Immigration was one of the issues that helped Donald Trump win the presidency. But it’s also an issue that helped Democrats take control of the General Assembly.

Michael Pope reports on what they were able to accomplish with that power.

Virginia lawmakers have voted to decriminalize the possession of marijuana.

If the Governor signs the bill, then beginning in July it will no longer be a crime to have up to an ounce of weed.

Mallory Noe-Payne has more.

Credit: 401(K) 2012 via Flickr.com / CC

If the Governor signs a bill sent to him by lawmakers, Virginia’s minimum wage will go up next year. It’s been set at $7.25 for more than a decade.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, lawmakers approved a jump to $9.50 starting next year.

Albemarle County Police will soon be using residents’ doorbell video in criminal investigations.  And western Virginia will be getting a new area code.

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.

Vials of insulin (Credit: Alan Levine via flickr.com / CC)

Lawmakers have approved a bill to put a cap on how much people will have to pay for insulin.

Michael Pope reports.

Virginia environmental advocates are celebrating a big win at the statehouse. The House of Delegates has passed the Clean Economy Act.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, the omnibus bill sets the stage for Virginia to get to zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century.

Lawmakers are considering an effort to create new safeguards to prevent minority voters from being disenfranchised.

Michael Pope reports.

Women march in a suffragist parade in New York in 1912. (Credit: American Press Association/Library of Congress)

Communities across the world will celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday.

In Richmond, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture will open an exhibition that pays tribute to those who’ve led the fight for women’s rights.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

Richmond’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee along the city’s Monument Avenue. (Credit: Ron Cogswell via flickr.com / CC)

As lawmakers finish out the General Assembly session this week, they are making final touches on an effort to allow local governments to remove Confederate statues.

Michael Pope reports.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Democrats are divided over how to handle redistricting next year after the Census. And the final few days of the General Assembly session will see a dramatic vote on that issue.

Michael Pope reports.

Virginia’s legislative session is scheduled to end this weekend. And it was a historic one.

For the first time in decades Democrats were in power, not just of the Governor’s mansion but of both chambers of the legislature.

Now that things are wrapping up, Mallory Noe-Payne has a look at just what Democrats were able to accomplish.

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. (Credit: CDC)

No one in Virginia has tested positive for the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as of midday Wednesday.

But officials are assuring Virginians they’re prepared for if or when the disease comes to the state.

Mallory Noe-Payne reports.

Joe Biden during his time as Vice President (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Joe Biden was the big winner in Virginia last night. Unofficial results show more than half of Virginia Democratic primary voters cast a ballot in his favor.

Mallory Noe-Payne has reaction from some of his supporters.

It’s Virginia’s turn. Voters in the Commonwealth get to register their voices in the Democratic Presidential primary.

Mallory Noe-Payne chatted with some of those voters at a polling place in downtown Richmond.

Governor Ralph Northam has signed a bill making it illegal to practice so-called “conversion therapy” on children in Virginia.

Michael Pope reports.

Gov. Ralph Northam

Governor Ralph Northam is considering how to handle a bill mandating paid sick days.

As Michael Pope reports, he’s considering a change that advocates say could undermine the purpose of the bill.

Democrats in the more conservative state Senate are taking the edges off a lot of the more progressive bills passed by the House of Delegates.

As Michael Pope reports, one of those bills changes who is authorized to perform weddings.

Members of the Virginia House of Delegate will vote on a constitutional amendment that could dramatically change how legislative districts are drawn.

Michael Pope reports.

A bipartisan measure that would have given state regulators more oversight over Dominion’s utility rates has died in a Senate committee.

Mallory Noe-Payne has details on Monday evening’s vote.

Sec. of Public Safety Brian Moran

So far, Virginia has seen no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus – COVID-19.

But state agencies are gearing up and keeping track of people at increased risk for contracting the disease.

Sandy Hausman has that story.

Voters between the ages of 18 and 23 make up about 10% of the electorate this year, according to the Pew Research Center.

That could be a make-or-break margin for the list of candidates on Tuesday’s ballot.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

The Virginia Board of Elections says about 80,000 people asked for an absentee ballot for the Democratic presidential primary tomorrow.

About 55,000 ballots have been returned. And that’s pointing to a low turnout on Super Tuesday.

Joe Staniunas has more.

Credit: justgrimes via flickr.com / Creative Commons

Voters between the ages of 18 and 23 make up about 10% of the electorate this year, according to the Pew Research Center.

That could be a make-or-break margin for the list of candidates on Tuesday’s ballot.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

A tourist attraction that reportedly drew a visit from Thomas Jefferson is set for a long needed renovation.  And as a rising sea level encroaches on Virginia Beach the city may have found a cheap and plentiful weapon to use against it.

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.

Virginia voters who want to weigh in on the Democratic presidential candidate get their chance next Tuesday.

But as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, Republicans who want to cast a ballot for their preferred GOP nominee are out of luck.

Gov. Ralph Northam

Lawmakers are deadlocked on a proposed constitutional amendment to address gerrymandering.

Michael Pope reports.

More than 10,000 homes in Virginia have solar panels, according to the Department of Mines Minerals and Energy.

Proponents of renewable energy say those numbers could be higher and Virginia law is partially to blame.

Mallory Noe-Payne has details on an effort to get more houses, schools and governments connected to the solar grid.

