Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin presented the Spirit of Virginia Award to Coach Joe Gibbs’ nonprofit organization, Youth For Tomorrow (YFT), during the annual Burgundy and Gold Banquet. The ceremony, attended by past and present Washington Commander players and other dignitaries, celebrated YFT’s significant impact on children and families throughout Virginia since its founding in 1986.

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin present the Spirit of Virginia Award to Coach Joe Gibbs and Dr. Gary L. Jones on May 16, 2024. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin with Coach Joe Gibbs and Peyton Manning on May 16, 2024. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.

“Youth For Tomorrow is a God-inspired organization that has truly impacted thousands of kids throughout our Commonwealth,” Governor Youngkin remarked. “Led by a passionate group of individuals answering the call to serve others, Youth For Tomorrow provides every young person who feels lost and without hope a safe place to feel loved and supported.”

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of support systems for all Virginians, especially children. “Youth For Tomorrow does just that, sowing the seeds for a more prosperous and positive Virginia.”

Coach Joe Gibbs, the founder and chairman of YFT, shared his heartfelt appreciation for the recognition. “Youth For Tomorrow was a dream and a calling the Lord had placed on my heart. My vision was to establish a Christian home for troubled teenage boys. Almost 40 years later, that dream is a reality and is more than I ever could have imagined,” he said. “On behalf of the Board of Trustees and Gary Jones, I am deeply honored to receive this distinguished Spirit of Virginia award from the First Lady, Suzanne Youngkin, and the Governor.”

Dr. Gary L. Jones, CEO of YFT, expressed his gratitude for the award, highlighting the organization’s extensive service history. “It is with our sincerest gratitude, accepting this award which recognizes the countless lives we have impacted over our 38-year history. It is with God’s grace that YFT has touched the lives of almost 40,000 children whose lives were in despair when they arrived on the doorsteps to our homes on campus and behavioral health regional offices.”

Since its inception, Youth For Tomorrow has dedicated itself to supporting at-risk and vulnerable children and families. Originally established to help troubled teenage boys, YFT expanded its services to include teenage girls in 2003, introducing programs like Mommy & Me for pregnant teens and girls with infants. Recognizing the dire issue of human trafficking, YFT also offers residential treatment for exploited and sexually trafficked domestic teenage girls.

YFT’s Bristow campus provides a haven for over 100 children, supported by more than 150 residential, therapeutic, and education staff. These professionals offer various services, including residential treatment, case management, clinical, nursing, psychiatric services, mentoring, and educational opportunities.

Beyond residential programs, YFT operates six regional offices providing behavioral health services such as mental health assessments, individual therapy, marriage and couples counseling, and substance abuse counseling. As of 2020, YFT serves nearly 800 children in residential services annually and conducts over 28,000 counseling sessions for children and their families in crisis. The organization also offers Therapeutic Day Treatment in selected elementary and middle schools in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties to help children develop the life skills necessary for making positive decisions.

The Spirit of Virginia Award celebrates unique qualities and outstanding achievements across the Commonwealth. It salutes Virginians for their significant contributions to private industry, education, culture, the arts, and philanthropy.

Governor and Mrs. Youngkin will present four more Spirit of Virginia Awards in 2024, continuing their commitment to recognizing excellence throughout the state.

On May 17, 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin proudly announced that Virginia experienced continued job growth in April, with the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remaining below 3.0 percent at 2.8 percent. This figure is 0.1 percentage points lower than last month and 1.1 percentage points below the national rate, which rose to 3.9 percent.

“Our goal since day one has been for more Virginians to hear the words ‘you are hired,’ and each new job created represents a step toward a stronger Commonwealth and a promising future for all Virginians,” said Governor Youngkin. “It is our strong job growth that enabled us to pass and sign a bipartisan budget this week, making historic investments in areas important to our workforce, such as childcare for working families, behavioral health, and education. We will keep Virginia on a winning path and strengthen our economic vitality and our communities.”

