Featured Story

Rural Missouri counties have higher-than-average premature death rates
2026-10-21
Premature death rates among residents of rural Missouri counties exceed the national average, records show, a result in large part due to the lack of adequate emergency medical care. According to data compiled by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, three rural Missouri counties have premature death rates that are more than… Read more »
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Checks & Balances Project briefs FBI on alleged fraud in Sussex County
2026-08-24
Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has briefed the FBI on potential fraud involving Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White and the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS) that he runs. The briefing followed a July 14 complaint to the FBI that detailed 10 issues of concerns about White’s apparent corruption in office, including… Read more »
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Checks & Balances Project seeks Sussex County EMS response times
2026-08-3
Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the response times of Sussex County, Virginia, emergency medical responders. AI-assisted searches indicate the records are on the Sussex County website, but links to those meetings and records don’t work. The failure to maintain the site and keep records available is… Read more »
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Checks & Balances Project files complaint with HHS inspector general
2026-07-17
Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has filed a complaint against the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad and Sussex County Supervisor Steve White with the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general. The complaint cites alleged potential fraud involving billing for ambulance calls conducted by the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS) and the lack… Read more »
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Checks & Balances Project files FBI complaint about White, SCVRS
2026-07-14
Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) filed a complaint with the FBI’s Richmond field office seeking an investigation into Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White and the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS). The complaint cites 10 issues of concerns about White’s apparent corruption in office, including his conflicts of interest in voting to… Read more »
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C&BP offers to brief legislator, attorneys go unanswered
2026-07-11
Checks & Balances Project’s (C&BP) offers to brief state Sen. Lashrecse Aird, Sussex County Commonwealth Attorney Regina Sykes and Sussex County Attorney Danielle Powell on the apparent corruption in Sussex County government have gone unanswered. In the last three weeks, C&BP has revealed that the county has no policy governing when elected officials should recuse… Read more »
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C&BP files Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents related to White serving as acting Sussex County administrator
2026-07-10
Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking all records, texts, and other communications related to Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White assuming the role of acting county administrator after he apparently engineered the firing of then-County Administrator Richard Douglas. According to another supervisor, Douglas’ firing was… Read more »
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Sussex supervisor says White drove surprise firing of county administrator
2026-07-10
Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White proposed firing then-County Administrator Richard Douglas in a surprise closed session during the April 16 board meeting, Supervisor Thomas Baicy told Checks & Balances Project (C&BP). The move surprised Baicy and others, because the issue wasn’t included on the agenda for the meeting. Baicy’s comments came in… Read more »
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Sussex Supervisor White voted to give himself a tax break for EMS car use, then defunded position for the fire chief who had questioned EMS finances
2026-07-9
Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White proposed and voted for a county ordinance that gave him and his wife Carolyn a tax break for using their personal vehicles as part of their work on the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad. The agenda for the board’s Sept. 18, 2025, meeting contained this ordinance: “AN… Read more »
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