Editor's note: Updated with new information. Richmond’s ongoing No Kings movement will return to the streets later this month, with two rallies planned across the region on Saturday, March 28. A gathering is scheduled for 1–3 pm at Monroe Park rganized...
Lawmakers narrowly passed a bill this month that would allow people fired for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine to receive unemployment benefits if no other misconduct took place. The measure advanced from the House of Delegates on a 51-48 party line vote and was assigned to a Senate committee on Feb. 10. The bill was one of several introduced by...
The House of Delegates passed a bill Tuesday that adds additional parts of the James River to a statewide conservation program. Del. C. Matthew Fariss, R-Campbell, introduced House Bill 49, which designates 37 additional miles of the James River in Nelson and Appomattox counties as the James State Scenic River, part of the Virginia Scenic Rivers...
The Senate will consider a bill that could extend the amount of time it takes for public school teachers to receive long-term contracts. Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, introduced House Bill 9, which advanced on a 52-47 vote. The companion bill introduced by Sen. Mark J. Peake, R-Lynchburg, was passed by indefinitely in a Senate subcommittee this...
Two bills introduced by Republicans to halt future minimum wage increases have advanced to the House floor. Minimum wage in Virginia increased to $11 an hour on Jan. 1 and is set to increase to $12 next January. The House Commerce and Energy committee approved House Bill 320, introduced by Del. Nicholas J. Freitas, R-Culpeper, and HB 296,...
From hand sanitizer and vaccines to groceries and toilet paper, truck drivers are trucking through the COVID-19 pandemic despite a historic labor shortage. Many industries moved workers home during the start of the pandemic, but truckers worked “to meet the needs of this country.” “The trucking industry has stepped up and delivered...
Mobility is freedom, but just as the slaveholders who founded this country never believed in liberty for all, today too one need only look at a map of Richmond’s bus system to see the limits of many folks’ freedom. Routes that end at the county line and buses that only run once an hour are two of the most visible boundaries that fence in...
When I was seven years old, I lived through one of the deadliest weather-related disasters in recent U.S. history. It was July 1995 and my family lived in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, IL, in a two-story house on a corner lot with a big, beautiful weeping willow tree and a few purple lilac bushes in the backyard (ironic to me now,...
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Think back to the last time you were outside under the shade of a tree enjoying the breeze, the chirping birds, and the fresh air. Did your shoulders drop? Did some tension leave your body? Did you feel refreshed? If you were like me, and many in the Richmond region, you spent a good amount of time in...
Anyone who has been on the leadership team of a health organization in the past few years can tell you that when it’s time to update your strategic plan or submit a proposal for funding, the word “equity” goes front and center. Organizations across the region (my own included) use “equity” whenever possible: we are equity-driven, have an equity...
