Virginia Tech attorneys have agreed to a $100,000 settlement with a female soccer player who alleged that she lost playing time after refusing to go along with the woke agenda of her coach.
However, her former coach, stated that he had actually won and that the settlement proves he was telling the truth.
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Senate District Seven voters are voting Tuesday to fill the vacancy left now that Jen Kiggans is representing the region in Congress; while the SD 7 race is the most competitive on Tuesday, there are also elections in House Districts 35 and 24.
In SD7, Republican Kevin Adams, a Navy veteran, is running against Democrat Aaron Rouse, former Virginia Beach City councilman and a former NFL player. Senate Democrats see the special election as a chance to expand their narrow 21-seat majority, which leaves them vulnerable to tie-breaking votes from Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. For Republicans, keeping a Republican in the seat is important if they hope to see even minor changes on issues like education and abortion.
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Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) has introduced a bill to create education savings accounts (ESAs) for parents that would receive a portion of state education funds; the money-follows-the-student bill is in line with long-sought Republican education goals.
“This is about where our children should go to school,” Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears said at a Thursday press conference.
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Even though U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-55) would win the House Speaker’s race, it may have been overshadowed by an incident moments earlier on the U.S. House of Representatives floor involving U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL-03) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01). Throughout the week, Gaetz had been the figurehead for the opposition to McCarthy’s bid, which kept McCarthy from reaching the required majority to earn the role.
Rogers had emerged as one of McCarthy’s most staunch allies in the ordeal by taking an aggressive tack against the 20-something holdouts led by Gaetz. At one point, Rogers called for stripping the holdouts of their committee assignments, which drew the ire of U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21).
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Virginia lawmakers may soon consider removing the existing age restriction on people eligible for a military benefits income tax subtraction under a bill pre-filed ahead of the 2023 session.
House Bill 1436 by Del. John J. McGuire, R-Goochland, proposes removing the age 55 or older restriction, which would allow younger veterans to take advantage of income tax subtractions of up to $40,000 in military benefits in the coming years.
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One of the northern Virginia public school officials indicted last month in connection with how his school district handled two high-profile, 2021 sexual assaults in schools is facing a felony perjury charge in the case, his attorney said Thursday.
The official, Wayde Byard, a Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman, was indicted by a Virginia special state grand jury following an investigation into how the school system handled the assaults.
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Heading into the second year of his term, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he wants to “compete to win” with other states when it comes to attracting business and people to the Commonwealth.
That was the main takeaway from a speech given by the governor Thursday, when he touted proposed budget amendments to cut $1 billion in taxes and outlined his strategy to “win” in the Commonwealth.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin is at 52 percent approval, 32 percent disapproval in a Virginia Commonwealth University Poll that comes as he makes a pitch for tax cuts and business incentives ahead of a General Assembly session beginning January 11.
“Poll respondents feel that inflation needs to be dealt with and democracy ensured for our future,” former governor L. Douglas Wilder said in an announcement of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs poll.
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Delegate Wren Williams (R-Patrick) was found not guilty of assaulting Delegate Marie March (R-Floyd) on Wednesday. An outside judge brought in to hear the case said March’s legal team failed to prove Williams intentionally assaulted her, according to The Roanoke Times.
Williams and March are conservative Republicans in neighboring districts who have been paired into the same deep-red district for the upcoming election cycle, setting off one of the most heated primary battles currently in Virginia.
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Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Wednesday a civil rights investigation into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology amid allegations that school officials suppressed student merit awards until after college early application periods.
“My office will investigate whether the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology administration’s withholding of National Merit Scholarship honors from students violated the Virginia Human Rights Act,” he wrote in a letter to Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid and TJ Principal Ann Bonitatibus, warning that he planned to issue subpoenas if the officials don’t cooperate.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin has asked Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate the administration at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology after allegations that officials downplayed student National Merit awards until after early selection college deadlines.
“We need to get to the bottom of what appears to be an egregious, deliberate attempt to disadvantage high-performing students at one of the best schools in the country,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Tuesday press release. “Parents and students deserve answers and Attorney General Miyares will initiate a full investigation. I believe this failure may have caused material harm to those students and their parents, and that this failure may have violated the Virginia Human Rights Act.”
