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UVa graduates walk out on President Jim Ryan’s opening commencement address
The University of Virginia’s Final Exercises were barely underway Saturday morning when a couple dozen graduates walked out in protest. Their exit was triggered by the entrance of UVa President Jim Ryan, who took the stage in front of Old Cabell Hall to welcome the crowd of thousands to Grounds and congratulate the class of 2024. ... With many students and parents still getting situated by the time Ryan stepped up to the podium, it was difficult to make out which graduates were participating in the walkout and which were taking their seats.
‘How do you get hypothermia in a prison?’ Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: “unbearable” conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia. “How do you get hypothermia in a prison?” the investigator asked. “You shouldn’t.” The exchange, captured on video obtained by The Associated Press, took place during an investigation into the death of Charles Givens, a developmentally disabled inmate at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center, who records show was among those repeatedly hospitalized for hypothermia.
Kaine listens to appeals regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was at St. Thomas Episcopal Church Friday, where he met with members of the Appalachian Peace Education Center and heard their concerns regarding the ongoing violence in Gaza. Kaine heard from several speakers, who presented him with a call to action. “When we see the epidemic of violence, the genocide in Palestine, we don’t know all the solutions. But we do know that sending more bombs and more rockets is not the answer,” Buckey Boone, APEC chairman, said. “We want you to speak out against the mass killing and forced migration of people, the starvation of children, the total destruction of the medical system.
Roanoke police settle ACLU lawsuit with new department policy
The Roanoke Police Department and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia reached a settlement agreement this month in a lawsuit related to an immigrant’s visa situation. The lawsuit, which the ACLU-VA says is the first of its kind, was filed in Roanoke Circuit Court in March. The civil rights group sued the police department on behalf of an immigrant survivor of domestic violence, whose request for a visa certification was denied by the department “despite clear state law,” according to an ACLU-VA press release published Friday.
Coyner and Aird: Riverside Regional Jail needs competent leadership — now
There has been a crisis of leadership at Riverside Regional Jail. With the departure of the superintendent, there is an opportunity to chart a new course, to invest in quality leadership — and we are calling on the Riverside Jail Authority Board, made up of the city managers and county administrators of all the participating localities, to hire the most qualified candidate with successful experience running a jail. In 2022 alone, Riverside Regional Jail witnessed the heartbreaking loss of four lives, adding to the seven deaths recorded in the preceding year and another seven in 2020.
‘We can win’: Democratic candidates for 5th District address voters at Amherst forum
Three candidates running for the Democratic nomination to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional district addressed issues affecting voters in Amherst on Thursday with laughter and cordial exchanges in stark contrast to the highly contentious battle playing out on the Republican side of the race. Gloria Witt, of Amherst County; Crozet resident Paul Riley and Gary Terry of Danville spoke for an hour during a question-and-answer forum that drew more than people 50 to Second Stage Amherst. They are each looking to come out on top of a June 18 primary and achieve a feat no Democrat has done since former Congressman Tom Perriello left office in January 2011 — turning the district blue.
Maizlish: Virginia should reject Confederate symbols and honor worthy figures instead
The Shenandoah County School Board’s vote reverting the names of Honey Run Elementary School and Mountain View High School to names that honor Confederate generals shows an ignorance of American and Virginia history. The decision warrants a review of the history of the Civil War and an examination of how the United States came to honor men who committed treason. Supporters of the school board’s decision claim that these Confederate names honor Virginia’s heritage. They argue that removing the names “erases history.” The truth is Confederate memorials such as these school names were part of an organized propaganda campaign to erase and rewrite Civil War history.
By setting aside partisan bickering, Virginia officials reached a compromise budget
It’s rare in our deeply divided, hyperpartisan political environment to see elected officials pass anything remotely resembling a genuine compromise, but the two-year state budget approved this week is a notable, and laudable, exception. Democratic lawmakers who lead the General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin each made substantial concessions from their priority wish list in order to reach agreement on a deal that, by and large, advances the commonwealth’s interests. Both sides deserve credit for choosing engagement rather than extremism in order to see this through.
Wood: Protect Virginia’s vulnerable coast from offshore drilling
Virginia banned offshore drilling in our state waters nearly four years ago, but we are still at risk from oil and gas extraction today. Oil and gas development is still allowed in most federal waters further off our coast, and its impacts can forever damage coastal communities, economies and businesses. Oil spills don’t respect state or federal boundaries, yet much of the Atlantic Coast is still open for drilling. President Joe Biden has an opportunity now to do something about this once and for all.
Youngkin vetoes bills on birth control, Confederate tax loopholes
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed bills meant to ensure access to contraceptives and close tax loopholes for Confederate heritage groups Friday night, continuing a record-breaking veto spree that also nixed measures to ban guns from psychiatric hospitals and remind parents to store weapons out of their children’s reach. Acting on bills that the General Assembly sent back to his desk in April without his proposed amendments, Youngkin signed seven and vetoed 48, taking his veto total for the year to 201 — more than the 120 that the previous record-holder, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, issued over four years as governor.