18:16News StoryVirginia Health Commissioner Dr. Norm Oliver, flanked by Gov. Ralph Northam, left, and Secretary of Health Dr, Daniel Carey, right, at a news conference on Capitol Square in last year. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)Xby Kate Masters, May 1, 2020by Kate Masters, May 1, 2020Officials with the Virginia Department of Health abruptly announced Friday that they were changing their methodology for reporting the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Virginia.The announcement came after data on the state’s appeared to show a dramatic one-day increase in test results, from 90,843 on...…18:16News StoryVirginia Health Commissioner Dr. Norm Oliver, flanked by Gov. Ralph Northam, left, and Secretary of Health Dr, Daniel Carey, right, at a news conference on Capitol Square in last year. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)Xby Kate Masters, May 1, 2020by Kate Masters, May 1, 2020Officials with the Virginia Department of Health abruptly announced Friday that they were changing their methodology for reporting the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Virginia.The announcement came after data on the state’s appeared to show a dramatic one-day increase in test results, from 90,843 on...WW…

0:01CommentaryMuddy water from the Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site flows over control measures and into Teels Creek in Franklin County. (Photo taken June 13, 2018, by Dave Werner)By David SlighDavid Sligh is the conservation director for , an environmental nonprofit. He is an environmental attorney and a former Virginia Department of Environmental Quality engineer.Xby Guest Column, May 11, 2020by Guest Column, May 11, 2020By David SlighIn March, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced a new stakeholder advisory group to discuss numeric criteria for turbidity in...…0:01CommentaryMuddy water from the Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site flows over control measures and into Teels Creek in Franklin County. (Photo taken June 13, 2018, by Dave Werner)By David SlighDavid Sligh is the conservation director for , an environmental nonprofit. He is an environmental attorney and a former Virginia Department of Environmental Quality engineer.Xby Guest Column, May 11, 2020by Guest Column, May 11, 2020By David SlighIn March, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced a new stakeholder advisory group to discuss numeric criteria for turbidity in...WW…

0:02News StoryAt the city jail in Richmond, deputies barricaded the parking lot during a protest calling for more inmates to be released as COVID-19 spreads. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)Most jails in Virginia remain overcrowded despite efforts to reduce the number of people held in local lockups as COVID-19 spreads, according to state records.And while Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration has touted a 17 percent drop in the jail population since March 1 — a significant decrease in a patchwork system that had been holding 28,000 people — a facility-by-facility review reveals uneven efforts...…0:02News StoryAt the city jail in Richmond, deputies barricaded the parking lot during a protest calling for more inmates to be released as COVID-19 spreads. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)Most jails in Virginia remain overcrowded despite efforts to reduce the number of people held in local lockups as COVID-19 spreads, according to state records.And while Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration has touted a 17 percent drop in the jail population since March 1 — a significant decrease in a patchwork system that had been holding 28,000 people — a facility-by-facility review reveals uneven efforts...WW…

0:01News StoryHouse of Delegates members walk past the south portico around at the end of the veto session at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on April 22, 2020. Legislation passed the same year created Virginia’s new Office of the Children’s Ombudsman. ( Pool Photo by Bob Brown/ Richmond Times-Dispatch)If any Virginia delegates felt they didn’t get to talk about guns and minimum wage enough in the 2020 session, they might get the chance to have it out on the campaign trail in 2021, 2022 and 2023.Under normal circumstances, the 100 seats in the House of Delegates are only up for...…0:01News StoryHouse of Delegates members walk past the south portico around at the end of the veto session at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on April 22, 2020. Legislation passed the same year created Virginia’s new Office of the Children’s Ombudsman. ( Pool Photo by Bob Brown/ Richmond Times-Dispatch)If any Virginia delegates felt they didn’t get to talk about guns and minimum wage enough in the 2020 session, they might get the chance to have it out on the campaign trail in 2021, 2022 and 2023.Under normal circumstances, the 100 seats in the House of Delegates are only up for...WW…

17:25BriefA heron perches on rocks in the James River near Mayo’s Island in Richmond. The river is one of many Virginia waterways that impact the Chesapeake Bay. (Sarah Vogelsong/The Virginia Mercury)Xby Sarah Vogelsong, December 22, 2020by Sarah Vogelsong, December 22, 2020The Chesapeake Bay Program is set to get an extra $2.5 million next year, despite a request by President Donald Trump that its current $85 million budget be slashed to $7.3 million. The bump in funding comes as the program’s six states — Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Delaware — and...…17:25BriefA heron perches on rocks in the James River near Mayo’s Island in Richmond. The river is one of many Virginia waterways that impact the Chesapeake Bay. (Sarah Vogelsong/The Virginia Mercury)Xby Sarah Vogelsong, December 22, 2020by Sarah Vogelsong, December 22, 2020The Chesapeake Bay Program is set to get an extra $2.5 million next year, despite a request by President Donald Trump that its current $85 million budget be slashed to $7.3 million. The bump in funding comes as the program’s six states — Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Delaware — and...WW…

