U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon granted beagle-breeder-for-testing Envigo a partial win on Friday, allowing the facility to complete contracts for more than 500 dogs while a Department of Justice lawsuit against the Cumberland facility proceeds.
“Those dogs have been abused, and the right thing to do would be to let them be adopted and have a loving home like those who have been adopted,” Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) told The Virginia Star.
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As part of the press materials announcing the LEGO Group’s plans to build a factory in Virginia, the company accidentally released an internal document with guidance for public relations staff about questions including some related to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s conservative politics and Critical Race Theory.
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A U.S. senator Friday spoke out against the “woke” policies implemented by the military, which has become especially apparent during LGBT Pride Month of June.
“The United States military should be focused on one objective – creating the most lethal fighting force on planet Earth,” Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told The Tennessee Star. “Instead, Joe Biden’s military leaders are secretly attempting to turn our brave warfighters into social justice warriors. Communist China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea do not care how woke our military is or what our soldiers’ pronouns are.“
She echoed a similar sentiment on Twitter.
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RICHMOND, Virginia — The Virginia General Assembly approved many of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s budget amendments on Friday, but in mostly-partisan votes, killed his efforts to expand a ban on using state tax dollars on abortions, and to create a three-month gas tax holiday. Additionally, House Republicans and Democrats killed an amendment that would have made it a felony to protest outside courts and justices’ homes to influence proceedings.
Youngkin criticized the defeat of the gas tax holiday on Twitter: “Democrats failed to put politics aside for the good of Virginians — for a third time.”
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VA-07 GOP candidate Derrick Anderson launched his third ad of the campaign on Wednesday, highlighting his Trump-aligned policies on the border, guns, and abortion ahead of the nomination on Tuesday.
“Lawlessness on our streets. Abortion on demand. Joe Biden and the radical Democrats are destroying America,” the ad says. “Conservative warrior Derrick Anderson is ready to fight back.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin is sending 35 budget amendments to the General Assembly to approve on Friday, including a gas tax holiday, a ban on using state Medicaid funds for some abortions, and a law that would make it a class six felony to picket or demonstrate outside a courthouse or residences of justices and judges. The Democratic Senate is expected to block of Youngkin’s controversial changes, but eyes are on Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) to see if he’ll vote with Republicans to approve the abortion funding ban.
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The LEGO Group announced plans to build a $1 billion factory in Chesterfield, Virginia, expanding the company’s production to the U.S. The company held a Wednesday press conference with Governor Glenn Youngkin, and executives are highlighting the 1,760 new jobs expected from the factory and an onsite solar plant that will provide all the energy needed by the factory.
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Construction and mining equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. announced Tuesday it will move its global headquarters from its current location in Deerfield, Illinois, to the company’s existing office in Irving, Texas.
“We believe it’s in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar’s strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world,” said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby in a press release.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that Virginia’s May revenue reports are 9.9 percent higher than May 2021. That’s good news for the governor, who is imminently expected to release amendments to the budget already passed by the General Assembly. Legislators will return Friday to vote on Youngkin’s changes.
“This report confirms that the time is now to deliver meaningful tax cuts to Virginia families who are getting crushed by five dollar gas and record-high inflation,” Youngkin said in a press release
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RICHMOND, Virginia – A Richmond District Court judge dismissed two requests for two-year protective orders against State Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), who was alleged to have threatened staff on his radio show. But hours of testimony from several witnesses were contradictory and incomplete, leaving a he-said-she-said story of an intense…
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GOP candidate for VA-07 Prince William Supervisor Yesli Vega launched her first ad in several months on Monday, with the primary just over a week away on June 21.
“I was leaving church with my family when I received the worst phone call of my life, that my brother had been gunned down and nearly killed by MS-13 gang members. I knew then that I would join law enforcement to protect others in need and defend our community,” Vega says in the ad.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA), and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) spoke at a Monday ceremony celebrating Boeing’s relocating its headquarters to Arlington and its partnership with Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Arlington.
Youngkin said that when Boeing announced its move to Virginia in May, “I was particularly proud because when we went to work on January 15, we talked about Virginia being open for business. We talked about Virginia raising standards and expectations and education. We talked about Virginia being the best place for our veterans to live and work and raise a family.”
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House Republicans are touting $3 billion of direct aid for education in the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget that Governor Glenn Youngkin is currently reviewing. Key education items include over $1 billion in grants and loans for school construction and modernization, and two five-percent raises for teachers and other state employees. It also includes $45 million for school resource officers.
House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) said education spending in the budget is higher than pre-recession levels, even accounting for current inflation levels.
