Month: March 2021

AG defeats challenge to historic anti-discrimination law

March 31, 2021

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring has successfully defeated a challenge to the historic Virginia Values Act in the Eastern District of Virginia against an attack seeking to block the legislation. Judge Hilton granted Attorney General Herring’s motion to dismiss in Updegrove v. Herring. “When the Commonwealth passed the historic Virginia Values Act, we became […]

What Virginia’s school outbreak dashboard can — and can’t — say about the risks of reopening

March 30, 2021

In late September, when Virginia health officials launched a dashboard that detailed outbreaks in K-12 schools across the state, it was applauded as a long-needed step toward more transparency — and a relief for parents hesitant over the prospect of sending their children back to the classroom. Six months later, the data on reopening has gained […]

Obama family matriarch, Mama Sarah, has died in a Kenyan hospital at 99

March 29, 2021

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Sarah Obama, the matriarch of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s Kenyan family has died, relatives and officials confirmed Monday. She was at least 99 years old. Mama Sarah, as the step-grandmother of the former U.S. president was fondly called, promoted education for girls and orphans in her rural Kogelo village. She […]

Va. House leaders back legalizing home-grown marijuana this summer

March 28, 2021

By Ned Oliver VM- Democratic leaders in the House of Delegates say they now support legalizing marijuana on July 1, joining the Senate in backing amendments to a legalization bill lawmakers passed last month. They also went a step further, endorsing the legalization of personal cultivation at the same time. “The time is now for […]

For Juan Jones, life is nothing short of a miracle

March 27, 2021

At 19, Juan Jones is a happy, healthy freshman in Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Engineering. A biomedical engineering major, Jones exercises, eats well and lives “a normal life.” He’s even planning to take up football again, a sport at which he excelled in high school. Yet Jones’ normal life is nothing short of a […]

Pandemic deaths fail to shake loose a legislative solution on nursing home staffing

March 26, 2021

By Kate Masters (VM) – Sam Kukich was initially excited to join a workgroup she thought would focus on improving staffing levels at Virginia nursing homes. The director of Dignity for the Aged, a Poquoson-based nonprofit, Kukich had become an almost inadvertent advocate for reforming standards of care in the nursing home industry. She and her […]

Arlington PD arrests suspect with pipe bombs

March 25, 2021

The Arlington County Police Department, in Northern Virginia, has arrested of a suspect following an investigation into threats and the recovery of two improvised explosive devices (commonly referred to as pipe bombs). Ryan Bosnick, 34, of Arlington, was arrested and charged with possession of explosive materials or devices (x2), possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and […]

Northam lifts some virus restrictions; A push for new federal gun laws

March 24, 2021

(VM) – With COVID-19 cases down after a winter surge, and with nearly a quarter of the population having received at least one dose of vaccine, Gov. Ralph Northam is again rolling back some of Virginia’s pandemic restrictions — cautiously. At a Tuesday news briefing, the governor announced the expansion of the attendance cap on indoor […]

Virginia prisoners, once left out of vaccine plan, have now all been offered a dose

March 23, 2021

By Ned Oliver (VM) – Nearly 70 percent of people incarcerated in Virginia prisons have received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine and more than half have been fully vaccinated, according to state officials. “All inmates and staff have been offered the chance to get the COVID vaccine at this point,” said Department of Corrections […]

‘You have choice’: As primary season arrives, waiting your turn has gone out of fashion for Va. Democrats

March 22, 2021

When Jennifer Carroll Foy was first thinking of running for office in 2017, she says she sensed she wasn’t the favorite of party leaders. Two years earlier, Democrat Josh King had already come close to flipping the Prince William-area House of Delegates seat she had her eyes on, and several elected Democrats were backing his […]

Next Posts >>