Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 2019, UVA beat Texas Tech 85-77 in overtime to win the school’s first NCAA basketball tournament championship. The win capped a remarkable turnaround for the Cavs, who had been toppled in the tournament’s first round as a No. 1 seed just a year earlier.

Virginia is one of only two states with a gubernatorial election in November. In our Top Stories, The Virginia Flyover reveals our options. In Sports, VT softball goes for its 14th straight victory.

We’re sponsored today by Rosetta Stone, offering their biggest sale of the year on their language learning software.

2025 Governor Candidates Set

The Commonwealth will elect its first female governor this year.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears was named the GOP candidate over the weekend after a pair of other potential nominees failed to qualify for a primary. “Winsome Sears will be a governor for all Virginians, and the Republican Party of Virginia congratulates her on becoming our nominee,” the party announced.

On the Democratic side, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger was unopposed in her bid for the nomination. “I look forward to having many more meaningful conversations with all Virginians—across our communities and regardless of who they’ve cast their votes for in the past—about the issues that matter most to them,” she said.

Under Virginia’s constitution, current Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot run for a second term.

Spending Cuts Cancel Food Programs

A bipartisan group of 11 Virginia lawmakers sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asking her to restore $500 million in funding to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

“Emergency food providers, producers, and community organizations across the country rely on TEFAP to deliver critical nutrition assistance to millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Virginians,” they wrote.

As part of the recent cuts in federal spending, the USDA canceled a shipment of food valued at more than $500,000 that was supposed to be delivered to the organization Feeding Southwest Virginia this month.

Other federal food programs are also being cut, including two that help schools and farmers. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has stated that those federal reductions will cost the state as much as $20 million this year alone.

Places to Dine on Route 29

Historic U.S. Route 29 connects Danville to D.C. through Virginia and makes for the perfect spring drive. If you’re looking to combine driving with dining, Virginia Dogwood suggests five new places to try.

Danville hosts Gordon Ramsay’s only eatery in Virginia, Ramsay’s Kitchen. Heading north, the site recommends Palmera House in Lynchburg and Milk & Honey, which opened last month in Charlottesville.

Culpeper boasts the newest restaurant, Dtom Dtun Noodle. If you keep driving toward the Potomac, you’ll come to Founding Farmers Alexandria. Wherever you plan to stop, be sure to make reservations!

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➤ Falls Church: Federal law enforcement officers from several bureaus coordinated to arrest a 21-year-old Guatemalan national and convicted sex offender who was in the U.S. illegally. Ander Cortez-Mendez had been detained by Fairfax County Police last year but was released without being turned over to ICE. (Details)

➤ Statewide: Federal lawmakers passed a continuing resolution instead of a budget this year, which means that certain infrastructure projects, including many in Southwest and Southside Virginia, will be on hold until October at the earliest and may never be funded at all. (See Details)

➤ Norfolk: The state legislature approved a three-year study that will consider ways Virginia should contribute to local governments that are working with federal officials to reduce risks from coastal flooding. (Details)

➤ Fairfax County: Flight school Blue Label Aviation sued county school board member Kyle McDaniel, claiming he embezzled $175,000 from the company for personal expenses. Last year, McDaniel admitted he misused company money and paid back $50,000. (More)

➤ Portsmouth: Flu season is winding down but is not quite finished. The Virginia Department of Health recently reported the fifth pediatric flu-related death of this season. (Details)

➤ Statewide: Virginia boasted four of the six busiest train stations in the Southeastern U.S. last year. Amtrak reported that Richmond, Alexandria, Lorton, and Norfolk all made the list. (More)

➤ UVA baseball visits VCU this evening at The Diamond in Richmond to wrap up its four-game road swing after losing two of three at N.C. State. (More)

➤ Virginia Tech softball, ranked No. 11, has won 13 straight games and hosts Charlotte today. (More)

➤ Liberty, ranked No. 25, hosts UVA in softball today. (More)

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➤ Gas prices jumped 10.6 cents per gallon last week in Virginia, according to GasBuddy. The average price on Monday was $3.08 per gallon, up 19.3 cents from last month but down 38.2 cents from last year. (Details)

➤ Bechtel National, an engineering firm based in Reston, earned a $242 million contract modification from the U.S. Army to conduct work at a chemical weapons destruction plant in Colorado. (More)

➤ Stores and shops near the Virginia Beach oceanfront were disrupted over the weekend by roving mobs of hundreds of people. “They were knocking people over, people were running over each other, it was just a mess,” one restaurant employee reported. (Details)

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➤ The player who may one day break Alex Ovechkin’s NHL goals record could already be lacing up skates in Fairfax. “It definitely gives me some insight into how pros play and what I need to work on in the future,” a 15-year-old hockey player said about watching Ovechkin play. (More)

➤ The Butterfly Project, sponsored by the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, gives high school students a chance to paint ceramics while learning about the 1.5 million children who were murdered during the Holocaust. (Details)

➤ The Virginia Student Film Festival lit up the screen at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater last weekend. (More)

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