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General Motors (GM) gave a grant to an organization that supplies elementary schools with books promoting the transgender ideology.
The automotive manufacturing company donated money to the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) “Rainbow Library Program,” according to a 2021 Social Impact Report published by GM.
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American Catholic leaders are acclaiming the life and work of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose scholarly writings emphasized the unity of faith and reason and, most fundamentally, the primary truth of the Catholic faith, which teaches God is Love.
Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger, died Saturday at the age of 95. He became pope in April 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II, and served until his resignation in February 2013.
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Virginia Republicans have introduced several bills to repeal legislation that ties Virginia’s vehicle emissions rules to California’s standards. Republican efforts to repeal Democrat-passed pro-environment legislation failed in the Senate in 2022 and are likely to face the same fate this year, but Republicans are drawing new urgency from a summer 2022 move by California regulators to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
“This law, adopted during the two years when Democrats had total control of Virginia’s government, puts unelected bureaucrats from California in charge of our emission standards,” Delegate Kathy Byron (R-Bedford) wrote in a Sunday op-ed in The Richmond Times-Dispatch. “That’s not the worst thing about the new rules. The worst thing is that they just won’t work.”
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Virginia gained more than 26,000 residents between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, according to 2022 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
As of July 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates Virginia’s population sat at 8,683,619 – an increase of 26,254 residents compared to July 2021 estimates. The figure represents a 0.3% change from 2021 to 2022.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced $24.7 million in grants targeted at improving 20 blighted nonresidential properties across Virginia.
The funds will be supplemented by an additional $72.8 million in other funding sources, with 600 jobs expected as a result of the projects. The new round of grants comes as Youngkin places an emphasis on business development and helping blighted regions.
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Dealers who sell or distribute substances containing fentanyl could face first-degree murder charges under a bill introduced by a Virginia lawmaker.
House Bill 1455 would declare anyone who knowingly distributes or sells 2 milligrams or more of a mixture containing a detectable amount of fentanyl to another person without their knowledge it contains fentanyl is guilty of attempted first-degree murder by poison.
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Following South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem’s lead, nearly half of U.S. states have put restrictions on or banned the use of Chinese-based social media app TikTok.
At least 19 states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices – Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utha, Virginia and West Virginia.
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State Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) is trying again to pass a ban on politicians accepting campaign funds from Dominion Energy and other utilities.
Petersen’s SB 804, pre-filed for the 2023 General Assembly session, is similar to 2022 bills sponsored by Petersen, State Senator Richard Stuart (R-King George), and Delegate Lee Ware (R-Powhatan). The Senate Privileges and Elections committee killed the Senate bills in bipartisan votes 11 to four.
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Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) and Delegate Paul Krizek (D-Mount Vernon) have prefiled legislation for the upcoming General Assembly session to create a problem gambling committee composed of gambling industry representatives and problem gambling prevention advocates.
“As Virginia moves forward with the expansion of gaming, it’s important that we understand the ills that come with it,” Reeves said in a Tuesday press release. “We must focus our attention on Virginians who struggle with gambling addiction. Delegate Krizek and myself are excited to announce our bipartisan effort to ensure that our Commonwealth’s gaming regulations properly reflect the much-needed funds for problem identification, gambling addiction education, and treatment.”
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Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, reportedly delayed notifying its students of their receipt of certain academic achievement awards until after the deadlines for early selection at some colleges and universities, which many parents have alleged was done as part of the school district’s alleged efforts to create “equal outcomes for every student, without exception.”
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Virginia will reduce its grocery sales tax rate starting Jan. 1, resulting in a 1% tax on groceries and certain essential personal hygiene products.
Virginia will eliminate the 1.5% state retail sales and use tax on food and certain hygiene products, leaving a 1% local option sales tax.
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Loudoun County parents are speaking out against a resident’s petition that calls to ban hate speech from school board meetings following a school board meeting in which parents lambasted school officials over their handling of a sexual assault case.