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Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) is leading in the latest fundraising reports in the VA-07 GOP primary. In reports earlier this spring, Derrick Anderson led the field, showing him to be a serious contender, but Reeves is now at $680,511, while Anderson is at $599,324, according to data compiled by The Virginia Public Access Project.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin formally received the budget on Thursday, launching a seven-day timeline to review the budget and amend or veto parts of the bill, but the current budget ends at the end of June, creating a tight timeline.
The budget with his changes must be available for 48 hours before the General Assembly votes on it.
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Virginia politics author Jeff Thomas has filed a lawsuit against Department of Elections officials to try to force new House of Delegates elections in 2022. He argues that elections held last year on old lines leave him and other voters under-represented.
“Defendants have deliberately played games with the Court and the people’s rights for political reasons,” Thomas’ states in his lawsuit against Elections Commissioner Susan Beals and State Board of Elections Chairman Robert Brink.
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GOP nominee in VA-08 Karina Lipsman wants to focus on public safety, the economy, education, and mental health. Lipsman is battling Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) in a deep-blue district, and was nominated at the end of May in a ranked-choice convention. “We live in Northern Virginia. We don’t live in,…
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A bill to create an incentive to bring the Washington Commanders NFL team to Virginia is dead after months of accumulating concerns over tax breaks, traffic, the team’s brand quality, and its controversial leadership. On Thursday, bill sponsor Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax) told The Washington Post that the final issue was Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s comments about the January 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol.
Del Rio had tweeted about 2020’s “summer of riots,” and in followup comments recorded by NBC Washington, he said, “Businesses are being burned down. No problem. And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re not gonna talk about — we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin held a ceremonial bill signing of legislation focused on blocking human trafficking, and a swearing in of the Commission on Human Trafficking Prevention and Survivor Support. He said the legislation would help victims get their lives back and have future opportunities, help find perpetrators and bring them to justice, and equip members of the public to recognize the signs of human trafficking and know how to respond.
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Two Loudoun County Public Schools teachers said in a public comment period Tuesday that their contracts weren’t renewed after they were subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the district and after their complaints about teachers being inappropriately touched.
Erin Brooks said she had a student who was repeatedly touching teachers and students in a sexual way.
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Raytheon Technologies is moving its global headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, the company announced Tuesday.
“The location increases agility in supporting U.S. government and commercial aerospace customers and serves to reinforce partnerships that will progress innovative technologies to advance the industry. Washington, D.C. serves as a convenient travel hub for the company’s global customers and employees,” a press release states.
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A group of parents and teachers are suing the Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) over policies that require teachers to use students’ preferred pronouns and to keep the students’ preference confidential from their family. The plaintiffs are represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has filed several lawsuits against Virginia school districts over transgender- and equity-related policies.
“Parents—not public schools or government officials—have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, care, and education of their children,” ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Bangert said in a June 4 press release. “Teachers and staff cannot willfully hide kids’ mental health information from their parents, especially as some of the decisions children are making at school have potentially life-altering ramifications. As the clients we represent believe, a teacher’s role is to support, not supplant, the role of the parent.”
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Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) has a potential work-around to the Senate filibuster that blocks Democrats from significant gun control reform: he’s drafting legislation to enact a 1,000 percent tax on assault weapons, first reported by Business Insider.
“What it’s intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen,” Beyer said, according to Insider.
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A three-judge U.S. District Court panel has dismissed with prejudice Paul Goldman’s lawsuit to force new House of Delegates elections in 2022. The Office of the Attorney General had argued that Goldman does not have standing, and the court agreed.
2020 U.S. Census data was delayed, delaying redistricting and forcing 2021 House elections to be held on old lines. Before the election in September 2021, Goldman sued, arguing that population shifts meant that some people would be under-represented, and argued for holding House elections again in 2022. Goldman didn’t gain much outside support and faced opposition from both former Attorney General Mark Herring and current Attorney General Jason Miyares.
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Attorney General Jason Miyares has appointed Chesterfield County Supervisor Leslie Haley as his Deputy Attorney General for Government Operations and Transactions. Haley is one of several candidates who lost the GOP nomination for attorney general to Miyares in 2021.
A Friday press release announced that Haley has left her Chesterfield role and will start in Miyares’ office Monday.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin and top emergency management officials launched hurricane season with a warning about preparedness for Virginians: forecasters expect an above-average season with likely a potential range of six to 10 hurricanes including three to six category three or larger hurricanes.
“I want to encourage Virginians to take the time and prepare now for this coming storm season,” Youngkin said in a press release. “This includes not only our coastal residents but inland Virginians as well. History has proven that our inland communities are just as susceptible to hurricane impacts like flooding, tornadoes, and high winds.”
