Oral arguments in the lawsuit over Arlington County’s “Missing Middle” zoning changes are taking place in the Virginia Supreme Court this morning (Wednesday).
Justices are scheduled to hear a roughly 10-minute argument on plaintiffs’ attempt to reverse a Court of Appeals decision, which effectively put Missing Middle back on the books in Arlington last summer for procedural reasons. This moves the court one step closer to deciding whether to accept the case for full review.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democrat-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.
The court ruled that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, upending a temporary restraining order put in place by a Tazewell County judge last month. It comes after the top court made a similar ruling last month in a related case.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is celebrating a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down tariffs imposed by President Trump.
Beyer, who chairs the New Democrat Coalition Trade & Tariffs Task Force, has been sharply critical of the tariffs and has called for the high court to find them illegal.
Virginia voters will get to cast ballots on a congressional redistricting plan benefiting Democrats while a court battle plays out over the legality of the effort.
The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday that a statewide referendum can be held April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, and the court will decide sometime later whether the plan is legal.
Missing Middle’s critics are launching another round of opposition as Arlington County returns to accepting permit applications for this kind of construction.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option filed an emergency motion yesterday (Monday) in the Supreme Court of Virginia. They’re seeking to block a Virginia Court of Appeals order that allows the county to resume issuing permits for multifamily construction in previously single-family-only neighborhoods.
A former Arlington resident who illegally accessed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health records was sentenced to two years in prison today (Thursday).
Trent Russell, 34, had faced up to 21 years in prison, according to The Washington Post, but he was expected to receive a lighter sentence due to being a first time offender.
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday allowed Virginia to resume its purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who are not U.S. citizens from voting.
By MATTHEW BARAKAT and MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virginia on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene to allow the state to remove roughly 1,600 voters from its rolls that it believes are noncitizens.
(Updated at 1 p.m.) The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision that will effectively ban abortion in more than a dozen states.
Virginia is not one of the states with so-called “trigger laws” that will go into effect as a result of the decision, though Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has expressed support for banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The decision will also not immediately impact the legality of abortion in neighboring D.C. and Maryland.
Two Local Spots on Best Bagel List — Arlington’s homegrown Brooklyn Bagel has ranked No. 4 on a list of the D.C. area’s best bagels, while Bethesda Bagel, which has an outpost in Rosslyn, ranked No. 1. [Washingtonian]
Dems Set School Board Caucus Rules — “The 2022 Arlington County Democratic Committee School Board caucus will be an in-person-only affair with the controversial party-loyalty oath retained, based on rules adopted by the party’s rank-and-file on April 6. Democrats will select their School Board endorsee during four days of voting in June, using the instant-runoff format that has been a familiar feature of Democratic caucuses in recent years.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington officially has a new Virginia House of Delegates district that has local Democrats talking about who will run for the seat. One hat has already been tossed into the ring as of today.
The Supreme Court of Virginia last week unanimously accepted new district maps for Virginia’s House of Delegates, the state Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. For Arlington’s Richmond representation, the maps created an entirely new House District 2 encompassing Arlington’s Metro corridors, and redrew boundaries for the state Senate.
Newly proposed redistricting maps would create a new Virginia House district in Arlington while potentially pitting long-time Senate incumbents against each other.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Virginia unveiled draft maps for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The maps were drawn up by one Democrat and one Republican appointed by the court, after a non-partisan committee failed to complete the task earlier in the year.
