Virginia Public Radio

The governor is now considering hundreds of bills lawmakers put on his desk.

Michael Pope has this report on one that would shed light on racial disparities.

With more vaccine in the pipeline, experts predict more of us will be inoculated against COVID in the next few months. 

At some Virginia schools, nursing students are stepping up to help.

They’re already on the job at VCU and Radford.  Now Sandy Hausman reports dozens are in training at UVA.

The House of Representatives isn’t dealing with just COVID-relief.

As Michael Pope reports, members also voted on a labor law introduced by a senior member of the Virginia delegation.

A simmering controversy over the Virginia Parole Board got a response from the Northam Administration Tuesday.

The Governor’s Chief of Staff defended the administration and said the case was becoming politicized.

Jahd Khalil has more.  

A Northern Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney is the first local prosecutor in the state to set up a dedicated unit to review possible wrongful convictions. And the U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on its aerial battle against the Gypsy Moth.

These have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

One of the big disappointments for many criminal justice advocates in this year’s General Assembly session was a failure to ditch mandatory minimums.

Michael Pope explains why.

What do you think the chances are that something was wrong with how ballots were counted?

A Risk Limiting Audit found that the chances the Virginia Department of Elections missed a faulty ballot tabulation was less than one in 100,000.

The department announced the results Tuesday. Jahd Khalil explains how they did it. 

Governor Northam has said he wants kids back in school by mid-March.

But as more schools gear up to re-open or increase their in-classroom days, mental health experts warn that the return to in-person education may be stressful for students.

Christine Kueter has that story.

The General Assembly will formally adjourn today Monday, but it finished most of its business on Saturday.

Jahd Khalil sums up what the lawmakers did on their last day of legislating. 

Thanks to the work of some elementary school students a Virginia civil rights pioneer now has a long overdue historical marker… And a Navy Corpsman has accomplished one his life goals and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

Lawmakers are ending the General Assembly session with a major compromise on expungement.

Michael Pope reports.

As the General Assembly session winds down, Michael Pope talked to Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Jeff Shapiro about what happened and what didn’t happen.

The General Assembly session is scheduled to end on Saturday.

On Thursday negotiators from the House and Senate agreed on a budget proposal.

Jahd Khalil tells us how one compromise led to a five percent raise for teachers. 

Lawmakers are rejecting an effort to create new rules for how lawmakers are able to spend campaign cash.

Michael Pope explains.

More than half a million Virginians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and many more could have been infected without developing symptoms.  The state also reports vaccinating more than one-million people.

So are we getting close to what’s known as herd immunity? 

Sandy Hausman put that question to one expert at the University of Virginia.

School districts in southwest Virginia are getting together to plan what they see as the next step for online learning…and a Northern Virginia high school may soon take on the name of a former staff member who was fired for taking a stand against segregation.

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

Virginia won millions of dollars from pharmaceutical consultants for the damage done by the opioid epidemic. It’s probably getting much more from the drug makers themselves.

But will Virginia be able to learn from its past mistakes?

Jahd Khalil reports that public health experts are thinking about the future and another major settlement. 

Members of the General Assembly are considering legislation that would prohibit people from evading gun-control laws by constructing a gun at home.

Michael Pope explains. 

Virginia lawmakers rejected a bill aimed at cracking down on cyber flashing.

Michael Pope reports.

Democrats are taking a number of steps to make voting more accessible.

As Michael Pope reports, that includes a bill to allow voting on Sundays.

The pandemic has played havoc with many things this year including college admissions. 

As Sandy Hausman reports, applications at some schools were up dramatically, while other institutions appear to be falling short. 

Senators rejected a House bill that would prevent employers from retaliating against their employees.

Michael Pope explains why.

Minority owned businesses in the upper Shenandoah Valley will soon have a new source of capital. And Virginia lawmakers are looking to change the way absentee ballots are counted.

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

Lawmakers are debating a bill aimed at preventing discrimination by adoption agencies.

But, as Michael Pope reports, the House and the Senate are divided over how to do it.

Last year’s passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act meant electric utilities needed to come up with more than 3,000 megawatts of energy storage capacity. One place was in the batteries of electric school buses.

But as Jahd Khalil reports, some Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups weren’t on the same.