Bob Leweke

Hundreds of protesters march peacefully in Harrisonburg, an evening after the arrest of hundreds of demonstrators in Richmond…  The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and unrest across the country has lawmakers in Virginia considering criminal justice reform…  Dozens of black alumni of Liberty University suggest President Jerry Falwell Jr. step down after mocking Virginia’s mask-wearing requirement….

Demonstrators protesting police abuse gathered peacefully in Harrisonburg, Charlottesville and Staunton, but there was violence in Richmond over the weekend, and protesters spray-painted several Confederate statues there…  Meanwhile, unemployment in the commonwealth hit a new record last week….  Hurricane Season begins today, and with the coronavirus already stretching emergency resources, the Red Cross of Virginia makes some changes in its preparation….

UVa says it plans to reopen grounds to students and faculty on schedule in August, but there are still lots of details to work out…  Numbers measuring the impact of COVID-19 show a disproportionate hit in Latino communities, including those in Harrisonburg…  We meet a group of musicians and artists from across Virginia producing original work to protest pipeline construction with livestream concerts twice a month….

The governor’s mask-wearing mandate goes into effect Friday – meanwhile, Virginia has now lost nearly 1,300 people to COVID-19, a death toll equivalent to the population of Edinburg…  The race for the next governor in 2021 just got a little more crowded…  A historic site north of Farmville that provided land and money for a school for African-American children during Jim Crow is now threatened by plans for a huge garbage dump….

After weeks of pressure from labor activists to release the data, health officials now say more than 300 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among workers at seven local poultry plants…  Governor Northam issues a statewide mask mandate for indoor public places…  Virginia will decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot on July 1st, but that may not help some offenders  much….

Local governments will soon get their hands on funding from the federal CARES Act to mitigate economic effects of the pandemic…  As courts reopen, should they continue to collect fines and fees?...  Virginians honor those fallen during war….

Unemployment spikes to more than 10% in Virginia, and that means that more families are experiencing food insecurity…  Charlottesville’s city manager says it’s time to revisit the removal of Confederate statues…  Now that the unofficial start of summer is upon us with Memorial Day, we have some advice on how to enjoy the outdoors, safely, during a pandemic….

The number of new jobless claims in Virginia is down again for last week, but still way above average, as the state’s unemployment rate continues to climb…  As Virginia begins to relax virus-related restrictions on businesses, public health experts at UVa warn the state risks a rise in infections…  Even as Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg says it is closing down, the American Shakespeare Center has found new life online….

The latest casualty from the pandemic and economic downturn is Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg, shutting down for at least a year…  Governor Northam says Medicaid expansion is helping low-income Virginians during the COVID crisis…  Should local governments be involved in federal immigration enforcement?

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Buckingham County’s prisons make it second in Virginia in number of cases per capita…  Nursing homes in the commonwealth still have trouble obtaining personal protective equipment…  Meanwhile, the number of kids getting routine vaccinations during the pandemic has dropped, and doctors say that could create another problem….

Virginia’s finance secretary says unemployment is high, but the state may be turning a corner…  One summer program in the Valley aims to help small businesses navigate the new pandemic normal, and what comes afterward…  Meanwhile, medical centers try to map a path to survival through this crisis, in the second part of a report on hospitals and COVID-19 in Virginia….

Almost six out of every ten deaths from COVID-19 in Virginia have been at nursing homes, according to one report…  Meanwhile, courts in Virginia resume hearing non-emergency cases, and that includes eviction lawsuits…  Hospitals in the commonwealth may now resume normal operations, but that doesn’t mean things are back to normal….

New jobless claims in Virginia were down again last week, but still way high…  Some businesses in some parts of Virginia are re-opening today, and some critics say the governor is loosening restrictions too fast, but meanwhile one sheriff says he won’t enforce the ones that remain…  We have a look at what researchers in Virginia are discovering about drugs to treat the virus….

