Bye, bye, balloons: Certain balloon releases prohibited in the Commonwealth
With the Smith Mountain Lake Pirate Days event coming on July 16, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is reminding Virginia citizens of the new regulation that went into effect on July 1, which bans citizens from intentionally releasing or discarding any non-biodegradable or non-photodegradable balloons outdoors in the Commonwealth.
Virginia lawmakers pass bill requiring in-person learning
RICHMOND, Va. โ The Virginia Senate has given final approval to legislation that would require schools to provide full-time, in-person instruction as the coronavirus pandemic drags on. The chamber voted 36-3 Thursday, sending the measure sponsored by GOP Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant to Gov. The bill would require districts to offer a full-time, in-person option for students, with limited exceptions. If a school has high levels of coronavirus transmission, it could temporarily revert to virtual learning. The bill also says school districts โmayโ provide fully remote virtual instruction, under certain conditions.
Former UK leaders unite to slam Boris Johnson on Brexit plan
FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019 file photo, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair, left and John Major attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall in London. One major element of the Brexit withdrawal agreement is the section related to ensuring an open border on the island of Ireland to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland. The issue proved thorny during the more than two years of discussions it took to get a Brexit deal done, as the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is the only land link between the U.K. and the EU. As a result, the two sides agreed there would be some kind of regulatory border between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. Major and Blair, who both vociferously opposed Brexit, said the planned legislation puts the 1998 Good Friday agreement that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland at risk.
Virginia lawmakers pass protections for LGBTQ people
RICHMOND, Va. โ Virginia lawmakers have passed comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that advocates say makes the state the first in the South to enact such protections for LGBTQ people. The measures advanced on bipartisan votes in both chambers Thursday. Each chamber still must take up the otherโs measure in procedural votes before the legislation can be sent to Democratic Gov. The legislation prohibits discrimination in housing, public or private employment, public spaces and credit transactions on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Advocates praised the passage of what they called urgently needed landmark human rights legislation.