VPM Daily Newscast

With all 140 General Assembly seats on the ballot in November, many Virginia voters find themselves in a new house or senate district, all thanks to redistricting; Virginia’s Supreme Court has reinstated a statewide ban on electronic skill games; Richmond City Council took a step toward restoring Azalea Pond in Joseph Bryan Park last week. 

Civil engineer Veronica O. Davis recently released a book called Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities.” Those divisions are largely through Black and brown communities, which were carved up when the federal government built the interstate highway system in the 1950s; the same way I-95 carved up Richmond’s Jackson Ward. Davis recently spoke with VPM News transport...

Richmond area businesses are among the companies that have been fined for noncompliance with hemp and CBD product regulations in the first three months after they took effect in Virginia; A new-to-Richmond plant store has branched out into vinyl records as part of its relocation from North Carolina to the Fan; With new owners at the helm, a Lakeside barbecue joint has been renamed for its namesake...

The Virginia crime lab’s director says she’s looking into allegations of misconduct there beginning in the 1970s. The lab’s actions follow the release of the VPM podcast Admissible: Shreds of Evidence. 

Since the most recent conflict between Hamas and Israel began, Virginia Senator Mark Warner has said the U.S. must support the Jewish state; Hanover County School Board discussed its policies on school libraries and student restrooms during their recent meeting; Where does my recycling actually go? Curious Commonwealth investigates; and other stories.

A spokesperson for Mayor Levar Stoney wouldn’t say if Stoney would ask voters to decide on a prospective casino again if it isn’t approved for the second time in a row. Voters are deciding whether the risks of problem gambling and concerns over the process outweigh new jobs and tax revenue.

As Hamas militants engage with the Israeli military, the U.S. government has voiced its support for its regional allies; Richmond shops are being fined for violating new limits on hemp products that went into effect July 1st; There are a bunch of ways to vote in Virginia this year. 

Research shows that out of any racial or ethnic group, Latinos are less likely to seek dental care, creating an oral health crisis in those communities. Inside the University of Richmond's Robins Center, a makeshift dental clinic is underway serving people through a Mission of Mercy project.

Carytown fixture Ellwood Thompson’s is under new ownership; A local video game shop and arcade is leveling up in Scott’s Addition, just as a related record shop is likewise planning an expansion of its own; Stony Point Fashion Park recently got the OK from the state to allow visitors to drink alcoholic beverages while they walk around the South Richmond mall; and the namesakes of a defunct Richmon...

The Chickahominy District representative on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors is resigning; Billionaire Jeff Yass has donated two million dollars to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee; A flood of racist and antisemitic remarks disrupted a Charlottesville City Council meeting that discussed rezoning and unhoused people.

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority selected a New Orleans-based firm Tuesday night to help redevelop Gilpin Court; Two Richmond voting locations for the November 7th general election are being moved; Equitrans Midstream, the company behind a 303-mile natural gas pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia, has entered into a consent agreement with federal regulators.

Virginia's Department of Elections working to resolve an issue where eligible voters were removed from the state's rolls; Nationwide Emergency Alert Test to take place today; VCU announces new pedestrian safety recommendations; and other stories

Urban One, a backer of the proposed Richmond Grand Resort and Casino, has not filed past-due financial reports, triggering Nasdaq’s process to remove it from the stock exchange.  

10/2/23 - Rumbling trains, car brakes screeching, and heavy construction are just some of the sounds that surround Richmond residents daily

Last week’s letter from Gov. Glenn Youngkin calling for changes to the governance of VCU Health is renewing scrutiny of the aborted downtown development that has cost the health system $80 million and counting in exit payments; Days after Chesterfield County issued an RFP for bids to reopen Southside Speedway, a big name in racing has gone public with his interest in bringing the shuttered racetra...

Hanover County’s comprehensive plan approved by the Board of Supervisors; RVAGreen 2050 climate action plan update; Richmond bike trips sped up between 2019-2022; and other stories.

Dozens of community groups have struggled to regain their footing after the nonprofit Enrichmond Foundation, which managed their funds, collapsed; Forty-nine acres of land in eastern Henrico County are now protected by a historical preservation easement; The invasive spotted lanternfly continues to spread across Virginia after arriving from China. The pest threatens grapevines and other crops.

Civically engaged Virginians focus on education, health, housing; Passenger steam locomotives are returning to Virginia's rails; Richmond’s city councilors unanimously voted to ease regulations on accessory dwelling units in the city; and other stories.

Galen Baughman was elated when then-Gov. Ralph Northam reinstated his rights in 2021. Baughman had spent nine years in jail and prison after pleading guilty to nonviolent sexual misconduct involving offenses that occurred in 1997 and 2003, when he was 14 and 19.  But when Baughman went to vote in the June 2023 primaries, he was told he’d been removed from the voter rolls — despite voting in severa...

Can urban design and planning take a toll on the mental well-being of city-dwellers? One University of Virginia researcher thinks so. Jenny Roe is the co-author of Restorative Cities: urban design for mental health and wellbeing. It looks at how cities should put mental health and wellness at the forefront of design. Also: Starting today, every household in the U.S. can request home delivery on fo...

VCU Health’s costly exit from an ill-fated downtown development project has prompted calls for organizational and procedural change from Gov. Glenn Youngkin; An apartment building planned on a prominent intersection in Manchester appears to be a go after a recent land purchase; Virginia’s beer industry had reason to raise a pint to last week’s signing of the state budget; and other local business...

Curious Commonwealth recently received this question from an area resident: “Why, after all monuments to the Confederacy and Confederate leaders have been removed from Monument Ave., and other locations around Richmond, a statue of Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson remains on Capitol Square? This after the monument to former governor and segregationist Harry Byrd has been removed from same public square....

09/21/23 - The family of Irvo Otieno reaches $8.5 million settlement in his wrongful death suit; The Virginia Department of Elections announced it signed agreements with five states and Washington DC to share voter data; and other stories.

Virginia opened a new trade office in Taiwan on Tuesday; Richmond Public Schools school board approved changes to specialty school admissions; Hardywood Park Craft Brewery recently announced they’ll be phasing out bottled beers to aluminum cans to be more sustainable; and other stories.

The companies hoping to bring a casino to Richmond have already contributed more than $8 million for the campaign, according to paperwork filed with the department of elections; The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, a project of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, announced its 100th member this weekRepublican Delegate Rob Bell, who served Albemarle County for two decades, is now deputy attorney general for...