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By MICHAEL MARTZ,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, now with a clear path to the Democratic nomination for governor next year, jumped into the party’s primary in the 1st Congressional District on Friday by endorsing political newcomer Leslie Mehta for the nomination.
Mehta, 47, a former civil rights attorney in Chesterfield County, is running against former New Kent County Treasurer Herb Jones for the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, who defeated Jones two years ago.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By BILL ATKINSON,
Progress Index
(Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
The chief patron of the successful legislation that brought the long-pursued casino referendum has blasted Petersburg City Council over the choice of its former collaborator as the winning bidder for the business. In a scathing statement Friday night, Sen. Lashrecse Aird also pushed back at the city’s earlier claim that it wrote but never sent a letter of intent to one of the other four vendors “under duress” so that Aird would have a name to use as a bargaining chip in Richmond.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By KEITH EPPS,
Free Lance-Star
(Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
About a year and a half ago, Fredericksburg police responded to an accident at one of the city’s apartment complexes in which an 8-year-old boy ran in front of a car and was struck. City police chief Brian Layton said the first responding officer spoke Spanish and was able to communicate with the boy. But he couldn’t save the child, who died in the officer’s arms. “It was a horrific scene,” Layton said. “That’s the kind of thing that stays with you for a lifetime.”
VaNews April 29, 2024
By STAFF REPORT,
Loudoun Now
Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat on Friday announced a $1 billion investment to expand Google’s Virginia data center campuses this year including two Loudoun County sites.
The $1 billion investment brings Google’s total investment in the state to more than $4.2 billion. Google calculates its Loudoun County investment at more than $1 billion.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By SAM SCHAFFER,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
William & Mary will increase tuition for the second year in a row after years of the price remaining the same.
Tuition will increase by 2.5% for in-state undergraduate students and by 3.3% for out-of-state undergraduate students for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, according to a resolution passed by the W&M Board of Visitors on Friday.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By JONATHAN HUNLEY,
Fredericksburg Free Press
It was about a year and a half ago, right before Christmas, when a Fredericksburg police officer had a life-changing moment.
He was responding to a call for service at an apartment complex, and he was first on the scene.
An 8-year-old boy had been walking back from a playground with a family member when he saw that his parents had just gotten back home. The boy ran over to see his mother and father, but he was struck by a car coming through the parking lot.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By DWAYNE YANCEY,
Cardinal News
Y’all sure know how to make someone feel welcome.
Not me. I’m already here. I’m talking about the Arlington reader who contacted me recently, said he’d never been west of Roanoke and hoped soon to rectify that. He was writing in response to my column in defense of Southwest Virginia which, in turn, was a response to a story in Axios Richmond that made dismissive reference to “whatever the hell is west of Roanoke.”
I told our prospective visitor that I’d give him some recommendations on what to see and do and then promptly turned to the best source for that — you.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By CHARLIE PAULLIN,
Virginia Mercury
Those puddles of water along highways and property that seem like swamps are wetlands, a natural resource with numerous environmental benefits ranging from wildlife habitat and protection from flooding.
How those wetlands are sited and how they are protected is determined by wetland delineators, who are professionally certified after rigorous training and years of experience.
But Virginia legislators this year rolled back one requirement for the job and are attempting further changes through a less public regulatory process. Current professional wetland delineators say those efforts could undermine the integrity of the state’s certification and efforts to preserve a natural resource that is already under threat.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By GRACE MAMON,
Cardinal News
As fire and rescue volunteerism declines across the state, many localities are changing the way they provide this service. Using paid crews is costly and sometimes controversial, but it’s already been an effective solution for several Southern Virginia counties, and likely will be for many more.
Some localities, like Henry County, have coupled paid staff and volunteers for decades. Others, like Franklin and Pittsylvania counties, are in earlier stages of the transition to what is called a combination model of rescue services.
VaNews April 29, 2024
By NOUR HABIB,
Virginian-Pilot
(Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
One day, Judith Burkett of Portsmouth received a call from her grandson’s school: Did she know where Jakob was? He hadn’t attended in months. Months before, the boy — his mother, her partner and three younger brothers — had been living with Burkett. But Burkett’s daughter and her partner had a drug problem and the family suddenly left in fall 2022, a couple of months into Jakob’s third grade year. Burkett started asking friends and family to help look. She found out where they were living and alerted the school. The school attendance liaison became “a godsend.” “She was like a pit bull until she got him back in school.”
VaNews April 29, 2024
