Bob Leweke

The state’s high court keeps in place Virginia’s ban on uranium mining…  JMU posts a new exhibit featuring women in space, both real and fictional…  We go to the top of the Blue Ridge with a group of hawk watchers….

Community health centers and free clinics get a boost of federal COVID-19 aid…  The property owners in Richmond who sued to stop the removal of the Lee statue are back in court…  If you’ve got flood insurance, you may see a change in your premiums soon….

The major party candidates hold their second and final debate, and vaccine mandates were among the topics…  Local legal aid groups are staffing up to help people facing eviction…  Harrisonburg has a free clinic, again, and we take a tour….

Governor Northam scolds Virginians who still refuse to get vaccinated…  There’s one more debate in the race for Northam’s successor, and we have a preview…  What’s holding up the mail in Charlottesville?

Although the latest surge of COVID-19 in Virginia seems to be peaking, deaths from the disease continue to climb…  Police arrest eight people in the apparent hazing death of VCU student Adam Oakes…  We check in with one aid agency helping to relocate Afghan refugees in Virginia….

The surge of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients at Augusta Health is now so bad that all non-emergency procedures are on hold, and staff are exhausted…  We have an update on the wrangling over political maps…  And our Friday discussion of the week in Virginia politics….

Despite the governor’s request that state employees get vaccinated, one survey shows their rate is about the same as the state average, and 13% of staff from the Department of Health are not vaccinated…  Meanwhile, state health officials urge everyone to get the flu shot…  In a blow to rural areas, the state supreme court says localities may not count their prison populations for purposes of redistricting…

Augusta County’s sheriff’s office says they believe a missing Verona toddler is dead…  Health officials remind those who test positive for COVID-19 that it's important to help case investigators notify their close contacts…  A year and half into the pandemic, nurses are exhausted, and the state nurses’ association begs for public support….

The COVID surge is hitting the Shenandoah Valley hard, and that’s straining staff at Sentara RMH…  The redistricting commission wrangles with the question of race…  A year and a half into the pandemic, the Virginia Employment Commission is still swamped with backlogged claims and staffing problems….

Statewide, the number of new COVID cases has leveled off, but the surge is still severe in Augusta County, and that’s stressing health care providers there…  Anti-abortion rights protestors gather in Richmond for an annual rally…  A new report shows black and brown drivers in Virginia are more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by police….

The major-party candidates for governor square off in the first of two debates, and we have a review and analysis…  The department of health announces a digital option for your COVID-19 vaccination card…  As Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts continue, a survey shows strong support for keeping it healthy….

Now that kids are back inside school buildings, officials have to make sure they don’t spread the coronavirus…  A Culpeper County couple sues an electric company for trying to install internet cable lines along their property without their consent…  We have a preview of Thursday night’s virtual debate between the two major-party governor candidates, and an interview with the third-party candidate not invited….

A year after the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, we check in with one historically Black community that was to be in the path of a compressor station…  UVa and Mary Baldwin team up to teach future health professionals to work with kids with autism and other disabilities…  Virginia Tech breaks ground on a new innovation campus in northern Virginia….

Hospitals in our area are feeling the strain of new COVID cases, but some are faring better than others…  Governor Northam touts Virginia’s sweeping voting rights act, the first of its kind in the South…  The campaign for governor is reaching into your grocery cart….

The number of Virginians hospitalized with COVID-19 has leveled off, but the rate of spread of the disease is still high across the state…  JMU biologists patent a device to study some of the tiniest mammals around…  We talk with author Earl Swift, this month’s Books & Brews special guest, about the importance of the moon missions you may not remember….

Harrisonburg residents debate whether police officers should be removed from the city’s schools…  A D.C.-based restaurant chain will invest in a new facility in Augusta County, creating dozens of news jobs…  We review the week in Virginia politics….

After Tuesday’s contentious city council meeting, Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker says she will not run for re-election in November…  The Lee statue in Richmond finally came down Wednesday, and we have reaction…  Meanwhile, Bath and Highland County schools are delayed or temporarily closed, due to COVID-19….

Charlottesville’s mayor apologizes for the firing of the city’s police chief…  As the Lee statue in Richmond comes down, the pedestal’s time capsule is being replaced, and we take a look inside…  Some bigger Virginia cities are implementing new plastic bag taxes….

The giant statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond will come down on Wednesday…  The new restrictive Texas abortion law turns up the heat on the race for governor in Virginia…  A series of concerts in Richmond will feature violins that belonged to Jewish musicians who died in the Holocaust….

New COVID cases are still high, particularly Augusta County, where anti-mask sentiment is also very high…  But the number of new cases has plateaued in the last week…  We have a look at the U-S Census, and problems counting college students….

The state Supreme Court says the giant Lee statue in Richmond can finally come down…  One person is confirmed dead in southwestern Virginia due to flooding from this week’s storms…  We have our weekly Virginia politics chat….

Charlottesville fires its police chief…  It’s official – all state employees must now be vaccinated, or tested regularly for COVID-19…  How to make beach umbrellas safer….

Governor Northam declares a state of emergency as Ida moves through, and some local school systems are affected…  The governor also pardons the so-called Martinsville 7…  More veterans have called a suicide prevention hotline since the Taliban took over Kabul, and Virginia Senators Kaine and Warner say the government must boost mental health services for them….

Staunton prepares for another potential flooding event from Ida, just over a year after severe floods devastated downtown…  Augusta Health says it’s overwhelmed with new COVID cases, and that’s starting to affect other services, including elective surgeries…  Meanwhile, GOP governor candidate Glenn Youngkin calls for an end to mask mandates and says he opposes COVID-related restrictions….

New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to climb after the summer respite, mostly among the unvaccinated…  Meanwhile, universities are cracking down to stop the spread, but in varying ways…  Are Virginians willing to pay higher taxes?  As with many questions, it depends, and we take a look at the results of a new poll….

The Northam administration is fed up with some local school districts flouting CDC guidelines for masks in schools, and now the order is out – all schools must mask up for the fall…  We have an update on COVID numbers from the Central Shenandoah Health District…  The census bureau releases long-awaited population data….

As COVID-19 again spreads, the number of hospitalizations due to the disease in Virginia nears 1000…  The first meeting of a commission on campaign finance reform is cancelled because it conflicts with a fundraiser for Virginia Democrats…  The latest poll shows Democrat Terry McAuliffe with a slim lead over Republican Glenn Youngkin in the governor’s race….

Democrats in Richmond elect a diverse slate of judges for new spots on the Appeals Court, four of them Black, four of them women, and one of them a lawyer from Charlottesville…  More on the debate over whether local school districts must adopt mask mandates…  We have the story of a start-up in Charlottesville that aims to make public places more accessible to those with mobility issues….