Democrats call out Youngkin on Ford plant decision
Democratic state delegates excoriated Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday for taking Virginia out of the running for a $3.5 billion Ford Motor Co. battery manufacturing plant that would have created at least 2,500 jobs in Southern Virginia. The governor said last week that although Virginia was a finalist for the economic development project, he […]
Gloves off
Although many political observers doubt there will be much legislation of major significance passed by the split legislature this year, Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Petersburg, is gambling on a productive 2023. As one of a slight Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate, the only state body currently under the party’s control, Morrissey is in an enviable […]
December 2022 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Nov. 14 to Dec. 14, 2022, included a Virginia Business scoop about a restaurant on the culture-war frontlines that became a national news story. 1 | Richmond restaurant refuses service to conservative Christian group Metzger Bar & Butchery canceled The Family Foundation’s reservation, citing the […]
The main event
Updated Jan. 4, 2023 Like the quote from a possibly apocryphal Harvard Law professor, Virginia legislators can look to their left and then to their right, and one of their peers probably won’t be seated there next year, thanks to a supercharged primary field created by a late 2021 redistricting. And now, 61 of Virginia’s […]
Crowded out
Election years are not the time to make waves in Virginia’s legislature, says Greg Habeeb, a former Roanoke delegate who now advises clients pursuing legislation in the General Assembly. Big changes — the kind the state saw during the Democrats‘ two years of full legislative control in 2020 and 2021 — are expected to be […]
Richmond restaurant refuses service to Family Foundation
A German-inspired restaurant in Richmond canceled a reservation for a conservative political organization’s private event last week, saying in a statement posted online Thursday night that the decision was made to protect their staff, many of whom are women and/or part of the LGBTQ community. The Family Foundation, the organization that had made the reservation, […]
Youngkin to propose $350M for site development
Gov. Glenn Youngkin will propose allocating a new $350 million investment for industrial site development next week, the governor said in a speech delivered Friday at the Virginia Chamber‘s Virginia Economic Summit & Forum on International Trade. In the 2022-24 budget, which Youngkin signed in June, the state allocated $150 million for the Virginia Economic […]
2022 Political Roundtable: Red wave? Maybe a puddle
On balance, Democrats came out winners in the 2022 midterm elections, having staved off a widely forecast “red wave” of Republican victories, according to panelists at Virginia Business’ annual Political Roundtable, held Nov. 9 in Richmond. The idea of a red wave or “red tsunami” was “perhaps … a bit of a myth … largely […]
SCC judge’s resignation will leave 2 of 3 seats empty
Virginia State Corporation Commission Judge Judith Williams Jagdmann has informed state legislators she plans to resign from the three-seat commission after 16 years on the bench. Her departure will leave two seats empty as of Dec. 31. In a letter sent to the leadership of the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates on […]
2022 Political Roundtable: Red wave? Maybe a puddle
On balance, Democrats came out winners in the 2022 midterm elections, having staved off a widely forecast “red wave” of Republican victories, according to panelists at Virginia Business’ annual Political Roundtable, held Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Richmond. The idea of a red wave or “red tsunami” was “perhaps … a bit of a myth … […]
Vested interest
Eleven months into his first term in elected office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin can boast of several economic development successes and a few legislative wins, but one thing a lot of observers are discussing is his national profile and what it could mean in 2024. Youngkin — and his careful campaign to win over not only […]
On the cusp
Once again, Virginia is a significant factor in this year’s national electoral playing field, in which Democrats are jockeying to stay in power and Republicans are anticipated to make midterm gains. Three congressional districts in the commonwealth — all held by Democratic female incumbents — are considered vulnerable to the GOP by differing degrees. The competitive races […]