Monday, March 10, 2025

Good morning! On this day in 1864, representatives from Virginia who had opted to remain in the Union gathered in Alexandria and voted for a state constitution that declared: “Slavery and involuntary servitude (except for crime) is hereby abolished and prohibited in the State forever.”

Was your car covered with mud this weekend? The Around Virginia section explains why. In Top Stories, the Commonwealth Clash comes to the diamond in Blacksburg.

Today’s sponsor is Grounded Footwear, the barefoot shoe that can help ease joint pain and pressure on the feet.

UVA Shuts Down DEI

The University of Virginia’s (UVA) governing body dissolved the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and ordered a full review of the school’s programs and policies to ensure they conform to Trump administration guidelines.

“The Board of Visitors voted for common sense, saying ‘no’ to illegal discrimination and ‘yes’ to merit-based opportunity,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced. “DEI is done at the University of Virginia.”

The Board added that UVA “highly values diversity, including diversity of thought and experience, and fosters an inclusive environment, encouraging a culture of opportunity for all, which immensely enriches our Grounds, and is committed to providing every student an education that is free from discrimination and grounded in merit.”

UVA President Jim Ryan was told to provide an update to the Board within 30 days, demonstrating that the university is complying with the resolution.

Assisting Former Federal Employees

The Trump administration has fired or offered buyouts to more than 100,000 federal employees. At the end of last year, there were more than 144,000 federal employees in Virginia, second only to California.

The state is offering assistance to those interested in returning to the workforce. It hosts a web page that aims to help people find new jobs.

Individual counties have launched similar efforts. Fairfax County, with about 80,000 federal employees and more than 3,800 federal contractors, recently unveiled a page to highlight its available resources.

Over the weekend, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer partnered with the City of Alexandria, the City of Falls Church, Arlington County, and Fairfax County to host a pop-up resource fair for fired federal employees.

Other counties in Northern Virginia, including Loudoun, Prince William, and Arlington, also offer employment resources and public benefits programs.

VT Wins Commonwealth Clash in Softball

A pair of nationally ranked teams met on the softball diamond this weekend in the latest installment of the Commonwealth Clash, with Virginia Tech emerging on top in two of the three games.

The Hokies, ranked No. 18, opened ACC play with an 8-4 victory over No. 23 UVA on Friday. Superstar pitcher Emma Lemley picked up her ninth win of the season as Tech scored eight runs or more in a game for the tenth time.

Tech played longball in a 6-1 win on Saturday. All of its runs were accounted for by homers, while pitcher Emma Mazzarone contributed four strong innings in the win.

UVA bounced back yesterday, breaking out the bats for a 9-2 victory. Eden Bigham earned the win for the Cavs with four shutout innings.

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➤ Statewide: Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares joined 20 other state attorneys general in signing a letter urging Congress to ban the AI program DeepSeek from federal government computers. Gov. Glenn Youngkin barred the Chinese software from state-owned devices last month. (More)

➤ Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health renamed an auditorium and unveiled a mural in memory of Bruce Oliver Tucker, a black man who died in 1968. Tucker’s heart was transplanted, without his family’s permission, into a white man. It was Virginia’s first human cardiac transplant. (Details)

➤ Alexandria: The agencies that supervise Virginia Railway Express (VRE) agreed to allocate $155 million for the commuter line to buy 24 miles of Norfolk Southern track that its Manassas Line operates on. The tracks are used by eight VRE and three Amtrak lines on weekdays. (More)

➤ Statewide: Muddy raindrops splashed down over the weekend, leaving a mess on cars throughout the Commonwealth. Meteorologists blame a dust storm in Texas for throwing up the grit. (Details)

➤ Richmond: The weather was cloudy and cool as hundreds of runners hit the streets to compete in the Virginia Credit Union River City Half and 5K. (Photos)

➤ Lynchburg: Brookville High School runner Kaelen Tucker suffered a concussion and a possible fractured skull after being struck by a baton wielded by a fellow competitor during a relay at the Class 3 Track and Field State Finals. The other team, I.C. Norcom High School, was disqualified after the incident. (Details)

➤ Randolph-Macon advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament. The Yellow Jackets will play Gettysburg on Friday. (Bracket)

➤ Liberty’s men’s and women’s basketball teams each won the Conference USA regular season title and begin play as top seeds in the conference tournament in Huntsville on Wednesday. (Bracket)

➤ George Mason, the No. 2 seed, won the Atlantic 10 Conference women’s basketball tournament 73-58 over Saint Joseph’s. (Tournament Recap)

➤ JMU’s women’s basketball team plays Arkansas State today in the finals of the Sun Belt tournament after the top-seeded Dukes beat Coastal Carolina, 89-65. (Schedule)

➤ College sports are being changed by name, image, and likeness policies. Sign up for NIL Wire to follow the ways players and teams are adjusting.

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➤ Businesses across the Commonwealth are trying to adjust to the frequent changes in federal policies that affect the state’s economy. “The ambiguity is a big risk,” one builder reported. (Details)

➤ Richmond’s Board of Zoning Appeals allowed the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to move ahead with plans to build an art storage warehouse in a residential neighborhood near the museum. (More)

➤ Armed Forces Brewing Company announced it is relocating its headquarters out of Norfolk. “Unfortunately, our ability to profitably operate in Norfolk was severely affected by the local woke mob,” said company CEO Alan Beal. (Details)

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➤ Animal Control Officer R.A. Peterson hand-delivered two female piglets on a Stafford County farm. The sow and her piglets are recovering well. (Details)

➤ Middletown has received a $6,000 grant from the Virginia Trees for Clean Water program. It used an earlier grant to replace invasive trees with native species. (More)

➤ The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted to stop funding the historic Samuels Public Library in Front Royal, just a year after it was named 2024 Virginia Library of the Year. The 200-year-old library gets about 70% of its financial support from the county. (Details)

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