Virginia’s first gubernatorial debate of the 2021 campaign is tonight at 7 o’clock at Appalachian School of Law, but one candidate won't be on the stage; Striking workers at a Nabisco plant in Richmond may be able to go back to work soon; A Culpeper County couple is suing an electric company for trying to install internet cable lines along their property without their consent; and other local news stories.
Sep 16, 2021•7 min•Ep. 248
A task force to establish a civilian review board on police misconduct in Richmond presented their recommendations to City Council Monday afternoon; An investigation into the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline; Virginia’s redistricting commission is shifting its region by region approach to focus on statewide maps; and other local news stories.
Sep 15, 2021•7 min•Ep. 247
Governor Ralph Northam signed a sweeping voting rights act yesterday in Newport News; The race for the Governor’s office is heating up in Virginia, with attack ads coming from both major-party candidates; Families across Virginia qualify for a new monthly payment from the federal government, but thousands are at risk of not getting the child tax credit; and other local news stories.
Sep 14, 2021•5 min•Ep. 246
Excavation crews worked through the day on Thursday searching for an over 130-year-old time capsule believed to be under the pedestal that, until yesterday, held a statue of Robert E. Lee; A vacancy on the state redistricting commission has been filled; Quarantined students in Chesterfield face challenges in getting academic help; and other local news stories.
Sep 10, 2021•6 min•Ep. 245
Hundreds of people watched as the last Confederate General on Monument Ave. was taken down from its pedestal yesterday; The Chesterfield County branch of the NAACP is asking Chesterfield County Schools to immediately take steps to ensure students’ safety as the number of positive cases of Covid-19 continue to rise; and the Virginia Department of Health is adding 170 additional community testing events during September.
Sep 09, 2021•4 min•Ep. 244
The pedestal of the Lee Monument contains a 134-year-old time capsule. On Tuesday, state officials sealed a new capsule filled with dozens of items that they say will replace it; People planning to watch the Robert E. Lee Monument come down today may have to rely on streaming options; A task force is recommending Virginia's largest city give its police review board subpoena power and increase the number of members to better reflect city demographics; and other local news stories.
Sep 08, 2021•10 min•Ep. 243
Several roads in Richmond are being closed in preparation for the removal of the Robert E. Lee monument, as questions remain about what will replace it; Amazon expands operations in Hampton Roads, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation is calling on homeowners to get flood coverage this hurricane season.
Sep 07, 2021•5 min•Ep. 242
Local leaders are responding to yesterday’s state Supreme Court decision allowing the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond to be taken down; Activists at last summer’s racial justice protests called for the removal of Richmond’s confederate monuments. Chelsea Higgs Wise, of Marijuana Justice, and Kalia Harris, of the Virginia Student Power Network, shared voice memos with VPM on the Robert E. Lee memorial’s imminent removal, and the demands they still have; This week, Richmond Superintendent Jason...
Sep 03, 2021•7 min•Ep. 241
If you want to legally buy marijuana in Virginia, medical dispensaries are your only option, but a product called Delta-8 has many of the same effects and it’s flying off the shelves at local stores; While Virginia once again won the title as the top state for business by CNBC this year, the commonwealth still has room to grow as a place for workers according to Oxfam’s new rankings; In the same week that Chesterfield County Public Schools announced pay raises for its school bus drivers, Henrico...
Sep 02, 2021•6 min•Ep. 240
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has granted a posthumous pardon to seven Black men executed in 1951; Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner signed onto a letter, urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide more mental health resources to military members who served in Afghanistan; Richmond Public School teachers are getting ready for another stressful year. To help them prepare, a local nonprofit is offering free mindfulness meditation sessions; and other local news stories.
Sep 01, 2021•6 min•Ep. 239
The families of seven Black men who were executed in 1951 are scheduled to meet with Governor Ralph Northam today to discuss a posthumous pardon; Republican Glenn Youngkin proposed a series of tax cuts in a campaign announcement yesterday. He says the plans won’t cause any cuts in state services if he’s elected governor, but it’s not clear how he will pay for it; Chesterfield County Public Schools announced yesterday that new and existing bus drivers will see an increase in pay and incentives; a...
Aug 31, 2021•8 min•Ep. 238
Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine say they are closely monitoring the situation in Kabul; While evacuation efforts continue to evolve, state officials say Virginia is prepared to support more Afghans leaving their home country; The American Civil Liberties Union announced yesterday that the Gloucester County School Board has agreed to pay over $1 million in attorney’s fees and costs to resolve former student Gavin Grimm’s case; and other local news stories.
Aug 27, 2021•6 min•Ep. 237
With a shortage of school bus drivers in Chesterfield County and long lines of cars queuing up to drop off students, many parents are considering alternative ways to get their kids to school; The Virginia Department of Health is reinstating information on COVID-19 outbreaks in their online dashboards; Prison reform advocates want the public to rethink what we call people who are incarcerated; and other local news stories.
Aug 26, 2021•6 min•Ep. 236
While the CDC is recommending quarantines for unvaccinated teachers who come in close contact with COVID-positive students in the classroom, there’s an exception for children who are fully masked. These guidelines have formed the basis for Virginia’s school reopening plans; As the delta variant leads to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Virginia, health officials also report a higher number of infections among children; Mayor Stoney announced the launch of a “community rooted” crime prevention progra...
Aug 25, 2021•7 min•Ep. 235
The Virginia Redistricting Commission is set to begin drawing new political maps next week; Virginia student athletes have new protections from the General Assembly to secure their ability to sell their name, rights and images to brands outside of their college or university; Unvaccinated Virginians developed COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive at a rate 12.5 times higher than their fully vaxxed counterparts this year; and other local news stories.
