This is a daily newsletter covering Virginia politics from top to bottom. Please consider becoming the ultimate political insider by supporting non-partisan, independent news and becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter today.
Today’s Sponsor: Network NOVA
Sign drama
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va05, posted a video on social media this weekend accusing his primary opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, of putting his campaign signs in authorized places.
“Congressman Bob Good here in Campbell County at Cunningham Brothers Auto owned by my friend Benny Cunningham,” Good said in the video. “As you can see, they support me….they've got my sign up… they asked me to put it up. But here's what my opponent does right beside me, he puts up an unauthorized sign and my friend Benny Cunningham at Cunningham Brothers has asked that sign to be taken down, so they are going to take it down today because they support me — but this is the kind of dishonest campaign that my opponent is running.”
Trump irritates House Freedom Caucus with endorsements - Punchbowl News
by Mica Soellner
There’s usually not a lot of daylight between the House Freedom Caucus and former President Donald Trump. But there is one area where Trump is really irking the group of conservative hardliners — endorsements.
First, Trump endorsed against the group’s chair, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.). Now, senior HFC members are openly criticizing the former president’s endorsement strategy in other GOP primaries.
Poverty mires many in segregated schools; some seek solutions - RTD
by Anna Bryson & Sean Jones
Growing up in Fairfield Court, a housing project in Richmond’s East End, Samantha Thompson did not know her family was poor. The 12th of 13 children, Thompson had not seen much outside of the neighborhood until, during a short-lived period of mandated school busing, she attended an integrated school about 30 minutes from home.
In the 1980s at what was then Jefferson Huguenot Wythe High School, she met classmates who drove cars, knew how to play tennis and had parents who were doctors and lawyers. Thompson had always been a smart kid but had never thought that attending college was an option.
New judge to hear challenge of Virginia’s withdrawal from clean-air initiative - Roanoke Times
By LAURENCE HAMMACK
A new judge appointed to hear a challenge of Virginia’s withdrawal from a multi-state clean air program is being asked to vacate a prior judge’s ruling. In February, Floyd County Circuit Judge Mike Fleenor denied a motion filed by Virginia’s attorney general to dismiss the lawsuit, which contests the state’s decision to leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Fleenor recused himself three weeks later, citing a conflict of interest. Now that retired Judge Randall Lowe has been designated to hear the case, the state is asking him to vacate Fleenor’s Feb. 7 order that allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
Details emerge about criminal case against Virginia Beach GOP chairwoman - Virginian Pilot
by Stacy Parker
The chairwoman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach was indicted this week on a felony charge of intercepting wire communications.
Laura K. Hughes, an attorney and former Virginia Beach School Board member, was indicted Monday by a Virginia Beach grand jury, according to online court records. The crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A court document filed in the case says the charges stem from an incident in February, but did not provide any details.
The Democratic primary in Virginia’s 10th congressional district is getting expensive. Where is all the money coming from? - WAMU
by Margaret Barthel
Virginia’s 10th congressional district is home to one of the most competitive Democratic primaries in the commonwealth this year, with a dozen candidates vying for their party’s nod to run for retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s seat this fall.
And with a few weeks left before the June 18th primary date — and early voting already underway — the contest is shaping up to be a costly one, according to the final round of federal campaign filings before Election Day.
Virginia’s legislature sees no short-term fix for congestion on I-81 - Radio IQ
by Brad Kutner
Western Virginia's rolling terrain and high level of truck traffic make it a tough nut for Virginia’s traffic gurus to crack. The I-81 corridor improvement program, passed by legislators following a study in 2018, is on track to address some of the issues, but not before inflation and other hold ups add a billion and a half dollars and two years to the project’s timeline.
One proposal to address the issue was a public private partnership that would implement tolls. But at a recent meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, analyst Kate Hopkins said conditions along the highway make tolls unfeasible.
