Virginia Public Radio

Virginia’s juvenile justice system is about to get a makeover.

Michael Pope explains.

The names Lewis and Clark are famous in U. S. history. But only a few people have heard the name of one of their most important companions.  And invasive plant species are serious problems in Virginia, especially where they’re being locally sold.

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 and Edie Gross.

Virginia is flush with cash, which means you might be getting a check in the mail.

Michael Pope explains why. 

Abortion is becoming a prime topic in two Virginia Congressional races.

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

Across Virginia, schools are struggling to find enough teachers for the upcoming fall semester.

Michael Pope explains why.

Student performance on Virginia Standards of Learning tests rebounded in the last school year.

But it’s still well-behind the performance logged before the pandemic.

David Seidel has a snapshot of the result.

When the Virginia Department of Transportation started work on the Hampton Bridge and Tunnel Project, construction equipment displaced sea birds that had been nesting there for years. 

The situation alarmed bird lovers who lobbied the state to create a new place for terns and gulls. Experts identified a piece of land nearby and turned it into suitable habitat – removing trees and adding sand. 

The birds returned from their winter homes and happily settled in, but there’s a problem with the new arrangement as Sandy Hausman reports.

After covering the nation’s opioid crisis in the book and streaming series ‘Dopesick,’ Roanoke journalist and author Beth Macy has checked in with a second book on the issue. 

‘Raising Lazarus’ updates efforts to treat people struggling with addiction rather than send them to jail, and seek justice against drug manufacturers.

Macy talked with Jeff Bossert.

We’ve all felt the sting of high inflation over the past few months.  So can federal legislation slow the climb of consumer prices?

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

Until last summer, nearly 5 million Virginians lacked dental insurance.

Expansions to Medicaid in the past year have helped, but as Roxy Todd reports, there’s still a shortage of dentists in parts of the Commonwealth who are willing to accept low-income patients.

Five years after neo-Nazis and other white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, the city is still reflecting on what happened.

Several residents shared their stories and their conclusions with Sandy Hausman.   

As Charlottesville observes the fifth anniversary of Unite the Right, a photographer who documented the Summer of Hate five years ago presents a show in the trees along the city’s downtown mall.

Rather than focus on right-wing extremists, it features those who stood up to them.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

State regulators have now approved plans for the largest offshore wind farm in the nation.

Already, Dominion Energy has completed testing of two turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach.  

Sandy Hausman joined other journalists on a trip to see how those windmills are working, when we can expect to see more, and how much this might cost consumers.

In the dictionary of economic terms, “misery index” sounds particularly menacing.  So what exactly is it?

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Craig Wright explain it and its impact.

An old, alleged scandal is back in the news.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope discuss the week in politics and the General Assembly.

For more than a decade, environmentalists and sportsmen have asked the state to ban industrial fishing for menhaden – a tiny, oil-rich fish that feeds striped bass, bluefish, marine birds and mammals. 

This year, a company that uses menhaden in fish oil supplements gave some $2,700 dollars in campaign contributions to Democrats — and ten times that much to Republicans, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project. 

But as Sandy Hausman reports, a member of the GOP is now leading the charge to end menhaden fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

Virginia saw a big drop in unemployment in June.  But the Now-Hiring signs are still out for all sorts of businesses and industries.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Weekend Edition host Craig Wright explore the work force squeeze.