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Youngkin highlights ‘Cake Pop Bill’ to aid small businesses

By CHARLOTTE RENE WOODS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Kelly Phillips of KP’s Kake Pops has had an “overwhelming” few months, from facing a potential misdemeanor count to helping inspire a change in state law. In December, the Henrico County resident — whose treats range from custom cake pops to French macarons and chocolate pretzels — received a citation from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a state regulatory agency. It alleged that a social media post she made to promote her small business was in violation of state law.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Board of Wildlife Resources considers new regulations on hunting dog retrieval

By CHARLIE PAULLIN, Virginia Mercury

Virginia’s Board of Wildlife Resources started a process that could require deer and bear hunters to use GPS collars on their dogs and try to notify landowners if they need to retrieve canines from their property, a change from the current law that allows hunters to fetch their dogs from others’ land without permission. The board voted last Wednesday at a special meeting held at the Henrico County Sports & Event Center to begin the regulatory change process with a 45-day comment period on the measures that are part of ongoing efforts to address Virginia’s contentious right to retrieve laws.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Hartwig: Gov. Youngkin can protect Virginians from higher auto insurance costs by vetoing Senate Bill 256

By ROBERT HARTWIG, published in Cardinal News

Inflation has pushed the cost of just about everything up over the past few years — including motor vehicle insurance — so you’d be right to think it a particularly strange time for the Virginia General Assembly to pass a bill that could make your auto insurance premiums shoot up by as much as 14%. Yet that’s exactly what the assembly did this legislative session. And it’s not just consumers with their personal auto insurance policies who will pay the price. This bill applies to all motor vehicle insurance — including vehicles used for commercial purposes — which means it will impact Virginia businesses as well. Governor Youngkin has an opportunity to protect Virginia drivers and businesses from increased auto insurance costs by vetoing this harmful bill.

Dr. Robert Hartwig is Director of the University of South Carolina’s Center for Risk and Uncertainty Management.

VaNews March 26, 2024


After Appalachian hospitals merged into a monopoly, their ERs slowed to a crawl

By BRETT KELMAN AND SAMANTHA LISS, KFF Health News

In the small Appalachian city of Bristol, Virginia, City Council member Neal Osborne left a meeting on the morning of Jan. 3 and rushed himself to the hospital. Osborne, 36, has Type 1 diabetes. His insulin pump had malfunctioned, and without a steady supply of this essential hormone, Osborne’s blood sugar skyrocketed and his body was shutting down. Osborne went to the nearest hospital, Bristol Regional Medical Center. He said he settled into a wheelchair in the emergency room waiting area, where over the next few hours he drifted in and out of consciousness and retched up vomit, then bile, then blood. … In total, the council member was in the ER for about 30 hours, he said.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Youngkin signs homemade food bill inspired by ‘kingpin of cake pops’

By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

The front yard of Virginia’s Executive Mansion was turned into a miniature farmers market Monday as Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill meant to make life a little easier for a home baker he called “the kingpin of cake pops.” He was referring to Kelly Phillips, a 41-year-old cake pop maker from the Richmond area who was told she could face a criminal charge last year for selling her treats to the public without being in strict compliance with Virginia’s food safety regulations. … Youngkin … called the cake pop issue an example of how government rules can at times seem to stifle entrepreneurial energy, joking that Phillips got in trouble for having “the audacity to use Instagram to promote her product.”

VaNews March 26, 2024


Welcome to Bristol, where America’s abortion debate is right on your doorstep

By ADRIANNA RODRIGUEZ, USA Today

A sign overlooking the downtown traffic on State Street marks where Virginia meets Tennessee. Lauded as the birthplace of country music and home to NASCAR’s Bristol Motor Speedway, the two states in this Appalachian community share a library, chamber of commerce and post office. But the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022 tore Bristol in two. Virginia allows the procedure. Tennessee prohibits it. In the nearly two years since, this border town has found itself on the front line of the nation’s highly charged abortion debate as powerful influencers from both sides moved in, fueling fierce zoning fights, legal battles and fiery protests.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Botetourt County plant to showcase lower-carbon cement in $61.7 million Energy Department bid

By MATT BUSSE, Cardinal News

Roanoke Cement Co. has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to begin negotiating for an award of up to $61.7 million to support making cement using methods that reduce carbon emissions. The DOE said the company’s Troutville plant will demonstrate its ability to manufacture cement incorporating widely available types of clay. Research has shown that using clay in cement-making can reduce the amount of heat required and the amount of carbon dioxide released from raw materials, both of which result in lower carbon emissions compared to traditional methods of production.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Teachers Are Quitting. Some States, Including Virginia, Want to Pay More to Keep Them.

By MATT BARNUM, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

It is a popular idea long embraced by an array of politicians: Give teachers a raise. Yet it hasn’t happened in decades. Nationally, average teacher pay has barely budged since 1990, despite states pumping more funding into public schools. Across the country, new education dollars have instead gone toward additional staff, rising healthcare costs and pension obligations. Now, some lawmakers are championing new pay mandates to force the issue, amid elevated teacher-turnover rates and a decline in people training to become teachers.

VaNews March 26, 2024


Casey: Freedom, or ‘free-dumb’? Cocktails-to-go are now legal in Virginia

By DAN CASEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

You may have missed the big news last week about a new law signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. I did not, thanks to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Because I’m on its email list, the council sent me the press release. Here’s the headline: “Virginia Becomes 26th State to Make Cocktails To-Go Permanent in Support of Local Businesses and Consumers.” Yippee and hooray!

VaNews March 26, 2024


The future is dim for solar developments in Orange County

By EMILY HEMPHILL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The future of solar energy looks dim in Orange County. Last month, the county’s planning commission voted 4-1 to recommend the board of supervisors deny a special use permit request from ESA Solar. Despite losing this critical vote and facing significant community backlash, the Maitland, Florida-based solar developer was still optimistic about its prospect in front of the board to construct a 35-acre community solar farm.

VaNews March 26, 2024