Today's Sponsor:
Virginia Promise Partnership
Today’s nationwide “Day Without Child Care" highlights the importance of a strong child care system to Virginia’s children, families, businesses, and economy. #GottaHaveChildCare
2 Virginia Universities Won’t Require DEI Classes After Governor’s Review, Board Pushback
Starting this fall, undergraduate students at two public Virginia universities, Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason, were going to be required to take diversity-themed coursework. The efforts had been years in the making, the classes had been crafted and faculty bodies had already signed off. But earlier this semester, the impending mandates faced 11th-hour scrutiny from Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin. His administration asked to review the syllabi for the classes—a move that one Virginia Commonwealth faculty member called “hostile state scrutiny.” A spokesman said that Youngkin had heard concerns from parents and students about “a thinly veiled attempt to incorporate the progressive left’s groupthink on Virginia’s students.”
What to know about Virginia’s newly revealed budget deal
It took a little while, but Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin have come up with a budget deal both sides can apparently live with. Legislative documents outlining the agreement were released Saturday morning to allow the budget to be voted on today when lawmakers return to Richmond for a special session focused on finishing the budget. The special session is happening because Youngkin and Democratic leaders spent months publicly sparring over budget priorities and didn’t come to an agreement last month under the state’s usual timeline to pass a budget.
Some VCU students walk out of commencement during Youngkin address
Dozens of Virginia Commonwealth University students walked out of their graduation ceremony Saturday morning as Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered the commencement address, demonstrating support for Palestinians and protesting some of the Republican’s crusade against efforts to promote racial equity in education. The selection of Youngkin as speaker drew criticism from some ahead of the ceremony. The university’s chapter of the NAACP [last] week urged VCU officials to rescind the invitation, and some students in recent days said they would hold a walkout during the ceremony.
Fears grow as Mountain Valley Pipeline nears completion
The most visible scars from the Mountain Valley Pipeline are gone now from the pastoral property that Anne and Steve Bernard call home. But the Bernards remain troubled by what they can’t see. “Bottom line: I’m scared to death of that pipe sitting out there,” Steve Bernard said of the buried steel pipe, through which highly pressurized natural gas could soon begin flowing along a route that passes about 150 feet from the couple’s white frame house and adjacent art studio.
70 years after Brown v. Board, many Virginia students separated by race, economic class
When the U.S. Supreme Court ordered school desegregation in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education, the court hoped K-12 schools across the nation would give equal opportunities to both Black and white students. Many believed that tying the fate of Black students to the fate of their white peers would lift Black students because of white parents’ and legislators’ resources and political leverage to provide for their own children. But today, nearly 70 years after the landmark ruling, students in Virginia remain largely separated by race and economic class. While segregation is no longer mandated by public policy, it is reinforced by school attendance zones and segregated housing patterns.
FROM VPAP
VPAP Visual Lobbyists in Virginia: 2023-24
Information on the lobbyists who registered in Virginia from May 2023 through April 2024, including the number of clients they represented, their years of experience and more.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
More than 100 VCU graduates walk out during Youngkin’s graduation speech
As Gov. Glenn Youngkin began his commencement speech Saturday morning, more than 100 graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University staged a walkout. They held signs, wore Middle Eastern keffiyehs around their shoulders in support of Palestine and marched down Richmond’s streets. About 50 demonstrators walked from the Greater Richmond Convention Center to Abner Clay Park, chanting “One, two, three, four, tell Youngkin no more. Five, six, seven, eight, Richmond we will liberate.” Youngkin did not pause his remarks as students departed, proceeding with a 15-minute speech that celebrated VCU graduates and steered clear of controversy.
Graduating VCU students walk out during governor’s remarks
As Virginia Commonwealth University’s 2024 commencement kicked off at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, the student singing the national anthem wore a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf that has become a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. Soon after, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the commencement speaker, took the stage and dozens of students walked out to cheers from the audience. After exiting the building, they held up signs like “No graduation as usual” and “Unacceptable leadership,” while chanting and marching to nearby Abner Clay Park.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Virginia budget includes funds for education, toll relief and flood control
Legislators released the details of a two-year state budget plan Saturday that would nix a potential new tax on digital goods while still providing large investments in education. After months of conflict, House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian announced Thursday that budget negotiators had struck a deal with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that left Democrats’ spending priorities intact despite killing off the digital tax — which the governor opposed — that was expected to bring in more than $700 million for the state. “It looks like it’s a true compromise to me,” said Del. Barry Knight, a Virginia Beach Republican and former budget committee chair.