0:01News StoryA few dozen protesters gathered on Capitol Square to protest Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay at home order Thursday. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)The text of the Virginia GOP’s April 20 press release opposing COVID-19 shutdowns.A version of the anti-shutdown post that appeared April 18 on a Facebook page opposing Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. The original source of the text is unclear.“Trump speaks and people listen,” tweeted U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Alexandria. “We are in a really dangerous time and it is more important than ever that Virginians STAY HOME. Trump is going to get people...…0:01News StoryA few dozen protesters gathered on Capitol Square to protest Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay at home order Thursday. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)The text of the Virginia GOP’s April 20 press release opposing COVID-19 shutdowns.A version of the anti-shutdown post that appeared April 18 on a Facebook page opposing Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. The original source of the text is unclear.“Trump speaks and people listen,” tweeted U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Alexandria. “We are in a really dangerous time and it is more important than ever that Virginians STAY HOME. Trump is going to get people...WW…

0:01CommentaryDominion’s Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in Wise County, Virginia, 2019. (Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury) Xby Ivy Main, September 24, 2020by Ivy Main, September 24, 2020Last winter, during the fight to pass the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Dominion Energy lobbyists went out of their way to save the company’s youngest coal plant in Wise County.It worked. Legislators exempted the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center from closure until 2045, when Dominion has to shutter all its fossil fuel generation. VCHEC was approved in 2008 and built in 2013 as , earning the...…0:01CommentaryDominion’s Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center in Wise County, Virginia, 2019. (Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury) Xby Ivy Main, September 24, 2020by Ivy Main, September 24, 2020Last winter, during the fight to pass the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Dominion Energy lobbyists went out of their way to save the company’s youngest coal plant in Wise County.It worked. Legislators exempted the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center from closure until 2045, when Dominion has to shutter all its fossil fuel generation. VCHEC was approved in 2008 and built in 2013 as , earning the...WW…

0:01News StoryDel. Luke Torian, D-Prince William, left, chairman of the House Appropriations committee, confers with Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, right, as the Virginia House of Delegates begins their special session inside the Siegel Center in Richmond, VA Tuesday, August 18, 2020. (Pool photo by Bob Brown/ Richmond Times-Dispatch)House and Senate budget writers presented their proposed amendments to Gov. Ralph Northam’s retooled spending plan Friday. Here’s a first look at where the two chambers landed on funding for schools, criminal justice reform, evictions and past-due utility...…0:01News StoryDel. Luke Torian, D-Prince William, left, chairman of the House Appropriations committee, confers with Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, right, as the Virginia House of Delegates begins their special session inside the Siegel Center in Richmond, VA Tuesday, August 18, 2020. (Pool photo by Bob Brown/ Richmond Times-Dispatch)House and Senate budget writers presented their proposed amendments to Gov. Ralph Northam’s retooled spending plan Friday. Here’s a first look at where the two chambers landed on funding for schools, criminal justice reform, evictions and past-due utility...WW…

0:05News StoryVirginia State Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, answers questions while in a protective box during the reconvene session to order at the Science Museum of Virginia Wednesday April 22, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Barker recently underwent surgery. (AP Photo/POOL/Steve Helber)Protesters in cars honked endlessly as they circled the Capitol. The Speaker of the House collapsed on the dais as she led a floor session. A lawmaker cast votes from a Plexiglas enclosure.The typically sleepy reconvened session of the Virginia General Assembly on Thursday fully reflected the bizarre world into...…0:05News StoryVirginia State Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, answers questions while in a protective box during the reconvene session to order at the Science Museum of Virginia Wednesday April 22, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Barker recently underwent surgery. (AP Photo/POOL/Steve Helber)Protesters in cars honked endlessly as they circled the Capitol. The Speaker of the House collapsed on the dais as she led a floor session. A lawmaker cast votes from a Plexiglas enclosure.The typically sleepy reconvened session of the Virginia General Assembly on Thursday fully reflected the bizarre world into...WW…

17:08News StoryVirginia State Police troopers stand outside the Capitol during the hectic final days of the 2019 General Assembly session. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)The Virginia House of Delegates narrowly passed legislation Tuesday rolling back qualified immunity as a defense against lawsuits alleging police misconduct, reviving the measure just four days after .The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has followed a rocky path through the General Assembly and it’s the lawmakers in the House have resurrected the measure after initially rejecting it.Two lawmakers changed their...…17:08News StoryVirginia State Police troopers stand outside the Capitol during the hectic final days of the 2019 General Assembly session. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)The Virginia House of Delegates narrowly passed legislation Tuesday rolling back qualified immunity as a defense against lawsuits alleging police misconduct, reviving the measure just four days after .The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has followed a rocky path through the General Assembly and it’s the lawmakers in the House have resurrected the measure after initially rejecting it.Two lawmakers changed their...WW…