COVID’s effect on the nursing crisis and more Va. headlines

The state Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

• Releasing a new energy plan for the state, Gov. Glenn Youngkin repudiated Democrats’ clean-energy targets and said he wants an “all of the above approach” that heavily emphasizes nuclear power.—Washington Post, News & Advance

• Pressed on Fox News for a response to former President Donald Trump’s recent post calling Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell’s Asian American wife “coco chow,” Youngkin said: “I’m not a name-caller.”—Mediaite

• Virginia candidates Yesli Vega and Hung Cao were among 11 GOP congressional challengers who raised more than $1 million in the third quarter. Vega is running against Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and Cao is challenging Rep. Jennifer Wexton.—Axios

• Metro’s new Potomac Yard station in Alexandria won’t open until 2023 due to construction delays.—Washington Post

• COVID-19 exacerbated nursing shortages and drove up hospitals’ labor costs by more than a third. “The nursing crisis is not going to go away. It’s there.”—Cardinal News

• The Richmond School Board took a formal vote Monday to reject Youngkin’s proposed policies for transgender students.—WRIC

• An Indian restaurant in Henrico County was vandalized with racist graffiti.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• The USS Gerald R. Ford, “the Navy’s most technologically advanced warship,” will deploy from Norfolk today after a weather-related delay.—Virginian-Pilot

• The town of Abingdon wants to cut down on loitering near the Virginia Creeper Trail.—Bristol Herald Courier

• Short Pump Town Center, the big outdoor mall near Richmond, is seeking an open container ABC license to let shoppers walk around with alcohol. The state has issued nine similar licenses so far.—Richmond BizSense

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

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