The FBI and Virginia’s law enforcement agencies have a new ally in their efforts to combat sex trafficking. As result, this partnership will lend potentially thousands of eyes and ears in places that police may not frequent, but truckers do, and pimps target.

550 educators and advocates from ten nations gathered in Richmond to exchange ideas about a movement that they call “From STEM to STEAM.”  One major goal is to share best practices to attract more girls to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.  They say more creativity can help overcome the hurdles that have prevented girls from choosing STEM careers.

Prior to 2012, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death in Virginia, but now cancer is the Commonwealth’s leading killer. To help lawmakers craft state policies for the future, the Joint Commission on Health Care wanted to find out what the projected cancer rates will be over the next few decades.   And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, the outlook seems rather dismal. 

Several years and one administration ago, Virginia Public Radio highlighted some of the challenges pertaining to veterans’ homelessness, and since then new leaders have vowed to do all they can to eliminate it within the Commonwealth. As Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, a lot of progress has been made in just a short period of time.

While the General Assembly passed legislation earlier this year to toughen Virginia’s ethics laws, a gubernatorial panel insists that those reforms are only the beginning.  At its June meeting, the Governor’s Commission on Integrity and Public Confidence in State Government held a wide-ranging discussion about what to target next for reform.  And as Anne Marie reports, a few of the topics that were bandied about may not be politically popular.

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With potentially millions of Virginians victimized by the recent cyber-attack against federal employees, state lawmakers want to expedite the formation of public-private collaborations that would stimulate research and development in cyber-security. Now a Joint Commission on Technology and Science panel agrees—and wants to help bring the best minds in the field together.  And as Anne Marie Morgan reports, both higher education institutions and companies are willing and eager to make that happen.

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Reactions vary to a Democratic lawsuit challenging Virginia’s voter photo ID law—based primarily on which side of the political spectrum the stakeholders fall.  Democrats argue that this is another attempt to disenfranchise minority and other voters, while the GOP and the law’s chief sponsor say it’s designed to protect the integrity of the voting system. But as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, political observers are wondering how this lawsuit will progress—and what’s the best course of action for the state’s Democratic Attorney General.

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A number of studies suggest that young children who enter pre-kindergarten programs develop their learning skills more effectively than those who don’t. That’s one reason why state lawmakers recently decided to examine and reform the Virginia Preschool Initiative.  And as Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports, one of the underlying issues is making sure that low-income children have access to—and take advantage of— those programs.

Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources lends an ear to a grassroots organization protesting the possible closure of 283 rural hospitals across the country, including the Commonwealth. As Tommie McNeil reports, Dr. Jennifer Lee said it’s yet another reason why she believes Medicaid expansion could be the answer.

There were some electoral upsets yesterday as Virginia voters in 48 localities cast their ballots in state and local primaries. Among the most contested were 18 elections to nominate candidates for the General Assembly—including challenges to nine incumbent Senators and Delegates. And as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, several incumbent lawmakers will not be returning to the General Assembly.

Virginia Supreme Court justices will soon be deciding on a case that could have a significant impact on what state officials can withhold—even when a Freedom of Information Act request is submitted.  Although this case began with one lawmaker asking about how executions are carried out, he also discovered that agencies may have found a way around disclosing pertinent information. Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil reports.

The women of the troubled Sweet Briar College say the institution IS capable of sustaining itself—and all it needs is a second chance. As Tommie McNeil reports, they’re hoping that chance comes in the form of a ruling from the state’s highest court to grant an injunction and allow the college to stay open while school administrators sort out legal and financial matters.

Tourists visiting Virginia last year generated a record-setting 22-billion dollars in revenue. That’s according to the latest state numbers, which also indicate that the tourism industry has become the fifth-largest private employer in the state. And as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, state officials say the Commonwealth’s global exposure will soon grow even more.

It’s been two years in the making, but now a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Health and Ancestry has allowed the state to digitize the Commonwealth’s vital records-including some that were believed to be lost forever.

(l-r) Policy analyst Borna Kazarooni and Chief Energy Efficiency Officer Hayes Framme discuss energy metrics.

Governor McAuliffe has accelerated the timetable set in a 2007 state law that requires a voluntary 10 percent reduction in state energy consumption—by moving its target date to 2020. Now an expert panel established to help achieve that goal has concluded that it needs additional data just to clarify how that should be measured. And as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, it also says the responsibility does not just rest with electric utilities to boost their own conservation efforts.