FIRST LADY PAMELA NORTHAM VISITS LYNCHBURG-AREA PRE-K PROGRAMS

First lady of Virginia Pamela Northam said visiting area schools and pre-K programs makes her realize how much she misses the classroom. “I really miss being a teacher,” Northam — a former high school and elementary school teacher — said Thursday afternoon during a visit to Bedford Primary School.

FIRST LADY PAMELA NORTHAM'S VISIT TO ROCKY MOUNT HIGHLIGHTS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Pamela Northam walks around the classroom with a live beetle in the palm of her hand. She tells the prekindergarten students surrounding her, who look at the critter under a magnifying glass held by Virginia’s first lady, that the bug is iridescent.

NURSE FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA IS FIRST TO ANNOUNCE 2021 RUN FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

A one-time state House candidate from Albemarle County is setting his sights on the lieutenant governor’s office in 2021. Kellen Squire, a hospital emergency room nurse from Barboursville, launched his Democratic campaign Thursday, the first to officially announce.

ALBEMARLE COUNTY NURSE ANNOUNCES EARLY BIRD RUN FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN 2021

An emergency department nurse from central Virginia on Thursday became the first person to announce a run for lieutenant governor. Kellen Squire is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2021 state race.

WARNER VISITS FLATWOODS JOB CORPS SITE IN COEBURN

About two months after the federal government changed its plans on the Job Corps program and decided to continue operations at its Flatwoods site, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner toured the facility Thursday. Warner, D-Va., called the idea of shutting down Flatwoods “one of the craziest things that came out of Washington” in the last year.

DOMINION MADE $277 MILLION EXTRA LAST YEAR — BUT NO REFUNDS ARE COMING

Dominion Energy’s Virginia customers might have been on track for nearly $380 million in refunds on electric bills under the old way of regulating its charges, but instead could be in line for a 26% increase, a State Corporation Commission report released Thursday says. Legislation last year put a freeze on the process that could have brought refunds.

DOMINION CLAIMED EXCESS PROFITS OF $277 MILLION IN 2018, ACCORDING TO SCC REPORT

Dominion Energy claimed excess profits of $277.3 million in 2018, a return of 13.47%, topping the 9.2% approved by regulators for most of Dominion’s spending, according to an update on the state of electric regulation published Thursday. The report compiled by the State Corporation Commission also shows that typical residential bills of Dominion Energy customers in Virginia have increased 26% since 2007 — from $90.59 to $113.76 — but are down $2.76 from last year.

VIRGINIA MEDICAID DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN AFTER LEADING PROGRAM EXPANSION

Dr. Jennifer Lee will leave Virginia’s Medicaid program this fall much bigger than it was when she became its leader nearly two years ago. Lee said Thursday that she will resign as director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to return to her medical practice and family in Northern Virginia on Oct. 9, more than nine months after Virginia expanded its Medicaid program on her watch for more than 300,000 previously uninsured Virginians.

VIRGINIA MEDICAID BOSS STEPPING DOWN

The head of Virginia’s Medicaid agency is stepping down. Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that Dr. Jennifer Lee is resigning as director of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance.

VIRGINIA’S STATE SPENDING CAME IN BELOW BUDGET

A first look at the state’s finances comes with this pleasant surprise: Spending in fiscal year 2019 came in a half billion bucks below budget. Or, as Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne puts it: “It’s better than going over.”

VIRGINIA SPENDS MILLIONS ON OPIOID OVERDOSE ANTIDOTE, BUT THE DEATH TOLL KEEPS RISING

Ryan Riggs should be dead. He’s overdosed on heroin at least a dozen times, he said, and been revived by naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of opioids like heroin and prescription painkillers, so many times he’s lost count. The antidote wasn’t a cure, but it gave the now 38-year-old father of two the chance to turn his life around

MOST OF THE 1619 COMMEMORATION CEREMONIES ARE OVER. WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Kathy Spangler knew it was a temporary gig from the start. So did her staff. Spangler’s tactical role as the 2019 Commemoration American Evolution executive director will cease next August. What matters now for Spangler is capitalizing on the opportunities created during the past several months from commemorating 400 years of Virginia history.

IT’S ELECTRIC: VIRGINIA’S YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES GOING GREEN

There’s a bold plan in Virginia to turn its school buses green: Dominion Energy announced plans to replace diesel school buses with electric ones. Like thousands of Virginia kids, Governor Ralph Northam boarded a school bus this week, but his ride is better than those the students take to and from class — it’s electric.

DOMINION IS LAUNCHING AN ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS INITIATIVE

A power company is launching an initiative to provide electric school buses to school districts in Virginia. Dominion Energy said in a statement Thursday that electric buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save school districts money. Dominion says the initial phase of the program aims to put 50 electric buses in its Virginia service territory by the end of 2020.

VIRGINIA TECH CHANGES PUBLIC COMMENT POLICY AMID CRITICISM

Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors took stock of a public comment plan involving tuition it approved earlier this week — and it decided to quickly make some changes. Originally, Tech’s guidelines for public comment called for people to sign up seven days in advance of commenting and limited the comment period to 30 minutes. Now, the period was extended to an hour and people who show up can comment without signing up a week in advance.

