Youngkin Calls For Disaster Relief Fund After Buchanan Flooding; More Va., Headlines

By Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

July 18, 2022

• Some residents of Buchanan County say the recent flooding “could nudge the tightknit but dwindling coal-mining community, population 20,000, a little closer to extinction.”—Washington Post

• Gov. Glenn Youngkin got a tour of the damage and said Virginia needs a state disaster relief fund.—Cardinal News

• At least half of the state remains in the “high” category for COVID-19 transmission.—WVIR

• The president of the Virginia Log Cabin Republicans, who Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed to the state’s LGBTQ+ advisory board, has resigned from the board to move to Florida.—The Advocate

• The Christiansburg Town Council approved a drone delivery zone.—Roanoke Times

• Jen Kiggans, a Republican state senator, and Elaine Luria, the Democratic congresswoman she is trying to unseat, answered questions on policy issues.—Fox News

• Democrats in Virginia’s three most competitive congressional races hold a fundraising edge.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Youngkin’s first six months in office have seen “a dramatic and tightly choreographed transformation for a political newcomer who appears to be carefully cultivating his public image in a way that’s driving talk about his possible ambitions for higher office.”—Associated Press

• A major fire tore through Tappahannock’s downtown.—Richmond Times-Dispatch; NBC12

• PolitiFact VA dinged Youngkin for saying “in Virginia, we actually do protect same-sex marriage.”—VPM

• Youngkin has appointed a historian who says the Civil War was fought for the “sovereignty of each state and constitutional law” to a state board.—Washington Post

• The cultural war over LGBTQ books continues, this time in Washington County, where a local official wants “Lawn Boy” removed from the public library.—Cardinal News

• Virginia’s prison population declined between 2010 and 2020, but the reduction trailed the national average.—WVTF

• An elderly Buchanan County woman was reunited with her dog, who she said alerted her to dangerous flooding that consumed her community last week.—Bristol Herald Courier

• “Hammy,” the “pet” ham that helped put Smithfield on the map, turned 120.—Virginian-Pilot

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This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.