An acclaimed example of Virginia history thundered its way home over the weekend to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke. It now prepares to lead excursions, but its long-term ability to do so is largely out of the museum’s control.

The hurricane season won’t OFFICIALY begin for a few more days, but with all the tragic events still unfolding in Texas and Oklahoma due to flooding and violent storms, a number of state agencies are emphasizing that Virginians should prepare now. That means stocking up on supplies AND making sure families have the right insurance coverage during this Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week.

Congress is sending the president its thirty-second short term patch to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund funded this summer, but Virginia officials say that’s no way to fund the state’s transportation projects.

Virginia’s child care providers will be undergoing a number of changes that aim to enhance the safety of the children they are babysitting.  To draw attention to the new law, Governor McAuliffe held a bill-signing ceremony with advocates, lawmakers, and parents whose children had died while in unlicensed facilities. Participants said that while this law is a good start, the Commonwealth needs an even tougher one.

A number of changes are in the works for Virginia’s open-government laws.  For instance, the General Assembly passed more than a dozen bills earlier this year that would amend the Freedom of Information Act. Other controversial bills were referred to a state advisory council to be studied—and potentially reintroduced in next year’s session. Tommie McNeil reports.

Attorney General Mark Herring and the Federal Trade Commission have announced one of the largest charity fraud actions ever brought by enforcers. The FTC, Virginia, all other states, and the District of Columbia have charged four cancer charities and their operators with bilking more than $187 million from consumers. The joint enforcement action alleges deceptive solicitations.

Hampton Roads has twice the relative sea-level rise of other Atlantic coastal communities, and Virginia is stepping up its efforts to address the associated recurrent flooding. While the General Assembly recently ordered updates to the state’s flood protection plan, the Army Corps of Engineers has rolled out a new, proactive strategic framework. It calls on local, state, regional, and federal governments to work together—due to the enormity of the tasks ahead.

Residents in one of the reamaining rural areas of Fairfax County have stopped  a plan to open a micro-brewery in their community…and in Spotsylvania there’s controversy over whether biosolids – which are made partly from human waste – should be allowed as fertilizer on farm fields. Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s VaNews link onvpap.org.

While a domestic violence victim may be too afraid or embarrassed to admit that he or she is being abused, pets that witness or endure it don’t lie.  And now with a backdrop of the trauma endured by pets, animal control, law enforcement, and victims’ advocates are learning how to identify and pursue domestic abuse cases.

Medicaid accounts for more than one-fifth of the state budget, and the General Assembly’s watchdog agency wants to understand the reasons why. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission has launched a two-year investigation into what’s driving up the program’s costs—and whether those costs can be reigned in.

Virginia has some of the best medical schools in the country, but state leaders are realizing that many medical students will live and get their education here–and, upon graduation, will look for better opportunities elsewhere. A state panel has been tasked with not only helping to produce more medical school graduates, but also keeping them in the Commonwealth.

Morgan Harrington and Alexis Murphy

Family members of missing persons throughout Virginia appeared before the State Crime Commission today to discuss ways to enhance the search and rescue process. Alexis Murphy’s aunt Trina and Morgan Harrington’s mother Gil were both present, and they believe the Commonwealth can make specific improvements to help better facilitate search and rescue efforts in abduction cases.

Virginia’s energy-providers would still like to see a large-scale commercial offshore wind turbine project off the state’s coast by the year 2020, but getting there is challenging—at best.  Bids to build two pilot turbines are astronomical right now, and the Authority tasked to keep the project’s momentum going is looking for ways to significantly lower costs.

Photo: Creative Commons, Flickr

Human-rights advocates are applauding the passage and benefits of Virginia’s first standalone sex trafficking law, which goes into effect this July.  They say the new law is long overdue and puts the Commonwealth in step with other states that have passed similar measures. But they also say this should simply start the effort to pass laws that deter sex trafficking-which is the second fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the U.S.

A bipartisan agreement unveiled by state lawmakers and Governor McAuliffe will expedite the construction of two new veterans care centers in Virginia.  To set the plan into motion, the governor proposed amendments to recently passed legislation that would have released state funding only AFTER a U.S. Veterans Affairs grant was awarded — but state officials say such a delay is unacceptable.

Governor McAuliffe and Senator Warner tour the Central Lab

The Virginia Department of Forensic Science has achieved its 10,000th DNA data bank hit.  The record-setting cold hit was announced by Governor McAuliffe, who joined U.S. Senator Mark Warner for a tour of the state forensic lab that analyzes DNA and other crime-scene evidence.

