Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of public policy issues and headlines from around the Northern Virginia Region, the Commonwealth, and Capitol Hill.
by Danielle Finley, Associate Director of Political Engagement
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. Youngkin orders more streamlined permit, licensing process 2. Rising costs hit auto, home insurance markets in Virginia 3. Rents on the rise in Alexandria and evictions returning to pre-pandemic levels 4. Fairfax County could compel property sales for planned Richmond Highway bus system 5. Key Race: Congressional District 10.
Youngkin orders more streamlined permit, licensing process
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch
State agencies should cut the number of steps individuals and businesses need to go through to get a permit or license, Gov. Glenn Youngkin says. He has issued an executive order directing them to detail plans to do so by the end of the year. Youngkin’s latest executive order also says state agencies should consider ways that permits that require case-by-case evaluation can be converted to allow more standardized and streamlined evaluation. The order calls on agencies to drop obsolete and barely issued permits. It notes that 46 had no applicants last year and 41 had only one.
Rising costs hit auto, home insurance markets in Virginia
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch
As Virginians’ latest auto and homeowners insurance bills come in, and as they read about billion-dollar losses from hurricanes and wildfires, the consumer helplines at the Bureau of Insurance have been lighting up with questions about what’s usually the sleepiest part of insurance markets. What those calls reflect is what insurance insiders call a “hard market” — rising claims costs and consumer demand for more coverage that push premium rates higher, Virginia Commissioner of Insurance Scott White said.
Rents on the rise in Alexandria and evictions returning to pre-pandemic levels
By VERNON MILES, ALXnow
It’s only getting more and more expensive to rent in Alexandria. In a webinar this afternoon, Alexandria’s Office of Housing spelled out the current state of evictions. Given that the vast majority of those evictions are caused by non-payment of rent, Mary Horner, division chief of the Landlord Tenant Division, noted that rental costs are continuing to rise. The average rent for studio apartments increased by 9.3% this year. Rents increased by 7.3% for one-bedroom units, 8.2% for two-bedroom units and 8.1% for three-bedroom units.
Fairfax County could compel property sales for planned Richmond Highway bus system
By JAMES JARVIS, FFXnow
Fairfax County may need to invoke eminent domain to secure more than a dozen properties along Richmond Highway for its new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. Earlier this week, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to move ahead with acquiring land rights to 13 commercial and residential properties — including a Wells Fargo bank, a pet hospital, and a hotel — by early December for the new bus route, known as “The One,” regardless of whether settlement agreements are in place.
Key Race: Congressional District 10
The Virginia Public Access Project
Two candidates are competing for this seat left open by retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D). Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, an attorney and member of the Virginia Senate, is facing Republican Mike Clancy, a lawyer and technology company executive. VPAP rates this as a competitive district, where Rep. Wexton (D) won 53.2% of the vote in 2022, and Terry McAuliffe (D) won an estimated 50.5% in 2021.