Bob Leweke

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has to help pay for one man’s injuries from the August 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville…  Meanwhile, Charlottesville wants the public's help in naming five new parks…  The General Assembly advances bills to limit payday lending rates, and to require public schools to include free menstrual products in their bathrooms….

Virginia’s Senate passes a controversial “red flag” gun law, over fierce Republican opposition…  Democrats propose loosening restrictions on abortion…  Meanwhile, state legislators are getting rid of outdated laws from the Jim Crow era, as the General Assembly enters its 401st year….

Lots of action in the General Assembly, as the state Senate advances measures to establish a so-called “red flag” gun law, and to replace Lee-Jackson Day with an election day holiday…  Groups supporting workers are excited about their agenda moving through the General Assembly…  State lottery officials say so-called “games of skill” are taking money away from school funding….

Tens of thousands of supporters of gun rights stream into Richmond to voice their opposition to new gun control laws being considered by the General Assembly…  Many other groups avoid the area on what is a traditional rally day at the state capitol….  Meanwhile, JMU kicks off a week-long series of events commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. with help from former NPR and PBS host Ray Suarez….

A focus on Richmond today, where thousands of gun supporters are expected to converge, and the Governor has declared a state of emergency…  Meanwhile, gun sales are way up in Virginia…  Freedom of the press and access to information are issues that might get more traction this year, now that Democrats have taken control of the General Assembly….

A whirlwind of activity surrounding the gun issue in Virginia, as the FBI arrests three white supremacists headed to Monday’s gun rally at the state Capitol…  A judge upholds the governor’s ban on firearms at that rally…  The Virginia Senate passes several bills that would place further restrictions on firearms….

Three drivers are dead after a tractor trailer crash on I-81 in Harrisonburg that blocked lanes for seven hours…  In Richmond, history is made as the General Assembly votes to ratify the ERA, and Governor Northam declares a state of emergency in advance of next week's pro- and anti-gun rallies at the Capitol…  We explore the history of black lawmakers in Virginia….

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine says he has the votes for a new war powers resolution…  In the General Assembly, the ERA is closer to passage, and legislators debate gerrymandering…  Alumni and former teachers fight to save a much-loved elementary school in Rockingham County….

In Richmond, new gun security measures cause long lines, high school students march for a Green New Deal act, and Democrats push paid sick time for low-wage workers – we’ll have a General Assembly update…  Conservationists celebrate new protections for a chunk of land near Mount Jackson called the Knob…  West Virginia renews its Civil War-era invitation for Frederick County, home of Winchester, to join the Mountain State – Frederick County says “no”….

State police say a bicyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver near Winchester…  Guns will no longer be allowed inside Virginia’s capitol…  LGBTQ advocates meet in Harrisonburg to discuss the prospects for new legal protections in Virginia, expecting a more friendly reception by the new General Assembly….

A leader of the violent Unite the Right rally is out of jail pending a trial…  Democrats say they will change state law to allow local governments, including Charlottesville, to remove Confederate monuments…  Meanwhile, Democrats in Richmond get busy on other measures, including the ERA, ending right-to-work, and gun control….

For the first time in decades, Democrats now hold unified control of state government…  We have reports on the governor’s State of the Commonwealth Address, Republican reaction, and why Wednesday was a historic day in Richmond…  Meanwhile, a Justice Department memo throws cold water on one Democratic priority -- getting the Equal Rights Amendment ratified….

A federal court throws out a permit for the proposed compressor station in a historic African-American community in Buckingham County, crucial to building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline…  Senator Tim Kaine introduces a resolution in the Senate to refuse President Trump the power to declare war against Iran without congressional authorization…  We follow up on yesterday’s report on the ICE detention facility in Farmville, with a closer look at the FINANCES behind the facility….

Republican Representative Ben Cline gets a mixed reception at a town hall in Harrisonburg…  An organizer of the violent 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville is in jail for failing to comply with court orders…  Governor Northam says election day should be a holiday, and Lee-Jackson Day should NOT….

Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine pushes for a vote in Congress on a potential war with Iran…  At least two Democrats in the state legislature say they’ve received death threats due to their push for stricter gun laws…  As the General Assembly gets set to begin its 2020 session this week, transparency advocates want its procedures to be more open to the public….

