Virginia lawmakers have approved changes to the state’s long-standing food-to-alcohol sales requirement for restaurants, easing restrictions that many operators have said no longer reflect how the industry works. The legislation, HB975, passed during the 2026 General...
Chris Newman is the founder of Sylvanaqua Farms, a company that grows pastured meats and eggs in Virginia. He also started Skywoman, a community-based consulting organization that helps people organize their food sovereignty. Newman is passionate about the intersection of history, politics, food, and race and does a lot of writing, speaking, and...
While it is legal to grow, possess, and consume cannabis for personal recreational use in Virginia, it is still illegal to sell recreational cannabis. As things stand, only the state-approved medical marijuana operators are allowed to sell marijuana in Virginia. The fact that multiple bills introduced this session failed to gain enough support to...
In 2020, the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified by Virginia, making it the 38th and final state needed to add gender equality to the U.S. Constitution. However, as the Amendment has yet to be published and with the current Republican attorney general of Virginia in opposition of certification, a group of talented artists from across the country,...
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia lawmakers and advocates are fighting to enshrine women's reproductive rights in the state constitution amid a slew of anti-abortion bills, some which passed the House ahead of the session midpoint. Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance, VREA, celebrated “Repro Advocacy Day” last month by lobbying state legislators. VREA...
RICHMOND, Va. -- Anti-transgender legislation is on the rise nationwide and in Virginia. Even if proposed legislation fails, the vitriol that makes headlines impacts LGBTQ communities, advocates say. Legislation considered anti trans usually falls under efforts that introduce discrimination or fail to create inclusive and affirming protections...
Gun rights advocates fear a new merchant code for firearm purchases is an unnecessary attack on their civil liberties, while gun safety advocates say the code just levels the playing field. The International Standards Organization approved last month a petition from New York-based Amalgamated Bank for a new merchant code. The ISO is Geneva-based...
Klay Porter, 32, recalls overdosing alone at his aunt's house five years ago from heroin laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. He remembers slipping away and thinking “this is it.” Porter isn’t alone. Opioid overdoses led to more than 9,900 emergency room visits in Virginia in 2020, a roughly 30% increase from 2019, according to the Virginia...
Many small cannabis entrepreneurs say large companies are jockeying to lock them out of the industry and have funding that gives them more access to lawmakers. “Small businesses are the backbone of the country,” said Sarah Grant, general manager of The Dispensary in Richmond. The shop opened last year and sells Delta-8-THC flower and vape...
Virginia schools still rely heavily on law enforcement to discipline students and years of efforts to lessen the practice could be halted with recent legislation, according to juvenile justice advocates and some state lawmakers. “Sometimes the heavy hand of the law is not what’s needed,” said James Fedderman, president of the Virginia...