(Credit: Daud via flickr.com / CC)

Red-light cameras have allowed private businesses to issue tickets to drivers and pocket some of the money.

Now, as Michael Pope reports, lawmakers are considering extending that kind of technology to school zones and work zones.

As Virginia voters ramp up for Tuesday’s primary, Democratic candidates are making the rounds.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, Senator Bernie Sanders was in Richmond Thursday.

When Virginia votes on Super Tuesday, there will be 99 delegates up for grabs, the fourth largest delegate prize in the bunch.

But even though other Super Tuesday states have more, Virginia could still have a big impact on the outcome.

Robbie Harris reports.

Credit: Stephen Z via Flickr.com / CC

The new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are moving forward with a long list of gun control bills.

And, as Michael Pope reports, the votes are not as party-line as you might imagine.

Credit: National Park Service/Katy Cain via flickr.com

Evidence of the legacy of segregation in Virginia’s national park sites is hidden in plain sight.

Now, a study of how parks were segregated is looking at how the park service can highlight that history to campers and hikers.

And as Jahd Khalil reports, it will also try to determine if history has something to do with how different groups are represented in park visitorship.

Republicans in the statehouse are accusing Virginia Democrats of walking back promises to pass redistricting reform.

But, as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, understanding why there’s resistance from some Democrats on the measure requires going back a year.

The evolving financial landscape has caught up with a pair of iconic Virginia businesses:  A newspaper which must now share leased office space with another paper and grocery store that has served a neighborhood for generations.

Their stories have been among the most read this week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

Credit: dcJohn via flickr.com / CC

Democratic lawmakers agree that it’s necessary to spend more on teachers for English language learners, but they have different takes on how to address the shortage.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

Access to fresh produce is a challenge for communities across the state.

Legislators moved to address the issue by passing bills that advocates say would improve food systems in underserved areas.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

Super Tuesday is a few weeks away.

Michael Pope reports Democrats in the General Assembly are divided about which candidate they’ll be supporting this year.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would change the definition of dead body.

Michael Pope reports.

  Students at St. Charles Elementary in Lee County Virginia go to school in a building constructed in the 1930’s. (Credit Mallory Noe-Payne)

Lawmakers have about a month left in Richmond and the biggest item on the legislative to-do list is now finalizing the state budget.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports a bipartisan coalition is pushing to make sure public schools in rural Virginia get their fair share.

Grocery stores across Virginia may soon have to pay a tax for plastic bags.

Michael Pope reports.

  Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation, speaks to a crowd of anti abortion rights activists at the March for Life rally at the capitol. (Credit Mallory Noe-Payne)

A couple thousand abortion rights opponents came to Richmond Thursday for the March for Life.

They were there to voice their disapproval at the turn Virginia politics has taken this session.

And as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, the mood at the rally was subdued.

A raised house in the town of Guinea. (Credit: Pamela D’Angelo)

Money is key to making the Hampton Roads area resilient as land there sinks and sea-level rises, threatening a key part of the state’s economy.

Cost estimates run into the billions of dollars. Pamela D’Angelo reports small businesses are stepping up with solutions.

  Controlled burns help to prevent disasters like what Australia, California and other western states have experienced.
(Credit National Park Service)

More than 15 million acres in Virginia is covered with trees.  That’s about 63% of our land, so forest managers are understandably nervous when they see pictures of wildfires in Australia or California.

Sandy Hausman spoke with several of them at a conference focused on protecting wooded lands in the Commonwealth.

  Young urban farmers Saajida Chohan and Paul Meyer with their Virginia State University professor Leonard Githinji. (Credit Sandy Hausman)

Members of the House of Delegates voted this week to create an urban agriculture advisory council. But would the initiative make a difference for city growers?

Cat Modlin-Jackson put the question to two state specialists.

Battlefields and monuments are visible relics of the past, but much of the Commonwealth’s history remains below the surface.

In an effort to preserve Virginia’s maritime heritage, one delegate has proposed a state-sponsored underwater archaeology program.

Cat Modlin-Jackson has the story.

Del. Charniele Herring speaks on the floor of the House of Delegates Friday. (Credit: Michael Pope)

Members of the House of Delegates are poised to cast a vote Monday on decriminalizing marijuana.

Michael Pope reports.

The hearing room was full for Friday’s hearing. (Credit: Mallory Noe-Payne)

A key House committee passed an assault weapons ban this morning.

It’s a big step for a controversial piece of legislation… the most sweeping in Governor Ralph Northam’s gun control package.

Mallory Noe-Payne was at the contentious meeting and has more.

Gov. Ralph Northam unveils the markers in Richmond. (Credit: Governor’s Office)

Virginia’s Governor honored two powerhouse African-American lawyers… men whose work laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement.

Mallory Noe-Payne was at a ceremony in their honor, and has this story.

Travis Addington drove seven hours from Lee County to be part of the January Lobby Day rally in Richmond. (Credit: Michael Pope)

Universal background checks. A red flag law. One handgun purchase a month.

These gun control measures, and more, are well on their way to becoming law in Virginia.

But there’s one element of the Governor’s gun control package that’s stalled in the statehouse– A ban on assault-style guns.

Mallory Noe-Payne reports.

A repeal of Virginia’s “right to work” law has cleared several hurdles in the House of Delegates.

But Michael Pope reports Democrats are still not united on the issue.