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A direction on data centers emerges in General Assembly
One of the biggest points of political tension in Virginia — the rapid growth of data centers — appears headed toward a General Assembly compromise. It looks like an effort to rein in any impact on Virginians’ power bills while declining to step on the brakes to stop or slow data center development. “I think that's where the leadership would like to go. I think that members who've introduced legislation ... are very frustrated," said Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, which has argued for years that data center development needs a lot more state and local oversight.
‘Us versus them’: The battle that’s tearing a small Virginia town apart
The town council meeting had reached the point on the agenda where the public could speak on any topic, and emotions, to put it mildly, were a tad raw. “It’s not too late to resign!” a woman shouted at the lawmakers, four of whom, including the mayor, are the focus of a recall campaign. “Stop screwing our town!” a man railed. “We are broke and sicker of you than ever!” someone else yelled. Small towns often are known for their quirky, insular intrigue, but the drama unfolding in Purcellville, a Virginia exurb that’s a 50-mile drive west of Washington, is a brass-knuckled version of quaint.
HIV treatment for thousands of Virginians in jeopardy after loss of ACA insurance tax credits, drug rebates
One of the biggest ways the Virginia Department of Health has fought the HIV epidemic in the state has been by buying insurance on the Affordable Healthcare Marketplace. A combination of ACA premium tax credits, drug company rebates and federal funding made purchasing insurance and paying premiums, deductibles and copayments for people with low incomes living with HIV far cheaper than buying antiretroviral medications they need daily. ... But crushing financial pressures — including the end of COVID-era tax credits that subsidized insurance on the marketplace — now threaten healthcare for thousands of Virginians with HIV.
Lawmakers try again to overhaul VCU Health’s governing board
For the second year in a row, lawmakers are trying to redesign the leadership structure of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. Last week, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would shrink the size of the Board of Directors, diminish the power of the VCU president and split the job of the health system's CEO. The House voted in favor of an identical bill by a vote of 91-5, with two members abstaining. The legislation now goes to Gov. Abigail Spanberger for her signature.
McGuire’s reelection campaign focuses on current 5th District; no word on where he’d run if redistricting passes
Rep. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, is seeking reelection in the 5th District. Normally, that wouldn’t be particularly remarkable since McGuire currently represents the 5th District. It becomes more noteworthy with the Democrats’ proposed redistricting map, which would take away 87.9% of his constituents and place his home in Goochland in a newly constructed 7th District that runs north to Arlington County and is dominated by Democratic voters. However, House members don’t have to live in their districts, just in the state.
Abortion opponents pack Lynchburg council meeting for vote on zoning change
The tone of Thursday’s public hearing was set moments after it began — when, at the conclusion of the Pledge of Allegiance, one audience member shouted “born and unborn” after the phrase “liberty and justice for all.” The energy grew throughout a five-hour Lynchburg City Council meeting that saw about 70 speakers weigh in on the city’s decision to use zoning tools to restrict where abortion clinics can operate. Attendees sat shoulder-to-shoulder in packed pews of city hall and lined the walls once seats were filled. Applause, cheers and interjections rang just as loud at 11 p.m., when the meeting ended in a 4-2 vote to pass the zoning ordinance, as they did when the first speaker took the stand.
Jeffries goes all in on gerrymandering, pledges ‘tens of millions’ to help Virginia ballot measure pass
As Hakeem Jeffries sits in the minority of a GOP-controlled Washington, he is still haunted by a Republican gerrymandering gambit that he believes cost him the speaker’s gavel — and cost his party control of the House. This time, he’s making sure Democrats fight back. Jeffries is leading the Democratic party’s counterpunch to President Donald Trump’s aggressive mid-decade redistricting push. He’s going all in with money, legal firepower and his own political capital ... Jeffries told CNN he is willing to devote “tens of millions of dollars” [in Virginia] to make sure Democrats are successful on the ballot in April. (House Majority Forward, a group linked to Jeffries, committed $5 million last week, and it is expected to spend more before April, the group told CNN.)
Future of program that helps low-income Virginians with HIV remains unclear
The Virginia Department of Health has not yet developed a clear plan for how to manage lost services that provide wraparound care for the state’s most vulnerable residents with HIV, the state epidemiologist said Friday. Late last year, the department significantly reduced funding for the Ryan White Part B program, a federal program that covers core medical services for low-income residents living with HIV. Of the 21 services once provided under the program, only seven are funded now.
After police reforms, Virginia traffic stops increase
Virginia law enforcement officers conducted more than 1.24 million stops last year, a 7% increase from 2024, according to new data from the Virginia State Police. The records also show a familiar pattern: the likelihood of being stopped or searched still varies by race, despite reforms meant to curb those disparities. The police stops are documented under Virginia’s Community Policing Act, a cornerstone of policing reforms enacted in 2021. The sweeping package of law enforcement reforms came in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers. Virginia law now requires police and sheriff departments statewide to report every traffic and investigatory stop to the state police.
What 42 massive and decaying presidential heads say about America
George Washington’s chin is crumbling. His cheeks are streaked with sooty grime. His blackened nose is peeling, an apparent victim of frostbite and sunburn. Still, America’s first leader looks nicer than usual. In the winter months, wasps aren’t nesting in his eyes. “Just beautiful,” observed Cesia Rodriguez, a 32-year-old massage therapist gazing up at the Founding Father — or what remained of him. She’d pulled on rain boots, driven about an hour and trudged through the mud of what her tour guide called “an industrial dump” early Saturday with dozens of other tourists to see “The Presidents Heads,” a private collection [in Croaker, Virginia] of every ex-POTUS’s sculpted likeness from Washington to George W. Bush.