role in 2017 torch-wielding mob at UVa
A frequently convicted White supremacist who once dared adversaries to shoot him and launch a race war has pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from his participation in the torch-wielding mob that marched across University of Virginia Grounds in 2017. William Henry Fears IV of Pasadena, Texas, made his plea Tuesday in Albemarle County Circuit Court, where he received a one-year term, the longest of any of the men who have been charged for their involvement in the 2017 episode.