Briefs
Republicans accuse Dems of misrepresenting abortion stance and more Va. headlines
• “Republican state Senate candidate Bill Woolf, who is running in Virginia’s Nov. 7 election on his record as a former Fairfax County Police detective and human-trafficking foe, would have been fired had he not resigned in 2017 during an ongoing internal affairs investigation into hours he reported on duty while at another job, according to […]
Virginia ABC head steps down
Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority CEO Travis Hill is stepping down from his role, nearly two months after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration criticized ABC’s rising operating costs and declining profits. “It has been an honor to be a part of reimagining and innovating Virginia ABC in service to the commonwealth of Virginia,” stated Hill in […]
For-profit teacher training falls short on special ed and more Va. headlines
• Education officials convinced a state board to approve a partnership with a for-profit teacher training company even though a review had already determined the company’s special education courses didn’t meet state standards.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • Court testimony began this week in a trial over whether Loudoun County’s former school superintendent retaliated against a special education teacher who […]
A possible mass shooting plot thwarted in Haymarket and more Va. headlines
• Fairfax County police say a mass shooting may have been thwarted by a citizen alerting police to troubling social media posts by a man who was later arrested at a church with a loaded handgun.—News4 • Ford is “pausing” construction of a massive electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan amid political blowback over the involvement of […]
Feds investigating migrant child labor at Eastern Shore chicken plants and more Va. headlines
• The U.S. Department of Labor is looking into whether major poultry producers Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms rely on the labor of migrant children after the New York Times Magazine published a story about a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy whose arm was maimed while working at a slaughterhouse on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.—New York Times • Amazon and […]
What a federal shutdown could mean for Virginia elections and more state headlines
• Gov. Glenn Youngkin is downplaying the threat of a federal government shutdown, which could come just as voting begins in Virginia’s General Assembly elections.—Washington Post • With abortion a major issue in Virginia’s elections, Republicans are starting to go on offense with ads that portray the Democratic position as “no limits.”—NBC News • A pair of Virginia […]
Franconia-Springfield Bypass gets $100 million to improve congestion on NoVa rail corridor
Virginia will receive $100 million in federal funding to help alleviate rail congestion and delays by constructing a passenger rail bridge in a busy train corridor in Northern Virginia. The funding will go to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority to design and build the Franconia-Springfield Bypass, an elevated rail bridge south of the Franconia-Springfield station […]
Tropical storm warnings ahead of weekend and more Va. headlines
• COVID-19 cases are rising in Virginia, but the state is unlikely to reimpose any pandemic restrictions. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said “people should just live their lives and be responsible.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch • Tens of millions of dollars in post-pandemic learning grants are still sitting unused as parents voice frustration about the difficulty navigating a state program meant […]
A settlement in the Irvo Otieno case and more Va. headlines
• “The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the state, county and the sheriff whose deputies were involved in restraining the man.”—Associated Press • A congressional committee advanced a […]
After ERIC withdrawal, Virginia strikes deals with 6 states to share voter data
The Virginia Department of Elections recently signed agreements to exchange voter registration data with six other states
Migrant child labor at an Eastern Shore poultry plant and more Va. headlines
• A 14-year-old Guatemalan boy’s arm was mangled by a machine while working the night cleaning shift at a poultry plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, drawing attention to the open secret of migrant child labor in American slaughterhouses.—New York Times • Virginia’s new budget allows breweries to distribute some of their own beer, a step back from […]
Wexton won’t seek reelection after diagnosis and more Va. headlines
• U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Loudoun, announced that she won’t seek reelection in her competitive Northern Virginia district next year after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, an incurable neurological condition. “People I know know I’ve struggled for a long time,” Wexton said. “I’ll be able to relax and enjoy the time I have left and […]