Credit whitehouse.gov

The agenda President Obama is laying out at the start of this new Congress is being rejected by Virginia Republicans who now have more power at the Capitol than Democrats.

A state senator is proposing what sounds like a good deal for consumers – an 8-year freeze on rates charged by Virginia’s largest electric company.

Chesapeake Police Chief Kelvin Wright speaks in support of the bills.

An enormous surge in heroin and prescription-drug overdose deaths in Virginia has prompted the Centers for Disease Control to call it an epidemic.  It’s also why state lawmakers of both parties have joined together to advance a multi-faceted package of bills to tackle the challenge. They believe it’s both a law enforcement AND a public health problem.

Since 9/11, police have been given greater freedom to spy on citizens and to limit civil liberties, presumably to assure public safety, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia thinks they’ve gone too far and is fighting back with several bills in Richmond.

On the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision that legalized abortion, hundreds of women lobbied Virginia lawmakers in person or by e-mail, asking them to increase access to contraception and repeal the state’s mandatory ultrasound law for women seeking an abortion.

About two dozen college students gathered in Richmond this week to demand lower rates for higher education.  The group is hoping for passage of House Bill 1877, which would end tax credits for coal companies and use new revenue for scholarships at Virginia’s public universities.

Virginia’s two Democratic Senators are expected to hold a lot of sway as more moderate voices in the new Republican controlled Senate.

It’s a marijuana decriminalization bill – NOT a marijuana legalization bill – that a Northern Virginia lawmaker is fighting for during this General Assembly session. Senator Adam Ebbin contends that there’s a significant difference, and the legislation is necessary in order to stop making criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

Photo: Creative Commons, Flickr

Virginia lawmakers say while they ARE crafting more laws to nab sex traffickers, the perpetrators they label as “evil” are getting more aggressive and elusive—which is why it’s time to create one standalone statute to be able to prosecute the traffickers.

Senator Dick Black argues for the bill.

Undocumented immigrant students who’ve been granted the federal status that defers them from deportation would still be able to qualify for in-state college tuition — thanks to the Virginia Senate’s defeat of legislation that would have barred them from receiving the less expensive rates. The bill was killed by a single vote following a lengthy floor debate.

Lines were long at the state capitol Monday as supporters of gun rights passed through security on their way to lobby lawmakers against additional restrictions.  They wore stickers that read: Guns Save Lives.  Later, supporters of gun control would arrive to press for new laws restricting purchase and possession of weapons.

Theater-goers in Richmond will witness an unusual theater production tonight. Actors will stage a show not seen since 1811 – a performance that ended with a deadly fire.

Flickr User Ron Cogswell https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Virginia’s House delegation in Washington has a long wish list in the new Congress. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story on their priority list for the commonwealth in the newly seated 114th Congress.

Photo: Creative Commons, Flickr

There’s a new coalition in town, and it aims to police the General Assembly and its policies so that citizens are always in the know. “Transparency Virginia” introduced itself to the public this week, and says it has a non-confrontational yet aggressive agenda to promote best practices in public accountability.

Virginia could soon have a new state song nearly 20 years after the first one was banished…and a fence to be built underneath a new bridge in Richmond is raising some questions. Those stories have been among the most read over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s VaNews link.

Virginia’s school superintendents are applauding the General Assembly’s recent efforts to reduce the number of standardized SOL tests administered to students from 34 to 27.  But they also say that more reforms are needed moving forward—and they’ve outlined them in a new Blueprint for the Future of Education.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Atlantic Menhaden, the tiny fish that, two years ago, created big trouble between Chesapeake Bay environmentalists and commercial fishermen, is surfacing once more. Scientists have found new data that may prove there’s more of the fish than once thought. Pamela D’Angelo reports.

