New State Laws Go Into Effect; More Va., Headlines

Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

July 1, 2022

• A host of new state laws go into effect today, including a new criminal penalty for marijuana possession and an extension of restaurants’ ability to sell to-go cocktails.—Associated Press, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post

• In response to a request by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, at least 10 state colleges will flatten tuition costs for in-state undergrads this fall. Not included in that group is the University of Virginia.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• “A conservative group with ties to former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the public school system in Virginia’s Loudoun County of engaging in sexual misconduct toward its students.”—Washington Times

• Despite recreational marijuana sales remaining illegal in Virginia, more entrepreneurs are getting into the industry.—Virginian-Pilot

• Jerry Falwell Jr. and Liberty University, the institution he led for a decade, are still feuding, with Liberty accusing Falwell in recent IRS filings of benefiting from a series of dubious financial transactions during his last five years as president.—Chronicle of Higher Education

• State officials approved a proposal from a joint venture between Dominion and Smithfield Foods for a 65-mile pipeline that will carry gas produced from hog manure through several southern Tidewater counties.—Smithfield Times

• While Christians have presented some of the most stringent opposition to abortion in Virginia and the U.S. at large, individual faith leaders in the Richmond area voice a range of views. “We’re not a monolithic people.”—VPM

• Alexandria City Council passed a resolution seeking to relax zoning requirements for new abortion clinics in the city. “We can’t pass an ordinance that codifies and protects the right to an abortion … We are going to do what we can as a city to make that right as accessible as possible.”—Washington Post

• A new study of a 16.5-mile segment of the long-delayed Coalfields Expressway could help lower project costs and hasten the road’s completion.—Bristol Herald-Courier

• After local and national gun violence incidents involving schoolchildren, the Roanoke Valley’s two largest school systems are considering security upgrades.—Roanoke Times

• A staunchly conservative Richmond federal judge who previously argued gay marriage should be a matter for the legislature, not a constitutional right, wrote a romantic novel that in one passage offers a compelling defense of the rights of gay couples.—Washington Post, Style Weekly

• A record number of sea turtles, most of them the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, are being caught on fishing hooks in the Hampton Roads region.—Virginian-Pilot

• AAA is expecting record travel this July 4 weekend, despite extremely high gas prices.—Free Lance-Star

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