www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-01 10:53:00
(The Center Square) – Republican nominee John Reid defended his candidacy on-air Thursday, pushing back against calls to drop out and framing the controversy around him as a test of conservative resolve in a high-stakes statewide election year.
Reid, filling in as host on The John Fredericks Radio Show, addressed the uproar over a Tumblr account containing explicit material that was flagged for allegedly sharing a similar social media handle to one associated with him. He has denied any connection to the account.
On air, Reid positioned himself as a target of political and ideological attacks, describing the controversy as an attempt to “destroy your life” for not conforming politically or socially. He said Virginians need a candidate who reflects their values, and emphasized his intention to keep running.
“Last night I had this rally in Henrico. It was supposed to be the big unity rally for all three of the statewide candidates, but whatever, that didn’t work out,” he said, noting his campaign rented the venue and that about 800 people showed up in support.
“I was so thankful that those people showed up.” Reid acknowledged feeling hurt and frustrated by the situation, saying he believes he’s being treated unfairly. Still, he said he’s trying to stay disciplined, knowing that “everything is on the line.”
Reid emphasized the importance of keeping a conservative candidate in the race, saying Virginians need someone who reflects their values. He criticized what he described as left-wing attacks and efforts to “destroy your life” if you don’t conform politically or socially.
The controversy intensified after Reid’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Matt Moran, executive director of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s PAC, accusing the group of spreading false claims.
Moran responded with an affidavit and legal letter, stating he alerted Reid’s campaign to the account weeks earlier and had offered to review the content in person. According to Moran, Reid’s campaign manager acknowledged the issue but did not follow through on the meeting.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP’s nominee for governor, addressed the situation in a statement Wednesday.
“John Reid is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. It is his race, and his decision alone to move forward. We all have our own race to run,” said Earle-Sears.
The lieutenant governor also warned that “focus on the lieutenant governor nominee distracted from that mission and cannot continue,” calling instead for party unity heading into November.
Former Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling was less forgiving, questioning the clarity of Earle-Sears’ position and writing, “Say what? I’m not really sure what this statement means.”
Bolling added, “It is hard to measure the damage done by this unfortunate situation, but it is significant… It has also done significant damage to Governor Youngkin within the GOP.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article mainly reports on the controversy surrounding Republican nominee John Reid using neutral language and presenting statements from multiple perspectives within the GOP, including Reid himself, his attorney, a PAC director, the GOP gubernatorial nominee, and a former lieutenant governor. While the article prominently features Reid’s defense and frames the controversy as attacks from the “left-wing,” this is presented as Reid’s viewpoint rather than the article endorsing it. The phrasing and selection of quotes slightly lean towards a center-right stance by focusing on a conservative candidate’s defense and intra-party Republican reactions, but the coverage is primarily factual without clear editorializing or overt bias favoring or opposing specific ideological positions. Thus, it stays close to neutral reporting with a slight center-right orientation due to subject matter and party context.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-05-01 14:55:58
SUMMARY: Storms are likely Friday night, with showers expected throughout next week in Hampton Roads. Today is warm with highs in the upper 80s, feeling like June. A slow-moving weather system will bring late Friday evening showers and thunderstorms, but Saturday should be mostly sunny and warm. Rain chances increase Sunday as a stagnant upper-level low brings clouds, cooler temperatures, and persistent rain through midweek. Temperatures will drop to the mid-70s with continued showers Monday and Tuesday. By late next week, the pattern may break with warmer temperatures and isolated showers possible on Thursday.
Potential for rain will cool us off beginning next week, but we’ll still hover near 80.
From last year to now, Virginia raised teacher pay by an average of $3,000. Still, the commonwealth’s average pay rate for educators remains stagnant compared to other states, according to the latest salary report published by the National Education Association.
The commonwealth dropped by one spot to 26th, paying teachers an average of $66,327, an increase from a year ago. Virginia’s average teacher pay is $5,703 below the national average of $72,030, the NEA report states.
Education leaders and lawmakers in the commonwealth said inflation and investments are some of the factors contributing to mixed results in the national salary report.
“Clearly (the report) shows that we have made good improvement in recent years, and we have a long way to go,” said House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke.