In April, non-farm payroll employment in Virginia grew by 3,400. The number of employed Virginians increased by 517 to a total of 4,455,081. Since January 2022, over 204,000 more Virginians have found employment. Despite the labor force decreasing by 4,375 to 4,584,350, unemployed residents fell by 4,892 to 129,269. The labor force participation rate, which measures the proportion of the civilian population aged 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work, decreased slightly to 66.4 percent.

“Continued employment growth and a sustained low unemployment rate signal resilience in our economy, paving the way for more robust job creation ahead,” stated Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater.

Secretary of Commerce Caren Merrick added, “Our focus remains on creating a strong labor market where every Virginian can find opportunities to thrive and contribute. We continue to be aggressive in attracting, expanding, and supporting new businesses in the Commonwealth.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes employment figures through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) household survey and the Current Employment Statistics (CES) establishment survey. The LAUS survey is based on household interviews and provides comprehensive data on the labor force, including employment and unemployment. In contrast, the CES survey uses payroll records from employers to count jobs covered by unemployment insurance, excluding business owners, self-employed persons, unpaid volunteers, private household workers, and those on unpaid leave or not working due to labor disputes.

For more detailed information, visit the Virginia Works LMI website at virginiaworks.com.

After signing a new state spending plan on Monday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin must appoint a director for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by July 1 or risk losing money for the office, whose title he renamed by replacing “equity” with “opportunity,” a move which Democrats criticized as contrary to state code.

Youngkin considers budget proposal to redirect diversity office funds

“If the governor is not going to follow the laws, then there are consequences for it,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. “Sometimes following a law you don’t agree with is uncomfortable, but when you raise your right hand and swear to God that you are going to follow the laws of the of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, it was my understanding he took that stuff pretty seriously, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case if he doesn’t agree with the law.”

Martin Brown currently serves as the cabinet’s chief officer.

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor, when asked if the governor would return the word “equity” back into the office title, did not directly answer the question. Martinez instead said the administration has been in compliance with the law and will continue to do so.

Budget provision spells out DEI director requirement

Surovell proposed budget language in an effort to have the word “equity” put back in the office title.

According to the budget, “if the governor has not appointed a director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by July 1, 2024” following Virginia Code 2.2-435.12, the director for the Department of Planning and Budget “shall transfer the appropriation to the Virginia Cannabis Equity Business Loan Fund.” The fund provides no- and low-interest loans to qualified, licensed cannabis business owners to help promote business ownership and economic growth in communities that were disproportionately impacted by cannabis when it was fully prohibited in the state.

The state budget also includes $3.6 million in funding for the DEI office over the next two years, a $1 million increase compared to the governor’s initial budget he unveiled in December.

Last April, the state’s DEI office was thrust into the national spotlight after Brown, the director, remarked that “DEI is dead” at the Virginia Military Institute.

“Let’s take a moment right now to kill that cow. DEI is dead,” Brown said. “We’re not going to bring that cow up anymore. It’s dead. It was mandated by the General Assembly, but this governor has a different philosophy of civil discourse, civility … living the golden rule, right?”

Last year, Democrats asked Attorney General Jason Miyares whether the governor was following the law when he changed the name of the position.

Surovell wrote that the DEI title mandated by the state didn’t appear on the official state website and “uses an incorrect name and refers to Mr. Brown as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Chief Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion Officer.”

Miyares responded that if the governor makes sure the state’s laws relating to the DEI office are “‘faithfully executed,’ he may include within his cabinet a Chief Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion Officer who is charged with performing duties supplemental to those of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

The attorney general also pointed out in his response that “equity” is not defined in the statute.

“With no statutory or judicially imposed definition, the governor, in fulfilling his duty to ‘faithfully execute’ the statute, is afforded some degree of discretion in affording its terms a workable meaning,” Miyares wrote.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

It took a little while, but Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin have come up with a budget deal both sides can apparently live with.

Legislative documents outlining the agreement were released Saturday morning to allow the budget to be voted on today when lawmakers return to Richmond for a special session focused on finishing the budget. The special session is happening because Youngkin and Democratic leaders spent months publicly sparring over budget priorities and didn’t come to an agreement last month under the state’s usual timeline to pass a budget.