State Delegate Joe Morrissey

The 2015 General Assembly convened on Wednesday with an undercurrent of drama.  Ostracized by his former party leaders and denounced by others, newly re-elected Democrat-turned-Independent Delegate Joe Morrissey left his jail cell and returned to his legislative office.  Morrissey acknowledges that many colleagues don’t want him there after his misdemeanor conviction.  But the embattled delegate says his constituents DO want him there -and he’s preparing to fight for that.

After some public uproar and contact from a civil liberties group, the four-year-old who was cuffed and shackled by a Greene County school resource officer will be invited back to school with his record wiped clean. The fight, however, goes on.

2014 was a harrowing year for the University of Virginia, with the alleged kidnapping and murder of one student and charges of rape against many more. Such tragedies are not unique to UVA, but state lawmakers will likely use Charlottesville’s troubles to try and reform Virginia’s criminal code.

With former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell heading to prison for two years, two former Virginia governors are calling for ethics reform in Richmond.

Virginia’s legislature is about to begin its whirlwind session – 46 days in which lawmakers will consider some 25-hundred bills. As WVTF RADIO IQ’s Sandy Hausman reports, there’s one problem that could make this an especially contentious experience.

Governor McAuliffe has unveiled a series of legislative proposals that he says would make Virginia more welcoming to businesses. The governor says his agenda would make the Commonwealth more inviting by guaranteeing equal treatment to ALL individuals under the law.

Virginia is following the lead of several other states and looking to get some use out of roadkill…and smoking has been declared illegal inside a Blacksburg hookah lounge. Those stories have been among the most read over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s VaNews link.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Bills that are being introduced in both the Virginia House and Senate could make a trip to the doctor’s office less burdensome. While bills sometimes do not have the input of various stakeholders, THIS legislation is strongly supported by doctors and other medical professionals.

Delegate Bell spent the last ten years of his teaching career in Special Ed.

Last fall’s controversial handcuffing and shackling of a Greene County pre-schooler might have been prevented by a new bill that could soon make its way through the General Assembly. Hawes Spencer reports.

Flickr user Kate Ter Haar, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Fervent opposition to a governor’s budget cuts is not at all unusual.  But one group in particular says it has been cut to the bone-and now it’s a public safety problem. Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil explains why the state chapter of the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers tells the General Assembly’s budget committees that it’s time to restore, NOT cut funding.

September 2014, Richmond, VA

Former Governor Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years of probation on federal corruption charges. U.S. District Judge James Spencer announced his decision after receiving 450 letters and listening to a parade of witnesses who testified to McDonnell’s character and decades of public service. Spencer also said he would exercise his discretion as he departed from a pre-sentencing report’s recommendation for a lengthy prison term.

Photo from Senator Mark Warner’s Twitter account. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner on their way to take oath.

Congress is back in session and some Virginia lawmakers are already causing a stir at the Capitol. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story.

Credit Steve Jurvetson, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Although a private company runs it, Wallops Island Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore will get a fresh start in the New Year and a financial boost from the federal government after a failed launch months ago caused significant damage. October’s explosion of a rocket caused an estimated $20-million in damage–and the repairs will be paid for by Congress.

A woman in Virginia Beach found out pearls really do turn up in clams now and then….and a mysterious humming noise in Greene County remains unexplained. Those stories have been among the most read over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s VaNews link.

Image: Creative Commons

Virginia lawmakers are bemoaning the meager work accomplished in Washington in 2014. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story on how some lawmakers fear 2015 may once again bring stiff budget cuts that would hurt the state’s economy.

The City of Buena Vista has a loan payment due on January 15, a payment it does not intend to make. What will happen after that is unknown at present but one possible result is that local government officials and the police department will receive eviction notices. Fred Echols reports on a financial crisis in this Blue Ridge city of  7,000 residents that’s been in the making for more than a decade.

Environmentalists are glad to see Dominion Power shutting down coal burning power plants, but they want the utility to do something about the waste left behind when coal is burned.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

The legislative panel formed after the tragic suicide of a state senator’s son who was denied hospitalization has endorsed policy recommendations made by its gubernatorial counterpart.  But as Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services also acknowledged the state’s harsh budget realities–and set its most urgent priorities for the upcoming General Assembly session.

