Virginia’s teacher workforce is smaller, unhappier and less qualified than before the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s nonpartisan legislative watchdog agency said in a report Monday that urged the state to boost funding to address the issue.
Staffers of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, also told lawmakers that in addition to previously reported declines in academic achievement, school staff are experiencing more student behavioral problems and mental health issues.
Abortion rights, inflation, crime, the “radicalization” of U.S. politicians and the survival of democracy itself were among the issues weighing heavily on the minds of some of the voters who cast their ballots on Saturday, Nov. 5 — the last day of early voting before Tuesday’s general election.
While standing in line to vote early at the Woodbridge DMV Saturday afternoon, Michael Leyva, 21, of Woodbridge, said the No. 1 issue on his mind this year is abortion rights, which is why he said he planned to vote for incumbent U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) over her Republican challenger Yesli Vega.
The political battle for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is one of the most closely watched and costly U.S. House races in the country.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democratic centrist and former CIA officer, is seeking a third term. Spanberger and members of her party are facing fierce political headwinds from issues including inflation and high gas prices.
The Prince William County School Board is considering a proposal that would require school administrators to notify parents ahead of any school-wide book readings or assemblies.
The 7th Congressional District in Virginia is one of the most competitive races that could help determine who controls the House after the 2022 midterm elections. The battle between Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and GOP newcomer Yesli Vega will act as the litmus test on where constituents in the newly re-drawn district stand on political and social issues.
While future skirmishes loom in the form of rezonings, arguably the biggest land-use decision in Prince William County’s history is expected to be made Tuesday, Nov. 1.
That’s when the Board of County Supervisors will hold a public hearing and plans to vote on the proposed PW Digital Gateway. The hearing is on the request from dozens of landowners to designate 2,139 acres in western Prince William County for data centers. Specifically, it is to change the land currently designated as agricultural/estate and environmental resource in the Comprehensive Plan to technology/flex, parks and open space, county registered historic site and environmental resource overlay.
But as medical providers, parents and educators in the Fredericksburg area and beyond have discovered this fall, respiratory viruses aren’t acting the way they usually do.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said that thousands of voters receiving incorrect voting information is “unacceptable.” Miyares is frustrated with the vendor that made the mistake, said a spokeswoman for his office, Victoria LaCivita.
Affordable housing, education, taxes and transparency are the top campaign issues cited by six candidates vying for three Manassas City Council seats on the ballot Nov. 8.
Republican incumbent Councilmembers Theresa Coates Ellis and Lynn Forkell Greene are trying to hold onto their seats and elect fellow Republican and political newcomer R. E. “Rick” Bookwalter to increase their party’s influence on the city council, which now has a 5-2 Democratic majority.
