GOVERNMENT + POLITICS

House District 97: Democrat Feggans vs. incumbent Republican Greenhalgh

BY: - September 21, 2023

In the Virginia Beach-centered 97th House District, a close race is shaping up between Republican incumbent and entrepreneur Del. Karen Greenhalgh and Democratic Air Force veteran Michael Feggans.  Greenhalgh, who is finishing out her first term in office, has founded several cabinet manufacturing and cybersecurity businesses, as well as managing a pregnancy crisis center. While […]

A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]

Despite success, Va. public-private program for early childhood care still far from meeting need

BY: - September 19, 2023

Although almost 157,000 infants and toddlers in Virginia were eligible for publicly funded early childhood care and education services last year, data from the Virginia Department of Education shows over 90% lacked access to them. The same goes for more than half of the state’s approximately 128,000 eligible preschool-age children.  In an effort to fill […]

US Capitol

Virginia congresswomen propose federal recognition of Patawomeck Indian Tribe

BY: - September 18, 2023

Three Virginia congresswomen are pushing for federal recognition of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe, whose presence in present-day Stafford and King George counties can be traced back to the 1300s and was noted in some of European colonists’ earliest records.  “Our community has always been here, and we have been a strong part of the fabric […]

COMMENTARY

Eminent domain’s long-ago racism still hinders African Americans today

BY: - September 18, 2023

More than a half-century ago, several colleges in Virginia benefited by usurping the onetime properties of Black people. The cruel irony? Those African Americans whose homes were snatched, often legally by utilizing eminent domain, weren’t welcomed at those same universities. Those property seizures are a stain on the commonwealth. They were racist in result – […]

Virginia ABC insisted it would phase out counter stores. A new one is opening in Portsmouth.

BY: - September 15, 2023

A closed Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority store in Portsmouth with a history of “high level theft” will reopen this year with its products behind bulletproof glass as part of a broader push to reduce retail theft at state stores approved by the authority’s board Friday.  The new efforts don’t include measures to address internal […]

COMMENTARY

Much of the maligning of Susanna Gibson is rooted in misogyny

BY: - September 15, 2023

You’ve probably heard Susanna Gibson’s name mentioned a lot this week.  Headlines blared the torrid news about Gibson, a Democratic candidate running to represent the 57th District in Virginia’s House of Delegates: She performed sex acts with her husband for an online audience and asked viewers to chip in tips, a violation of porn site […]

Youngkin signs Virginia budget offering tax reductions, major new spending

BY: - September 14, 2023

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed long-delayed amendments to Virginia’s two-year budget on the steps of the state capitol Thursday, concluding a six-month process that has left many local and state agency initiatives in limbo.  “You waited a long time for this day — too long, candidly,” Youngkin said. “But we came together and got it done.”  […]

You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’

BY: - September 11, 2023

When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services (EMS) to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are taking […]

Virginia Medicaid programs poised to receive more funding under budget deal

BY: - September 11, 2023

Greater funding and changes to several of Virginia’s Medicaid programs may be on their way after the General Assembly adopted long-delayed amendments to the state’s two-year budget last Wednesday.  The changes range from an increase in disability waiver slots and higher reimbursement rates for health care and disability service providers to modifying an emergency room […]

Was that chicken cutlet grown in a lab? These states want you to know.

BY: - September 11, 2023

Select U.S. restaurants have begun serving laboratory-grown chicken, spurring long wait times for reservations by diners curious to taste it. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave final approval for a few California-based companies to begin selling lab-produced chicken across the country. While it may be years before lab-grown meat is available at grocery […]

Millions more workers would receive overtime pay under proposed Biden administration rule

BY: - September 8, 2023

Salaried workers who have been ineligible for overtime pay would benefit from a proposed Biden administration regulation. The Department of Labor’s new rule would require employers to compensate full-time workers in management, administrative or other professional roles for any overtime worked if they make less than $55,068 annually. Currently, the salary threshold is $35,568. The […]