The petition, signed by several hundred county residents and started by 19-year-old Andrew Pihonak, a Loudoun County resident and member of the LGTBTQ community, calls to “ban hate speech in Loudoun School Board meetings” after a man called homosexuality “immoral” and quoted a violent Bible verse during the public comment period of the Dec. 13 board meeting. Parents present at the meeting and seeking accountability from the school board for a special grand jury report, which found the district failed to alert the community of multiple sexual assaults within the district, told the Daily Caller News Foundation the one comment is not representative of their efforts and that their demands have nothing to do with the LGBTQ community.
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Virginia’s minimum wage is set to increase from $11 to $12 per hour Jan. 1, a rise that comes after an attempt by Republican lawmakers to halt the minimum wage increase failed earlier this year.
The increase comes as a result of 2020 law that outlined incremental wage increases starting in 2021. The law specified that employers must pay $12 an hour starting Jan. 1 and paves the way for $15 an hour in future years, but that’s dependent on future action by the General Assembly.
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A Democratic candidate who appeared on the ballot in Tuesday’s 4th Congressional District firehouse primary filed a lawsuit accusing the Democratic Party of Virginia of placing an “unconstitutional burden” on voters due to the placement of polling sites.
Tavorise Marks, a civil rights advocate and a candidate who appeared on Tuesday’s ballot, claims the party “in its ‘firehouse primary’ scheme has created an unconstitutional burden on potential voters in the 15 jurisdictions of the 4th Congressional District.”
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A new country music label is recruiting and promoting anti-woke artists, launched by the young founder of The Post-Millennial. Matthew Azrieli, who is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, started Baste Records to promote talented country singers who are struggling to survive in the mainstream music business due to their right-leaning political and cultural views. He’s brought on talent like Chris Wallin, also a singer and songwriter who has written music for some of the biggest country stars, including Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, and Trace Adkins.
Azrieli told The Arizona Sun Times that he started Baste Records because music is a passion. He wanted to “provide a healthy outlet for conservatives, instead of just complaining.” Baste Records intends to appeal to a certain niche, the center right, instead of attempting to have a broad appeal that risks alienating factions. He pointed out Netflix is an example of an entertainment company that is engaging in the latter, angering both conservatives and the transgender community, causing it to lose market share. He said, “Cultural and political identities are driving entertainment media.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin has released a list of more than 300 regulatory changes his administration plans to implement by July 2023, and also a manual for agencies on how to comply with the governor’s June Executive Order 19, focused on improving Virginia’s regulatory process and ordering a 25 percent reduction in total regulations.
“Our new Office of Regulatory Management is transforming how Virginians can access regulatory materials,” Youngkin said in a Tuesday announcement.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recent budget proposal includes a $50,000 item for adult correctional facilities to offset increased costs from establishing a “15-week gestation limitation for abortion.”
The item aligns with Youngkin’s request that legislators pass a pain threshold abortion ban in 2023. Such a bill will face stiff opposition in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it will likely be sent to the Senate Education and Health Committee, chaired by Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced $1.2 million in funds for an affordable childcare program in southwest Virginia; a Monday press release from the governor describes the Ready SWVA program as a way to help people enter the workforce.
“Finding quality, affordable and available childcare options for working families in Virginia has been an enduring challenge,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Expanding access to providers while strengthening the current network is a necessary step in the right direction.”
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Leon Benjamin is the Republican nominee for a special election in VA-04 after Benjamin won 57 percent of the votes in the first round of ranked choice voting in a Saturday canvass, Fourth District Republican Chairman Carey Allen told The Virginia Star.
“Thank you, VA-4, for your nomination to represent you in Washington! Together we will WIN this Special Election and ensure your voice is HEARD through the Halls of Congress. God bless you all,” Benjamin said in a social media statement.
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Days after Gov. Kay Ivey issued a memo banning TikTok from government devices, Auburn University announced its plans to prohibit the app as well.
On Wednesday, Auburn’s IT department sent out a notice saying the popular video-sharing app would be banned on campus WiFi and devices, according to AL.com. The IT department on Thursday tweeted a link to the new policy. However, that tweet has since been removed, and the school’s IT page posted an update Saturday saying, “Auburn is monitoring the developments related to accessing TikTok and will provide information as we receive it. Check back later for more information.”
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin will propose $230 million in his upcoming budget amendments to bolster Virginia’s behavioral health system and build crisis care capacity as part of a three-year plan unveiled Wednesday.
