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Virginia Supreme Court grants inmate’s release in earned sentence credits case

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

Jose Garcia Vasquez has served his time — and then some. Soon, he can reenter society. On Thursday, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled in his favor that he had been wrongfully denied his earned sentence credits. Virginia’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter says this resulted in Vasquez spending 18 months longer incarcerated than he otherwise would have been.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Republican looking to replace Spanberger launches first TV push in race for Virginia’s 7th District

By JACK BIRLE, Washington Examiner

Republican Derrick Anderson launched his first television advertisement in his bid to flip Virginia‘s 7th Congressional District, emphasizing a contrast to policies of House Democrats and President Joe Biden. Anderson, a Green Beret veteran, is the first of the six Republicans in the primary for the district to launch a TV ad buy. He is vying to flip the seat currently held by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who is not seeking reelection to her seat and instead running for governor in 2025.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Richmond’s housing agency to pause evictions for at least 30 days

By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond’s housing agency is putting a freeze on evictions from public housing communities for at least 30 days while staff members recheck rents and arrears calculations that tenants and legal aid lawyers have said are incorrect. The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has dismissed 14 eviction cases and put a freeze on other cases where it takes first steps toward eviction, said Kenyatta Green, the agency’s senior vice president. RRHA is also not filing any new cases during the freeze, she said.

VaNews April 22, 2024


The ‘Glock switch’: How criminals are turning handguns and rifles into weapons of war

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

This pistol spits like a rattlesnake. It’s wild and inaccurate, even in the hands of an expert officer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It’s a handgun like any other, unless you count the plastic prop that has been used to modify it. The street name for this little addition is a “Glock switch” or “auto-sear.” Its official name is “machine-gun conversion device,” which gives a pretty clear picture of what this sliver of plastic does. ... It was only in the 2024 legislative session that switches became illegal to possess in Virginia.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Key to Virginia budget deal is state tax collection trend

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

With a potential budget deal at stake, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and General Assembly budget leaders will keep a close eye on taxes Virginians pay and refunds they claim as state income taxes come due by May 1. Tax collections so far are up dramatically, which could open a path to a budget compromise in a May special session that does not include a tax increase. But legislators want to be sure they will have enough money for K-12 schools and other priorities in the next two years.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Youngkin, Democrats head into Va. budget reset with unfinished business

By LAURA VOZZELLA AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

After pulling back from a risky game of chicken this week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and leading Virginia Democrats are heading into the unknown territory of a state budget do-over. Youngkin and the Democratic-controlled legislature struck an 11th-hour truce on Wednesday to avert a standoff that could have triggered a state government shutdown and tarnished Virginia’s stellar bond rating. While most of the attention was on the budget they set aside that day, legislators also sent a host of bills back to Youngkin after stripping them of his amendments ...

VaNews April 22, 2024


Danish company to build facility, bring 150 new jobs to Chesterfield

By THAD GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Topsoe, a Danish company that provides carbon emission reduction technologies worldwide, announced it will build a manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County. The facility is being aided by nearly $136 million in tax credits that Topsoe received as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides provisions and tax credits to incentivize clean energy investments. The project is expected to bring more than $400 million in investments and at least 150 new jobs to Virginia. The exact location of the facility has not yet been disclosed ...

VaNews April 22, 2024


Schapiro: A first and last chance for both sides

By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Both sides blinked. If you were looking for evidence neither Glenn Youngkin, the nascent lame-duck Republican governor, nor his Democratic tormentors in the legislature had the upper hand in their hissing match over taxes and spending, look no further than their announced do-over on a Virginia budget for the two-year cycle that begins in just over two months.

VaNews April 22, 2024


Floyd woman announces run for Congress

By JEFF STURGEON, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A retired judge, lawyer and nurse from Floyd plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, for the 9th District seat in Congress. Democrat Karen Baker will make her official announcement at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in downtown Floyd, her campaign said. The location is the public gathering place on the sidewalk in front of Warren G. Lineberry Community Park. The Federal Elections Commission website lists the 72-year-old Baker as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives on the November ballot. She is the only Democrat who registered for the race.

VaNews April 22, 2024


U.S. Supreme Court sides with Richmond veteran in GI benefits case

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

He fought for his country when he served in the U.S. Army. Then, he became a counterterrorism agent in the FBI to help stop white supremacists from alleged plans to attack Black churches and synagogues. Richmond resident James Rudisill’s latest battle was to use his earned GI Bill benefits to further his education and become a chaplain. That battle took him nearly a decade and all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — which ruled 7-2 this week in his favor.

VaNews April 22, 2024