Image: Creative Commons

In light of the recent data breach at Anthem and what some believe will be an inevitable cyberattack by sophisticated terrorists, Governor McAuliffe is imploring tech-savvy business leaders and IT professionals to get aggressive.  He’s asking them to take additional steps to identify, assess, and defeat threats-as well as to help attract cybersecurity entities to the Commonwealth.

Gun-rights advocates who vowed to keep addressing an issue which they say violates civil liberties may have some ammunition when state lawmakers return to Richmond for next week’s Veto Session.  The state ACLU’s executive director is sympathizing with advocates who say LEGAL concealed-carry permit-holders are being unfairly targeted by law enforcement in neighboring states that do not recognize those permits.

An interim study by the Virginia Department of Elections indicates that numerous localities have voting machines that are wearing out—and some have potential security problems.  The investigation was prompted by reports of irregularities during last November’s election. The result could be a new and costly requirement to replace some widely used touchscreen voting machines.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker joined U.S. Senator Tim Kaine in his hometown of Richmond Monday to discuss trade opportunities and obstacles with local business leaders. They especially focused on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, which supporters say would open up improved trade between the 12 nations that are involved in negotiations.

While the Virginia ACLU applauds Governor McAuliffe’s signing of a number of bills this past legislative session, the organization opposes his amendments to several bills that had aimed to reign in the government’s powers of surveillance–and which passed the General Assembly overwhelmingly. The ACLU is asking state lawmakers to reject the amendments when they soon return to Richmond.

The practice of “streeting”—or releasing people with mental illnesses when psychiatric beds are not found for them—came to light in 2013 when that happened to Senator Creigh Deeds’ son, who later took his own life.  But changes in civil commitment laws to reform the state’s crisis response system were subsequently approved and took effect last July.  State officials have unveiled new statistics that reveal the effects of those reforms.

Elementary and middle school students who fail Standards of Learning tests by narrow margins will have an opportunity to retake those tests this spring thanks to new regulations passed by the State Board of Education. The rules stem from a law that sailed through the General Assembly—but would not have taken effect until July 1st if the Board had not acted.

Virginia is creating a new Center for Behavioral Health and Justice under an executive directive signed by Governor McAuliffe.  Its mission is to foster better interagency collaboration and help coordinate services in the state’s behavioral health system. The focus will be on individuals with mental illness who become involved with the criminal justice system.

One of Virginia’s smallest towns has voted itself out of existence….and now that the General Assembly has established regulations that allow commercial online ridesharing in Virginia the taxi industry says it can’t compete. Those are among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s VaNews link on vpap.org. 

Kevin Badke shows how he extended his arm to return the ID card.

The debate continues this week over the level of force Alcoholic Beverage Control Officers may have used force against a UVA student, turned away from a Charlottesville bar. The public still has no explanation for why Martese Johnson ended up bleeding from a head wound, lying on a sidewalk, restrained by three officers.

               Courtesy of VCU Athletics

From the White House to your house, the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament brackets are out, and this year the Commonwealth has a real contender.

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A Virginia lawmaker and groups of parents and students are hoping the Governor and First Lady keep their hands and noses out of their cookie jars. Delegate Richard Bell wants schools to be able to raise money through bake sales-or sales of other products that some call “junk food”-on school property.  But that would remain prohibited if Governor McAuliffe vetoes a measure that may or may not compete with the First Lady’s prominent focus on nutrition.

Photo: Creative Commons, Flickr

Bills that REALLY crack down on those who first exhibit signs of domestic abuse and strengthen penalties for sex traffickers are some of the public safety measures that the General Assembly recently sent to Governor McAuliffe.  The governor is also reviewing a potential new law that’s designed to take the temptation out of smuggling cigarettes.

State Senator John Edwards

State Senator John Edwards drew applause at Monday’s Cabell Brand Center forum on gas pipelines with his assertion about property owners’ rights, but as Tim Thornton reports, the case may not be as clear as some people in the audience seemed to believe.

With more than $40 million in sales, Virginia is the third largest exporter of agricultural goods to Cuba of – after Georgia and Louisiana. Some lawmakers hope to normalize trade relations – but some feel it’s best to maintain our distance.

One of the state’s greatest proponents in the General Assembly for mental health reforms says when it comes to progress made during this legislative session, it’s a mixed bag. Senator Creigh Deeds says the MOST important legislation he sponsored actually died in the House of Delegates.

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The 2015 legislative session in Virginia may be remembered for expanding access to medical marijuana and excusing Dominion Power from government oversight of its rates, but it could also be known for what didn’t happen. Sandy Hausman reports.

State and local officials would be governed by tougher ethics rules under legislation that passed the General Assembly during the final hours of the 2015 session.  As Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the bills make it illegal for lobbyists, their clients, and anyone who seeks to do business with the state or local governments to give an official a gift worth more than $100.