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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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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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Governor Glenn Youngkin has net positive job approval in two polls released Friday. A Roanoke College poll has the governor at 53 percent approval and 35 percent disapproval while a Public Policy Polling survey has him at 43 percent approval, 34 percent disapproval.
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The recently-passed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget includes language blocking the City of Richmond from holding another casino referendum until November 2023. Richmond officials have called for a 2022 referendum after voters rejected a casino in 2021, but Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) is instead pushing for Petersburg to be granted a casino license, and on Thursday afternoon, Richmond officials and the casino developers suggested they were considering legal action.
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GOP nominee for Virginia’s tenth congressional district Hung Cao said his top priorities if he’s elected to Congress will be the economy and national security.
“We have to stabilize this economy. This is spiraling out of control,” Cao told The Virginia Star. “We have to cut spending. This is not just about my kids and your kids, but our grand kids and our great grand kids. This is going to resonate for years.”
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Tennessee Education Report noted in a report Tuesday that school districts apparently have been informed by the Tennessee Department of Education that TNReady statewide testing scores for third, fourth, and fifth grade were incorrect for several schools and had to be rescored – but not in time to be counted toward students’ final grades.
“Sure, the state pays in excess of $100 million for the test and yes, teachers are evaluated based on the results, but the test is a colossal waste of time year after year after year,” wrote Andy Spears as he provided announcements from several districts about the failure of TNReady testing to contribute to students’ final grades.
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RICHMOND, Virginia — The Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democrat-controlled Senate finally sent a budget compromise for Fiscal Year 2023 beginning July 1 to Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, but while leaders from both parties praised the budget, individual Democrats and Republicans criticized the compromise for problems ranging from no gas tax holiday to cuts on mental health resources.
House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) told delegates, “It’s been a long haul, but I believe the result is a fiscally sound, bipartisan budget we can all be proud of.”
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RICHMOND, Virginia — Delegate Don Scott, Jr. (D-Portsmouth) is the new Democratic Leader/Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, elected on Wednesday morning. Scott had pushed to oust then-Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn who was voted out at the end of April, but at that time the caucus opted to delay a vote on a new leader to give time for other candidates to campaign.
“I’ve come through some adversity in life and I’ve been able to overcome it and I’ve done very well for myself,” Scott told reporters after the results were announced.
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In the race for the GOP nomination for Virginia’s seventh congressional district, Derrick Anderson received an endorsement from a new PAC, Yesli Vega called for spending on the U.S. border, criticizing a recent Ukraine spending package, and Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) launched his second television ad, highlighting his “anti-woke” stance.
“I don’t mean to trigger any woke liberals out there, but if you step onto my field talking politically correct nonsense, you probably won’t succeed. But Biden and the left celebrate when men win at women’s sports, and when we divide people by race,” Reeves says while video shows him as a football coach.
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The General Assembly is expected to vote Wednesday on a budget compromise hammered out by top money legislators from House Republicans and Senate Democrats. The proposal includes tax and spending policy, but also includes legislation that would fund lab schools, block a Richmond casino for now, and create new marijuana misdemeanors for possession of more than four ounces of marijuana in public.
Executive Director of Virginia NORML JM Pedini said in a recent update that there had been the potential for three class six felonies.
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Two employees of a media company that produces the radio show of a controversial Virginia state senator has filed for a restraining order against the elected official, according to court documents obtained by The Virginia Star.
State Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) has a court date on June 3, stemming from petitions for restraining orders filed against him on May 20 by two employees of his radio show.
The Star redacted the employee’s name from one of the court documents for privacy.
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After months of debate about Virginia’s biennium budget, lawmakers reached a deal to provide an income tax cut for the middle class, a reduction in the grocery tax and a pay raise for teachers.
The deal earned approval from Republicans and Democrats in a joint conference committee, but still needs to pass the House of Delegates and the Senate and be signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Republicans narrowly control the House and Democrats narrowly control the Senate.
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Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Marine Corps veteran, spoke at the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 66th Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, honoring the sacrifices made by service members and their families.
“The people we are here to honor, to remember, they don’t sit among us. If we are to see them, then we must visit their graves, whether they’re here or in some other country, and some, their whereabouts are unknown to us, known only to God,” Earle-Sears said from the Virginia War Memorial.
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Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears blamed a lack of virtue for the U.S.’ “present-day woes” in a Friday speech at the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum. After the May 24 shooting and mass murder at a Texas school, Earle-Sears faced pressure to withdraw from the speaking commitment, but instead doubled down, publishing her speech in a Friday press release and excerpts on Twitter.
