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politics

Jan 28, 2025

Trump’s pause on $3T in federal funding could impact Va.

Update, 7:30 p.m. A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump‘s freeze on federal spending until at least Feb. 3, but the White House did not immediately respond to the judicial order. On Monday, Trump ordered a freeze on more than $3 trillion in federal financial assistance, including grants and loans backing economic development and […]

Jan 24, 2025

Spanberger leads Earle-Sears in early state polling

It’s still early days, but in Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial race, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger leads Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in a pair of new statewide polls. In the Virginia Commonwealth University Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs poll released Friday, former U.S. Rep. Spanberger has the support of 44% of people polled, and […]

Pharrell Williams performs on the second night of the 2023 Something in the Water festival. Photo by Heather Cromartie, courtesy Something in the Water
Jan 7, 2025

Something in the Water gets extension from Va. Beach

Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival got a bit of a break Tuesday from Virginia Beach City Council members, who agreed to give the Virginia Beach-born music and fashion maven more time to fulfill an overdue part of the festival’s contract with the city. City Council voted 8-2 Tuesday to indefinitely defer an earlier […]

Dec 31, 2024

What to expect from the 2025 Va. General Assembly

The General Assembly enters the fourth year in the gubernatorial cycle with even more gridlock than usual. Democrats hold narrow majorities in both the House of Delegates and Senate, but are vulnerable to vetoes by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who begins the final year of his constitutionally mandated single term. Hopes for bipartisan compromise were […]

Dec 16, 2024

Youngkin proposes eliminating tax on tips in Va. budget

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday a budget proposal to exempt service tips from Virginia’s state income tax, an idea that’s gained bipartisan support federally. In a statement, Youngkin said that Virginians who receive tips — hair stylists, restaurant workers, bellhops and other service industry professionals — would benefit from being able to claim deductions on […]

Dec 6, 2024

Earle-Sears, Spanberger talk biz credentials in Va. Chamber forum appearances

They didn’t meet face-to-face, but the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees for Virginia’s 2025 governor race addressed the same audience Friday at the 2024 Virginia Economic Summit and Forum on International Trade in Richmond. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, spoke just after 9 a.m. at the event co-sponsored by the […]

Nov 20, 2024

Judge rules Youngkin’s RGGI exit was unlawful

A Floyd County Circuit Court judge ruled this week that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was unlawful, but the governor plans to appeal the decision, according to a spokesperson. Judge Randall Lowe ruled that “the only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI regulation would be […]

Nov 18, 2024

Miyares declares run for 2nd term as Va. AG

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares declared Monday he will run for a second term in 2025, leaving Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears a clear path to the Republican nomination for governor. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is prohibited by state law from serving consecutive terms as governor, endorsed both candidates following Miyares’ announcement. A former Virginia Beach […]

Aerial view of buildings.
Nov 7, 2024

Developer downscales plans for Pittsylvania power plant/data center campus

The developer planning a natural gas power plant and data center campus on 2,233 acres in the Banister and Callands-Gretna districts of Pittsylvania County withdrew its rezoning application Monday, after facing vocal opposition from residents at public meetings held last week.  Instead, Herndon-based Balico, the development company behind the project, intends to file a rezoning […]

Oct 25, 2024

Trump Town owner calls assault, indecent exposure charges ‘fake news’

Donald “Whitey” Taylor, owner of Trump Town, a Boones Mill store dedicated to merchandise celebrating the 45th president, and a candidate for mayor in that same small town, was arrested Tuesday on charges of indecent exposure and assaulting store employees.  Taylor, 74, sent a text to Virginia Business, describing the criminal charges against him as […]

A VCU Police officer shoots pepper spray at student and protest organizer Sereen Haddad, in black-and white checkered keffiyeh, outside Cabell Library on Monday, April 29. Riot police clashed with students holding a pro-Palestine encampment. Photo by Andrew Kerley.
Oct 2, 2024

Va. universities take ‘heavy hand’ with protest policies, advocate says

RICHMOND, Va. — Students, lawmakers and free-speech activists question if updated university policies that regulate student demonstrations violate First Amendment rights. After campus protests that led to some clashes with police, institutions such as Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech adopted similar policies. The new rules b[...]

Sep 29, 2024

The bottom of the ballot

Congressional races don’t get the big spotlight in presidential election years, but the bottom of the ballot is still important, as presidents need some legislative cooperation to get things done. In Virginia, two-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is seeking reelection against Republican challenger Hung Cao, a retired U.S. Navy captain. All 11 of Virginia’s […]

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