Virginia Public Radio

  A sign during a rally at the capitol in Richmond to support Medicaid expansion.
Credit Mallory Noe-Payne / RADIO IQ

State lawmakers are back in Richmond for a special session.

They didn’t finish their work during the regular legislative session because they couldn’t agree on Medicaid expansion and the coverage gap.

Those phrases are used a lot in the news.

Mallory Noe-Payne breaks down what they mean.

Medicaid is expensive. It’s a huge chunk of the state budget, and growing quickly.

Even still, an expansion of the program to about 400,000 poor Virginians is projected to save the state money— if lawmakers make an agreement during a special legislative session.

Mallory Noe-Payne explains that part of the story.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which recently released its bipartisan findings that Russia did try to interfere in the 2016 elections.

Correspondent Matt Laslo recently sat down with him to discuss everything from the ongoing investigation of potential collusion by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to the Facebook hacks that have garnered international attention. Here’s a slightly edited version of their conversation.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

What’s the most important takeaway from the Russia investigation to date?

“Russia massively intervened in our elections. They hacked both political parties. They released information to help Mr. Trump and hurt Clinton. They scanned or hacked into 21 states’ electoral systems, and they found ways to use social media in an unprecedented way in terms of not just political advertising, but more specifically creation of fake accounts that spread misinformation and disinformation.”

What do you think of President Trump’s continued insistence that nothing happened?

“I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but for someone who says there’s no there there, he continually tries to interfere in the Mueller investigation. His failure to acknowledge this threat means we are not as secure as we should be in terms of election security. That’s why the Congress and our Senate Intelligence Community acted in a bipartisan way to say that every vote in 2018 should have a paper ballot or a paper trail.”

Facebook has been under fire for this most recent leak. What role does Congress have in this to protect people’s data?

“I first called out Facebook and some of the social media platforms in December of 2016. For the first six months, the companies just kind of blew off these allegations, but these proved to be true; that Russia used their social media platforms with fake accounts to spread false information, they paid for political advertising on their platforms. Facebook says those tactics are no longer allowed — that they’ve kicked this firm off their site, but I think they’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

What’s next for the Senate Intelligence Committee on the Russia investigation?

“We hope we can keep putting pressure on the Department of Homeland Security to work with state electoral boards so that people have the appropriate security clearances. We also need to now move into the realm of how we grapple with the question around social media and what our recommendations are there. And then, we will still have a lot of questions about what level of collusion or collaboration might have taken place between Russians and individuals connected with the Trump campaign.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorors (from left) Dorothy R. Smith, Maria Crenshaw, Tamara Johnson and Sada’ Hill (Credit: Jason Fuller)

Enclaves are comfortable spaces where people convene, laugh and sometimes even cry. There are enclaves for sports fans, foodies, college alumni. During the early 20th Century, though, it wasn’t easy for African-Americans to build enclaves in the Commonwealth.

Jason Fuller has been exploring the significance black enclaves across Virginia and starts in Alexandria.

Brian Hinkley and his team at Liberty University maintain 40 acres of pristine sports fields. Credit: Sandy Hausman

While many in Virginia have been focused on March Madness, a team at Liberty
University is quietly celebrating its victory.

The school took top national honors for its turf grass.

Sandy Hausman reports on how the Lynchburg campus captured that win.

  An unhappy snapper hisses as it is studied, then released as part of a VCU study of Virginia’s turtle population.
Credit Benjamin Colteaux

With the coming of spring, snapping turtles have emerged from their winter homes in the mud – ready to reproduce and to spend the summer trolling ponds, lakes, rivers and streams.

They’re a hearty species with few natural enemies.

Now, however, turtles which can live more than a hundred years are in danger.

Sandy Hausman tells why.

Credit: Creative Commons / Flickr

Virginia gets a lot of money from the federal government, so much that it’s often seen as being overly reliant on Uncle Sam.

But there’s one part of the state’s budget where the federal government plays a minimal role.

Michael Pope has the story.

Credit: MBandman / Creative Commons

Much has been made of the role that campaign contributions from the NRA has on elected leaders in Washington.

But, as Michael Pope reports, money is flowing on both sides of the gun debate.

Chesterfield County is trying a new approach to providing transportation for residents in need. And if you don’t believe those signs on Virginia highways that warn of speed limits being enforced by aircraft then you may be right.
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.

A team of experts will train landowners and their neighbors to identify and remove invasive plants. (Credit: Sandy Hausman)

A central Virginia group is declaring war on weeds this spring.

Blue Ridge PRISM will hold free workshops to teach landowners how to identify and remove some of the 91 non-native plants that threaten our forests.

Sandy Hausman has that story.

To sign up for training, visit http://blueridgeprism.org/

Virginia has about thirty thousand people in its prisons, and for each one it spends two dollars and ten cents a day on food.

Now, one inmate is suing, alleging the daily diet puts him at high risk for obesity, cancer and many chronic conditions.

The state says it’s a security risk to allow recording in person, so Sandy Hausman spoke with the plaintiff by phone and filed this report.

  Credit Derek Bruff/Flickr CC

Virginia is facing a critical shortage of teachers. Lawmakers in Richmond are trying to tackle that problem. They passed several measures this year making it easier to get and keep a teaching license.

As part of that push, they’re also urging colleges and universities to create four year teaching programs — instead of the traditional five or six years.

But as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, not everyone thinks that’s the best solution.

Credit: USDA/Flickr

The U.S Department of Agriculture along with the hog industry have proposed more deregulation at hog plants.

If implemented, meat packers would get more authority to police food safety themselves while allowing them to slaughter hogs faster.

Jessie Knadler has more.

As President Trump continues to call for spending cuts, Congressional Democrats like Rep. Don Beyer  are trying to keep environmental protection money flowing towards the Chesapeake.

Matt Laslo has more from the Capitol.

PST performs at Charles City County High School. (Credit: Brad Kutner)

The art of step is as much a form of storytelling as it is a physical activity. Using a mix of stomps, claps, hand motions and shouts, stepping offers an outlet for people to have their feelings heard and send a message.

Brad Kutner spent some time with Precision Step Team, an award winning collection of Richmond-area middle and high school girls, to learn more about what’s involved and give them a chance to talk about Step in their own words.

They were getting ready to perform a show honoring Harriet Tubman.

The Shenandoah Valley city of Buena Vista has long been economically depressed.

But now that a Roanoke developer snapped up 11 buildings downtown, some wonder if the old manufacturing town just outside of Lexington is ripe for a revival.

Reporter Jessie Knadler heads to BV to find out.