By Shrey Dua Daniel Devlin is a 20-year-old UVA student who’s been vaping since he was 18. If Virginia lawmakers get their way, he could soon face civil penalties for pursuing his habit. Last week, a bill that would raise the age to buy tobacco and vape products from 18 to 21 was passed by […]
With Richmond in turmoil over Governor Ralph Northam’s blackface past and assault allegations against Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, it’s been hard to focus on the legislature. But the session is halfway through, and February 6 is crossover day, when each house sends the bills it’s passed to the other chamber. Here are some survivors—and some […]
Dead or alive Virginia’s General Assembly has been hard at it for three weeks now, tackling the 2,000 or so bills legislators filed. While most bills will die quietly in subcommittee, here are a few survivors—and committee casualties. Alive A judge has already ruled Virginia’s law that suspends driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines is […]
Dead or alive The General Assembly has been in session two weeks, and it is whittling down the more than 2,000 bills legislators filed. Here are some bills that have survived so far—and others that were DOA. Alive An in-state tuition bill for undocumented students made it out of the Senate [...]
Mary Linn Bergstrom was in Boston over Memorial Day when she got a really bad, eyes-swollen-shut case of poison ivy. “I had to wait to go to the doctor until I had enough money in the bank,” says the 38-year-old Nia instructor. Bergstrom is one of almost 5,000 people in Charlottesville and [...]
It was a bill that had its own meme. “When Dominion writes the law: We pay twice. They get richer,” said a post that swept the web with the hashtags #HB1558 #KILLTHEBILL and #STOPTHESCAM before the House of Delegates voted to pass the bill 63-35 on February 13. The bill was a response to the [...]
August 12 bills killed After white supremacists invaded Charlottesville with violent clashes that left activist Heather Heyer dead and the community traumatized, legislators carried bills to the General Assembly to give localities more muscle in avoiding such gatherings in the future. Attorney [...]
Hot topic In 2012, the Local Energy Alliance Program floated a low-interest loan of $280,000 for Mark Brown to install solar panels on top of the Main Street Arena using a $500,000 grant from the city. Now that he’s sold the building and it’s slated for demolition, some are wondering what will [...]
If you thought 2017 was a year like no other, well, 2018 will likely continue to ride the tide of the unprecedented, at least according to what we’ve seen in the new year’s first week. The General Assembly begins its session January 10 with a tsunami shift from last year’s seemingly [...]
How did Richard Stuart, trustee of the Westmoreland County Volunteer Fire Department since 1999, father of three, and 2014 Virginia chapter winner of the American Academy of Pediatrics Child Advocate Award earn the attention of two United Nations Special Rapporteurs concerned with the rights to [...]
McAuliffe’s pen In his last year in office, Governor Terry McAuliffe was unable to deliver on a campaign promise to expand Medicaid to 400,000 uninsured citizens, which is supported by 69 percent of Virginians, according to a recent University of Maryland poll. The General Assembly’s Republican [...]
White Hall resident Angela Lynn is tossing her hat into the 25th District ring, most of which lies in Augusta County, so it’s no surprise that gerrymandering was the first issue she talked about during her announcement in front of the Albemarle County Office Building March 7. Democrat [...]
What about London Perrantes? The New York Post said first-year Hoo Kyle Guy has the best hairdo in college basketball for his man bun/top knot hybrid, but Perrantes’ high-top fade is pretty impressive, too. ACC bummer The Cavs exited the tournament in the quarterfinals March 9 after losing [...]
Sheriff ponies up Albemarle’s Chip Harding says he’ll write a check for $5,000 and has raised another $28K to donate to the Virginia Crime Commission, chaired by Delegate Rob Bell, to help study the effects of collecting DNA for misdemeanor convictions. Harding and Hannah Graham’s parents say [...]
Albemarle hates it and Charlottesville loves it. But neither jurisdiction saw Delegate Steve Landes’ budget amendment coming that could scrub a 1982 agreement in which Albemarle pays millions every year to Charlottesville for the privilege of not being annexed—even though the General Assembly [...]
Protests erupt President Trump’s January 27 executive order banning refugees from seven Muslim countries caused chaos in airports and demonstrations all over the country. Hundreds packed The Haven January 28 for the first meeting of Indivisible Charlottesville, which is dedicated to opposing [...]
Greenway to nowhere Perhaps you’ve noticed the small gravel trail that runs alongside McIntire Road, past the old Lane High School that now serves as the Albemarle County Office Building and the baseball field and then, seemingly, stops in its tracks at Harris Street. In 2006, the city began a [...]
Kaine’s campaign continues Fresh on the heels of an unsuccessful run for vice president, Senator Tim Kaine was in Charlottesville January 13 at UVA’s Claude Moore Medical Education Building for a town hall with med students on the Affordable Care Act, which faces repeal by the GOP in Congress. [...]
So here’s the thing: For many who don’t pay close attention, Virginia’s legislature still tends to be viewed through a prism of bipartisan compromise. It is still considered, by some, as an exemplar of the fabled Virginia way, in which all arguments are settled through convivial relations and [...]
Legislators in Richmond ended the General Assembly session one day early after passing a record $105 billion biennial budget March 11 and sending it to Governor Terry McAuliffe. Both sides of the aisle praise its passage, while regretting the what-might-have-beens. McAuliffe didn’t get the [...]
Virginia became the first state to legalize fantasy sports websites when Governor Terry McAuliffe signed the Fantasy Contests Act into law March 7, according to CNET. While other states are outlawing websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, saying they violate state gambling regulations, [...]
February 16 marked crossover, when each house in the General Assembly sends its bills to the other body. From the House of Delegates floor last week, House Minority Leader David Toscano chastised legislators who continue to try to curtail gay and transgender rights, saying such moves are bad [...]
The General Assembly is in full swing and the No.1 agenda item is to craft a two-year budget. Governor Terry McAuliffe’s budget included Medicaid expansion, which the Republican-controlled legislature has repeatedly said was DOA, so there was that going into the session. Here’s what some of our [...]