Virginia legislature will consider reworked state budget in May 13 special session

Without a new spending plan in place, the state was facing the possibility of a government shutdown on July 1, when the current budget expires and the next two-year spending plan begins.

The specifics of the bipartisan budget deal will be explained in more detail as lawmakers take up the bill, but here are five key takeaways.

The digital sales tax increase is out

Youngkin has repeatedly said he won’t sign a budget that raises taxes, and now he won’t have to.

A contested proposal to expand the state’s sales tax to cover digital purchases like streaming subscriptions, music downloads and software was struck from the pending budget after Democratic negotiators concluded they could achieve what they wanted to do without the extra money.

A presentation prepared for the House of Delegates Appropriations Committee notes that the digital sales tax was only on the table because Youngkin had proposed it to offset other tax cuts he wanted, but “was not driven by a systematic look at Virginia’s tax structure.’

For now, lawmakers are foregoing the roughly $1 billion in new revenue the digital sales tax was projected to generate over two years. Policymakers have indicated that the decision was made possible by stronger-than-expected tax revenues already coming in, but the idea could come back around in future years.

The new budget deal envisions a wider look at Virginia’s tax policy by a joint legislative subcommittee that will study the digital sales tax and other issues for potential action in the 2025 General Assembly session.

Democratic spending priorities are still in

Democrats have stressed that the spending in the budget deal closely resembles what they passed earlier this year, meaning they didn’t have to abandon big-ticket items by dropping the digital sales tax proposal.

The House budget presentation says the deal “retains all spending items from the conference report,” including funding increases for K-12 schools and higher education. Democrats had proposed major increases in what’s known as at-risk add-on funding, extra money the state gives to school divisions with high numbers of economically disadvantaged students.

Democrats clearly didn’t get everything they wanted out of the 2024 session, as Youngkin vetoed more than 150 bills. Several of them were high-profile Democratic priorities like legalizing retail sales of marijuana for recreational use and raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026.

However, some of those vetoes freed up money in the budget tied to bills that won’t become law. Because raising the minimum wage would have come with extra costs to the state, Youngkin’s veto of that bill saved $80 million that could be used to balance the overall budget.

Teachers are still getting raises

The new budget deal includes state funding to pay for 3% raises for teachers and school support personnel in both years of the budget.

Youngkin had proposed more modest pay increases for teachers in his original budget proposal last year, but came around to supporting 3% increases in both years in the revised budget plan he offered in April.

Democrats have prioritized raising teacher pay to the national average or better, and Youngkin’s administration has stressed that educator pay has already gone up during his administration.

The budget won’t be linked to RGGI

Early in his term, the governor angered many Democratic lawmakers by issuing an executive order aiming to end Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state program meant to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions.

Democrats questioned whether Youngkin had the authority to remove the state from a program the legislature voted to enter, and they insisted on their stance by including language in their budget proposal in March, meant to force the state to rejoin RGGI despite Youngkin’s objections.

The program requires electricity producers to purchase allowances for the carbon they emit, and some money raised from those purchases is returned to Virginia and used for flood resiliency and energy efficiency efforts. Youngkin has criticized RGGI as a backdoor tax on Virginians because it allows companies to recoup the costs through customers’ energy bills.

Litigation over Youngkin’s move is currently pending in the Floyd County Circuit Court, and the issue now appears more likely to be settled there, or through Virginia’s 2025 election.

No budget do-over for skill games

Convenience store, truck stop and restaurant owners across the state have been closely watching whether the state will repeal its ban on slot machine lookalikes known as skill games.

If that’s going to happen, it’s not happening through the budget. Instead, the budget scraps nearly $94 million in skill game revenue anticipated for fiscal year 2025, an indication the machines are unlikely to be reactivated by July 1 as the business owners wanted.