Budget details revealed: No new tax increases, no additional tax relief, more than $2.5 billion in K-12 funding
Less than 48 hours after the General Assembly’s budget negotiators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin struck a deal on a spending plan for the next biennium, the legislature’s money committees on Saturday morning released the details of the proposal that lawmakers will weigh when they return to Richmond for a special session on Monday. In its core, the $188 billion budget for fiscal years 2024-26 is identical with the conference report that the Democratic-controlled legislature approved by a bipartisan 62-37 vote in early March.
Legislators slash funding for Health Wagon amid reports CEO’s compensation package nearly doubled in 2 years
Legislators have pulled more than $800,000 from the state budget that had been earmarked for St. Mary’s Health Wagon, a free clinic in Southwest Virginia whose top executive was recently compensated more than $520,000, a sum that nearly doubled over two years and places her compensation far beyond the salaries of comparable executives in wealthier regions of Virginia. The Health Wagon has received state funding consistently since 2006, and an earlier version of this year’s budget included another allocation for it. However, state budget negotiators removed this allocation after reports surfaced that leadership, including CEO Teresa Tyson and clinical director Paula Hill-Collins, as well as other Health Wagon employees, earned outsized compensation packages in recent years.
FEDERAL ELECTIONS
Virginia’s Rep. Wexton endorses Subramanyam to succeed her in Congress
U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) is backing state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam to succeed her in Congress, she announced Monday, an endorsement that is likely to give the Loudoun County Democrat significant momentum in a crowded primary race. “Suhas is a principled, effective leader who has a long commitment to service, and he is rooted right here in our community,” she said in an emailed statement to The Washington Post. He “will continue my legacy of getting things done for Northern Virginians.” Wexton, who has represented Virginia’s 10th Congressional District since 2019, is not running again because of health reasons. Her impending exit from Congress has drawn a packed field of 12 Democrats in the party’s primary, making it hard for any of them to emerge as a clear front-runner.
In 7th District primary, Republicans debate party’s future
Clashes among Republican factions in the 118th Congress are playing out in Virginia's 7th Congressional District, with money and endorsements flowing to rival candidates in a GOP primary from the party's establishment and most conservative wings in the House of Representatives. The 7th, based in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, is a pivotal political battleground in the outer Northern Virginia suburbs and countryside for control of the House in a presidential election year.
After Spanberger: 7th District Dems run local race in national spotlight
National Republicans are taking a keen interest in the Democratic primary in Northern Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, but their primary focus has been on one candidate — Eugene Vindman. He is a political newcomer with a familiar face because of the public role that he and his twin brother, Alexander, played in the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump.
McGuire opts not to attend forum with GOP rival Bob Good
State Sen. John McGuire, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Good in the 5th Congressional District’s June 18 GOP primary will not take part in a May 20 public forum in Amherst County despite an online flyer from the county’s Republican Party billing the two candidates appearing together. The Amherst County Republican Committee’s Facebook page had advertised a forum for May 20 at Sweet Briar College. A statement from McGuire’s campaign said: “We are not going to be participating in an event that is meant to prop up Bob Good’s failing campaign rather than inform voters on the issues.”
STATE GOVERNMENT
Virginia child care rating system aims to improve kids’ school readiness
Virginia has implemented new guidelines to establish a unified rating and improvement system to assess the commonwealth’s publicly funded early childhood care providers. Approximately 75% of child care programs that received public funding previously did not participate in the state’s voluntary quality measures, according to Del. David Buolva, D-Fairfax, who co-patroned 2020 legislation that led to all publicly funded providers being required to participate.
Facilities run by Virginia’s behavioral health agency don’t comply with parts of disability rights law, audit finds
Unannounced inspections of the 12 facilities run by Virginia’s behavioral health agency last July found many Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance issues, per a new audit, including that most had inaccessible restrooms and paths from parking areas. The office of Virginia’s inspector general looked into whether the state-operated facilities overseen by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) complied with some requirements of the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on disability.
Fredericksburg-area officials tell state their transportation needs
The state transportation leaders’ annual nine-meeting tour across Virginia stopped in Stafford County on Thursday. ... Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Birch told the small crowd the state’s 2025-2030 six-year improvement program draft calls for $19.1 billion in funding for roads, with another $6.3 billion for rail and public transportation. The total funding is down $5 million from the current Six-Year Improvement Plan.
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
MVP fined again by regulators for environmental problems
State regulators again cited the Mountain Valley Pipeline for environmental violations, and are seeking another $31,500 in fines that total more than $2 million over the past five years. In an email sent Friday, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality informed the company that its inspections found at least 13 cases of non-compliance with erosion and sedimentation control regulations.
