Governor Glenn Youngkin is kicking off the budget process.

During a presentation to the House and Senate money committees Thursday, Youngkin said he wants to transform behavioral health services, invest in site readiness to attract economic development and cut taxes for individuals and businesses.

Michael Pope has some of the details and reaction.

Virginia spends big money to run its prison system. 

The state provides many of the necessities to incarcerated people.  But those inmates and their families have to spend sizeable sums for snacks, hygiene products and even phone calls.

The charges have gotten so big, the General Assembly is now trying to review contracts and price lists.

Sandy Hausman begins a series of reports on the issue with this story about conditions at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.

When state lawmakers met in Richmond nearly a year ago, prisoner advocates asked them to regulate the price of goods and services offered behind bars. 

They complained of high costs for food from the canteen and noted Virginia prisoners pay four times as much as inmates in another state to make phone calls.

Legislators were concerned and decided to set up a committee that could investigate. 

Sandy Hausman reports on their findings.

People locked up in local and regional jails also have to pay similar fees for phone calls and other items.

And Michael Pope reports it’s been even harder for a General Assembly work group to get a clear picture of costs.

Virginia’s governor will outline his proposal for the state budget Thursday morning.

Michael Pope has this preview.

Last school year almost 50,000 Virginia students took one or more college courses while still in high school.

Dual enrollment is a way for those students to get ahead before even starting college.

Now lawmakers are considering how to make access more equitable.

Mallory Noe-Payne has more. 

Governor Glenn Youngkin is hoping to transform Virginia’s behavioral health system.

Michael Pope has the details on his plan.

Virginia’s unemployment rate has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

And as Michael Pope reports, the rate is so low it’s raising concern among some economists.

Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board took another step last week toward pulling Virginia out of a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. And while a lot of the debate has become political, there are also business considerations involved.

Roben Farzad, host of Public Radio’s Full Disclosure, and host Craig Wright have more on that.

A new poll shows voters support recent changes to criminal justice in Virginia.

Michael Pope has the details.

A new outline to fight antisemitism in Virginia and changes to COVID policies top this week’s action in Richmond.

Jeff Schapiro, of the Richmond Times Dispatch, and Michael Pope recap the week in politics and state government.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass was known for his captivating physical presence and compelling public speaking. He was the most photographed person of the 19th century. 

Now an immersive exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts uses actors, screens, and sounds to bring his presence to the 21st century.

Mallory Noe-Payne got a sneak peek and filed this report.

With the approach of winter, some jobs clearly have more appeal than others.  Utility linemen, for example, will be on call through the winter – ready to battle ice and snowstorms to keep the power on. 

It’s not for everyone, and demand is high. 

That’s why the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative held a special event this month called Girl Power. 

Sandy Hausman was there and filed this report.

Deer hunting season is in full swing for much of Virginia. This year, hunters are being called on to help reduce the spread of a fatal deer disease, called Chronic Wasting Disease.

The hunting season has been extended to late March in counties where the disease is spreading, as Roxy Todd reports.

Inflation has changed the financial equation in many parts of life.  But how is it impacting holiday shopping?

Roben Farzad, host of public radio’s Full Disclosure, and Craig Wright have more on the early indicators.

Virginia’s political world was shaken by the sudden death of Congressman Donald McEachin this week.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope discuss McEachin’s legacy and what might happen next.

Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom was once the epicenter of the Virginia slave trade, the second largest site of human trafficking in North America.

Experts estimate the majority of Black Americans can trace their ancestry to this spot.

Today politicians and local leaders have thrown their support behind a memorial park and museum here. But two decades ago, this history was buried under a parking lot.

Mallory Noe-Payne caught up with the husband and wife team who have spent 20 years leading the grassroots movement to get this site memorialized.

The latest mass shootings in Virginia are prompting yet another round of soul searching. 

And, as Michael Pope reports, they’ve renewed calls for action.

Food banks often get added attention around holidays.  And they, like all of us, are dealing with the impact of inflation.

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

There’s an old adage that in Virginia, you’re never more than a few months away from the next election.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope have more on the upcoming primary season that’s been shaken up by redistricting.

Affordable housing might take a bigger role in the upcoming General Assembly session.

Michael Pope reports on the new plan proposed by the governor.

Many of us are putting the finishing touches on holiday menus today.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Craig Wright explain how inflation is hitting the Thanksgiving table this year.

A new watchdog report says the federal government should do a better job inspecting pipelines and investigating accidents.

Michael Pope reports.

A teenager who wasn’t on the ballot has been elected to the Timberville Town Council.  And DNA research has produced some stunning news for a Fredericksburg man.

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.

Members of the General Assembly are getting ready for another session.

Michael Pope says one of the issues on the agenda this year is what to do about the potential mining of precious metals.

