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Data center concerns flare at Prince William County town hall hosted by Rep. Subramanyam
After data centers became a top issue for voters during the statewide elections in Virginia that saw Democrats win every state office, a town hall led by Democratic lawmakers in Prince William County over the weekend brought out strong emotions over the industry’s rapid growth — with many residents saying they feel ignored and overwhelmed. Hosted by Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat who represents Virginia’s 10th District, the Saturday town hall focused on how the fast‑growing industry is affecting neighborhoods across the region.
First-year delegate Justin Pence settles into minority role
Del. Justin Pence, R-Shenandoah, says the biggest surprise about serving in Virginia's General Assembly isn't walking the halls of a legislative body that traces its origins to 1619. It's watching how little difference a speech makes once the clerk calls the roll for a vote. “You can have the most passionate speech in the world, and then they open the rolls for the vote, and it’s party line. Period,” Pence said in a recent interview. “I mean, you’re not changing anybody’s mind.”
Virginia House debates noncompete ban for some doctors
Virginia’s House of Delegates is considering an effort to limit the use of non-compete employment contracts for medical professionals. There’s uncertainty on new limits, but a desire for improved healthcare access coming from both sides of the aisle. “By forcing nurses and doctors and other healthcare professionals to stay in their preexisting hospital systems we’re preventing growth that could lower costs and create better care,” said Democratic House Majority Leader Charniele Herring presenting at Thursday's House Labor subcommittee. She proposed what she called a solution to this problem: an end to noncompete agreements.
Denton: VMI occupies an important place in Va. higher ed
For nearly two centuries, the Virginia Military Institute has served the commonwealth with a clarity of purpose that few public institutions can claim. Founded in 1839, VMI exists to produce educated citizens of character prepared for leadership, service and responsibility in civilian and military life. Its success is evident in outcomes: graduates who serve disproportionately in the state and federal armed forces, public office, medicine, law, business, education, public safety and charitable work throughout Virginia and the nation. Yet in recent years, VMI has increasingly been judged not by its results, but by selective critiques often detached from the institute’s full context.
Aguilar: All Virginia residents deserve safeguards
During the first Trump administration, Liliana Cruz Mendez, an organized CASA member from Falls Church, attended a routine ICE check-in with her attorney and fully complied with all requirements. She never came home. Despite receiving a pardon from Gov. Terry McAuliffe for a years-old traffic conviction stemming from a broken tail-light stop, ICE detained and deported this mother of two U.S. citizen children to El Salvador in 2017. The message to immigrant communities was unmistakable. Compliance does not protect families from separation.
Yancey: Macy and Perriello have more money than Cline and McGuire, but will new maps put them in same district?
Democratic challengers Beth Macy and Tom Perriello now have more campaign money than the two Republican incumbents they’d like to face, Ben Cline and John McGuire, a development that could complicate Democratic plans to redraw the state’s congressional districts. The latest campaign finance reports, released over the weekend, show that Perriello has more than twice what McGuire has on hand: $676,616 for Perriello, a former congressman from Albemarle County, compared to $314,375 for McGuire, a first-term House member from Goochland County. Macy, a best-selling Roanoke author making her first foray into politics, has $527,708 on hand compared to Cline’s $521,194.
David Toscano’s distinctly Virginian political style is hard to find in Virginia nowadays
David Toscano retired from politics in 2020 — kind of. After a 26-year career, in which he served as mayor of Charlottesville and later minority leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, Toscano is still as engaged as ever, albeit from the sidelines now. "I left the legislature in 2019 because I'd accomplished the things I wanted to do," Toscano, one of this year's Distinguished Dozen honorees, told The Daily Progress. "But I had to keep my fingers in the pie, and I do that by writing. And it keeps my mind engaged. It's both to help shape the debate, and frankly, it's personal, because I like to think about issues and think about them carefully."