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How a Stafford mom helped pass a law that pays caregivers of disabled children
When Emily Sagle sat down to draft a Facebook message this past November, her zeal for helping families living with severe disabilities was tempered only by a deeply ingrained skepticism of bureaucracy. “I was like, ‘The government is long lines and red tape,’” recalled the Stafford County mother of two, “it will never go anywhere.” Sagle’s message did, however, find the inbox of its intended recipient, then-Delegate-elect Joshua Cole. Within weeks, she had secured a sit-down meeting with Cole — who’d been elected only weeks prior — and a staffer at a Fredericksburg-area Starbucks to discuss a potentially expiring Medicaid waiver program that allowed parents to be paid as caregivers for their disabled children.
Virginia Democrats celebrate environmental wins, say they’ll still fight to stay in RGGI
Virginia first entered the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 2020, and it’s added over $800 million to state efforts to combat climate change. While Governor Glenn Youngkin has tried to pull the state out of the agreement, Democrats said Tuesday they managed to still achieve some environmental wins despite RGGI cuts. Delegate Alfonso Lopez said the Democratic legislature got $231 million for environmental management for farms. That included $20 million for new pollution reduction projects. Then there’s $400 million in bonds for updating sewage treatment plants.
Youngkin signs bipartisan bills aimed at helping Virginia’s kids avoid foster care
In a ceremonial bill signing held in Hanover County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed two bipartisan bills aimed at helping Virginia’s kids avoid foster care. The bills create the Parental Child Safety Placement Program, allowing local Departments of Social Services to facilitate an agreement between a child’s biological parents and a relative so that relative may take care of the child to avoid putting them in foster care.
Kiggans says the ads are a lie. Democrats say her voting record tells a different story
Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-VA02, is defending herself against attacks accusing her of voting for legislation that could potentially cut funding for veterans’ services. A former Navy pilot and nurse practitioner, Kiggans represents the Hampton Roads region in Congress, where a large portion of the population is active-duty military personnel. Vote Vets, a group that says they elevate the voices of veterans and military families through progressive legislative policies and electoral endorsements that impact the lives of active service members and veterans, is calling out Kiggans for her comments defending herself in a recent video.
Va. teacher pay gets a boost in budget, but it’s still projected to fall short of national average
Legislation that would have aligned Virginia teachers’ pay with the national average or higher by the 2027-28 school year won bipartisan support but was blocked from the state budget by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto last week. The two-year budget, signed last week, includes $540 million to help pay for 3% salary increases for teachers and state employees in both years. The governor said he supported the goal of “ensuring that teachers and state-funded education support positions are funded competitively,” but didn’t approve the bill to boost educators’ salaries to the national average because it relied heavily on what he viewed as flawed data from the National Education Association, which represents educators across the country.
Fentanyl is fueling a record number of youth drug deaths
Fentanyl, a pervasive killer in America’s illicit drug supply, is increasingly landing in the hands of teens across the region and nation, worrying providers who say treatment options for youth are limited. Across the country, fentanyl has largely fueled a more than doubling of overdose deaths among children ages 12 to 17 since the start of the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released this month. Fatal overdoses in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are in keeping with the national increase in opioid fatalities, which until recently primarily claimed the lives of adults.
Hung Cao, hopeful to represent GOP against Kaine, calls Staunton area ‘podunk’
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Hung Cao again failed to address critical questions about spending by the Unleash America super PAC when asked by a conservative talk show host on Tuesday, May 21. But he did continue his attacks on the story that prompted critiques from members of his own party. Instead of explaining why the money raised by the super PAC did not go to Virginia Republican candidates for state office in 2023, Cao again called the report that prompted the allegations a “hit job” and referred to the Staunton News Leader, which reported the story, as a “podunk local newspaper” on an episode of the Alec Lace show Tuesday.
Too hard to stomach? Fairfax County chews on a ‘meals tax’ for dining out
That restaurant pasta or gas station burrito in Fairfax County could be facing a price increase after lawmakers in search of revenue began considering an option that has been rejected twice amid heated opposition: a meals tax. On Tuesday, county supervisors directed County Executive Bryan J. Hill to study the pros and cons of imposing a tax of between 1 and 6 percent on food and beverages prepared in restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores — a response to the board’s passage this month of an austere budget that increased the annual tax bill for homeowners by an average of $450.
Petersburg school leader spent $22,000 on travel over 15 months on job, records show
Former Petersburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Tamara Sterling charged taxpayers more than $22,000 while traveling to conferences during her 15 months on the job, according to records obtained by CBS 6 through a public records request. The $22,000 bill was more than double what the Henrico County superintendent spent, 14 times what the Hopewell superintendent spent, and 43 times what the Chesterfield superintendent spent on travel during that same time frame.
The decision to close schools usually comes down to money. But the experience is far more emotional.
When people ask what will happen to the decades of yearbooks, trophies and other memorabilia inside Henry Elementary School when it closes this summer, Tiffany Herman doesn’t have answers. The PTO secretary and her fellow board members are first working on allocating the remaining money the organization raised for the school before it has to dissolve its nonprofit status. But her biggest concern right now is trying to get her younger daughter excited about going to fourth grade at a new school. … Henry Elementary is one of two schools completing their final academic years on Wednesday in Franklin County, one of several school divisions in Southwest and Central Virginia facing ongoing declining enrollment and the funding challenges that often accompany it.