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New Bus Route Brings Mobility to Chesterfield

Traveling during a pandemic isn't too much fun, but it just got a little easier for the neighborhoods south of the city along Jeff Davis Highway. Smack in the middle of a global pandemic may not seem like the best time to open a bus route, but for many who live along...

Cruel And Unusual Punishment

Hoping to protect at-risk youth from coronavirus, youth advocacy organization RISE For Youth is calling for the release of juveniles currently incarcerated in Virginia for non-violent offenses. During the COVID-19 pandemic the focus for many of us is on the health and...

Keeping Food On The Table

In the time of coronavirus, many of us have been left without income. Whether you're a furloughed employee, a gig worker, or a self-employed independent contractor, resources to help survive this time are available. Here's what you need to know. As COVID-19 makes its...

Workers Urge Northam To Sign Minimum Wage Bill

Workers and advocates are urging Gov. Ralph Northam to sign a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $9.50 at the start of next year. The General Assembly will reconvene on April 22, and lawmakers will reevaluate recently passed legislation as the state’s economy...

Gun Group Asks Northam to Remove Restrictions on Indoor Ranges

Virginia Citizens Defense League, who had a key role in the gun rally at the Virginia Capitol in January, want the Commonwealth's gun ranges reclassified as essential businesses. Virginia gun owners are calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to remove indoor gun ranges from...

Schools, Nonprofits Hustle To Feed Over Half Million VA Students

Richmond school bus driver Tyrone McBride is still driving a big, yellow bus through Richmond neighborhoods, but these days, he’s transporting boxes of food for kids in need. “It gets me out of the house,” said McBride, who has been a school bus driver for 18 years,...

After Election, Virginia Dodges Medicaid Work Requirements

The requirement that Medicaid recipients work was a Republican condition of the program's expansion. But with the new Democrat-controlled General Assembly soon to be seated, Governor Northam no longer plans to enforce it. Virginia residents with Medicaid will not be required to work in order to keep their policies since Gov. Ralph Northam halted...

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Student Strikes Continue To Push For Climate Action

Last Friday saw Central Virginia students missing school to demand action on climate change in ongoing Global Climate Strike actions in Richmond. Dozens of Richmond area students skipped class Friday to demand government action on climate change. Part of the larger Youth Global Climate Strike, the actions included a march that briefly shut down...

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Courageous Journalism

Last week, longtime journalist Bob Levey shared a lifetime of expertise with VCU journalism students, urging them to focus on strong journalism and to remember that cries of "fake news" from those in the spotlight are nothing new. Washington Post journalist, former columnist, and author Bob Levey said that attacks on the press - such as the U.S....

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Women’s Suffrage, Social Media-Style

In their latest exhibit, The Valentine puts a new spin on the fight to gain women the right to vote by imagining it as a social media battle between famous figures of the early 20th century. If you’ve ever wondered what Maggie L. Walker’s social media presence would look like if virtual communication had existed during the suffrage movement of...

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Working From Home On The Rise In Virginia And DC

More Americans are working from home, and that’s especially true in Virginia and in the Washington, D.C., metro area, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationally, the proportion of workers who work from home rose from 4.3 percent in 2010 to 5.3 percent last year, the data show. Virginia is slightly above the national average,...

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Advocates Call on General Assembly to Abolish Death Penalty

A group led by family members of murder victims is petitioning the General Assembly to abolish Virginia's death penalty, arguing that capital punishment "fails victims' families." Christiansburg resident Rachel Sutphin mourns the loss of two men’s lives every day: her father, Cpl. Eric Sutphin, and his killer, William Morva. Morva murdered...

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How Virginians Are Going Solar, Powered By National Program

Solar United Neighbors is helping Virginians who care about the environment band together and convert their homes and businesses to solar energy. Joy Loving bought a Prius in 2012. The purchase was the first of two investments she said she made in a personal effort to save money and reduce her carbon footprint. The second: go solar. After...

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