Day: June 5, 2022

Virginia Budget Deal Cuts School Choice Program by More than Half

The Center Square

The Virginia budget deal, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly, would cut funding for a school choice tax credit program by more than half of its current funding.

The Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program provides a 65% tax credit for individuals or businesses who make donations for scholarships to students so they can attend certain private schools and nonpublic preschool programs. Current law caps the state funding for the program at $25 million per year, but a provision in the budget proposal would reduce that cap to only $12 million per year.

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Commentary: The Climate Cult and Their Green Lethargy Future

Virginia Star Staff

When I was in Congress, I once went on a fact-finding trip to Pakistan. At the time, the country was being wracked by a terrorist bombing campaign intended, in large part, to destabilize the government of President Pervez Musharraf. What I found, however, was that President Musharraf was facing another threat to his rule.

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California Reparations Report Demands Tree Planting in ‘Black Neighborhoods’ for ‘Shade Equity’

Virginia Star Staff

A report on alleged systemic racism released Wednesday and greenlit by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for the planting of trees statewide “to create shade equity” and reduce “heat islands in black neighborhoods.”

The 500-page report was released after Newsom signed legislation in 2020 forming a nine-member task force to “inform Californians about slavery and explore ways the state might provide reparations.” It describes tree demolishing in black neighborhoods for highway construction and says climate change makes these areas hotter.

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Report: Republicans Jockey for Leadership Role as House Expected to Flip

Virginia Star Staff

A number of Republican members of Congress are gearing up to launch a bid for GOP whip, should the House flip in November, Politico reported Thursday.

Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks has allegedly called up fellow Republicans in the House to get a picture of the type of support he would have if he made the attempt, three GOP sources told Politico.

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Biden Administration Department of Health and Human Services Announces New Environmental Justice Office

Virginia Star Staff

The Biden Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing the creation of a new “Office of Environmental Justice,” meant to focus on so-called “global warming’s” impact on minorities.

As reported by Just The News, the new office will determine ways to “better protect the health of disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations on the frontlines of pollution and other environmental health issues.”

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New York GOP Rep. Chris Jacobs Will Not Seek Re-Election After Gun Control Support Backlash

Virginia Star Staff

New York GOP Rep. Chris Jacobs announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election after his support for an assault weapons ban generated backlash within his own party.

Jacobs announced last week, in the wake of a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that he would back a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, according to the New York Times. Jacobs represents the 27th Congressional District of New York, which includes some of the Buffalo suburbs.

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Government Report Admits Dominion Voting Machines Are Vulnerable in 16 States

Virginia Star Staff

A government agency has claimed that voting machines used in at least 16 states by an infamous vendor have software vulnerabilities that could compromise them in future elections.

According to ABC News, the report by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) admitted that the machines, provided by Dominion Voting Systems, are susceptible to hacking if the current vulnerabilities are not addressed. The report details at least nine specific weaknesses and suggests several measures to prevent further exploitation of these flaws.

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Del. Dawn Adams: Budget Legalizes Marijuana Retail ‘Straight Up’

Eric Burk

Delegate Dawn Adams (D-Richmond) was among a bipartisan group of seven delegates who voted against the budget on Wednesday. Adams criticized the Youngkin administration’s policies for state employees, but focused on language in the budget proposal that fails to adequately regulate THC in retail marijuana.

“We are now legalizing retail marijuana straight up. That’s what we’re doing. It’s just we’re going to call it hemp. And you can call it hemp, but it’s marijuana, and specifically until you have regulations, that does of marijuana that is now legal in retail stores can be anything as long as they put it on the package,” Adams, a nurse practitioner, said in a speech to the House of Delegates.

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