Briefs
Organ-sharing network to be overhauled and more Va. headlines
• The Richmond-based United Network for Organ Sharing is having its monopoly power overhauled by the federal government, which plans to break up the system after investigations found sluggishness and dysfunction that has left many people waiting for life-saving transplants.—Washington Post • The mother of a Shenandoah County elementary school student says her son’s rights were violated […]
Deputies, Central State employees indicted in Otieno death and more Va. headlines
• A grand jury formally indicted seven Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and three employees of Central State Hospital on second-degree murder charges in connection to the death of Irvo Otieno, whose family says he was smothered to death in police custody while in the midst of a mental health episode.—CBS News • A surveillance video showing the […]
Fauquier narrows school library book challenges and more Va. headlines
• In his first public comments about the death of Irvo Otieno in law enforcement custody at a state-run hospital, Gov. Glenn Youngkin re-upped his call for an “aggressive transformation” of Virginia’s mental health system.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The Youngkin administration’s proposed history standards include the first direct mention of the Readjuster Party, a biracial party that pushed […]
Otieno video to be released and more Va. headlines
• The Virginia prosecutor who has charged seven sheriff’s deputies and three Central State Hospital employees in connection to the death of Irvo Otieno is planning to release a surveillance video that other authorities previously refused to make public.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The town of Rocky Mount could become the first Virginia locality to impose term limits for […]
No losses, no gains for Virginia farms and farmland in 2022
The number of farms and farm acreage in Virginia remained flat in 2022 despite small overall decreases in both farms and farmland nationally, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to the USDA’s most recent Farms and Land in Farms report, the total number of farms in Virginia remained stable at […]
A Norfolk storm protection plan and more Va. headlines
• Three former employees of Central State Hospital have been charged in the death of mental health patient Irvo Otieno in addition to seven Henrico County sheriff’s deputies. Otieno’s family is now working with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also represented the family of George Floyd.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • A Northern Virginia man was arrested for allegedly […]
Man who died in Henrico police custody allegedly ‘smothered’ to death and more Va. headlines
• Prosecutors said in court Wednesday that 28-year-old Irvo Otieno, who died in the custody of Henrico County sheriff’s deputies as he was being checked into a mental health facility, was “smothered” to death. In a statement, the local police union said its members “stand behind” the seven deputies charged with second-degree murder.—Richmond Times-Dispatch, CNN • “Deaths of […]
Seven Henrico deputies turn themselves in and more Va. headlines
• Seven Henrico County sheriff’s deputies turned themselves in on second-degree murder charges in connection with the death of a 28-year-old inmate who died in their custody while being admitted to Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County.—Richmond Times-Dispatch • Gov. Glenn Youngkin is continuing to stoke talk of presidential ambitions by heading to Dallas next month for […]
States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure
The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]
Isle of Wight schools ban teaching about systemic racism and more Va. headlines
• “Virginia regulators and banks sent a message of reassurance on Monday that the state’s banks are stable and don’t face the risks that caused regional banks to fail in California and New York over a long, stressful weekend.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch • The Isle of Wight County School Board officially banned teaching about “systemic racism,” adopting a policy […]
State firefighter dies battling Buchanan wildfire and more Va. headlines
• General Assembly budget negotiators are hoping to meet this week to work toward ending a partisan impasse that led the legislature to adjourn this year without a new spending plan.—Washington Post • A Virginia firefighter died in an ATV accident while battling a wildfire in Buchanan County.—Associated Press • Virginia’s expansion of passenger rail service is translating […]
Youngkin defends education policies at CNN town hall and more Va. headlines
• Youngkin defended his transgender student policies, the state’s new draft history standards and his executive order forbidding the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” in a town hall hosted by CNN.—Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch • Newport News authorities have officially ruled out charges against the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in January. It remains unclear whether the […]