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Staff Report
Virginia Mercury staff report. For questions, comments or concerns, contact [email protected]
Richmond’s last Confederate monument removed and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 13, 2022
• Gov. Glenn Youngkin called a Feb. 21 special election to fill the vacant Virginia congressional seat formerly represented by congressman Donald McEachin, who died last month.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The city of Richmond removed its last city-owned Confederate monument after a prolonged legal battle over how to handle the remains of Gen. A.P. Hill, who was buried […]
More details on former trooper who killed 3 in California and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 12, 2022
• Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office reportedly took items from the home of co-worker Austin Lee Edwards without the knowledge of authorities leading the official investigation into Edwards after he killed three people in California and died by suicide. The sheriff’s office declined to comment, but experts said they saw no good reason for […]
An Arlington push for stronger swatting laws and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 9, 2022
• Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder gave congressional testimony that was “often evasive or misleading,” according to a report from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which has been looking into a variety of misconduct allegations surrounding the team.—Washington Post • William Fowler, a former sergeant with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office who is married […]
Loudoun superintendent fired after grand jury report and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 8, 2022
• The NCAA is granting another year of eligibility to all University of Virginia football players who were playing in their final year this season. The move comes in response to the mass shooting last month that left three players dead and led the team to cancel several games.—Daily Progress • The Loudoun County School Board voted […]
Jail deaths and suicides soar and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 7, 2022
• The former Virginia police officer who “catfished” a 15-year-old girl in California and killed three members of family was detained and hospitalized in 2016 after threatening to kill himself and his father, according to Virginia police records. A spokesman for the Virginia State Police said the agency conducted a “thorough background check” before admitting him […]
Scathing grand jury report on Loudoun schools assaults and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 6, 2022
• A former political consultant for ex-congressman Scott Taylor avoided prison time by pleading no contest to three misdemeanor charges tied to a petition fraud scandal from Taylor’s 2018 election campaign.—Virginian-Pilot • A grand jury report released Monday blasted the Loudoun County school system’s handling of a pair of sexual assaults by the same student last year […]
Who helped draft Virginia’s new history standards and more headlines
By: Staff Report - December 5, 2022
• Former Reagan education secretary William Bennett and several conservative-leaning groups were involved in drafting the new history and social science standards proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration, according to a newly released list.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The Virginia Tourism Corporation, which stoked controversy by awarding a tourism ad contract to Youngkin’s political ad firm, authorized more than […]
Inadequate education for Fairfax disabled students and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 2, 2022
• Gov. Glenn Youngkin bucked tradition by becoming the first governor in almost three decades not to take an overseas trade trip during his first year in the job, a period when he took 19 out-of-state trips for political purposes. A Youngkin spokesman defended the lack of trade missions, saying Youngkin’s extensive business connections made travel […]
Parental notification in Loudoun schools and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - December 1, 2022
• Fresh off a hard-fought election win, Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger wants to fill a new “battleground” leadership position for the U.S. House Democrats. “We have a front-row seat to the concerns of swing voters and voters from various backgrounds and political viewpoints.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The Loudoun County School Board approved a policy requiring parental notification for […]
Lawsuit against Chesapeake Walmart over warning signs and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - November 30, 2022
• A worker at the Chesapeake Walmart filed a $50 million lawsuit claiming the company failed to act on her prior complaints about the coworker who killed six store employees and took his own life in last week’s mass shooting. The suit, which says “employers have a responsibility to understand the warning signs and take threats […]
Vigil in Chesapeake after Walmart shooting and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - November 29, 2022
• “The suspect in a Southern California triple homicide who died in a shootout with police was a Virginia law enforcement officer who investigators believe drove across the country to meet a teenage girl before killing three members of her family.”—Associated Press • At a vigil last night in Chesapeake following last week’s mass shooting at a […]
Former delegate suing state Democratic Party over nomination and more Va. headlines
By: Staff Report - November 28, 2022
• Former Democratic delegate Cheryl Turpin is suing the Democratic Party of Virginia and the state, challenging the constitutionality of a $5,000 filing fee the party imposed for candidates interested in running for an open state Senate seat. “They’ve created a situation where they’ve admitted someone has been given a nomination because they paid the money […]