State again cites Mountain Valley Pipeline for environmental violations
State regulators on Friday cited the Mountain Valley Pipeline for violations of environmental rules and ordered the developers of the $7.85 billion natural gas project to pay a $31,500 fine. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality outlined more than a dozen offenses mostly related to erosion and sediment control, including sediment impacting wetlands and fill material accumulating in the Blackwater River and the Maggodee Creek in Franklin County.
Carilion Clinic cleared in tainted instrument probe
Investigators received an anonymous complaint last summer tipping them off that Carilion Clinic’s two largest hospitals were struggling with a months-long spike in surgical instruments with blemishes, stains, spots and debris. Tainted surgical instruments were found on the front lines of care, including in trays awaiting use in heart procedures, and pulled before use. When surgeons had too few clean instruments to operate, patients waited. While the health system showed that no blemished instrument ever touched a patient and few surgeries overall were delayed, inspectors working on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services put a condition into effect known as “immediate jeopardy.” The reason: a breakdown in infection control.
$3 billion data center project proposed for Powhatan
A California developer wants to bring Virginia’s data center boom to new territory: Powhatan County, on an undeveloped 119.9-acre tract abutting the Chesterfield County line north of U.S. Route 60. Ultimately, the project would mean a $1.5 billion investment in buildings and other improvements as well as about $1.5 billion in equipment, said Roxanne Salerno, Powhatan’s economic development manager.
W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice Faces Heavy Business Debts as He Seeks Senate Seat
Jim Justice, the businessman-turned-politician governor of West Virginia, has been pursued in court for years by banks, governments, business partners and former employees for millions of dollars in unmet obligations. And for a long time, Mr. Justice and his family’s companies have managed to stave off one threat after another with wily legal tactics notably at odds with the aw-shucks persona that has endeared him to so many West Virginians. On Tuesday, he is heavily favored to win the Republican Senate primary and cruise to victory in the general election, especially after the departure of the Democratic incumbent, Joe Manchin III.
Port of Virginia details major expansion projects, including becoming deepest port on East Coast
The Port of Virginia plans to complete a number of massive infrastructure projects by mid-2027, including becoming the East Coast’s deepest port by August 2025, said Stephen Edwards, the Virginia Port Authority’s CEO and executive director. Speaking Thursday at the State of the Port event in Virginia Beach, Edwards said the $1.4 billion in infrastructure projects come as port officials look to do more business with regions such as the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. “The Port of Virginia is ready to capitalize on this opportunity that favors East Coast ports over West Coast ports,” Edwards said.
HIGHER EDUCATION
VCU shoots down racial literacy requirement
Virginia Commonwealth University will not impose a racial literacy class requirement on students, its board voted Friday, the most contentious action the board has taken in years as the panel considered a significantly political issue. The board voted 10-5 to reject the mandate, as members in the majority said they opposed adding extra requirements for graduation. It was a defeat for members of the faculty, who developed their plan over a four-year time period, gaining support from academic committees and offices.
What we know about how UVa’s narrative differs from eyewitness accounts of May 4
University of Virginia officials have cited a number of justifications for their decision to have state police wearing tactical gear break up a small encampment of anti-war protesters on May 4, arresting 27 people and deploying pepper-spray into a crowd of students, faculty and members of the public. But witnesses and video footage raise questions about the claims made by President Jim Ryan, UVa Police Chief Tim Longo and other top officials.
UVa administrators and faculty paint conflicting pictures of May 4 encampment clearing
At a University-run virtual town hall Tuesday and an independently organized faculty-led town hall Thursday, administrators and faculty presented differing accounts of the events of May 4, when police forcibly cleared a pro-Palestine encampment near the University Chapel. The details contested between the town halls included the clarity of the University’s tent policy, aggressiveness of protesters, provision of medical treatment and the presence of suspicious individuals at the encampment.
U-Va. officials defend arrests at protest as faculty seek review of decision
University of Virginia faculty on Friday called for an independent review of the use of police to clear a pro-Palestinian demonstration, but stopped short of condemning the decision to bring in state law enforcement officers. More than 25 people were arrested. University President James E. Ryan said he was sorry for the way things escalated as police moved in on demonstrators, and some faculty members said they were concerned the response was too heavy-handed. Ryan, though, did not say outright he would have acted differently, and the university’s police chief said officials felt compelled to disperse a group that included people with no connection to U-Va.