Youngkin’s plan, titled “Right Help, Right Now,” is aiming to reshape the state’s strained behavioral health care system. The plan outlines a six-pronged approach – ensuring same-day care for individuals in a behavioral health crisis, relieving the burden of law enforcement and decriminalizing behavioral health, building capacity for treatment beyond hospitals, targeting substance use disorder treatment, prioritizing the behavioral workforce in underserved communities and innovating crisis care services.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin banned TikToK and WeChat on state devices and WiFi on Friday, the same day Attorney General Jason Miyares signed on to a letter asking Google and Apple to change TikTok age ratings to reflect content on the platform.
“TikTok and WeChat data are a channel to the Chinese Communist Party, and their continued presence represents a threat to national security, the intelligence community, and the personal privacy of every single American,” Youngkin said in a press release announcing his executive order.
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Delegate Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico) has withdrawn from the race for the nomination for the open VA-04 congressional seat and endorsed Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), a move that comes as top Virginia Democrats try to block controversial Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) from taking the nomination for the safe-Democratic seat. After Morrissey announced for the race, endorsements from top Democrats like Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) started to come in, with more coming in after Bagby’s Thursday withdrawal.
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The liberal voting activist group that dumped $350 million of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s money on local election offices during the 2020 presidential election is back again with another $80 million to give over the next five years.
And Wisconsin once again will be front and center in the Center for Tech and Civic Life’s “generosity.”
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RICHMOND, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin is highlighting $1 billion in tax relief in his budget amendment proposal, including lowering Virginia’s business tax rate from six to five percent, and slightly lowering the income tax for payers above $17,000 from 5.75 percent to 5.5 percent. In Thursday’s joint meeting of the General Assembly money committees, Youngkin and members of his administration told legislators that lowering tax rates will actually increase Virginia’s tax revenue in the long run by attracting more growth.
“This first step will mean our business tax rate will be lower than Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. But more importantly, by setting ourselves on a committed path to an even lower rate – like Democrat-led North Carolina was able to do – we will send a clear signal to businesses that we want your jobs and we are going to drive the Commonwealth’s economic engine even faster,” Youngkin said. “Starting down this path is to reject false choices presented in the past. Yes, Virginia, we can choose competitive taxes, we can choose economic growth, and we can choose critical investment priorities all at the same time.”
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LOUDOUN COUNTY, Virginia — Parents demanded Loudoun County School Board members resign on Tuesday following the release of a special grand jury report, the Daily Caller News Foundation observed.
Loudoun County parents urged members of the school board to step down and resign over the special grand jury report, which found the district “dropped the ball” on student safety after failing to alert the community of multiple sexual assaults that took place within the district. The comments come after former Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Scott Ziegler was indicted Monday on three misdemeanor charges, including penalizing an employee for a court appearance.
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Virginia spent $3.2 billion on economic development incentives between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2021, about 1.6 percent of total spending from the Commonwealth’s general fund, according to an annual update from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
According to the report, seventy-two percent of the $3.2 billion in development incentives spending was on tax incentives, including $1.6 billion, 51 percent, in sales and use tax exemptions over the study period. Tax incentives saved businesses $2.3 billion during the ten-year study period, and annual tax savings for those businesses doubled from FY 12 to FY 21.
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RICHMOND, Virginia – State Senators Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) and Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) announced their campaigns for the seven-day primary for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District.
McClellan pitched herself as a natural successor to late Representative Don McEachin on Tuesday, and shortly afterward, Morrissey emphasized his legislative record and opposition to Democratic elites.
Delegate Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico) had already announced his campaign on Monday.
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The former superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia has been indicted following a special grand jury report that concluded the school district mishandled several sexual assault cases involving students.
The Loudoun County Special Grand Jury charged former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler Monday on three misdemeanor charges, including penalizing an employee for a court appearance, while Loudoun County Public Schools Public Information Officer Wayde Byard was indicted with felony perjury. The Loudoun County School Board fired Ziegler Dec. 7 “immediately and without cause” following the special grand jury report.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin ordered a February 21, 2023 special election to fill late Congressman Don McEachin’s seat, setting off a tight timeline for nominations in the safe-D seat. Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), and Delegate Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico) are the top candidates for the race.
