r/VirginiaNews

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Many of the state’s job losses came from retirements, helping soften their blow to the state’s coffers, the governor and Secretary of Finance said.

Adding to the “heat” Virginians are feeling on their power bills following last week’s high temperatures, Dominion Energy notified customers Wednesday morning of a rate increase.

Dominion customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours will see an average increase of about $8 in the fuel portion of their monthly power bill, Dominion said in a news release. Increases may vary based on size of home, energy efficiency and whether it’s during peak usage.

The company said the increase stems from fuel costs and the cost to purchase power from other providers.

The increases went into effect July 1.

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Virginia's Department of Social Services spent $52 million on a failed IT project to overhaul the state's outdated child support enforcement system, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Wednesday.

In June, VPM News reported on DSS shutting down a two-year project to modernize its child support mainframe system — the Automated Program to Enforce Child Support (APECS) — that records showed had cost more than $50 million.

DSS did not confirm the total cost at the time, but Spanberger revealed the price tag Wednesday while addressing the General Assembly’s joint money committees for the first time as governor.

“We uncovered a $52 million loss at the Department of Social Services on a failed effort to replace the commonwealth's antiquated child support enforcement system,” Spanberger said. “Virginia paid serious money, and all we got were tools that barely worked.”

Spanberger’s remarks about the child support system project came as she criticized actions taken by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin.

“My predecessor might have thought it was okay to just write off losses like this one, but I don't,” Spanberger said about the project. “It's not a corporate balance sheet that we're dealing with. It is taxpayer dollars.”

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Virginia wildlife department proposes new fees, regulations to offset rising costs.

Here’s a guide to how fire departments are funded in Virginia, in eight FAQs gathered from Cardinal readers.

Virginians can eat iceberg lettuce without heightened fear of contracting the diarrhea-causing parasite that spread across the country this summer.

Cases of cyclosporiasis have “peaked” in Virginia and are expected to continue decreasing, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The number of new cases of cyclosporiasis identified each week in the state has dropped since July 27, when 47 new cases were reported.

As of Monday, Virginia has seen a total 214 cases of the illness, which is caused by infection with the cyclospora parasite. There were 17 new cases identified in the last week, down from 35 the week before and 36 the week prior. The five-year average for total annual cases of cyclosporiasis in Virginia is 116, according to the health department.

Kelsey Holloman, VDH’s foodborne diseases epidemiology program manager, said the prevalence of cyclosporiasis is expected to return to normal — barring any unforeseen changes — now that the Aug. 3 use-by date of the recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in Mexico has passed.

“There’s always a risk associated whenever you eat any type of fresh produce items, but we can say now (the recalled lettuce products) are now out of date and they should no longer be in stores or available to consumers via restaurants or retailers,” Holloman said. “Cases reported in Virginia are beginning to decrease so we feel at this point that we have seen the peak in the number of cases (of cyclosporiasis).”

Holloman added that there is always a risk of illness associated with eating fresh produce and advised the public to wash all their fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before preparing them to eat. Cooking produce at about 158 degrees is the most effective way to avoid consuming the parasite, she said.

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See also r/VirginiaGOP, r/VirginiaDems, r/Tidewater, r/HamptonRoads, and r/VirginiaNews.

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See also r/VirginiaNews, r/FreeVirginiaNews, and r/VirginiaUrbanism

See also r/VirginiaNews, r/VirginiaEnvironment, and r/VirginiaUrbanism.

See also r/VirginiaNews and r/FreeVirginiaNews

Raymond Byrd was pulled from the Wytheville jail and killed by a mob in August 1926. His murder was one of the last lynchings in the state.

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