July 3, 2025
‘Time is running short’: Letters show growing Justice Department ire at UVa.
Over two months this spring, Justice Department officials sent seven letters to the University of Virginia, alleging possible racial discrimination in admissions and hiring, inaction to address antisemitism on campus, and a failure to remove diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the institution. The letters, obtained by The Washington Post through a records request, revealed the agency’s increasing frustration at U-Va. They warned that a failure by the university to take “immediate corrective action” could lead to punitive steps, including possible termination of federal funding.
Youngkin says 2,500 'violent illegals' arrested. But ICE data, advocates say otherwise
This week, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a partnership between federal and state law enforcement has hit a new benchmark in removing what he called “violent criminals here illegally.” But statistics provided by federal immigration authorities and immigrant advocates tell a different story. “Violent criminals that represent the most violent drug cartels and gangs who are living among us in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Governor Glenn Youngkin told the press at a Virginia State Police facility outside Richmond Wednesday. . . . But according to recent reporting on federal data by WRIC, roughly half of those being kept in migrant detention at Virginia’s two Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, facilities have no criminal history.
Critics clash with Gov. Youngkin over Medicaid, SNAP impacts of 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is throwing his support behind the Republican-led “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping federal budget package that’s stirred controversy over its potential impact on low-income Americans. Youngkin, in an interview with WUSA9 Wednesday, called the need to pass the bill “very important” and emphasized its promises of tax relief, border security funding and fiscal responsibility. . . . “I don't believe there will be people who need services who will have to go without,” the governor said.
On a Tuesday evening in northern Virginia, Republicans on edge across the state finally got their wish: a campaign event featuring gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, backed by incumbent Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who beat a Democrat four years ago. A racially diverse crowd was packed into a firehouse waving signs that read “Axe the Tax,” a nod to an Earle-Sears campaign pledge to eliminate the state’s car tax. Youngkin lauded Earle-Sears’ biography and work as the state’s lieutenant governor. At the end, he appeared on stage with the entire GOP ticket, clapping along to the tune of the classic disco song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”
New state renters protection law aims to reduce evictions for public housing tenants
Tenants living in public housing across Virginia are now protected by a new law aimed at reducing evictions and eliminating certain fees. As of July 1, public housing authorities issuing notices of nonpayment to renters must now print those notices on pink or orange paper to clearly inform tenants of their rights. This is part of a broader push to strengthen renter protections and help prevent homelessness.
Medicaid on the brink as Congress races toward budget deadline
With roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding at stake, Congress is racing to finalize a sweeping budget package, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill,” ahead of President Donald Trump’s July 4 deadline — but key decisions about cuts to the health care program remain up in the air. A preliminary review by the Congressional Budget Office has heightened concern, and a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers and hospital associations across several states is warning against adopting the Senate version of the bill, which they say could devastate Medicaid-dependent health systems. . . . A central dispute between the two chambers involves how the Senate version would restructure Medicaid funding, particularly in ways that could undercut Virginia’s hospitals and the state’s expanded Medicaid program.
Letters from DOJ reveal threats to U.Va. over admissions policies, Ryan’s leadership
Between April 11 and June 17, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division sent seven letters to university officials, according to documents obtained by The Cavalier Daily through a Freedom of information Act request. In these letters, the Justice Department sought confirmation that the University had removed affirmative action from its admissions policies and had ended Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. Some letters also alleged that the University had failed to protect students against antisemitism. The letters did not confirm whether or not the Justice Department’s demands had been met.
UVa board meeting abruptly canceled after Ryan resignation
Several minutes after it was set to begin, a special meeting of the University of Virginia’s governing Board of Visitors over a "resignation faculty matter" was abruptly canceled “as it was no longer needed,” according to school officials. ... The virtual meeting scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday was called to “discuss a faculty resignation personnel matter,” as announced on the board’s website on Tuesday evening. At around 11:35 a.m. — with more than 300 people waiting online for the meeting’s livestream to begin — the link suddenly stopped functioning. The meeting was then listed as canceled on the board’s calendar.
Ryan to return to UVa as professor
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan may have resigned, but he won't be leaving UVa for good. The university announced Wednesday that Ryan will officially step down from office on July 11 and, after a sabbatical, will return to Grounds to teach at the schools of law and education
Former BOV member Bert Ellis says Ryan resignation an opportunity to move UVA to the right
Bert Ellis, a former member of the UVA Board of Visitors and outspoken critic of President Jim Ryan, believes Ryan’s ouster creates an opportunity for the school to move away from what Ellis sees as its recent left-leaning politics. “I wasn’t trying to move the University of Virginia towards the hard right, I just wanted it to move from hard left towards the middle,” Ellis said during an appearance on the Schilling Show on Monday. “He could have easily done that and been a hero and a leader in higher education but no. He drew his line in the sand on DEI.”
Feds reinstate $33 million for Virginia schools
Virginia and other states will regain the ability to use $33 million in emergency relief funds, after the federal government last week reversed course on a March decision that prohibited them from using the funds. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon abruptly accelerated the deadline for schools to spend all allocated funds on March 28, leaving schools scrambling to make plans for the money. McMahon announced the rescission of that policy in a June 26 letter to chief state school officers, after several states sued the agency in the Southern District of New York, leading to injunctions that prevented the DOE from enforcing its policy. Virginia was not one of those states involved in the litigation, but its state education agency did file appeals with DOE.
Dumfries data center proposal draws fervor at town hall
Residents of a Dumfries-area retirement community turned out in droves for a Tuesday town hall to discuss proposed data center development near their property, a relative novelty for eastern Prince William County compared with such projects on the county’s western end. Supervisor Andrea Bailey, a Democrat representing the Potomac District, hosted the town hall at her district office in Dumfries for residents of the Four Seasons at Historic Virginia 55-and-over community off Dumfries Road and west of Interstate 95. The project, dubbed “Lexora Park,” could include as many as five data centers, according to an April 9 concept plan.
Gigaland data center developer offers county $15M for land conservation
The developers of Gigaland, a seven-building, 2-million-square-foot data center campus proposed near Remington, are offering $15 million to Fauquier County’s land conservation program as part of a package of incentives to encourage county supervisors to approve it. The project initially included an offer of $1 million for county parks and trails, $1 million for Remington recreation programs and $500,000 to the nearby Meadows subdivision to mitigate its effects. With the additional $15 million, “it’s a bigger proffer package than the county's ever seen for anything ever, and certainly, the economics are very compelling,” said county Supervisor Ike Broaddus.
How do you get 850 students to improve their attendance? In Norton, it’s all about relationships
Improving attendance at Norton public schools sometimes looks like tracking down one chronically absent student at a time. Sometimes, that entails going to find them at their part-time jobs. Sarah Davis, the attendance specialist at the small Southwest Virginia school division, recalled one student who was skipping afternoon classes so she could pick up extra shifts at a local fast-food chain. . . . Davis’s efforts, combined with those of school administrators and a nonprofit partner organization, have made significant progress to improve attendance in Norton. For the 2022-2023 school year, more than one-third of the 325 students at J.I. Burton High School were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 18 days of school for any reason. For the 2023-2024 school year, chronic absenteeism dropped from 37% to just 2%.
