State Gas Taxes Set To Rise 7 Percent; More Virginia Headlines

Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

June 30, 2022

• Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia’s congressional Republican delegation urged Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “indefinitely postpone” the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Army National Guard troops, arguing it will drive members of Virginia’s national guard away.—The Hill

• State gas taxes are set to go up 7% Friday, an increase of about 2.34 cents per gallon, under a law that indexes the gas tax to inflation. A fee of 0.4 cents per gallon to help restore money to a state fund for leaking petroleum storage tanks will also go into effect.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Youngkin characterized his proposed 15-week abortion ban as a fallback option “and indicated that he would push for stricter limits if Republicans hold onto the House of Delegates and flip the state Senate in elections next year.”—Washington Post

• Virginia’s monkeypox cases are on the rise.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• A federal investigation into Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center found multiple failures by facility staff in providing care for a veteran with cancer. Facility leadership said it’s working to make sure such a situation doesn’t happen again.—Virginian-Pilot

• “Gov. Glenn Youngkin demanded the board overseeing Virginia’s community colleges welcome his administration into the search for a new leader or resign Thursday, leading the board to relent and drawing accusations from Democrats that he’s bypassing the state’s layered governance structure.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• After worrisome drops in the blue crab population, Virginia is imposing new limits on commercial harvests.—Bay Journal

• Only 17% of Virginia city, county and town managers are women, below the national average.—WVTF

• The state unveiled a historic marker for the United Order of Tents, a secret society of Black women that traces its roots to the Underground Railroad and at its peak had 50,000 members.—WHRO

• Portsmouth City Council added a $400,000 severance payment to the contract for incoming city manager Tonya Chapman, a controversial hire who was previously the city’s police chief and chair of Virginia’s Parole Board.—Virginian-Pilot

• Some homeowners in the town of Quantico are facing an effective real estate tax increase, but the town doesn’t appear to have met state requirements for notifying residents.—InsideNoVa

• Chesapeake’s Historic Village project, which highlights Black and indigenous history related to the Great Dismal Swamp, may be completed two years early due to federal funding.—Virginian-Pilot

• This year’s Salem Fair, the largest free fair in the U.S., has a fence around its perimeter, security officers and metal detectors at entrances, measures added after a shooting at last year’s fair.—Roanoke Times

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