Rasoul admitted that the commonwealth is thousands of dollars below the national teacher pay average, “but when we started this journey a few years ago, we were in the bottom third of states, and so we’re approaching where we need to be.”
The Virginia Education Association (VEA), representing the largest group of K-12 teachers in the commonwealth, said that while the national data shows gains have been made in Virginia, pre-kindergarten to higher education teachers are still not making enough to support themselves after being adjusted for inflation.
According to VEA, the average public school teacher salary increased by 3% from the previous year, but when adjusted for inflation, teachers made only $108 more.
“While it might look like teachers are getting support, they are actually losing money, which has a direct impact on student learning,” VEA said.
While recognizing recent gains, VEA president Carol Bauer said Virginia’s teachers are “still losing economic ground” while schools continue weathering the state’s education staffing shortages.
“True historic investment means decisively closing salary gaps, adequately funding schools, and ensuring every classroom has a qualified teacher. Virginia must commit to real, sustained investments to attract and retain educators, rather than relying on incremental gains that barely keep pace with inflation,” Bauer said.
What can Virginia do now?
Virginia has an opportunity to boost educator pay even more, after the General Assembly recommended changes to the state budget.
This week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin will decide whether to support lawmakers’ budget proposal to provide bonuses to teachers and lift a cap on state funding for non-instructional school staff positions. This would give school divisions greater flexibility to hire the staff they need without being “restricted” by outdated student-to-staff ratios.
In 2009, during the Great Recession, lawmakers initiated the cap to reduce state spending on non-instructional school staff positions, including central office and administrative, technical, clerical, maintenance, and instructional support positions.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to comment on the report. However, in the governor’s budget recommendations in March, Youngkin wrote that Virginia has raised teacher pay by 18% over the last three years.
The budget amendments now being considered by the governor contain $166 million more for public education, including $84.7 million to raise the cap.
Last year, state lawmakers formed a joint committee to work on overhauling the Standards of Quality (SOQ), the state’s funding formula determining the financial needs of school divisions, after a state study group found local governments have been shouldering a disproportionate share of K-12 education costs compared to the state’s contributions.
Lawmakers arranged for the state and localities to pay an even split of contributions in 1972, but they changed it in 1993, urging localities to start paying for K-12 fringe benefits.
According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the state’s share was established at 55%, while localities paid 45%.
What’s next?
House Education Committee Vice Chair Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, carried the support cap bill and budget language to support non-instructional positions.
As a former teacher and school board member, Simonds said a core issue her legislation will address is the administration’s prioritized focus on overhauling testing and accountability measures — part of the administration’s efforts to combat learning loss and raise student testing scores — instead of recruiting and maintaining teachers.
Simonds said some ways to make teaching the best job in Virginia could involve creating competitive pay, treating educators as professionals in the school buildings, and offering maternity leave, professional development and planning periods to collaborate with colleagues.
“The only thing that has been really proven to improve education is highly qualified teachers,” Simonds said. “Having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom is the way we move the needle on test scores for our children.”
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content focuses on advocating for higher teacher pay and increased public school funding, highlighting the challenges teachers face with current salaries lagging behind the national average and inflation. It presents perspectives from education advocates and Democratic lawmakers supportive of investing more in public education. While recognizing some progress, the tone calls for more substantial government commitment, aligning with generally progressive stances on public education funding and labor support. The article maintains a factual and policy-oriented approach without extreme rhetoric, situating it in the center-left range.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-30 14:54:32
SUMMARY: I’m 13 News Now meteorologist Evan Stewart. It’s Wednesday, April 30th, with warm temperatures in the 80s across Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore, over 10° above average. A frontal boundary near North Carolina could trigger isolated showers and thunderstorms later today and into the evening. While severe weather is impacting Texas and nearby areas with tornado risks, Hampton Roads faces a low, level one risk for isolated strong storms. Thursday remains warm with a slight 20% rain chance, and Friday brings more late-day showers and storms. A slow-moving front will increase weekend rain chances, possibly lingering into early next week with cooler weather.
There will be several chances for rain showers and potentially even storms through the weekend.