McClellan and Bagby have already filed to run for the race, but only Bagby has officially announced his candidacy. On Monday afternoon, Morrissey seemed to confirmed speculation that he would enter the race, announcing a “major announcement” to be made at a Tuesday press conference. At the same time, fierce Morrissey ally John Fredericks, publisher of The Virginia Star, tweeted “Breaking…!VA-04 Shakeup! In upcoming Special,centrist VA Sen Joe Morrissey (D) expected to get in the race tomorrow-11:30 am presser at Petersburg City Hall. His entry completely changes dynamics in big name crowded field. If he gets in, he wins!”
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday a special election following the death of U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA-04), will be February 21.
The election will fill Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, which was held by McEachin from 2017 until his death November 28. McEachin died from complications of colorectal cancer less than three weeks after winning re-election, as previously reported by The Center Square. McEachin’s funeral was in Richmond last week.
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Virginia lawmakers will enter their next regular session in January as the state continues to record budget surpluses.
The commonwealth finished the last fiscal year with a surplus of nearly $2 billion and the state revenue collections continue to exceed expectations. Some economists are warning against using the excess money to increase spending during the legislative session.
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Richmond plans to begin removing a statue of A.P. Hill this week. The statue is the city’s last Confederate monument standing on public property and the base contains remains of the general, which has delayed the process to remove the monument.
On Thursday, Richmond Circuit Court Judge David Cheek Sr. denied a motion from some Hill descendants seeking to block removal of the monument while the appeal over who gets to keep the monument continues. Richmond Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Robert Steidel told 8News the removal process will begin Monday. Hill’s remains will go to Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, and Hill’s statue will be stored while an expected appeal plays out; Hill’s descendants want the statue to go to Cedar Mountain Battlefield, near the cemetery that is expected to be Hill’s final final resting place.
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Virginia received about $67.5 million in public health infrastructure funding through a federal grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced.
The grant funding, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act, will span over five years to bolster the public health workforce, modernize data infrastructure and improve organizational systems, according to the governor’s office. The Virginia Department of Health will coordinate the grant to determine where the money goes.
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The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted four to one with two abstentions on Wednesday to advance a regulatory repeal of the Commonwealth’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), with completion targeted for the end of 2023.
The program requires utilities in participating states to bid on carbon allowances, and withdrawal from the program has been a top goal of Governor Glenn Youngkin since before he took office. Republicans argue that utilities will pass the costs on to consumers, and Democrats highlight funds raised through the program for flood protection and coastal resilience.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced an “end of COVID-19 related fines and penalties” Tuesday while issuing an executive order to require agencies to report fines, fees, and suspensions related to the shutdowns. In an accompanying press release, he said his upcoming budget proposal would include language ordering agencies to halt further enforcement actions and direct Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings to develop a reimbursement process.
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The Loudoun County School Board voted unanimously to fire Superintendent Scott Ziegler without cause after a grand jury report blamed Ziegler and his administration for much of the district’s mishandling of two 2021 sexual assaults.
The board spent much of the Tuesday evening meeting in closed session and didn’t publicly discuss Ziegler’s termination; there is an emergency meeting schedule for Thursday to appoint Chief of Staff Daniel Smith to be interim superintendent.
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Media outlets, intellectuals, and even academics talk about the Jones Act as an antiquated piece of legislation that prevents the U.S. from mysteriously entering an economic golden age. Yes, it’s a hundred years old, but don’t let its age mislead you. Today, it is much more important to America and Virginia than its critics admit.
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A commission to combat antisemitism ordered by Governor Glenn Youngkin published its report Monday, describing a rising amount of antisemitic incidents nationally and in Virginia, and recommending 21 steps the governor and the General Assembly could take.
“In recent years, Virginia has had fewer incidents than neighbors in Maryland and DC, but the national trend of increasing antisemitic incidents has not spared Virginia, and some of the most high-profile antisemitic incidents in recent history have occurred in the Commonwealth. Generally, while the Commonwealth has not seen antisemitic assaults take place since 2018, there has been an increased frequency of antisemitic harassment and antisemitic vandalism at levels which have remained constant from 2018 to 2021,” the report states.
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