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At task force meeting, military families rip ‘ugly side of Virginia’s government’
Kristen Fenty of Virginia Beach says her daughter Lauren only got one moment of physical proximity to the father she never got a chance to know. It happened when she was a baby, still small enough to be lifted onto her father’s casket. As a room full of government officials listened Monday, Fenty told the […]
Virginia House speaker OK with special session to restore military tuition program
Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said he’s not opposed to reconvening the General Assembly to address a public outcry over recent changes to a state program that covers higher education costs for some military families. “There is shared ownership over this issue that we can all work together on to correct,” Scott […]
Youngkin says Virginia won’t follow California’s clean car standards anymore
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the state will no longer follow car emissions standards set by California, despite his party’s failure to repeal or roll back a 2021 Democratic law that tied Virginia to those regulations. The move tees up what could be another legal fight over Republican leaders’ efforts to undo climate […]
Youngkin calls for repeal of new limits on college tuition program for military families
After attempting to rein in the skyrocketing costs of a state program that covers college expenses for some military families, Virginia leaders are discussing whether the move is proving so politically unpopular that they should return to Richmond to undo it. Advocates for military families have called for a special General Assembly session to repeal […]
Roanoke College poll finds Trump and Biden tied in Virginia
Virginia isn’t believed to be a battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, but a new poll from Roanoke College suggests the matchup between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump could be closer than expected. Poll results from the Southwest Virginia school’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research released Wednesday showed Biden and […]
Some legislative aides in Virginia do double duty as campaign staff
In Congress, elected representatives are supposed to keep their taxpayer-funded offices mostly separate from their political campaigns. In the part-time Virginia General Assembly, rules walling off legislative offices from campaign activity are less clear. The congressional rule exists to prevent incumbents from using government resources, including staff time, to help win reelection or move up […]
Virginia board considers ousting GOP election official accused of sharing voting machine info
Two members of the Charles City County Electoral Board have asked Virginia officials to begin the process of removing the third member of the board, who is accused of sharing sensitive election machine information with a local GOP leader. In a May 14 letter to the Virginia State Board of Elections, election officials in Charles […]
An ACLU lawyer defended racists’ free speech rights. Now she’s running for Congress
After growing up learning about the Civil Rights Movement and the importance of people being free to advocate for their beliefs, Leslie Mehta says providing legal help to the racist organizers of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was one of the hardest things she’s done as an attorney. Mehta, who’s now running […]
Youngkin vetoes bills on contraception access, skill games, Confederate heritage rollbacks
Last week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed 48 more bills passed by the Democratic-led General Assembly, blocking legislation aimed at preserving contraception access, ending state perks for Confederate heritage groups and legalizing slot machine lookalikes known as skill games. Friday was the governor’s deadline to act on a final batch of bills the General Assembly had […]
Richmond inspector general investigating city’s elections office
The Richmond Electoral Board met with the city’s inspector general in a closed session Wednesday following allegations of nepotism and financial improprieties in the election office led by Registrar Keith Balmer. Inspector General James Osuna and members of the electoral board declined to comment when they emerged from the closed-door meeting, saying an investigation opened […]
Petersburg won’t release $1.4B casino proposal from company that won project
Petersburg officials say they won’t release the winning proposal for a planned casino project they’ve called the largest economic development effort in the city’s history. Last month, The Virginia Mercury requested a copy of the successful casino offer submitted to the city by Maryland-based Cordish Companies. On Tuesday, the city’s Freedom of Information Act officer […]
Virginia’s skill game debate could stretch into the summer
After finishing work on almost everything else taken up during the 2024 session, the Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have decided to keep talking about skill games. The governor and several lawmakers said Monday that they’ll continue seeking a way to get the slot machine lookalikes taxed and regulated in response to a […]