Today’s Topics
- Crime
- Health
- Education
- Transportation
- Legal
- Energy
- Environment
- Elections
- Education
- Technology
- Economy
- Local
Crime
Arlington, Alexandria fund recreation and education programs to keep kids safe | The Washington Post
On fields across Arlington County, kids from different neighborhoods, different schools and sometimes even different gangs come together twice a year to play soccer.
Newport News gang forums seek to empower public | The Daily Press
NEWPORT NEWS – Pastor Aaron Wheeler was almost killed by a gang.
Health
Swine flu-related deaths up in region | The Washington Post
Maryland confirmed two more swine flu-related deaths Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 12. The death toll in Virginia has reached 11, officials said.
Education
Students accused in racist incident could return to class in early 2010 | The Washington Post
Four of the six Stonewall Jackson High School students who faced yearlong expulsion for arranging pieces of sod into racist symbols will have the opportunity to return to school at the end of January, a panel of three Prince William County school board members decided unanimously Wednesday night.
Transportation
Alexandria opposes toll lanes on I-95 | The Washington Examiner
The Alexandria City Council is opposinga high-occupancy toll lane project on Interstate 95/395, following resistance from residents who arefightingthe project.
Kaine cheers road help by feds | The Freelance Star
Gov. Tim Kaine was pleased to attend yesterday’s groundbreaking in Spotsylvania County for the expansion State Route 3 near Gordon Road.
Stimulus money funds widening of Route 3 | The Star Exponent
FREDERICKSBURG — About five miles of Route 3 in Spotsylvania County will be widened using federal stimulus money.
Debate ongoing after C’ville bypass removal | The Star Exponent
LYNCHBURG — An eastern route for a U.S. 29 bypass of Charlottesville has been taken off a consultant’s map, but some of the state’s top decision-makers said this week a bypass still is needed.
Legal
Feds want idle Granby Tower site for court expansion | The Virginia Pilot
The federal government plans to seize the site of the failed Granby Tower condominiums and use it to expand the Walter E. Hoffman Courthouse in Norfolk.
Groups sue to block changes at Chesapeake center | The Virginia Pilot
Two advocacy groups for disabled people filed suit this week asking the court to stop the state’s plan to rebuild the Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake.
Energy
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative strikes energy deal | The Richmond Times Dispatch
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative has struck a deal with Exelon Generation to supply the Glen Allen-based co-op with 200 megawatts of electricity for 10 years beginning in June.
Environment
Group acquires Southwest Va. tract to protect rare mussel | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
CEDAR BLUFF — The Nature Conservancy has acquired a 25-acre hillside tract along Indian Creek in the Clinch Valley to help protect a rare freshwater mussel.
Elections
Nonprofit halts planned mailing of voting history | The Virginia Pilot
A planned mass mailing that would have disclosed many Virginians’ personal voting history was halted Wednesday amid indications that the information may have been acquired illegally.
Group halts Va. voter mailing amid legal questions | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
NORFOLK — A nonprofit group has halted a planned mass mailing that would have the disclosed the voting history of thousands of Virginians after questions were raised about its legality.
Protesters push to count late ballots | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Louise Amato stood outside the State Board of Elections office at 1100 Bank St. in Richmond today and held up a large sign that read:
“Those who count the votes, decide everything.”
Education
Court reviewing Va. college booze ad ban | The Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginia’s ban on alcohol-related advertising in college newspapers is before a federal appeals court in Richmond.
W&M students pitch vote, health care reform | The Virginia Gazette
WILLIAMSBURG — Students with the William & Mary chapter of the Virginia Organization will go door-to-door in Grove on Sunday to encourage voter participation in Tuesday’s election and to generate calls to Congress on health care reform.
Trible uses CNU letterhead to raise money for Hamilton | The Daily Press
NEWPORT NEWS – Christopher Newport University President Paul Trible sent out fundraising notes for Del. Phil Hamilton on letters with the school’s official letterhead at the top.
Virginia Western Community College eliminates 17 positions | The Roanoke Times
Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, reacting to state budget cuts, has eliminated 17 positions. The college laid off two employees and the remaining 15 took early retirement, according to VWCC President Robert Sandel.
Technology
Just minutes after the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors finalized its decision, a quick summary shot out from a Tuesday meeting:
“Board of Supervisors approve rezoning petition to construct a bank w/drive thru at 4903 and 5007 Cloverdale Road in Hollins District.”
Economy
Families face ruin dealing with Chinese drywall | The Virginia Pilot
Seven months after Jason and Lisa Dunaway discovered their new Courtland home was built with dozens of sheets of Chinese-made drywall, the couple is meeting with lawyers and filling out bankruptcy documents.
Local
Fairfax Unemployment Up Slightly in September | The Sun Gazette
Joblessness in Fairfax County bumped up two-tenths of one percent in September, joining a regional trend toward slightly higher unemployment that experts believe will decline somewhat over the next three months.
Arlington Unemployment Up Slightly, Still Lowest Statewide | The Sun Gazette
Unemployment among Arlington residents ticked up slightly in September, but remains lowest in the commonwealth and among the lowest in the nation.
Richmond unemployment rose to 7.7 percent in September | The Times-Dispatch
They boost the jobless rate when schools’ summer vacations start, and again a few weeks after their college terms start. Returning college students looking for work for a few extra bucks boosted the local unemployment rate slightly last month.
Jobless rate in Central Va. mostly steady | The Daily Progress
Unemployment in the Charlottesville metropolitan area remained at 5.5 percent in September while the rate in the city itself dropped by seven-tenths of a percent, according to Virginia Employment Commission figures.
Budget woes on the way | The News & Messenger
A financial retreat Tuesday to give Prince William supervisors a heads-up for fiscal 2011 budget issues might be summed in a sentence: Cuts are on the way.
Secretive DOD agency breaks ground in Va. | The Virginia Pilot
The secretive Pentagon agency that brought us the Internet and tried to bring us bomb-sniffing bees, warrior exoskeletons and terrorism futures trading took a small step out into the spotlight Wednesday to break ground on a new headquarters.
Green thinking earns county extra cash from state group | The Daily Press
York’s ongoing environmental initiatives recently won the county some cash.
- The Most Progressive Budget in Virginia’s History - December 21, 2019
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- Should U.S. Consider Modern Monetary Theory to Improve Economy? - December 21, 2019