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U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Virginia’s appeal; redistricting is dead
The move means the districts Virginia has had since the 2022 elections remain in place.
Politics
Spanberger will veto collective bargaining bill, future of cannabis legislation uncertain
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has 10 days left to act on bills sent back to her after the April 22 reconvene session.
Local
Roanoke permit delays are holding up builders, with about a third of planning department jobs still open
The city is working with a consultant to identify issues within the department.
Culture
American Aquarium, Rhonda Vincent among headliners for this year’s Floyd Small Town Summer series
Local acts Hoppie Vaughan & the Ministers of Soul and JStop Latin Soul also will be featured, along with family-friendly movies on some nights.
education
Hiring new Virginia Tech president likely to take 6 to 8 months, search firm says
When longtime President Tim Sands announced that he would step down a month ago, board of visitors Rector John Rocovich said he believed the hiring could be done by July 1.
eCONOMY
Comcast, Appalachian Power continue wrangling over broadband expansion
Comcast claims that Appalachian Power is not abiding by an FCC ruling about how much it can charge to replace power poles necessary for broadband deployment. The utility says that Comcast’s cost proposal will hurt electric customers.
OPinion
Virginia’s biggest metros and North Carolina’s biggest metros are headed in different directions economically. Why?
Nowhere else in the country do we have this kind of contrast, where one state is seeing its two biggest metros lose jobs while next door a neighboring state is seeing its two biggest metros gain jobs.
Health Care
Healthcare providers say AI helps them focus on patients. But it also raises questions about privacy, security and the role of humans in medicine
Four out of five doctors report using artificial intelligence in the workplace for tasks such as note-taking, communicating with patients and conducting research.
news briefs
Headlines from across the state: NAACP asks U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Virginia redistricting decision; more …
From elsewhere: Fairfax prosecutor Descano lambasted by Republicans in Congressional hearing. After 123 years, Virginia Tech student newspaper reduces print to embrace online. “Chill” bear tranquilized after journey into Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood.
Sports
‘Martinsville Missile’ sets a new land speed record for a stock car
With a Henry County driver behind the wheel, the car designed and built in Martinsville broke the record of 244.9 mph with a top speed of 253 mph.
WEATHER
El Niño could be our drought buster, but might turn into too much of a good thing
All signs point to warming equatorial Pacific waters, which often portends much wetter weather than Virginia has experienced in the past few months.
Cardinal 250
One of Virginia’s most eccentric patriots was John Sinclair, a government-sanctioned pirate
Privateers were an important component of the American war effort. They were something akin to government-sanctioned pirates — armed vessels that chased down and confiscated the cargo of civilian enemy merchant ships. The techniques privateers employed wouldn’t pass muster today. They’d often approach a ship under a false flag and captain and crew would get…
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