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VaNews

Most Read Articles March 29, 2024


1

Blame game ensues as $2 billion sports and entertainment deal falls apart

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Aubrey Layne was secretary of finance for a Democratic governor facing a Republican-controlled legislature in negotiations over the biggest economic development deal in Virginia history — Amazon HQ2, a national competition to land a $5 billion bid for the retail giant’s East Coast headquarters with up to 50,000 new jobs on the line. Virginia won half of the prize — at least $2.5 billion in investment and 25,000 jobs, with potential for more — when Amazon chose a site in Arlington County’s Crystal City neighborhood in late 2018.


2

VPAP Visual How Representative is the General Assembly?

The Virginia Public Access Project

See how closely the members of the Virginia General Assembly match up with the population they represent in terms of education, race, age, and sex.


3

Youngkin arrived like a GOP star, but arena failure clouds legacy

By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

No Virginia governor has come into office with a deeper dealmaking background than Glenn Youngkin, who as former co-chief executive of the Carlyle Group made a fortune acquiring and merging companies around the globe. But as the Republican chief executive of a purple state, Youngkin has struggled to translate that business acumen into political success — or even economic development success, with the demise Wednesday of his much-touted plan to bring the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Alexandria.


4

Youngkin vetoes Virginia bills mandating minimum wage increase, establishing marijuana retail sales

By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed two top Democratic legislative priorities on Thursday: bills that would have allowed the recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year and measures mandating a minimum wage increase. The development, which drew criticism from Democrats who control the General Assembly, did not come as a surprise. While Youngkin had not explicitly threatened to veto either set of bills, he told reporters he didn’t think the minimum wage legislation was needed and had repeatedly said he was uninterested in setting up retail marijuana sales.


5

Yancey: Gov. Youngkin says Virginia’s continued out-migration shows why taxes should be cut

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

One Saturday afternoon, when he could have been watching basketball, Gov. Glenn Youngkin instead was at his computer, playing around with a database on homebuilding statistics. He didn’t like what he found. That discovery will have to wait just a bit while I explain the significance of the governor of Virginia spending his spare time researching construction stats. Since 2013, Virginia has repeatedly seen more people move out of the state than move in. The state is still gaining population — just more slowly — because births outnumber both deaths and the net out-migration. That period of time covers four different governors from two different parties but I’ve only seen one of them focused on that particular status — our current one.


6

What the arena deal demise means for toll relief in Hampton Roads

By EMILY HARRISON, WVEC-TV

It’s official: The Washington Capitals and Wizards will not be moving to Virginia. This means some of the negotiating between Virginia Republicans and Democrats has also come to an end. For months, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin pushed legislators to make room in the budget to allow a $2 billion district that would house the new arena in Alexandria, Virginia. This includes several offers to work on other agendas that were important to Democrats, including more tunnel toll relief.


7

Virginia Board of Education changes school rating system

By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday voted 7-1 to change the school accreditation model that will now publicly rank each Virginia school in a system with at least four performance categories. The new system could develop into a school rating score signified by a number of stars or different category labels for schools. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has long criticized Virginia’s current accreditation system, saying that it is confusing for parents and lacks transparency.


8

Potomac Yard developer blames Tysons talk for failure of pro sports arena deal

By ANGELA WOOLSEY, FFXnow

The deal to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard is officially dead, and the developer says suggestions that an arena could be built in Tysons instead were the final nail in the coffin. Alexandria City officials revealed yesterday (Wednesday) that they had ended negotiations with developer JBG Smith, Wizards and Capitals owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and other stakeholders for a stadium in the proposed Potomac Yard Entertainment District. About an hour later, Monumental owner Ted Leonsis and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the two professional sports teams will stay at Capital One Arena in Chinatown after all.


9

Youngkin vetoes bills on retail marijuana sales, minimum wage

By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation Thursday that would have established a retail marijuana market in Virginia and raised the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, torpedoing two top Democratic priorities from the 2024 General Assembly session. The moves came one day after Youngkin’s top priority — the proposal to bring a professional sports arena to Alexandria — imploded under the weight of community opposition, questions about its public financing scheme and partisan combat in Richmond. Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, announced he’d reached a deal to keep the teams in D.C. Blocking bills at what could be a record-setting pace, Youngkin has now vetoed 86 pieces of legislation the General Assembly passed earlier this year.


10

Youngkin vetoes bills to create legal pot market, raise minimum wage

By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said Thursday that he has vetoed bills to establish a state-regulated marketplace for marijuana and to raise Virginia’s minimum wage, gutting two Democratic priorities a day after opposition to his plans for a sports arena in Alexandria led Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis to keep the project in the District. Both sets of bills had been widely seen as bargaining chips as Youngkin angled for Democratic support for the $2 billion arena project. Though he had expressed opposition to each, Youngkin had carefully avoided using the word “veto” while talks about the arena were still underway.