VIRGINIA POLITICS




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Can Richmond Have Bars? New Virginia Law Eases Food-to-Alcohol Rules

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...

Virginia Lawmakers Clash Over $1.6B Data Center Tax Breaks

State lawmakers will soon return to the Capitol after ending the General Assembly session without a budget, in part due to some debate whether to continue current tax breaks for data centers. The Democratic-led Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee put forth a...

Key Gun Control Bills Advance in Virginia as Firearm Sales Surge

Early indicators suggest Virginians responded to a slate of proposed gun control legislation with a noticeable increase in firearm background checks. The bills mark one the most significant shifts in the state’s firearm laws in recent years, and build on previously...

Everything I Built for My Family Is Being Taken Away

Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine has been covering Virginia’s evolving hemp and cannabis regulations, including proposed changes to THC limits and retail licensing. The following is a guest opinion from a Virginia hemp business owner directly affected by SB 542. By Barbara...

Sen. Warner Warns of Election Power Grab. Now What?

Senator Mark Warner went to the pages of The New York Times this week to warn that the biggest threat to American elections may no longer be foreign interference, but the federal government itself. That sounds dramatic until you realize we’ve been heading in this...

Tim Cywinski (VA-01) Makes His Case for Congress | Part 1

Tim Cywinski and I got coffee and a bagel at Abi’s Books and Brews a couple weeks ago. The Iran War had just started, and the weariness was behind both of our eyes.  He impressed on me that he had some fresh ideas, a great legacy of accomplishments, and is in...

Viral Video Sparks Questions About Cancer-Causing Gas in Richmond

A new Instagram video circulating among Richmond residents is raising questions about ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas used to sterilize medical equipment, and whether local facilities and warehouses could be contributing to an underrecognized public health...

The Interview | Lt. Governor-Elect Ghazala Hashmi

"Virginia voters will be able to respond to what’s happening in America. It’s important that they understand their role and capacity to impact the direction the country is going and that’s true power, true democracy." - Lt. Governor-elect, Ghazala Hashmi A British colleague visiting Richmond told me not too long ago that “politics should never be...

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Podcast | Democratic Candidate Lisa Vedernikova Khanna on New Politics, the American Dream, and Taking on Republican Rob Wittman

"Congress has forgotten to serve the people they represent." -- Lisa Vedernikova Khanna I often ask myself, what is the American Dream? Is it the white picket fence and a two-and-a-half-kid household? Maybe you picture the Statue of Liberty welcoming new arrivals to a land of promise or hear a faint echo of the Constitution’s preamble. ...

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