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Virginia’s probe into State Police hiring of ‘catfish cop’ ends with no investigative report
After it was revealed Virginia State Police failed to fully check the mental health background of a former state trooper who killed three people in California last November while attempting to abduct a teenage girl he had chatted with online, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he had requested a “full investigation” into the agency’s vetting process. […]
After applying for funding tied to red flag law, Youngkin officials vague on plans to use it
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration last fall applied for federal funding meant to help Virginia continue to implement its red flag law, a gun control measure strongly opposed by many Republican lawmakers and gun rights activists. State officials say the roughly $5 million hasn’t been formally accepted and no decisions have been made about how it […]
In FOIA ruling, Va. Supreme Court upholds public’s right to be in meeting rooms
Government bodies in Virginia cannot ask the public to sit in a separate room and observe their meetings through a video feed only, according to the Supreme Court of Virginia. In a unanimous opinion released Thursday, the high court concluded the Suffolk City School Board violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act in the summer […]
Youngkin signs bipartisan bill creating new committee on gambling addiction
Much of the discussion surrounding Virginia’s push toward state-sanctioned gambling has focused on how much money it might bring in for the state and local governments eager for new tax revenue. But state policymakers are taking a new step this year to try to create a more coordinated approach to gambling addiction, a less publicized […]
How a 2020 bill might have prevented election drama in a Va. GOP Senate race
On March 1, a local Republican official notified state officials the party had decided on a government-run primary to pick its nominee in a contested race for a Senate seat in Southside Virginia. About a week later, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Rich Anderson told the state the notice from the lower-ranking official, Suffolk Republican […]
Virginia election officials change process for removing dead people from voter rolls
The Virginia Department of Elections says it has “streamlined” the process of removing dead voters from the rolls by allowing local registrars to use obituaries to confirm deaths and creating a form meant to make it easier for family members to notify election offices after a death. In a news release Monday, the agency said […]
Virginia lawmakers OK final edits to bill meant to get tough on unregulated THC
Shortly after the Virginia General Assembly’s work began Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-Williamsburg, joked that he had texted his wife to say he was going to miss his own birthday dinner because the legislature was spending a lot of time “arguing about cannabis.” As lawmakers returned to Richmond for a single day to […]
Democratic senator says he’s meeting with Youngkin to discuss rights restoration
A key Democratic senator said he’s meeting with Gov. Glenn Youngkin Wednesday morning to discuss the governor’s stance on restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions. The meeting comes as Democrats and progressive advocates continue to blast the administration’s slower pace of rights restorations and lack of clarity about its process. “We’ve got to […]
In reversal, Va. elections board OKs extension for candidates with missing paperwork
Loosening a previously strict policy meant to encourage Virginia political candidates to file their legally required paperwork on time, the State Board of Elections on Tuesday approved a 10-day extension for any would-be candidate who failed to meet the April 6 filing deadline to run in state or local primary elections. In 2021, the last […]
Who might — and who won’t — be returning to the General Assembly next year
This story is an updated and expanded version of our General Assembly Tracker. In Virginia’s never-sleepy political calendar, April 6 was a red-letter day: the last day for candidates affiliated with a party to file paperwork announcing their intention to run for office in the June primaries. The primary filing deadline is always a watershed […]
Neither man convicted in scheme to sell ABC bourbon info will face active jail time
The two Virginia men accused of using inside information from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to give bourbon collectors a heads up on where to get rare bottles won’t face any active jail time after both pleaded guilty to one felony charge related to computer trespassing. Robert Adams, a Hampton Roads man whom authorities […]
As Virginia budget negotiations drag on, here’s what hangs in the balance
In normal years, Virginia’s budget plan is supposed to be pretty much done by April except for any late changes recommended by the governor. But for the second year in row, the politically split General Assembly is heading into spring under a cloud of uncertainty over when the budget will get done and what will […]