VPM Daily Newscast

The race for Harrisonburg school board; Albemarle hiring new first responders; Henrietta Lacks statue unveiled; a VMSDEP update; and Virginia Repertory Theater will remain open.

Today’s top audio story is a feature from WHRO in Hampton Roads, where an interfaith nonprofit recently sponsored a voluntary firearm surrender event. It’s part of a national project that transforms donated guns into garden tools. Read more about the project at VPM.org! Plus: Here's what you should know about the IV fluid shortage.

A potential legal battle appears to be brewing between VCU Health and the City of Richmond over real estate tax payments stemming from a failed downtown development; It looks like the show will go on after all for Virginia Repertory Theatre; and one of the region’s biggest restaurant groups is going back for seconds in Hanover.

PLUS: Results from the first Irvo Otieno trial; GRTC expansion plans; how some are helping after Helene; free meals at Rockingham schools; and VCU Health eyes downtown Altria property. P.S. – The ports strike is over!

Plus: A complaint over discrimination at UVA; Richmond TV royalty; the ongoing port strike; and WJCC superintendent retires. P.S.: Looking for coverage of last night's debates? We have Virginia's 7th ready for you: Derrick Anderson–Eugene Vindman 7th District debate light on details

Plus: New school accreditation numbers are in for Virginia; learn about a spooky new artifact at the Poe Museum; and other Central Virginia news.

Plus: Speed cameras in Richmond’s school zones to start fining people; Money needed to pay for subsidized childcare slots has run out; the Vice Presidential debate is tonight; and other stories.

Patti reached out to VPM News to find out how this is legal in Virginia and how others can protect themselves.  

‘Policy Matters’ is your window into Virginia politics with VPAP. It's our monthly roundup of the top political headlines from across Virginia, powered by VPAP’s daily e-newsletter, VaNews.

A sizable housing development for lower-income renters in South Richmond has received the city’s approval; An out-of-town grocery store chain has claimed a former gym near the Courthouse Road and Hull Street Road intersection in Chesterfield for its first location in the Richmond region; and nearly five years after it was first announced, work on Hopewell’s first brewery is underway.

Also: Thanks to Hurricane Helene, there's a chance of flash floods Friday and early Saturday; Rockingham schools ban a novel; and the 10th person has died in a listeria outbreak tied to a now-closed Boar's Head meat plant in Jarratt. 

Also: Charlottesville Schools are resuming renaming committees at four elementary schools, the Greater Richmond Transit Company has confirmed two hacks and more Central Virginia news.    Today’s top audio stories include confirmation that, yes, Richmond City Councilor Andreas Addison is still running for mayor, a preview of how Richmond’s mayoral candidates would support Black reparations.     The...

Plus: a weekend brawl at Kings Dominion; where Virginia universities ranked nationally; and other stories.

Plus: Sen. Tim Kaine discusses how he voted on Monday in Richmond; Metallica set to perform at Lane Stadium in May; Richmond-based UNOS one of 14 organizations to get federal contracts; and other stories.    Today’s top audio stories include Sen. Tim Kaine discussing early voting in Richmond, Metallica heading to Lane Stadium in the spring and how you can get up to four free Covid tests mailed to...

The Richmond Folk Festival is returning for its 20th year. There's an uptick in whooping cough. Plus: More stories you might have missed.

Bankrupt LL Flooring is a step closer to being sold to its founder and former CEO in a deal that will keep about half of its stores and employees intact; Two dilapidated buildings along Manchester’s main drag could soon make way for a new-construction apartment project; and Toast New American Gastropub opened in the Scott’s Walk development, its third location in the Richmond region.

Plus: Learn about a World War II-era relic that the Chesterfield Police Department has had since 1984, as well as updates to seats at the Byrd Theatre and Pulse stop construction.    NEWSLETTER BLURB: Today’s top audio stories include a piece on a World War Two-era relic that the Chesterfield Police Department has had since 1984.    Plus: Early voting is underway in Virginia for November’s general...

Also, Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson participated in a Prince William County forum for 7th Congressional District candidates; GRTC wants public input on a proposed new route; Powhatan County is the latest locality to join Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; and other stories.

Also: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are on the ballot this fall.

Also: U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan responds to the closure of a Boar’s Head meat processing plant in Southside Virginia, and Harrisonburg is seeking federal funding to study more than a dozen railroad crossings in the city.

Richmond will hear two proposals on whether to decrease or maintain the current real estate tax rate. Also: The lawsuit challenging Virginia’s exit from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has a hearing in Floyd County today, Boar’s Head has shuttered its Southside Virginia plant -- and more Central Virginia news. 

The new home of baseball in Richmond is now officially under construction; LL Flooring may have a new lease on life thanks to an eleventh-hour deal with its founder and former CEO; Outback Steakhouse has reversed course on plans to build a new restaurant at Courthouse Landing; and construction of a sizable development along Arthur Ashe Boulevard has apparently stalled, leaving concrete columns and...

Also: Hanover County Schools says it's started the search for a new permanent superintendent, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney provides an update on the school zone speed cameras and more Central Virginia news.

Also: GRTC wants to better connect Northside and Southside; JAUNT eliminates eight stops from Buckingham North route; Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at Texas Tribune festival; and other stories.

Also: Richmond City Council signs off on a special use permit for a proposed development in Bellemeade; New political polling has Harris on top; and other stories.