UVa Faculty Senate calls for an external review of May 4 clearing of encampment
The University’s Faculty Senate passed a motion at a meeting May 10 to call for a University-wide external review of the events on and leading up to May 4, when police forcibly cleared a pro-Palestine encampment outside the University Chapel. University President Jim Ryan and other administrators attended the meeting, where they answered questions from Senators, including questions regarding their decision to authorize the use of police force at the encampment. The Senate also discussed various senator-proposed motions regarding the events that transpired.
UVA’s last-minute update to tent regulations document creates confusion, frustration
In the days after police forcibly cleared a pro-Palestine encampment near the University Chapel, a last-minute edit to a list of guidelines — from the Office of Environmental Health and Safety — related to the use of tents on Grounds has been the subject of questions and debate. According to University administrators, a document on the office’s website outlining fire safety regulations for tents contained an inaccurate clause that exempted recreational tents from permit requirements. University officials said the document was updated for accuracy, as official University policy requires all tents to receive permits prior to their use on Grounds. Administrators said the encampment violated this policy.
VCU raises cost of tuition by 2.7%
Virginia Commonwealth University’s board of visitors on Friday unanimously approved a 2.7% increase to the price of tuition, as the university strives to pay for new costs and invest in the school’s educational offerings. In the fall, the cost of tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate student will rise $350 to $16,720. A year of room and board costs $14,000. The price for out-of-state students will rise about $1,000 to roughly $54,000 for tuition, fees, room and board.
VIRGINIA OTHER
22 Guatemalan teens missing from Culpeper
Nearly two dozen unaccompanied migrant children from Guatemala who lived for a short time in Culpeper remain missing, considered runaways. It’s an eye-opening issue, happening nationwide, that’s tied to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The federal agency, part of U.S. Health and Human Services, places migrant teens crossing at the southern border with sponsors in communities across America, including Culpeper. But this small-town has seen a disproportionate number of Guatemalan teens go missing — 38 altogether since 2019, mostly males with an average age of 15-17, according to Culpeper Police Sgt. Detective Norma McGuckin.
LOCAL
School Board votes for Arlington Career Center contract with no prevailing wage agreement
The Arlington School Board has approved construction of a new Arlington Career Center building without a guarantee of paying workers a prevailing wage. Seeking to avoid rebidding the project and causing at least a year of delays, Board members voted 4-0 last night (Thursday) to finalize a $132 million contract that has drawn criticism from Arlington state representatives, labor groups and the local NAACP chapter.
Why Fairfax schools may lock student cell phones up during class
To help curb the growing concerns of what kind of impact cellphones have on children in school, officials at Fairfax County Public Schools are about to explore ways to further limit cellphone access. During a meeting to discuss student policies on Thursday, the board approved a motion by Member At-Large Kyle McDaniel for the superintendent to develop a plan for secure cellphone storage, such as lockers or magnetic pouches. The board would consider the plan for the next school year.
Williamsburg asks joint school district to improve city students’ performance as potential breakup looms
As Williamsburg mulls breaking away from its joint school district with James City County, city leaders want to know what the district is going to do to improve the performance of Williamsburg students. This comes after a feasibility study from the city on creating an independent school district laid bare the stark difference in academic achievement between students from Williamsburg and their peers from James City County.
Letter: Vendor warned Petersburg about lawsuit potential for accepting pre-approval casino bids
At least one of the five companies bidding for Petersburg’s casino business raised questions with the city about soliciting bids for the development based on hope that the state legislature would allow Petersburg to get it. In a Feb. 21 letter to City Manager March Altman, The Warrenton Group said they raised the questions because when the city called for the bids, its fate as a casino host city was still in the hands of the Virginia General Assembly.
Textbook decision tabled in Montgomery County after questions about bid process
It was a question of buy the book or by the book at a Montgomery County School Board meeting this week. A decision on which English textbooks to purchase for the county’s elementary school students was delayed after school board members learned that two competing vendors were not treated equally – both made offers, but only one was asked to revise its proposal and lower the price tag. “This opens up a lawsuit,” board member Derek Rountree said Tuesday.
Today's Sponsor:
Virginia Promise Partnership
Today’s nationwide “Day Without Child Care" highlights the importance of a strong child care system to Virginia’s children, families, businesses, and economy. #GottaHaveChildCare
EDITORIALS
New budget agreement shows state officials aren’t serious about flooding
How will Virginia defend vulnerable communities, including those in Hampton Roads, from rising seas and recurrent flooding? That question, asked time and time again in recent years, will have more urgency in the wake of the budget agreement brokered between lawmakers and Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week. Democratic negotiators agreed to remove language from the budget they approved in March that would return Virginia to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate, market-based emissions reduction compact that has generated more than $800 million for flooding projects and energy-efficiency programs.