A federal report says the state police pilot who died in a helicopter crash near Charlottesville during the Unite the Right rally was not trained for such situations…  A surge of deaths at a nursing home in Luray means that Page County leads Virginia in the COVID-19 death rate by population…  Nevertheless, it’s official – the Governor says many Virginia businesses may partially re-open on Friday, as some of the lawmakers in his own party say that will place many people of color at an unfair risk….

Governor Northam makes it official – even as new cases of COVID-19 have continued to climb, he says some restrictions will begin to be relaxed this Friday, except in northern Virginia…  Meanwhile, critics say the plan puts communities of color at risk… How is the pandemic aggravating so-called stress injuries, and how we can address them?

Northern Virginia says it’s not ready to begin relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, and the governor agrees…  We check in with two first-generation JMU freshmen to see how they’re coping with an upended first year in college…  The Harrisonburg - Rockingham Free Clinic has also had to make changes to adapt to the pandemic, and we’ll hear from its executive director….

The first reported death in Buckingham County from COVID-19 is at a correctional center there…  Governor Northam says Virginia will gradually begin lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions this Friday…  Meanwhile, leaders in Northern Virginia say that region isn’t ready yet….

There was another decline in new jobless claims in Virginia last week, but that number is still very high…  One advocacy group for low-income Virginians says Governor Northam’s plan to begin re-opening the state for business next Friday is “reckless”…  More than half of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have involved nursing homes or assisted living centers, and now Virginia’s hospitals are offering a new level of cooperation….

Could some parts of Virginia begin opening up for business earlier than others?...  In addition to businesses, the governor’s closure order also applies to churches, and that has led to a legal challenge…  Local midwives say they’re seeing a surge of interest in out-of-hospital births, as people avoid hospitals out of fear of the new coronavirus ….

An agreement to allow mail-in ballots without a witness goes through, but so far only for June’s primary elections…  Meanwhile, we have a profile of the Republicans who want to challenge Democratic Senator Mark Warner this November…  How can we keep the new coronavirus from returning in a second or third wave?

Harrisonburg says it will lay off part-time staff because of the pandemic, predicting a $4 million budget shortfall this year…  Meanwhile, Governor Northam says some businesses in Virginia may be able to open by the end of next week…  In response to having to stay at home, and the empty egg section at the local grocery store, more people are getting their own chickens….

Governor Northam is expected to announce new guidelines today for the state’s eventual reopening, even as the spread of COVID-19 in Virginia is not abating, with the largest single-day increase in deaths for the state during the pandemic over the weekend… Meanwhile, Harrisonburg offers free testing at two locations...  And Friendly City golfers demonstrate in support of continuing city subsidies for the local course….

A white supremacist pleads guilty to two charges at a federal court in Charlottesville… As new cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in Virginia, and the governor’s stay-at-home and business closure orders are still in place, data from cell phones show Virginians are becoming a little restless… And, we take a deep look at the disease as it spreads in two types of institutions in Virginia – prisons and nursing homes….

A white supremacist from Florida is expected to plead guilty to making racist threats against a Charlottesville activist… Beginning Friday, elective surgeries and non-emergency dental procedures may resume in Virginia… Friday is the 1st of May, and we’ll have a report on how landlords and tenants are dealing with paying, or not paying, rent during the economic shutdown….

An employee at a Shenandoah Valley poultry plant is dead from COVID-19, as pressure increases on the industry over worker safety… UVA Health cuts back on pay and other benefits in response to lost revenue stemming from the outbreak… Next month, Virginians will head to the polls to vote in local elections….

Advocates for Valley poultry workers hold a car rally to show their support, as a team of federal health officials heads to the Delmarva Peninsula to address concerns at poultry plants there… Meanwhile, a second outbreak in the Harrisonburg area, this one at the correctional facility in Linville, where 25 inmates are now infected… Jessie Knadler is back reporting for WMRA, with a story about Valley residents stepping up to answer the need for face masks….

As the number of new cases of COVID-19 continue to climb, Republican lawmakers and business leaders press Governor Northam to open up Virginia, but policy experts and doctors urge him to extend the period of physical distancing…  JMU plans to reopen campus in the fall…  The Virginia Folklife program in Charlottesville now has a plan that pairs master artists with students online….