That money was expected because the General Assembly passed a bill earlier this year to tax and regulate skill games. However, Youngkin gave the bill a sweeping rewrite that upset the skill game industry by including tougher regulations and strict rules prohibiting the machines within a certain distance of casinos and gambling facilities tied to horse racing, places of worship, schools and day care centers.

The state Senate flatly rejected all of Youngkin’s suggestions last month, but at the time both the governor and lawmakers were talking about continued negotiations and finding a way forward.

With no action on skill games in the budget, Youngkin can either sign or veto the original bill he tried to overhaul. If the legislation is vetoed, skill game proponents could only continue their fight via new legislation that could be taken up later this year or in the 2025 session.

The new budget retains several provisions anticipating regulatory costs for legalized skill games, a sign there’s still a chance for the machines to be legalized later.

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

WASHINGTON — After hours of uncertainty Thursday, the U.S. Senate struck a deal to reauthorize several Federal Aviation Authority programs for the next five years, though Maryland and Virginia senators were vehemently opposed and lawmakers hoping to attach unrelated provisions lost out.

The bill heads to the House next week for final approval. Lawmakers from the lower chamber left Wednesday after approving a one-week extension for the FAA programs that expire Friday night. The Senate also passed the extension.

Terminal at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arllington, Virginia, just below, and the closest of three large international airports to, Washington, D.C. Most often called simply “National Airport” by locals, the airfield and terminals were named for Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, in 1998.

The late night vote, 88-4, drew resistance from the Democratic senators representing Maryland and Virginia. They held up speedier passage of the bill over objections to a provision that would allow more flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just over the Virginia border from Washington, D.C.

In a joint statement after the vote, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia said the Senate “abdicated its responsibility to protect the safety of the 25 million people” who annually fly through Reagan airport, known as DCA.

The airport, a favorite for lawmakers as it’s closest to the Capitol, is limited by federal regulation on the number of “slots,” or flights that can take off and land per day.

“Just weeks after two aircraft nearly crashed into one another at DCA, this body refused to take up our commonsense amendment to remove a dangerous provision that would have crammed more flights onto the busiest runway in America,” the statement from Kaine and Warner continued, referring to an April 18 near-miss when two planes cleared to take off came within 400 feet of crashing.

The Virginia senators, as well as Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, held out for hours Thursday as they negotiated a vote for an amendment to strike or tighten a provision that would increase slots at DCA to five more landings and five more take-offs.

‘Over 200 member priorities’

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed to bring what the senators described as a “compromise” amendment to the floor Thursday evening. The amendment proposed giving the final say on slots to the Transportation secretary after considering delays and safety.

But GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the bill’s managers, objected, saying that the bill already “contains over 200 member priorities.”

Cruz, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, managed the bill with the committee’s chair, Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington.

Cruz is a proponent of increasing slots at DCA, particularly for a direct flight from San Antonio.

Others support the increase as well: Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia had originally proposed adding 28 new slots per day. That idea was scrapped and replaced with Cruz’s amendment to allow five new daily flights in and out.

On the floor Thursday evening, Cruz pushed back on the safety argument, saying that “the FAA experts have recently clarified that this near miss (on April 18) had absolutely nothing to do with traffic on the runway.” He also blamed opposition on a lobbying effort from United Airlines, which operates a massive hub at Dulles International Airport in Virginia and wants to thwart competition.

Cruz said the final bill addresses safety issues by “ensuring we have sufficient air traffic controllers to monitor the traffic and protect safety.”

Late Thursday night after the bill’s passage, Cantwell took the floor to praise provisions that she said expand the aviation workforce, enhance pilot training and protect consumers.

Among its many provisions, the roughly 1,000-page legislation:

Directs the FAA to increase air traffic controller hiring targets;Raises the commercial pilot retirement age to 67 from 65;Prohibits mask-wearing and COVID-19 vaccine policies for passengers or employees;Directs the FAA to update drone testing and operating rules;Requires the Department of Transportation to create a seating policy to allow children to sit next to parents or guardians at no extra charge; andRequires airlines to automatically refund customers after three hours of delay for domestic flights and after six hours for international flights.