New ballpark? Unless poverty becomes our top priority, RVA will keep losing
In a city that’s so accustomed to losing, even the wins feel like defeat. After more than 20 years of handwringing and public debate, the Richmond City Council finally approved a massive, $170 million financing plan on Wednesday to build a new ballpark to replace the nearly obsolete, 40-year-old Diamond on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. ... It would also be paid for with city tax dollars, the same tax dollars that council members struggled to scrounge up just two weeks ago.
COLUMNISTS
Schapiro: Where were friends when Jews needed them?
A Colonial-era farm in Virginia’s tobacco belt is an emblem of Jewish survival at a time when much of the world — now gripped by an Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that, depending on one’s perspective, was caused by, or is causing, antisemitism — was clueless that a huge swath of the Jewish world was doomed. Hyde Park Farm — in Nottoway County, about an hour’s drive south of Richmond — was for several years immediately preceding World War II a peaceful sanctuary for about two dozen German-Jewish teenagers and several adults who fled there as Adolf Hitler’s murderous persecution of European Jews was beginning in earnest.
Yancey: From graduation walk-outs to police in riot gear, the campus protests in context
Virginia made national news over the weekend when some students walked out of the graduation ceremonies at Virginia Commonwealth University when Gov. Glenn Youngkin started speaking. Some left to express support for Palestinians, others protested some of Youngkin’s policies and still others the VCU board’s decision not to require that students take a course in racial literacy. Maybe some were protesting all three. This wasn’t the only school that saw some kind of protest at its graduation ceremonies — there were pro-Palestinian demonstrations at multiple schools across the country over the weekend. It’s also not the first time that students have walked out on Youngkin.
Williams: Irvo Otieno’s family needs the Justice Department, without delay
When Ann Cabell Baskervill announced she was resigning as Dinwiddie County commonwealth’s attorney to attend graduate school in France, it wasn’t hard to foresee her dream becoming an American nightmare for Kenyan immigrant Caroline Ouko. Ouko is the mother of Irvo Otieno, 28, who died of asphyxiation on March 6, 2023, after he was pinned on the floor while shackled and handcuffed for about 11 minutes by Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and hospital personnel during his intake at Central State Hospital.
OP-ED
Gibson: Online sexual abuse against women is imperiling our democracy
Last month, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s painful experiences as the victim of AI-driven sexual abuse appeared in a piece in Rolling Stone. Titled “Fake Photos, Real Harm: AOC and the Fight Against AI Porn,” the article explores how U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez first discovered the artificially generated explicit images of her, and her effort to amend the Violence Against Women Act in order to create civil liability in response to this new form of sexual abuse. Like so many people who read it, I was both horrified and motivated.
DuVal: New K-12 accountability standards must also address disparities
Virginia’s business community is keenly aware of the vital role that education plays in driving economic development and preparing a well-trained, qualified workforce. Our students of today are our workforce of tomorrow. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the largest business advocacy organization in the commonwealth with more than 30,000 members, has long supported policies that strengthen our education-workforce system to bolster Virginia’s economic growth and business climate. Simply put, to be the best state for business, Virginia must be the best state for talent.
Hunter: State funding for school-to-work pipeline is crucial to VA’s success
From the data, we know that young women are significantly under-represented in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math) even though many businesses struggle to find qualified workers in those high-demand fields. We also know that in recent years more young people have been leaving Virginia than have been moving into the area, contributing to an out-migration trend that our new speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott, has labeled a “brain drain.” Fortunately, these statistics did not control Kinsey Ebel’s career or destination. Something more powerful intervened: a life-changing internship experience with a Virginia employer.
Waddell: Support academic freedom, but don’t deny oversight
State Sen. Mamie Locke’s guest column in the May 4 paper, “Youngkin administration actions undermine academic freedom,” is on target in saying that “higher education … is about equipping students with the tools to navigate complex issues, not indoctrinating them with a particular ideology,” and that students deserve a comprehensive education that “equips them to think critically.” I applaud and join in those sentiments, for there is no greater threat to our country right now than our inability to think dispassionately and carefully, to admit the possibility that our beliefs may not be 100% right, and to negotiate with ourselves.
Schmude: Amid expansion, Chesapeake Regional seeks unnecessary price hikes
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare recently announced more than $150 million in new construction across Hampton Roads. In the same breath, the system has demanded dramatic price increases for Tidewater’s people and businesses in its current negotiations with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia. I spend my time advocating for health care affordability because it is consumers and businesses that pay for health care, and they should not bear the burden of flagrant cost increases to fund Chesapeake’s expansion plans.