Budget Fight; Bagby Backs Maldonado; JD Spain Kickoff for Arlington Board; Bogus Cancer Charity Shutdown
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🚩 There are 237 days until Election Day November 5, 2024.
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BIENNIAL BUDGET FIGHT. The General Assembly will return to session on April 17th for a veto session to consider Governor Youngkin’s decisions on passed legislation and the budget. Gov. Youngkin has already defined the budget sent to him as “completely backwards.”
“$2.6 billion of more costs on Virginians. It’s completely backwards, and this is what we’ve got to go fix. So I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Youngkin said on March 11 to WWBT Richmond’s Henry Graff outside Jo-Jo’s Pizza near the State Capitol Building.
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Appropriations Chairman Torian’s newsletter details the budget as passed by the General Assembly and sent to the Governor:
Education:
💵 3% salary increase each year in the biennium for our public school teachers.
💵 $2.5 billion in additional funding for K-12 public education.
💵 $527.8 million over the biennium to support early childhood education.
💵 $371.3 million over the biennium to implement several JLARC recommendations.
💵 $72.1 million to provide support for ELL students.
💵 $205.4 million over the biennium to increase access, affordability, and degree production for public colleges and universities. This works to limit in-state undergraduate tuition increases and includes $40 million in support for HBCUs.
Economy:
💵 $79.5 million over the biennium to support increasing the state’s minimum wage to $15/hr. by January 2026.
💵 3% salary increase each year of the biennium for state-supported employees.
💵 $175 million for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund to support the creation or preservation of affordable housing.
💵 $40 million over the biennium for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.
💵 $243.1 million over the biennium to backfill revenue lost from the removal of the grocery sales tax.
Virginia Black Caucus Chair Endorses Del. Maldonado for Congress in VA10
The race for Virginia’s 10th Congressional district, following the retirement announcement of Rep. Jennifer Wexton, is competitive and the field is crowded.
There are 21 candidates in the race to be the Democrat nominee in VA10 — including several current members of the Virginia General Assembly. On March 11, Del. Lamont Bagby endorsed Del. Michelle Maldonado over former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler Corn, Sen. Jennifer Boysko, Del. Dan Helmer, Sen. Suhas Subramanyam and Del. David Reid.
CHANTILLY, VA — At the Fairfax Dems’ Democracy Savings Time & Pick Your Pony Straw Poll event in Chantilly on March 10, candidates for the open congressional seats in VA10 and VA07 spoke to the crowd. Filler-Corn won the VA10 straw poll and Eugene Vindman won the VA07 straw poll.
AG Miyares, FTC Shuts Down Bogus Cancer Charity
A March 11, 2024 release by Attorney General Jason Miyares details the shutting down of a bogus cancer charity: Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, alongside the Federal Trade Commission and nine other states, is suing sham charity Cancer Recovery Foundation International, also known as Women’s Cancer Fund, and its operator, Gregory B. Anderson, for deceiving generous donors who sought to offer financial support to women battling cancer and their families.
In a complaint filed in federal court, Attorney General Miyares and his partners allege that, from 2017 to 2022, Women’s Cancer Fund collected more than $18 million from donors. The sham charity claimed that it would use the donated funds to help women who were undergoing treatment for cancer and their families pay for basic needs. Instead, the complaint charges, only about a penny of every dollar donated went to provide such support, while the overwhelming majority went to pay for-profit fundraisers and Anderson.
“Virginians are generous people. Unfortunately, there are bad actors who take advantage of hardworking Virginians' generosity. In the case of Cancer Recovery Foundation International, solicitors told Virginians and many other Americans that their donations would help cancer survivors and their families, but that money was instead used for their own personal gain. We join the FTC along with the other states in this lawsuit to right the wrongs of this sham charity,” said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. READ ENTIRE
Virginians who have a question, concern, or complaint about a consumer matter should contact Attorney General Miyares’ Consumer Protection Section:
By phone: (800) 552-9963
By email: consumer@oag.state.va.us
Online Complaint Form
Online Contact Form
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JD Spain to Kickoff Campaign for Arlington County Board on March 16
JD Spain, Sr., a retired Marine Corps combat veteran and business leader, is running for a seat on the Arlington County Board. Spain has served as a federal investigator, Arlington civil service commissioner, and president of the Arlington NAACP. He has been consistently active in the Arlington community since his family settled there 15 years ago. Saturday, March 16 from 4pm to 5:30pm at Sabores Tapas Bar at 2401 Columbia Pike in Arlington, Spain will officially kickoff his campaign. The primary election for Arlington Count Board is Tuesday, June 18th. After the departure of Christian Dorsey, the Arlington County Board currently has no Black members.
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