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By SCOTT GELMAN,
WTOP
Fairfax County Public Schools would lose over $6 million in funding for English language learners in each of the next two years, as a result of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed changes to the state’s budget.
That is one of several findings in the school district’s analysis of the proposed changes, which was obtained by WTOP.
The proposed amendments to the state’s budget would also reduce overall funding for the state’s largest school district by $16.7 million in fiscal year 2025 and $24 million in fiscal 2026, the school division’s review found.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JOHN R. CRANE,
Danville Register & Bee
Danville Casino’s revenues went up in March by more than $2 million as the gaming facility brought in an increasing amount of money for the second month in a row.
Last month’s gambling activity generated about $21.08 million, a more than 10% increase over February’s $18.7 million, according to the latest figures from the Virginia Lottery.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By DEAN MIRSHAHI,
WRIC-TV
All Virginia hospitals with an emergency department will have to have at least one doctor on-site at all times instead of on-call starting in July 2025.
Two identical bills proposing the staffing requirement from Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) and state Sen. Stella G. Pekarsky (D-Fairfax) easily passed out the General Assembly and were signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
VaNews April 17, 2024
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA,
Washington Post
(Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Democratic leaders and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) remain at loggerheads as Virginia lawmakers return to the state Capitol on Wednesday to take action on the budget and other bills the governor has proposed changing, barreling toward a June 30 deadline to adopt a two-year spending plan or begin shutting down the state government. Democrats have said repeatedly in recent days that they are in no mood to compromise with Youngkin, who welcomed the legislature’s budget in March by calling it “backward” and going on a tour around the state proclaiming how misguided it was.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By MATT BUSSE,
Cardinal News
Among more than 200 budget amendments proposed by Virginia’s governor that lawmakers are preparing to consider is one that would cancel the creation of a $5 million program to help low-income families buy homes.
The pilot program would provide grants for people who earn up to 60% of an area’s median income to put toward a down payment on a home. The grants would be forgivable if recipients regularly pay the mortgage and live in the home for at least 15 years.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By SEAN JONES,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Several years after Petersburg joined the fight for the right to operate Virginia’s fifth and final casino, residents and city leaders watched Sunday as five developers bid to show that they had the best project for the city. Each proposal promised jobs, an economic spur for the financially stressed city and millions of dollars in tax revenue. The five companies in the running are Bally’s, Penn Entertainment, the Warrenton Group, Rush Street Gaming and The Cordish Companies, which has partnered with former NFL and Virginia Tech football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By DAVID J. TOSCANO,
published in
Daily Progress
(Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Virginia’s legislature and governor are embroiled in a “two scorpions in a bottle” fight over the new biennial budget, which must be passed by June 30 to fund the government. On Wednesday, both sides returned to Richmond for the “reconvened” or “veto” session. Budget battles in the commonwealth are not unusual, but this one is unique, both in the number of changes Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed to the bipartisan spending plan and the rhetoric that has accompanied the process.
Toscano, an attorney and former mayor of Charlottesville, served 14 years in the House of Delegates representing Charlottesville and Albemarle County, including seven as minority leader.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By JAHD KHALIL,
VPM
A day before legislators are set to return to Richmond, Democratic leadership in the General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin seemingly have not reached a budget agreement.
Lawmakers on Wednesday will consider Youngkin’s actions on legislation, after he amended 116 bills and vetoed a record 153 others. They’ll also consider his 242 recommendations on the budget, which center around maintaining current tax levels and funds Democrats’ priorities at a lower level than what they proposed.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By HUNTER SAVERY,
Fauquier Times
Last week, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized strict new standards for “forever chemicals” in public drinking water, Fauquier County unveiled alarming new test results.
The new tests reveal that more than 15,000 Fauquier County residents use drinking water that would not meet the new national standards. Under the new EPA rules, Fauquier Water and Sanitation Authority, like other public waterworks, will have five years to address that problem.
VaNews April 17, 2024
By MATTHEW DALY AND LEAH WILLINGHAM,
Associated Press
Coal miners will be better protected from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease, the Labor Department said Tuesday as it issued a new federal rule on miners’ safety.
The final rule, announced by Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, cuts by half the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift.
VaNews April 17, 2024
