VIRGINIA POLITICS




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Perfect 100! Richmond’s Commitment To LGBTQ+ Rights

Richmond has achieved a perfect score of 100 on the 2024 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), a comprehensive assessment of LGBTQ+ inclusion in municipal policies, services, and laws. Released annually by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), this year’s MEI...

How Should Richmond Spend $3 Million? Residents Now Have A Say

Richmond has $3 million up for grabs—money meant to improve the city, boost its neighborhoods, and maybe even change a few lives. But here’s the twist: for once, city hall isn’t the ones calling the shots. Instead, they’re turning to the people, asking a deceptively...

Opinion | The Mourning After: Facing the Fallout of Election 2024

Reflections on America’s new reality and the long road ahead Like many, I had high hopes for this year’s presidential election.  When Kamala Harris stepped into the race as the Democratic candidate, I felt a sense of renewed joy, hope and optimism for...

Dr. Danny Avula is Richmond’s New Mayor

In January, Dr. Danny Avula will make history as the first immigrant to serve as mayor of Virginia's capital. Avula clinched the Richmond mayoral race by winning six of the city's nine districts, showcasing strong, widespread support. His decisive lead across key...

Did Tavares Floyd Mislead RVA Magazine and the Richmond Community?

In June, we interviewed Tavares Floyd, then an emerging candidate in the Richmond 6th District City Council race, during which he announced his run to us for the first time. Floyd came forward as a passionate advocate for systemic reform, connecting his political...

Lobby Day: A Peaceful Event Filled With Inflammatory Ideas

The Capitol Square gun rally Monday managed to avoid outbreaks of violence, but the abundant rhetoric still struck an ominous note for the Commonwealth. After all the talk, after all the hype, lobby day in Richmond on Monday came and went without any serious incidents from the around 22,000 overwhelmingly white protesters who assembled in Capitol...

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The Many Faces of the Virginia Gun Rally

Monday's gun rally wasn't violent, thankfully. But there was a lot to see at the Capitol that day nonetheless. Tens of thousands of people from throughout Virginia and all over the nation descended on the Capitol Building Monday for a massive pro-gun rally, and the big headline in the wake of the event was that, despite widespread fears that kept...

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Hundreds Trek To Virginia’s Capitol To Support Environmental Bills

Supporting alternative energy, lowering carbon emissions, and protecting Virginia's vulnerable communities were important issues to the crowd that gathered at the Capitol building. Hundreds of clean energy supporters trekked to the State Capitol last week demanding Virginia move away from reliance on carbon-based energy, invest in alternative...

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Sex Ed Is Key to Reducing Teen Pregnancy, Advocates Say

States requiring schools to teach sex education have lower teen pregnancy rates; some say high teen pregnancy rates in some Virginia localities are a direct result of the lack of a sex ed requirement in the Commonwealth's schools. In the early 2000s, Martinsville, a city of about 13,000 near the North Carolina line, had one of the highest teen...

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How Fast Must You Go to Draw a Speeding Ticket?

You probably think you'll only get a speeding ticket if you're going at least 10 mph over the speed limit. According to the data on tickets issued in Virginia, it seems that you're right to think so. “Nine you’re fine, ten you’re mine.” A Reddit user recently quoted that saying in an online discussion about speeding in Virginia. The conventional...

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Navy Veteran Recalls His Encounter With DC Snipers

After 17 years, Harley Peterson has broken his silence about his run-in with the so-called Beltway Snipers who terrorized Virginia, Maryland and Washington in 2002 — and about the lasting effect the memory and ensuing survivor’s guilt had on him. After 27 years in the Navy, Harley Peterson couldn’t help but evaluate a passing car as he would an...

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Evictions, a Focus of Concern, Fall 14% in Virginia

Virginia has some of the harshest eviction laws in the country, but the attention generated by a high-profile 2018 study has led to increased focus on finding ways to alleviate the problem, some of which are having a positive effect. Martin Wegbreit has known for a long time that Richmond has a problem with evictions, but a 2018 New York Times...

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Data Shows That Virginia Denies Vast Majority of Parole Requests

In November 2019, Jen Soering and Elizabeth Haysom received parole after serving 30 years in state prison for the sensational murder of Haysom’s parents in 1985. Soering, a German national who had been given two life sentences, and Haysom, a Canadian who had been sentenced to 90 years, were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

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