Welcome to today’s edition of the Dogwood Daily. We’ve got a round-up of all of today’s Virginia news coming right up. And if you’re a fan, please forward to three friends who need to know what’s going on in the Commonwealth and tell them to subscribe here.
But First…
Definitely don’t check out this horrifying story from WDBJ about sea lice stinging beachgoers in Virginia Beach.
5 Things you need to know today
- Chesterfield-based drug company to pay $1.4 billion to resolve opioid-related lawsuit – Invidior, the Chesterfield County based drug company that markets and sells the addiction treatment drug Suboxone, will pay $1.4 billion to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging the company engaged in an illegal scheme to increase prescriptions of the drug. The scheme came to light after a Midlothian woman who worked for Invidior’s parent company became a whistle-blower. The resulting payout is the largest amount ever paid in an opioid-related settlement. – Richmond Times-Dispatch
- Page County school board votes against free meals for students – Four Page County school board members voted against joining a federal program that would have provided students at two elementary schools with free breakfast and lunches, despite the school division’s growing meal debt problem. The program would have come at no financial cost for the division, but a majority of the school board voted against it without providing any explanation. – Daily News-Record
- Virginia has less student debt than most states, study indicates – Virginia students graduate with less student debt than their peers in most states, according to a new study from the financial website, WalletHub. While Virginia has the 13th least student debt in the nation, college affordability remains an issue in the Commonwealth. – Inside Nova
- Federal regulators have safety concerns about Mountain Valley Pipeline’s protective coating – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrote a letter to Mountain Valley Pipeline officials on Wednesday, asking them about the safety of a protective coating on the steel pipe being buried through southwest Virginia. The controversial pipeline has faced numerous delays, which has resulted in sections of pipe being stored above ground for more than a year, raising concerns that the coating could degrade over time and contaminate nearby air, soil and water. Mountain Valley has 20 days after Wednesday’s letter to respond. – The Roanoke Times
- Virginia Beach man pleads guilty to threatening to shoot Sen. Mark Warner – Anthony Butkiewicz III pled guilty on Thursday to one count of threatening to assault a U.S. official. Butkiewicz threatened to punch U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va) in the jaw and to shoot him in the head over disagreements with Warner over his stances on abortion, the border wall, and military funding. Butkiewicz faces up to six years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. – The Virginian-Pilot
From the Gram
