Virginia Public Radio

Horseback riders are at a high risk of getting a brain injury.

The first study that tests equestrian helmets for their ability to protect riders has just been released by Virginia Tech’s helmet laboratory.

Roxy Todd has more.

2021 was not a good year to work in a nursing home. But it turns out 2022 was worse.

According to a recent survey, 4 in 5 nursing home facility directors say they’re still facing difficulty in filling jobs and shifts.  Mallory Noe-Payne reports.

For hundreds of years, Europeans systematically tried to wipe out Indigenous cultures. On the frontline were tribal members who held a sacred status because they had both feminine and masculine qualities. Today, they call themselves Two-Spirits.

VCU professor Gregory Smithers has written about the history of gender and sexual fluidity in Native American history and culture in his new book, “Reclaiming Two-Spirits.”

Pamela D’Angelo reports.

Lawmakers in Virginia are about to return to the Capitol and consider new laws and constitutional amendments.

Michael Pope reports one of those constitutional amendments could be about marriage.

Virginia’s political machines are not coasting into the holiday season.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope recap a fast-moving week in politics and state government.

Governor Glenn Youngkin is kicking off the budget process.

During a presentation to the House and Senate money committees Thursday, Youngkin said he wants to transform behavioral health services, invest in site readiness to attract economic development and cut taxes for individuals and businesses.

Michael Pope has some of the details and reaction.

Virginia spends big money to run its prison system. 

The state provides many of the necessities to incarcerated people.  But those inmates and their families have to spend sizeable sums for snacks, hygiene products and even phone calls.

The charges have gotten so big, the General Assembly is now trying to review contracts and price lists.

Sandy Hausman begins a series of reports on the issue with this story about conditions at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.

When state lawmakers met in Richmond nearly a year ago, prisoner advocates asked them to regulate the price of goods and services offered behind bars. 

They complained of high costs for food from the canteen and noted Virginia prisoners pay four times as much as inmates in another state to make phone calls.

Legislators were concerned and decided to set up a committee that could investigate. 

Sandy Hausman reports on their findings.

People locked up in local and regional jails also have to pay similar fees for phone calls and other items.

And Michael Pope reports it’s been even harder for a General Assembly work group to get a clear picture of costs.

Virginia’s governor will outline his proposal for the state budget Thursday morning.

Michael Pope has this preview.

Last school year almost 50,000 Virginia students took one or more college courses while still in high school.

Dual enrollment is a way for those students to get ahead before even starting college.

Now lawmakers are considering how to make access more equitable.

Mallory Noe-Payne has more. 

Governor Glenn Youngkin is hoping to transform Virginia’s behavioral health system.

Michael Pope has the details on his plan.

Virginia’s unemployment rate has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

And as Michael Pope reports, the rate is so low it’s raising concern among some economists.

Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board took another step last week toward pulling Virginia out of a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. And while a lot of the debate has become political, there are also business considerations involved.

Roben Farzad, host of Public Radio’s Full Disclosure, and host Craig Wright have more on that.

A new poll shows voters support recent changes to criminal justice in Virginia.

Michael Pope has the details.

A new outline to fight antisemitism in Virginia and changes to COVID policies top this week’s action in Richmond.

Jeff Schapiro, of the Richmond Times Dispatch, and Michael Pope recap the week in politics and state government.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass was known for his captivating physical presence and compelling public speaking. He was the most photographed person of the 19th century. 

Now an immersive exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts uses actors, screens, and sounds to bring his presence to the 21st century.

Mallory Noe-Payne got a sneak peek and filed this report.

With the approach of winter, some jobs clearly have more appeal than others.  Utility linemen, for example, will be on call through the winter – ready to battle ice and snowstorms to keep the power on. 

It’s not for everyone, and demand is high. 

That’s why the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative held a special event this month called Girl Power. 

Sandy Hausman was there and filed this report.

Deer hunting season is in full swing for much of Virginia. This year, hunters are being called on to help reduce the spread of a fatal deer disease, called Chronic Wasting Disease.

The hunting season has been extended to late March in counties where the disease is spreading, as Roxy Todd reports.

Inflation has changed the financial equation in many parts of life.  But how is it impacting holiday shopping?

Roben Farzad, host of public radio’s Full Disclosure, and Craig Wright have more on the early indicators.

Virginia’s political world was shaken by the sudden death of Congressman Donald McEachin this week.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope discuss McEachin’s legacy and what might happen next.

Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom was once the epicenter of the Virginia slave trade, the second largest site of human trafficking in North America.

Experts estimate the majority of Black Americans can trace their ancestry to this spot.

Today politicians and local leaders have thrown their support behind a memorial park and museum here. But two decades ago, this history was buried under a parking lot.

Mallory Noe-Payne caught up with the husband and wife team who have spent 20 years leading the grassroots movement to get this site memorialized.

The latest mass shootings in Virginia are prompting yet another round of soul searching. 

And, as Michael Pope reports, they’ve renewed calls for action.

Food banks often get added attention around holidays.  And they, like all of us, are dealing with the impact of inflation.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Craig Wright have more on that.