VPM Daily Newscast

Virginia Beach helped a nonprofit access state financing for a proposed community for people with developmental disabilities; The new General Assembly building will not be finished this fall as originally planned; Construction has started on a new GRTC bus transfer station in Richmond’s downtown; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration has rolled out a new draft policy regarding the treatment of transgender students; Gov. Youngkin is set to campaign next month for Kari Lake, who has leaned into election conspiracy theories as a candidate in the Arizona governor's race; This Friday is the first day of in-person early voting in Virginia for the November 8th election; and other local news st...

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced new policies last week regarding transgender students in public schools; Community members marched to the John Marshall Court building on Sunday to call for the gun violence to stop; Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith is continuing a series of community conversations he says are intended to rebuild community trust; and other local news stories.

Volunteers with Mennonite Disaster Service are deployed all over the country to help communities rebuild after floods, fires, and storms.  Randi B. Hagi, from partner station WMRA, spoke with volunteers from the Shenandoah Valley about the support they provide to other communities when disaster strikes.

A new report from Old Dominion University puts a dollar figure on how much coastal Virginia could lose from flooding and sea level rise; The newest form of protection against COVID-19 became available this week at the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts; Hanover County’s Board of Supervisors is considering whether to remove the county’s school board chair; and other local news stories.

Richmond City officials picked a developer this week to oversee revitalization of the area dubbed The Diamond District; Governor Glenn Youngkin left Virginia a dozen times for personal or political travel between March and August; U.S. Representative Elaine Luria will have additional security while she is home in Norfolk; and other local news stories.

Virginians will soon find out if they can get a tax rebate from the state; Governor Glenn Youngkin was a featured guest at a national anti-abortion group’s annual fundraiser last night; Richmond city officials are pushing to choose RVA Diamond Partners LLC to develop a large piece of land surrounding the Diamond baseball stadium; and other local news stories.

Lunenburg County closed all four of its schools yesterday after the Sheriff’s office located a school shooting threat on social media Sunday afternoon; Citizens gathered on Sunday at the Virginia War Memorial in remembrance of civilians and first responders killed in the September 11th terror attacks; Veterans will see some relief on their taxes under new legislation signed by Governor Glenn Young...

It’s been 100 years since Virginia lawmakers created the Virginia State Board of Censors. The all-white board required edits to over 2,000 movies from the 1920s through ‘60s, and were especially concerned about depictions of race. Melissa Ooten with the University of Richmond wrote a book about the board. She sat down with VPM News reporter Ben Paviour to discuss her research.

Queen Elizabeth the Second, who died yesterday at the age of 96, visited the commonwealth several times during her reign; It's been a year since crews removed the Robert E Lee monument in Richmond. Now plans are in the works to reopen the site; A Petersburg assisted living facility is facing the loss of its license; and other local news stories.

History was made one year ago today in the former capital of the Confederacy with the removal of the Robert E. Lee monument; Virginia Democrats say Glenn Youngkin was wrong to attend a fundraiser for Maine Republican Paul LePage last night; Pro-abortion rights advocates gathered at the Virginia Capitol yesterday to rally against any changes to the commonwealth’s abortion laws; and other local news...

Virginia lawmakers are returning to Richmond today for a short session; Dominion Energy threatened to pull the plug on its offshore wind project if state regulators don't shift risk to ratepayers for unexpected fuel costs; Attorney General Jason Miyares announced yesterday that Virginia is set to receive more than $16 million dollars as part of a multi-state agreement with e-cigarette maker JUUL;...

Tonight, Richmond City council members are going to be briefed on an ongoing controversy regarding police transparency; Carytown locals say now is the time to close the area to cars; Virginia ranked 13th among states where COVID-19 is spreading the fastest on a per-person basis; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office has rejected VPM News’ public record request to see his calendar; The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has a new CEO; Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney withdrew legistlation that would have created a civilian review board for police, but is set to introduce a new proposal; and other local news stories.

The Youngkin administration told the state Air Pollution Control Board yesterday that the process to leave a regional carbon emissions market will begin in the coming weeks; The Environmental Protection Agency recently updated the status of two sites in the region with contamination; Federal officials announced this week they’re giving $310,000 to a marsh restoration project on Virginia’s Eastern...

City officials in Charlottesville are asking a court to dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit filed against them by former police chief RaShall Brackney; A Virginia Beach judge threw out a lawsuit that would have prevented book sellers and libraries from selling or lending minors two books without parental consent; Food pantries in the region are serving more people because of rising costs for...

The death of a cyclist earlier this month is renewing attention across central Virginia to road design and safety; A Virginia Beach judge will decide today whether kids would have to get a parent’s permission to buy or rent two books some call ‘obscene'; Petersburg’s first Black woman mayor has died; and other local news stories.

More than half of all college graduates in Virginia will be affected by the White House's announcement to forgive between 10 to 20-thousand dollars-worth of federal student loans. Mechelle Hankerson, from partner station WHRO, spoke with Scott Kemp, the Student Loan Advocate from the State Council of Higher Education, about the plan. 

Parents attending a backpack giveaway hosted by Attorney General Jason Miyares yesterday say school safety remains a top concern in the aftermath of school shootings; After filing a public information request, VPM News has obtained more details from the City of Richmond about the gun buyback event last weekend; The Virginia Department of Health is expanding eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine; a...

In May, Governor Glenn Youngkin quietly offered a controversial conservative a post in his administration, and is downplaying talk that he’s interested in running for president in 2024; City officials say Richmond’s latest gun buyback event was a success; The number of naloxone kits, also known by the brand name Narcan, are being rationed by the Virginia Department of Health due to a funding short...

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton has played a big role in the development of the Artemis 1 rocket, which is the first step in sending Americans back to the moon; The city of Petersburg began demolishing the Ramada Inn along Interstate-95 this week; Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC has requested federal approval for a pipe stabilization plan in the Jefferson National Forest; and other local new...

A new freshman class at the Maggie Walker Governor’s School is the first class admitted under a new admission policy; When middle and high school students return to class in Chesterfield County this week, they’ll find a book on library shelves that was almost removed by the school district; A sixth former member of the Delta Chi fraternity at Virginia Commonwealth University pleaded guilty to misd...

Democrats' newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act includes about $80 billion dollars for the Internal Revenue service. Some Republicans are criticizing the new money as a tool for the Biden administration to target small businesses and the middle class. PolitiFact Virginia Editor Warren Fiske spoke with VPM News Legal Reporter Whittney Evans about how one Virginia Congressman is adopting that theor...

While Virginia students made gains in most topics this year, standardized test results remain below pre-pandemic levels; NASA will soon launch the Artemis 1 rocket into space; The State Board of Education delayed taking up new history and social science standards for K through 12 students this week; and other local news stories.

The city of Richmond has backed out of a proposed casino referendum, at least until next year; Higher education institutions can soon begin applying for $5 million in state funding to prepare applications for laboratory schools; Family members say the cyclist who sustained life-threatening injuries in a crash that killed her friend is recovering; Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith spoke at length...