Aug 24, 2021•11 min•Ep. 234
Thousands of Afghan nationals that have worked for or with the U.S. are trying to secure transport to the states; Two children in Central Virginia have died after contracting COVID-19; This week, the White House announced plans to make COVID-19 booster shots available by the end of next month; and other local news stories.
Aug 20, 2021•6 min•Ep. 233
Governor Ralph Northam is urging students and parents to comply with his executive order requiring masks in schools; Yesterday was move-in day on the University of Richmond campus where students, faculty, and staff are required to be fully vaccinated before classes start next week; U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona toured Glen Allen High School in Henrico County yesterday; and other local news stories.
Aug 19, 2021•6 min•Ep. 232
Last month, the Virginia Department of Health stopped reporting the specific locations of COVID-19 outbreaks, including the names of school districts and nursing homes, but that decision is being called into question as cases and outbreaks increase; Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam Northam announced yesterday that they anticipate a record number of Virginia children will enroll in pre-K this year; Advocates for Virginia’s new redistricting commission said it would limit the inf...
Aug 18, 2021•9 min•Ep. 231
The Virginia Redistricting Commission will begin drawing new legislative maps in less than two weeks; As the U.S. government scrambles to evacuate allies from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a Prince George County army garrison serves as temporary housing for many fleeing the country; Tonight, the task force creating a civilian review board to investigate complaints against Richmond police will release a draft of its recommendations; and other local news stories.
Aug 17, 2021•6 min•Ep. 230
Governor Ralph Northam is calling on all K through 12 schools in Virginia to require mask wearing by staff and students; The COVID-19 outbreak now impacting the entire fourth grade at Patrick Henry Elementary is the second COVID outbreak in Richmond Public Schools since July. The district’s first outbreak took place at Fisher Elementary’s summer school program; The redistricting process in Virginia can now officially begin, with the release of 2020 Census data; and other local news stories.
Aug 13, 2021•8 min•Ep. 229
A new policy making sure transgender students are treated equally in Chesterfield County schools was approved this week; The Hanover County NAACP is calling the local school board’s decision to not require masks for students and staff “totally irresponsible"; State lawmakers selected eight new judges this week to Virginia’s Court of Appeals amid criticism that the process was too secretive; and other local news stories.
Aug 12, 2021•9 min•Ep. 228
State lawmakers are heading home after wrapping up a special session yesterday; Hopewell Public Schools is making plans to expand virtual learning in response to over three dozen confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and staff; Governor Ralph Northam is asserting local school districts must adopt mask mandates; and other local news stories.
Aug 11, 2021•8 min•Ep. 227
Yesterday, the Virginia General Assembly approved the final budget for American Rescue Plan funds; Virginia lawmakers selected eight candidates yesterday to sit on the Virginia Court of Appeals; Richmond Public Schools kicked off a series of trainings for educators yesterday; and other local news stories.
Aug 10, 2021•8 min•Ep. 226
State employees in Virginia must get vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 1st under a new directive issued by Gov. Ralph Northam; The Virginia Department of Health announced yesterday the first death of a child in the eastern region of the state due to COVID-19 complications; Democrats will fill eight judicial vacancies on the Virginia Court of Appeals in the coming days; and other local news stories.
Aug 06, 2021•6 min•Ep. 225
Democrats in Virginia want to set aside federal stimulus funds to give bonuses to law enforcement officers, but Republicans are pressing them to move faster; Virginia DMVs may have to open up their doors to customers without appointments under a proposal passed by the state Senate; Richmond city employees are now required to get the COVID-19 vaccine; and other local news stories.
Aug 05, 2021•6 min•Ep. 224
Following the expiration of the national eviction moratorium, lawmakers in Virginia are looking at extending state-level programs to keep people in their homes; RRHA has updated its policy about how it bars certain visitors from its housing developments; The Richmond and Henrico Health Departments are hosting walk-up events today so students can get their required physicals and vaccinations; and other local news stories.
Aug 04, 2021•6 min•Ep. 223
Lawmakers returned to Richmond yesterday for a special session of the General Assembly; A new Marcus Alert system is one of the measures being discussed in the special session; US Representative Abigail Spanberger is seeking $1 million in federal funds to help build a detox center in Henrico County; and other local news stories
Aug 03, 2021•6 min•Ep. 222
Governor Ralph Northam announced funding priorities for behavioral health care this week; Republican candidate for governor Glenn Youngkin proposed using more than half of the estimated budget surplus on a tax rebate for Virginians; A federal eviction ban ends Saturday. It comes as more than 60,000 Virginians say they could lose their homes soon because they’re struggling to make rent; and other local news stories.
Jul 30, 2021•10 min•Ep. 221
A circuit court judge in Lynchburg tossed out a legal challenge to policies designed to protect transgender students on Tuesday; The City of Richmond is asking residents for input on how it should spend $77 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan; Rural Virginians tend to be older than their urban counterparts. The median age in densely populated localities is about a decade younger than in sparsely populated ones, and that gap continues to grow; and other local news stories.
Jul 29, 2021•7 min•Ep. 220
State Republican lawmakers say they’re being excluded from discussions on how the federal money should be spent; For the last month, advocates and lawmakers have visited schools throughout Virginia as part of the Crumbling Schools tour. On Tuesday, the group stopped by Petersburg; Governor Ralph Northam announced plans on Monday to use federal funds to improve school ventilation systems, but experts and advocates say they want more flexibility with how that money is spent; and other local news s...
Jul 28, 2021•8 min•Ep. 219