Authorities have arrested two people for vandalizing a Confederate monument in Charlottesville…  Why does Virginia make it so hard, relatively speaking, for presidential candidates to get on the ballot?...  We have more on the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement, and one new gun control measure that may be considered in next year’s General Assembly has gotten the attention of a conspiracy theorist – we check his claims….

Virginia’s congressional delegation votes along party lines on impeachment…  A state government watchdog says employee satisfaction at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries depends to a large degree on race and gender…  Abraham Lincoln’s father was born in the Shenandoah Valley, and now a local couple have bought the property with the aim of updating the historical record, and telling the story of the enslaved persons who lived there, too….

Governor Northam reveals his new budget, with a boost in taxes on cigarettes and gas, and more money for education, the environment and building roads and bridges…  Today’s impeachment vote in the House will break down along party lines among Virginia’s representatives…  Jens Soering is now back in Germany – paroled after more than three decades behind bars, and we have an exclusive interview with him from Virginia Public Radio….

An organizer of the violent 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville faces jail time for failing to comply with court orders…  Governor Ralph Northam proposes more than a billion dollars in new K-12 spending…  More Virginians are getting health insurance through Medicaid, and the state actually spent LESS than expected on the program….

A bizarre, failed kidnapping plot involving a family in Dayton and a Florida man, and he faces a life sentence…  Affordable housing programs may get a boost in next year's state budget…  Virginia’s space port on Wallops Island has a new launch pad….

The man who killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens of others in Charlottesville will appeal his convictions…  An estimated 4000 community college students could get their tuitions fully covered under a plan from Governor Northam…  A regional network in our area wants to resurrect Virginia’s grain economy….

Rockingham and Fluvanna Counties join a long list of Virginia localities to declare themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries" – we have a report from the Rockingham County board meeting…  Governor Northam proposes more money for Chesapeake Bay cleanup…  Special interest groups are already pushing for more money from the next General Assembly session to repair Virginia’s crumbling schools…

One study finds that Virginians without dental plans are going to the emergency room for tooth aches and loose teeth…  Virginia’s Congressional delegation is taking a variety of approaches to climate change…  In Part 2 of a report, we find out why Virginia’s courts are short staffed and what lawmakers can do about it….

Gun supporters are active, as more than 200 activists wearing “Guns SAVE Lives” stickers rally in Richmond, Culpeper’s sheriff says he’ll deputize citizens to resist any new gun laws, and Rockingham County considers its own “2nd Amendment Sanctuary” resolution…  Governor Northam proposes millions to fight racial disparities in Virginia’s infant mortality rate…  District Courts around the state are woefully understaffed….

Governor Northam suspends a policy that allowed prison officials in Buckingham County to strip search an 8-year-old girl who was visiting her father…  UVA physicists are working on a big project that could rewrite the physics books…  This week, a statue mirroring and challenging Confederate monuments called “Rumors of War,” will be installed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and we have a preview….

A former third-grade teacher in Rockingham County will spend years in jail for possessing child pornography and illegally recording young girls…  The Virginia Clean Cities program at JMU has received federal money for cleaner UPS vehicles…  Governor Ralph Northam commits to repealing racist language in Virginia law…

After nearly 2,000 Augusta County residents pack a Board of Supervisors meeting, the board unanimously approves a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution, joining more than 40 other localities in Virginia…  Governor Northam puts on hold a Medicaid work requirement…  Meanwhile, a new report says Virginians’ health is improving….

Dozens of rural communities in Virginia have now declared themselves 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries, and one Democrat wants the attorney general to declare whether those resolutions have any teeth…  A new state education report cites a persistent achievement gap for some students and a worsening shortage of high-quality teachers…  We meet one family of Salvadoran refugees in Harrisonburg, along with thousands of others, awaiting a court ruling that could force the parents back to El Salvador….

Delegate Nick Freitas is the latest Republican to challenge Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger…  The University of Virginia and William & Mary are the latest schools to announce plans to become carbon neutral…  A high school student from Staunton is one of just seven winners of a national musical theatre song-writing contest….