News
Tropical storm warnings ahead of weekend and more Va. headlines
• COVID-19 cases are rising in Virginia, but the state is unlikely to reimpose any pandemic restrictions. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said “people should just live their lives and be responsible.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch • Tens of millions of dollars in post-pandemic learning grants are still sitting unused as parents voice frustration about the difficulty navigating a state program meant […]
With start of early voting, Virginia begins high-stakes election season
Starting today, voters across Virginia can begin casting ballots in pivotal General Assembly elections that will decide which party controls the closely divided state legislature. The start of the 45-day early voting window — during which Virginians can cast ballots in person at their local election office or send an absentee ballot through the mail […]
FOIA Friday: Loudoun sex assault report and more police roster withholdings
One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in […]
VCU professor develops THC breathalyzer to help detect driver impairment
By Sahara Sriraman / Capital News Service A Virginia Commonwealth University professor and a partner are developing a new THC breathalyzer that could be used to quickly detect if someone is driving under the influence of cannabis. VCU professor Emanuele Alves, who has a doctorate in forensic science, partnered with Wagner Pacheco, who has a […]
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
By Amy Maxmen | KFF Health News The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this […]
A settlement in the Irvo Otieno case and more Va. headlines
• “The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the state, county and the sheriff whose deputies were involved in restraining the man.”—Associated Press • A congressional committee advanced a […]
House District 97: Democrat Feggans vs. incumbent Republican Greenhalgh
In the Virginia Beach-centered 97th House District, a close race is shaping up between Republican incumbent and entrepreneur Del. Karen Greenhalgh and Democratic Air Force veteran Michael Feggans. Greenhalgh, who is finishing out her first term in office, has founded several cabinet manufacturing and cybersecurity businesses, as well as managing a pregnancy crisis center. While […]
A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown
WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]
After ERIC withdrawal, Virginia strikes deals with 6 states to share voter data
The Virginia Department of Elections recently signed agreements to exchange voter registration data with six other states
Virginia sees big tax bump from sports betting and casinos
Virginia is collecting more tax revenue from sports betting and casinos than fiscal analysts predicted four years ago when the state was considering legalizing more types of gambling. Taxes from sports betting more than doubled in fiscal year 2023, according to Virginia Lottery figures presented Tuesday, jumping to $67 million from $27 million the prior […]
Migrant child labor at an Eastern Shore poultry plant and more Va. headlines
• A 14-year-old Guatemalan boy’s arm was mangled by a machine while working the night cleaning shift at a poultry plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, drawing attention to the open secret of migrant child labor in American slaughterhouses.—New York Times • Virginia’s new budget allows breweries to distribute some of their own beer, a step back from […]
After Hurley and Whitewood floods, Virginia considers state relief fund
Over the past two years, two major deluges in the towns of Hurley and Whitewood in Southwest Virginia have caused catastrophic flooding that left dozens of homes destroyed and one woman dead. But as the communities have struggled to rebuild, federal relief has been limited. In response, state legislators have dipped into state funds earmarked […]