“They did not want me to come, thinking you are monsters, that you are culpable in the murder of the children,” Earle-Sears’ written remarks state.
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In an appearance on 106.7 The Fan, State Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) expanded comments on his opposition to a Washington Commanders stadium authority bill. In a Wednesday press release, Petersen said he was concerned by traffic problems at a proposed Woodbridge site, but focused on the team’s recent move away from its controversial former name “Washington Redskins.”
“It’s not that I don’t like the new name,” Petersen told BMitch and Finlay Thursday. “I mean, I don’t care. The problem is the team has no brand, it has no identity. And you’re asking the Commonwealth of Virginia to enter a long-term economic relationship with a team that effectively has no brand.”
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The USDA approved nearly $1 million for a Virginia grant to assist with food and nutrition services in public schools and more than $9 million worth of rural development loans to two Virginia programs.
A $982,827 grant to the Virginia Department of Education will help the department with their nutrition staff to implement meal pattern standards for schools in the next year, according to a USDA news release. The grant is called the “Team Nutrition Training Grant for School Nutrition Professional Readiness and Retention.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 23 bills and vetoed seven after the General Assembly voted to accept, accept in part, or reject Youngkin’s amendments to the original legislation. Although the Senate rejected Youngkin’s amendment to force the whole Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) to run again this year, Youngkin approved Delegate David Reid’s (D-Loudoun) underlying bill, originally created to facilitate beginning a staggered election cycle for the various seats on the board.
“Governor Youngkin has signed the unamended version of HB1138, bringing a peaceful closure to his attempt to undermine the duly elected members of Loudoun’s locally elected school board. This is a victory for free and fair elections across the entire Commonwealth,” Reid tweeted Friday.
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After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, General Assembly budget negotiators revealed details of a deal in a Thursday briefing with only reporters from The Washington Post and The Richmond Times-Dispatch. According to their reporting, the deal includes significant wins for both sides, including a major increase of the standard deduction but no gas tax holiday.
The private budget negotiations and the exclusive briefing are drawing criticism from Virginia reporters.
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Virginia will receive $384,736.40 as its share of a multi-state $19.2 million settlement with Ford over false advertising of fuel economy of 2013–2014 C-Max hybrid cars and the capacity of 2011–2014 Super Duty pickup trucks.
“Virginians should be able to trust car manufacturers’ information as advertised about their vehicles,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a Tuesday press release. “Ford exaggerated the C-Max hybrids’ fuel efficiency and Super Duty trucks’ payload capacity, misleading Virginia consumers. A key component of my office is protecting Virginia consumers, and I’m pleased we were able to reach a fair agreement with Ford.”
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Jill’s House, a non-proft that provides overnight care with fun activities for special needs children, received the Spirit of Virginia award from First Lady Suzanne Youngkin on Thursday.
Youngkin said in a press release, “Jill’s House’s mission is near to the Governor and my hearts. For a dozen years, Jill’s House has served not only some of our most precious children – those with developmental and intellectual disabilities – but also these children’s entire family units. With an eye to bettering lives, Jill’s House caregivers truly embody the sweet Spirit of Virginia.”
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Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) is opposed to efforts to bring the Washington Commanders football team to Virginia, in part due to concerns over the team’s recent name change.
“I have two concerns. One is that the development is too far removed from an urban setting, unlike Nats Park at The Navy Yard, which will make it solely dependent on vehicle traffic for access. More importantly, I don’t have confidence in The Washington Commanders as a viable NFL franchise,” Petersen said in Wednesday press release.
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The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed its opening brief in the Virginia Supreme Court in the case of Peter Vlaming, a teacher who was fired after he declined to use a student’s preferred pronouns. Seven other organizations filed briefs supporting Vlaming on Tuesday, including the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“Under our Constitution, Virginians have an absolute right not to be forced to publicly disavow their sincerely held religious beliefs—and that applies equally to public-school teachers. Even on pure speech grounds, the government cannot force its employees to falsely express their agreement with controversial messages they don’t believe without identifying a compelling state interest that cannot be achieved through significantly less restrictive means,” the ADF brief states.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin met with three of his cabinet members on Wednesday after a mass shooter killed children on Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
“This morning, Governor Youngkin received a briefing from Secretary Robert Mosier, Secretary Aimee Guidera, Secretary John Littel, and State Superintendent Jillian Balow about actions taken to protect children in schools and the resources available at the state level to provide mental health access as needed in response to yesterday’s tragedy in Uvalde, TX,” spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement.
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The General Assembly will reconvene its special session on June 1, ahead of a June 30 deadline to complete the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Since the end of the session, budget negotiators have been tight-lipped about progress on a compromise, but have said they expect one in late May.
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