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is glad the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to authorize the war against the Islamic State but says now the full Senate needs to act.

More than 200 Virginia families are finally getting some compensation for damages caused by toxic Chinese drywall, but for most of them it’s not nearly enough to cover their losses…and the University of Richmond may accomplish a first when it begins providing internship support for 100-percent of its undergraduate students.

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

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Under many rental agreements, tenants sign off on a provision that allows housing managers and staff to enter a home to address concerns or inspect the premises.  Now state lawmakers are weighing whether such agreements should be extended to homes that are actually OWNED by tenants– who are leasing a lot.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

It’s unlawful for landlords to evict tenants for taking legal action or notifying authorities about uninhabitable conditions, but tenants may have little recourse under current state law.  As Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan reports, proposed legislation would make it less difficult for tenants to win a case if retaliation is a cause of eviction.

Del. Chris Jones (third from right) examines the JLARC report.

The General Assembly’s watchdog agency did not sugarcoat the problems as it presented a frank examination of Virginia’s cumbersome workforce development system. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that employers have difficulty navigating the programs and filling job openings with workers who have requisite skills. It also found that key workforce programs do not emphasize training in fields with the greatest potential for employment.

A farmer who lives near the NASA launch site on Virginia’s Eastern shore has some safety concerns after a rocket exploded there a few weeks ago…and a new company is cleaning up waste coal in Southwest Virginia and selling it as fuel.

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

In the wake of Rolling Stone renouncing its own story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, some students say that Jackie, the undergraduate at the center of the storm, has been abused– this time by the magazine. Hawes Spencer reports.

Photo Credit: Pete Markam/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The American Humane Society calls pet overpopulation a tragic problem, forcing shelters to euthanize millions of cats and dogs each year. Now, students at the University of Virginia have a solution – a non-surgical, reversible form of birth control for pets. Sandy Hausman has that story.

The president of the University of Virginia cancelled a speech to the National Press Club in favor of speaking to students Monday. She pledged a series of changes to combat sexual assault on campus – among them, forcing fraternities to operate under new rules and pressing police to arrest sellers of date rape drugs. Sandy Hausman has details.

Many people spend their weekends looking at houses. Some are in the market to buy. Others are just nosey, but recently Virginians toured a new building like no other in the nation – a place that gets all its water from rain, generates all the power it needs, has not a single flush toilet and keeps the floors clean in an ingenious way. Sandy Hausman took the tour and filed this report.

Photo: Creative Commons

Earlier this month Virginia voters sent three new politicians to represent them in Washington. For most, their terms won’t start until January, but, as Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo explains, they’ve been busy learning how to be a member of one of the most exclusive bodies on earth.

A University of Virginia Medical Clinic sees one or two patients a week for injuries from…of all things…yoga. That’s an unfortunate side effect of the practice’s boom…20.4 million Americans do yoga and on average spend $500 a year on clothes and retreats. Reporter Lydia Wilson spoke with a teacher-turned-entrepreneur trying to reverse the rising trend of yoga injuries.

The Phi Kappa Psi house voluntarily closed after Rolling Stone released the allegations. Photo by Hawes Spencer.

Four people were arrested over the weekend – charged with trespassing during protests at the University of Virginia.  Students and faculty expressed continued outrage following reports of gang rapes at a fraternity on campus some years ago, and UVA President Teresa Sullivan banned activities at about 60 frats and sororities through the end of the year.

About 700 people rallied at the University of Virginia responding to reports of sexual violence on campus. Sandy Hausman was there and filed this report.

State Police Superintendent Steven Flaherty

By law, a motorist who is believed to be driving under the influence will be arrested. But today, State Police joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other organizations to appeal to drivers as parents, siblings, significant others, and humans to save lives by simply handing over the keys and finding a designated driver if they’ve been drinking.