“These statutory rights are a big win for consumers,” Cantwell said.

Last flight out of the airport

Many lawmakers view the FAA reauthorization bill as the last major vehicle to which they can attach their priorities before November elections and the close of the 118th Congress.

That opportunity disappeared Thursday when the legislation’s managers decided against allowing non-germane amendments to ride on the bill.

Among the proposals lawmakers were eyeing as additions was Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden’s bipartisan tax bill that would expand the child tax credit and revive corporate tax breaks. Another included Sen. Josh Hawley’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, which would reauthorize a fund for victims of U.S. radiation testing exposure. The fund expires June 7.

Hawley said Thursday afternoon that he wouldn’t object to the FAA bill, even if RECA wasn’t added on.

“I have no desire to tank the FAA reauthorization,” Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told reporters outside the Senate chamber. “I think we should have a reasonable process around it. But, if we’re not going to, we’re not going to.”

“At least we got automatic refunds for consumers out of this deal, which was good,” Hawley added, referring to his amendment with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts that senators agreed to Tuesday.

Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.

by Ashley Murray, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.

Even while unexpectedly supporting the Port of Baltimore over the past three months, the Port of Virginia is on its way to having the deepest channels on the East Coast by next year, a distinction that will help it further support the exchange of domestic and international goods.

The Port of Virginia is on its way to having the deepest channels on the East Coast by 2026. (Courtesy Port of Virginia)

According to Port of Virginia CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards, such investments have helped the company maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Decades of foresight enable Va. to process cargo diverted from Maryland after bridge collapse

Last year, the port processed 3.25 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — a unit of measure used in the industry to determine cargo capacity — which is slightly less than the 3.7 million it handled in 2022.

Baltimore aid

On Thursday, Edwards provided an overview of the port’s operations at an annual luncheon with business leaders and officials from around the commonwealth. He also detailed how the port handled additional cargo shipments that were diverted from the port in Baltimore after a ship crashed into a bridge above the port’s channel in March.

Officials from the Port of Virginia have handled about 15,000 additional container units and multiple ro-ro shipments, such as vehicles and machinery, to keep supply chains moving. The temporary measure is expected to end this month due to developments of reopening the Port of Baltimore.

“It’s a testament to our team, our operations, and the strategic investments in projects that we are able to meet these moments while still performing at the highest level,” said Edwards, who also commended other ports on the East Coast for rising to the occasion.

“When something works and works well, it is, after all, human nature not to pay too much notice, but the Key Bridge collapse put a spotlight on the vitality of our work and our industry,” Edwards said. “I know we’ve all felt a greater focus on the implications of what we do each and every day.”

Going deeper

Edwards said the port’s implementation of the $1.4 billion Gateway Investment Program is helping transform its operations, highlighted by a dredging project to deepen the channel at Norfolk Harbor. The investment program includes plans to upgrade the Norfolk International Terminal — a semiautomated terminal that allows the transfer of containers — expand the central rail yard, and implement an offshore wind energy hub.

The port has also transitioned to powering all its terminals with electricity from clean resources and expanding its channel to allow for larger cargo ships.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, presenting Port of Virginia CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards with a resolution passed by the General Assembly at the State of the Port luncheon in Virginia Beach on May 9, 2024. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

Port officials said Norfolk Harbor is the only channel on the East Coast with Congressional authorization to dredge down to 55 feet.

Once the dredging and widening are complete, port officials said the harbor will offer the “deepest, widest channels on the U.S. East Coast and commercial channels will allow safe, two-way traffic” for larger ships.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, who presented Edwards with a resolution on Thursday commending the port’s work, said the commonwealth is committed to investing in the cargo terminals in Hampton Roads and Richmond.

“We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure that our port is the very best port with the deepest water, but we also have to continue to sustain that investment,” Scott said, adding that these investments create jobs and make the commonwealth more competitive.

As part of the integrated freight strategy between the port and Virginia, work is underway to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, and widen Route 58 in Patrick County and Interstate 64 in New Kent.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.