RICHMOND – A bill that instructs the director of the Department of Environmental Quality to suspend the issuance of any permit to close coal ash ponds until July 1, 2019, other than those state permits where the ash has been removed, is being removed, or is already being recycled from existing onsite ponds, is on its way to the governor after passage by the state Legislature. SB 807 requires Dominion Energy to issue a request for proposals to determine recycling options for coal ash that includes the cost and potential market demand. House Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, has monitored…
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By Sophia Belletti Capital News Service RICHMOND – Manassas resident Greg Ballou was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana when he was 19, and he didn’t have enough money to pay the fine. As a result, his driver’s license was suspended. Nine years later, Ballou, now 28 and working in construction, is thousands of dollars in debt, and his license has been permanently suspended. “Everything’s a barrier, and it’s incredibly impossible to have a life at all without a license,” Ballou said. Under Virginia law, when somebody is convicted of violating state or federal law and does not immediately…
By Ryan Persaud Capital News Service One of Virginia’s first Latina lawmakers delivered the Democrats’ Spanish-language response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, saying he “has pushed a dark and extremist agenda that damages our national values and endangers national security.” Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, a first-term delegate representing Virginia’s 31st District, criticized the Trump administration for actions she considered discriminatory. Those actions included rescinding protections for certain young immigrants under the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals program and, in Guzmán’s view, Trump’s lack of action in providing citizens in Puerto Rico with hurricane relief. “We should…
By Zach Joachim Capital News Service RICHMOND – A House subcommittee has killed a bill that would have made residents of any U.S. territory hit by a major disaster – like Puerto Rico – eligible for in-state tuition at Virginia’s public colleges and universities. The Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee took the action Monday by rejecting HB 46, proposed by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax. Krizek urged the subcommittee to envision the devastation still evident in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria in September. It was one of the strongest storms ever to hit the island. “Our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico…
By Sean Boyce Capital News Service As the college basketball season gets underway, VCU fans are looking forward to the Rams putting up big numbers against opponents in the Atlantic 10 Conference. But off the court, VCU’s student-athletes are far behind on an important statistic – the “graduation success rate” as calculated by the NCAA. This number reflects the percentage of student-athletes who earn a degree within six years of entering college. The most recent NCAA report tracks student-athletes who entered college in 2010 and whether they graduated by 2016. Overall, VCU’s student-athletes had a GSR of 79 percent. That was the lowest among…
The Heritage Ensemble Theatre Company is excited to announce its premiere of “The Dream Seller and the Forest Dwellers.” The production is scheduled to run Nov. 29 – Dec. 9 at Hickory Hill Community Center, located at 3000 E. Belt Boulevard. General admission is $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. “The Dream Seller and the Forest Dwellers” is the second production in the acting group’s three-play season. A magical, musical world comes to life in this lighthearted children’s play where forest dwellers learn life lessons about what it means to be themselves. Directed by Shanea N. Taylor…
By Will Thomas VCU Capital News Service Alycia Wright, a Short Pump resident, used to have her own classroom where each day she taught dozens of middle-school students. That all changed after Wright had her fourth child and decided to begin home-schooling her children. “We tried it for a year, loved the freedom and we have not stopped,” she said. A licensed middle school teacher for 12 years with a master’s degree, Wright initially made the switch to home schooling as a financial decision: It meant saving on private-school tuition for her two daughters. After experiencing a year in the…
By Charlotte Rene Woods Capital News Service Four years ago, Democrat Mark Herring squeaked by Republican Mark Obenshain by just 165 votes to win the race for Virginia attorney general. But on Nov.7, Herring cruised to re-election against GOP nominee John Adams, winning by more than 176,000 votes while flipping usually conservative Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. During his first term, Herring won praise from progressives and criticism from conservatives for refusing to defend Virginia’s ban against same-sex marriage, challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban against people from certain Muslim countries and other controversial positions. Herring’s supporters see his re-election as…
By Alan Rodriguez Espinoza VCU Capital News Service RICHMOND – Medical coverage for more than 60,000 children and 1,000 pregnant women in Virginia lies in the hands of Congress, which has yet to reach a decision on how to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program. CHIP is an extension of Medicaid that provides government-funded health insurance to children and pregnant women from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance. Congress missed the Sept. 30 deadline to reauthorize federal funding for CHIP. Jeff South | Associate Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies Richard T.…
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