AS CANDIDATES PLEDGE MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION, ALEXANDRIA WILL OFFER POT DIVERSION PROGRAM

Democratic candidates for chief prosecutor in Arlington and Fairfax upset longtime incumbents in June primaries with promises to stop charging marijuana possession cases. Now Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, who is up for reelection in two years, is taking a step in that direction with a diversion program for misdemeanor cases.

VIRGINIA STATE POLICE OPEN INVESTIGATION INTO FAIRFAX COUNTY BOARD MEMBER JEFF MCKAY

Virginia State Police are investigating Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member Jeff McKay. This comes three months after a political opponent filed an ethics complaint alleging McKay swapped a political favor for a real-estate deal. The investigation was authorized Aug. 8 by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and it’s currently in the preliminary stages, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

IN NEED OF NEW SOFTWARE, JAMES CITY COUNTY WEIGHS MERGING DISPATCH CENTER WITH YORK

As soon as a resident’s fingers dial 911, a chain of events unfolds. The emergency call hits a cellphone tower and a police car or ambulance shows up at the caller’s door — but there’s far more that goes on behind the scenes, from the 911 system’s geolocation technology, to a dispatcher’s calm voice over the phone.

DESPITE PUSH TO CHARGE UVA TORCH RALLIERS, A LEGAL CASE HAS NOT BEEN MADE

Larry J. Sabato has been with the University of Virginia for quite a while, but he never expected to see something like he did on Aug. 11, 2017. Standing on the Lawn, overlooking the Rotunda, that evening, the Lawn pavilion resident and director of the UVa Center for Politics was unsure what to expect exactly. Surely the rumors they’d heard of a torch march couldn’t be real, he said.

EDA FINANCIAL REPORT DETAILS ALLEGED WETLAND CREDITS FRAUD

During former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Jennifer McDonald’s Monday bond hearing, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Layton said that some of the 14 newest felony charges levied against her relate to wetland credits. McDonald now stands indicted on 28 felony charges

EDA: WE ARE SOLVENT, FOR NOW

Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Douglas Parsons during a Tuesday joint meeting between the EDA, Board of Supervisors and Town Council said that the authority can make the required payments on its debt service obligations and operational expenses.

COURT-APPOINTED RECEIVER WANTS A JUDGE TO FINE OWNERS OF BLUE RIDGE REHAB AND BLUE RIDGE MANOR

The receiver appointed by a judge to oversee the operations of the struggling Blue Ridge care facilities in Martinsville is going back to court because she says the facilities’ owners aren’t cooperating. And in court filings she describes significant issues — even inadequate cooling during a heat wave — and recurrences of the sorts of problems that court documents had said forced the facility into receivership.

ILLNESSES FROM VAPING SHOULD SEND WARNING

It’s official. Now we know: Vaping illnesses have struck in Virginia. In Illinois, one person has died. In just this month and last, 193 people across 22 states reported vaping-related maladies.

RESTORING THE BAY

On a bright, warm Thursday morning at the Jordan Point Marina, the James River is captivating. Above water, birds from ospreys to Bald Eagles soar through the sky. Below water, species from blue crabs to bluegills come together to create a diverse ecosystem. And don’t forget the many varieties of underwater grasses that help feed the fishes, filter runoff and make the water clear.

WHY DO PEOPLE ACT SO BADLY ONLINE?

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once observed: “The veneer of civilization is very thin.’’ Oddly, she said this before social media was invented. Today that veneer of civilization is often stripped away completely, as anyone with a Twitter account knows all too well.

HOOKS: HOLIDAY BRINGS DEMAND FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

This holiday weekend, many people will gather to enjoy the waning days of summer with family and friends. In health care settings, holiday weekends are often busy times of peak intensity when demand for patient care increases. This can certainly be the case for people seeking psychiatric treatment.

Kurt Hooks is chief executive officer of Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, a Universal Health Services, Inc. treatment facility.

UKROP AND BATES: THE DOMINION ENERGY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS TEN YEARS LATER

Richmond’s downtown center has experienced a renaissance over the past 10 years. A little more than a decade ago, a walk down Broad Street featured boarded-up and abandoned stores, crumbling sidewalks and run-down shops that did little to attract customers. Richmond was on the rise, but our downtown was being left behind.

James Ukrop and John Bates are co-chairs of the Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts 10th Anniversary Gala.

IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIA, SEARCHING FOR THE ‘BIG BANG’ OF COUNTRY MUSIC

While the rest of America was roaring to jazz during the ’20s, in a small corner of the South, where back roads snake through early-morning mist and porches are used for melody-making as much as sitting in rocking chairs, another form of music was quietly taking root. In the heart of southern Appalachia, at the convergence of northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, a set of early recording sessions, conducted by a New York City record producer over two epoch-making weeks in the summer of 1927, would catapult the careers of the Carter Family from Virginia, the “first family of country music,” and the Mississippi singer and songwriter Jimmie Rodgers, who would become known as “the father of country music.”