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“Virginians should have an expectation that government services be intuitive and easy to use. I’m excited to help deliver on that goal for the people of the commonwealth and demonstrate that government can build great technology.” — Andrea Fletcher, Virginia Digital Service director
Andrea Fletcher will lead the new Virginia Digital Service. (Courtesy of Virginia Governor’s Office)
By Markus Schmidt
Virginia is creating a team of technology specialists to improve state websites and computer systems while guarding against costly technology contracts and wasted taxpayer dollars.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday named Andrea Fletcher director of the new Virginia Digital Service, which will bring together engineers, designers and other technical experts to modernize state government operations and make public services easier to use.
The team will also review how Virginia buys and uses technology, with an eye toward identifying problems before the state commits taxpayer money to poorly designed systems or contracts.
Pictured from left are Imre Huss from the University of Virginia and Imani Laird from Hampton University. (Photos courtesy of Democracy Defenders Fund)
By Nathaniel Cline
Include enough information about the story to draw interest, but not so much that the reader no longer needs to click to read more. Sparse bolding could be used to draw the reader's eye through the section.
President Donald Trump has targeted Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in his trade war with Canada. (Photo by Getty Images/Yassine Bahammou)
By Ashley Murray
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods kicked in Tuesday, escalating a trade war with one of the largest U.S. trading partners that President Donald Trump continued to antagonize over the holiday weekend.
Trump posted an AI-generated cartoon image of himself Sunday evening in which he is depicted as a hockey player striking Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is shown down on the ice, with a hockey stick.
“Get up, governor,” a speech bubble from Trump’s mouth reads, apparently referring to Canada as a U.S. state rather than a sovereign country.
By Jacob Fischler
The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.
All 47 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus, 199 current House Democrats and 15 former House Republicans signed the friend-of-the-court brief opposing President Donald Trump’s policy to add several requirements to mail ballots.
NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
“What to know about Virginia jail deaths and the problems identified by state regulators.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch
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