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Politics
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Republican Maria Martin is running to unseat Democrat Luke Torian in the 52nd House of Delegates District in Prince William County.
This is her second bid for the seat in as many years. When you compare her fundraising numbers to Torian, an 11-year incumbent who has raked in more than a half-million dollars in donations from beer makers, Realtors, and Dominion Energy, Martin’s paltry $4,700 makes this campaign resemble a David and Goliath-style battle.
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Suzanne Youngkin, the wife of Virginia Republican Governor hopeful Glenn Youngkin, is speaking out on the state of education in the commonwealth and on the fight over critical race theory.
In Virginia, and in school board meetings across the U.S., parents have lined up to protest critical race theory, belief that white supremacy exists in the U.S. despite the rule of law. Nearly half of U.S. states have banned critical race theory, as opponents say the practice pits citizens against one another by race.
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Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) paid a visit to the home of the Fredericksburg Nationals minor league baseball team to announce a bill that would offer financial assistance to minor league baseball teams in Virginia that came under hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill, known as the Minor League Baseball Relief Act, would provide grants from a pot of $550 million of unused money originally set aside for pandemic relief. The act would follow in the footsteps of the Shuttered Venues grant program which offered funding to businesses such as restaurants and music venues which had closed their doors due to crowd restrictions to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
The pandemic affected sporting venues such as FredNats ballpark, which led to the cancelation of the 2020 season, which been the FredNat's first season since moving to Fredericksburg. The team took the field for the first time in May, but according to Fred Nats Owner Art Silber, the canceled season resulted in lost revenue that would have been generated by the team’s presence.
Silber discussed the positives of how the bill would affect the Fred Nats:
“We’ve gone through a difficult financial period without having revenues for a full season like other businesses that have benefited from similar legislation. It would provide some additional revenue that would allow us to invest more in the ballpark, do some hiring, and some other things that would help us to fully realize our business.”
Warner also touted the importance of Minor League Baseball not just as a drive of economic growth but as a source of entertainment for local baseball fans.
“For many working families, catching a weekend Minor League Baseball game at stadiums across the Commonwealth is an affordable and fun family outing.”
Working alongside Warner on the bill is fellow Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as well as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Richard Blumethal (D-Conn.).
In addition to the FredNats, eight other Virginia-based teams from the Minor League and the Appalachian League would be eligible for relief which could amount up to $10 million for the team. The Minor League teams include the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Norfolk Tides, the Lynchburg Hillcats, and the Salem Red Sox.
The eligible Appalachian League teams include the Danville Otterbots, the Pulaski River Turtles, the Bluefield Ridge Runners, and the Bristol State Liners.
The FredNats, formerly the Potomac Nationals, moved from Woodbridge to their new home in Fredericksburg in 2018. The $35 million stadia, located next to the Fredericksburg Expo Center on Carl D. Silver Parkway, was constructed under a public-private partnership between the team and the city.
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Rep. Gerry Connolly today says he wants to shine a light on the proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Democrat, who represents portions of Prince William and Fairfax counties in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, will reintroduce his Cameras in the Courtroom Act.
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Virginia public radio station WCVE in Richmond retracted a column posted to its website today — a fact check piece about former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
The piece, which was also shared by statewide news aggregator Va News from the Virginia Public Access Project, called out McAuliffe for falsely claiming his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, praised him during a panel discussion the Youngkin hosted in 2018, on which McAuliffe was a panelist.
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When Jennifer Carroll Foy was crisscrossing the state on a tour bus in 2019, she seemed like the perfect candidate for governor.
Recently elected to a second term in the House of Delegates, representing Woodbridge, and the northern portion of Stafford, the Democrat won a landslide victory over her Republican challenger. Young, female, African-American — it seemed like she had it all, especially in 2020, a year that saw many calls to elevate more minority, progressive candidates to higher office.