Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. Youngkin says there’d be plenty of jobs in Virginia if Trump fires federal employees 2. Virginia Lottery generates a record-breaking $934 million for K-12 public education 3. Virginia tourism spending hits record 4. D.C.-area economic outlook shifting from stable to uncertain 5. Inside the secret Northern Virginia data center building industry. Bonus: New Voter Registrations: July 2024
Youngkin says there’d be plenty of jobs in Virginia if Trump fires federal employees
By BRAD KUTNER, WVTF-FM
Governor Glenn Youngkin says Virginia’s over 140,000 civilian federal employees have little to fear if former President Donald Trump’s promise to fire many of them comes true. “There are fabulous opportunities for folks to find a new employer in Virginia should the one they work for move away,” Youngkin said after a recent meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, or GACRE. Trump has said he plans to “reign in bureaucrats.” “As many as 100,000 government positions could be moved out, and I mean immediately, of Washington to places filled with patriots,” the former president said in a campaign video. But Fairfax Senator Scott Surovell said it wouldn’t be that simple.
Virginia Lottery generates a record-breaking $934 million for K-12 public education
By NATHANIEL CLINE, Virginia Mercury
The Virginia Lottery announced Wednesday that $934 million in fiscal year 2024 sales profits will benefit K-12 public education, a record amount. The total amount it collected for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was more than $5.5 billion. The Lottery’s total proceeds to public education stands at $13.6 billion, and the agency continues Virginia’s year-over-year sales increases since the pandemic. Last year, the Virginia Lottery earned $867.4 million from lottery sales, an increase from $779.6 million in 2022.
Virginia tourism spending hits record
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Tourists and travelers spent a record $33.3 billion in Virginia last year, a nearly 10% increase over 2022, the Virginia Tourism Corp. reported. Overnight visitors increased by 1.4 million to 43.6 million, up from 42.2 million in 2022, reaching pre-pandemic levels. Spending on recreation activity grew the fastest, up 12% over 2022. Spending on these activities was up 24% from pre-pandemic levels.
D.C.-area economic outlook shifting from stable to uncertain
By BEN PETERS, Washington Business Journal
Greater Washington’s economy may be entering a period of deep uncertainty following months of what one expert deemed "relative stability." That’s the latest finding from CBRE’s REVIVE Regional Vibrancy Index charting the D.C. area's economic strengths and weaknesses in the wake of a pandemic that changed the core of how the region operates, from the shift to hybrid work to the evolution in how people get around.
Inside the secret Northern Virginia data center building industry
By Carolyn M. Proctor, Washington Business Journal
Data centers would almost certainly occupy much of the rundown — expensive server shells, after all, are responsible for virtually every square foot of Loudoun County’s current commercial construction pipeline — but most of the companies building them, either for themselves or third-party tenants, are sworn to secrecy about the details. Think Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta Inc., Digital Realty Corp., Equinix, CloudHQ, Compass Datacenters. Ask them how many data centers they’ve built or are building, where or for how much, and you’ll probably run into a concrete wall.
BONUS
New Voter Registrations: July 2024
The Virginia Public Access Project
New voter registrations are up this month from June, following the same trend as other recent presidential cycles. The total number of newly registered voters in Virginia is now in line with 2020 at the same point in the year.