Virginia’s Board and Department of Education continues to struggle through a divisive and confusing process of re-writing the state’s history and social studies SOL standards.

Mallory Noe-Payne was at an hours-long meeting of the Board of Education today and has this report. 

Last year, Virginia spent well over a billion dollars on corrections – keeping nearly 24,000 people in prison.  And the bill is about to get much bigger as that population ages. 

Sandy Hausman reports on what we can expect in the years to come and how the state is preparing to care for elderly inmates behind bars.

The fallout from the November election was quickly overshadowed by the shooting at the University of Virginia.

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

The three students who were killed at the University of Virginia Sunday night were all football players.

Mallory Noe-Payne spoke to someone who knew the victims. 

The Virginia General Assembly will consider a bill to make de-clawing of cats illegal. And Election Day brought a surprise for some Virginia voters when they learned they’d been registered in the wrong county for decades.

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.

Removal of Indigenous children from their families and Tribes was stopped by Congress in 1978.

But advocates say a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court threatens the law and the sovereignty of Virginia’s tribal nations.

Pamela D’Angelo reports.

The outcome of the 2022 election is settled, at least in Virginia.  So what does that mean for the future?

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

All but one of Virginia’s members of Congress are heading back to Washington for another term in office.

Michael Pope has more from some of the winners.

Republicans and Democrats alike are savoring victories in Virginia this morning.

Jeff Schapiro, political columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope have more on the outcome of the state’s highest-profile races.

Election Day used to be the first opportunity to cast a ballot. Now, with early voting, it’s the last chance for Virginians to vote in the races for their representatives in Congress as well as some town and city councils.

As people across the state headed to the polls Tuesday, Joe Staniunas found that many had issues of national importance on their minds.

Economic concerns are never far from the minds of voters as they head to the polls.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Craig Wright talk about the potential impact.

A new report says it will take time to reverse the learning loss fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As David Seidel reports, lawmakers have a number of recommendations that could help the recovery.

The clock is ticking down to Election Day.  And that means candidates and election officials alike are in high gear.

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

There are more than 2,000 voting locations across Virginia. And each one is staffed by a handful of dedicated poll workers.

These folks don’t work in elections year round but choose each year to spend a day helping make democracy run.

Mallory Noe-Payne spoke with one man in Roanoke who’s been doing it for almost 30 years. 

When a Canadian company started looking for gold in Buckingham County, area residents were alarmed. 

They knew that activity could threaten their water supply, and they asked the state legislature to step in. 

Lawmakers asked the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to do a report on the possible impacts of gold mining here. 

Today, the report is out, and Sandy Hausman spoke with one of its authors.

The Federal Reserve seems headed toward another big interest rate hike this week.  But inflation has remained stubbornly high and the economy keeps creating new jobs.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Weekend Edition host Craig Wright talk about the tightrope regulators have been walking.

One of Virginia’s high profile Congressional races may be getting closer.  And another can’t get any tighter.

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

The area around Charlottesville has grown dramatically in the last decade, and so has the traffic. 

Now, with a $2 million grant from Washington, local leaders are planning one way to take cars off the road and put people on bikes. 

The Three Notched Trail will stretch 25 miles from the city to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

Last week, the Nansemond Indian Nation was given back 504 acres of their ancestral lands in Suffolk County.

For the seven federally recognized Tribes in Virginia, getting back ancestral lands for conservation is key to their sovereignty.

Pamela D’Angelo reports.

A new federal student loan forgiveness program is up and running.

Roben Farzad, host of the Full Disclosure podcast, and Weekend Edition host Craig Wright talk through some of the financial and policy implications.

If you missed the voter registration deadline in Virginia you still have a chance to cast a ballot.  And grassland birds are disappearing from the Commonwealth but there’s a new effort underway to help them.

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

Several Virginia cities are about to receive new funding to crack down on gang violence.

Michael Pope explains the project.

Virginia saw a small decrease in overdose deaths during the first quarter of this year, but the opioid epidemic is still taking a heavy toll. 

Last year, more than 2,600 people died – most from an overdose of fentanyl. 

And now doctors warn there’s an even more potent form of the drug being sold.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

Debates… and lack of debates… are among the political headlines over the past week.

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

In less than a month voters head to the polls for the Congressional midterms and municipal elections.

Talk to local officials running those elections and they’ll tell you their job has become busier in the past few years and complicated by the fight against misinformation. 

Mallory Noe-Payne has this look at how local registrars are turning to communication pros to help wage that battle. 

Members of the General Assembly are starting to consider what kind of bills they’ll consider next year.

And as Michael Pope reports, many people are calling on them to find a way to increase affordable housing.

Virginia’s income tax hasn’t been updated since 1990.

As Michael Pope reports, that means low-income people shoulder a disproportionate burden.