Vice President JD Vance, right, walks with Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., following an event marking 250 years of the American military at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Ken Cedenoe/Pool Photo via AP)

Over the long weekend, my family and I happened to be staying in Kiggans’ district in Virginia Beach.

Before visiting the beach, I drove to Norfolk (outside Kiggans’ district) on Friday to hear about the work being done across Hampton Roads by the LGBT Life Center, which offers a range of services including healthcare, food assistance, and career guidance. 

I was curious to hear how the organization is dealing with and bracing for changes and cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). I’m hoping to get a video posted soon of the interview I did with LGBT Life Center’s economic empowerment coordinator. 

In the meantime, I’ve been looking into Kiggans’ record on healthcare.

Kiggans, like every other Republican in the House, supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allowed the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to expire at the end of last year. Before she did, Kiggans led an effort to try to extend them for one year. 

Kiggans is making the case that this means she has a record of “protecting health care.” But her opponent, Democrat Elaine Luria, wants voters to focus on the impacts of Kiggans’ record.

As everyone knew it would, ending those ACA tax credits has led to more expensive healthcare that’s pushed thousands of Virginians off their health insurance.

So, will voters be satisfied that Kiggans tried and failed to temporarily protect their healthcare? Or will they be more upset that she supported letting ACA tax credits expire? 

My gut says the midterms will all come down to how people feel about President Donald Trump—as he wants them to. 

But given how swingy Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District is, the answer to who has the better record on healthcare is taking on greater importance. 

• The Virginia Beach City Council approved a plan to begin moving the city’s fire department workweek away from an average of 56 hours down to 48 hours, reports Jordie Clark with WVEC in Norfolk. The city’s long-term goal is for its firefighters to average 42 hours a week. 

• 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said it ratified a first contract for over 300 hospital food service workers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond. 

• LaborLab rolled out a new “union-buster search tool” that lets users search for the attorneys and consultants hired by employers. It also launched a cost calculator that generates estimates of how much money employers are spending on anti-union campaigns. 

(Dogwood/YouTube)

Speaking of union busting, Lewis Ginter Workers United suggested the botanical garden’s management may have hired back some help on this front. 

The union claimed on social media that the garden has again contracted with an anti-union consultant, but the garden’s management has denied this to me. 

Still, the garden’s management acknowledged it worked with a consultant in the weeks leading up to Lewis Ginter’s union election in 2024.

The workers argue that if the garden has money for anti-union consultants, then the garden’s budget can’t be as tight as its management would have them believe. 

Meanwhile, the workers are still on strike for their first union contract. 

They made a counteroffer of a $1.90 across-the-board raise, down from the $2 they had asked for previously. But the garden’s management doesn’t seem to want to budge from its offer of a roughly 52-cent raise. 

I asked the garden’s management why it hasn’t sent back a counteroffer. 

“The Garden’s last, best and final offer is still on the table for the Union’s consideration,” a spokesperson told me. 

And so the strike these workers started Sept. 2 continues for who knows how long. 

“They will not win a war of attrition,” Lewis Ginter Workers United posted. “We workers will NOT back down.” 

(Western Movie Clips/YouTube)

You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
Dogwood / COURIER Newsroom
3229 Greenpoint Ave., PMB 532
Long Island City, New York 11101

Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can update your preferences or   from this list.