The Center Square: Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered the final State of the Commonwealth address of his term Monday after a delayed start to the 2025 General Assembly session, urging the state legislature to “keep Virginia winning” with bills it passes this year.
The governor began his speech by recounting how his administration and the General Assembly have delivered on priorities and policies that have made Virginia stronger.
“In our three years together, we have built strong pillars that support a winning Virginia,” Youngkin said, listing record funding in education and learning loss recovery efforts, $5 billion in tax relief, streamlining “50,000 regulations” as some of their chief accomplishments.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released a statement Dec.19 following a classified briefing at the Capitol from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the FBI regarding the ongoing investigation into the unexplained drone sightings in Virginia.
While we appreciate the agencies taking the time to update us on the situation, this briefing was insufficient and unsatisfactory. It has been more than a year since these sightings over key military facilities in Virginia and the lack of answers about the nature, intent, and origin of these incidents is completely unacceptable. The safety of Virginians remains our top priority, and we are determined to continue pressing for additional details as well as greater coordination with state and local officials. We will be staying in close contact with the relevant federal and state agencies to ensure that these concerns are pursued vigorously.
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DOGE, a proposed federal agency designed to streamline government operations under incoming President-Elect Donald Trump, aims to enhance transparency and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies. Specific focus areas include modernizing outdated IT systems, consolidating overlapping agency functions, and introducing advanced data analytics to improve decision-making processes.
Its primary focus is on evaluating and modernizing processes across federal departments to improve service delivery, optimize resource allocation, and eliminate redundancy. Specific targets include outdated systems and overlapping roles within federal agencies.
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) marked the grand opening of Prince William County’s second Red Cross Blood Donation Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, December 9, 2024. The new facility, located at 4375 Dale Blvd in Dale City, Center Plaza, expands local blood and platelet donation options, previously limited to driving to Fairfax or participating in mobile drives.
This new facility joins the Manassas-area donation center, which opened in September at 10360 Portsmouth Road, in offering donors the choice of whole blood or platelet donations.
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The conversation centered around the effects of an ongoing pilot program restricting phone use during instructional time. The board considered two potential paths: maintaining the current guidelines with limited phone access or adopting a stricter “bell-to-bell” policy.
The board first implemented a cell phone pilot program at the start of the 2024–25 school year, following Gov. Glenn Youngkin's order to schools to develop and implement plans for cell phone-free learning by 2025. Prince William County Public Schools' current policy requires that cell phones be turned off and put away during class periods, with high school students allowed access during lunch and passing periods. The goal is to foster a more engaging classroom environment with increased face-to-face student interactions.
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Derrick Anderson (R), who is running for Virginia's 7th Congressional District, held a rally in Spotsylvania with Governor Glenn Youngkin and Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The speakers focused on getting out to vote on Election Day, Nov. 5, and encouraging friends and family to ensure they also vote.
One volunteer, Marie, who reportedly wrote thousands of postcards supporting Anderson, fainted during the rally. According to other attendees, both Youngkin and Johnson hopped down from the stage to assist her.
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Press release:
Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that Granules Consumer Health, a subsidiary of Granules India and a manufacturer of over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals, will invest $1.5 million to expand its operations in Prince William County. The company will install new manufacturing lines at its existing facility, creating 99 new jobs.
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From The Center Square:
Republican leaders are praising Wednesday's 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow Virginia to keep “noncitizens” off the voter rolls.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who led the appeal in the highest court, calls the ruling a “win for election integrity and the rule of law.” Although pleased with the outcome, he expressed concern with the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to “execute” his lawsuit.
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From The Center Square:
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced late Sunday the commonwealth will file an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to block the return of more than 1,500 noncitizens to voter rolls.
The appeal follows a unanimous panel ruling Sunday from the Fourth Circuit of Appeals rejecting Virginia’s request to stop an order from a lower court to reinstate noncitizens removed from voter rolls within 90 days of an election.
