WMRA Daily

Charlottesville-area water authorities have lifted water restrictions… the Park Service is giving citizens more time to comment on increases that would nearly triple the entrance fees at Shenandoah National Park and others… and, Harrisonburg gets ready to welcome, but tax, Airbnb….

Education and the Freedom of Information Act are among the subjects of the first bills being proposed in next year’s General Assembly… even while the outcome of two key House of Delegates races, and control of the chamber, is still in doubt… and, a task force tries to find out what went wrong in Charlottesville on August 12th….

Meanwhile, Republicans have elected their House leadership team, even as Democrats hold hope that they can flip control of the chamber in three close races….

Virginia may become the first Southern state to regulate carbon emissions with a cap-and-trade program… Virginia’s board of education has issued new rules for evaluating schools and students…and, Saturday is National Adoption Day….

Harrisonburg’s public television station (no relation to WMRA public radio) is merging with Richmond’s public broadcasting company… the town of Mt. Jackson is joining in the effort to save a scenic, wild area nearby known as “The Knob”… and, the fight over control of the House of Delegates is now centered in Fredericksburg….

Hillary Clinton Tuesday wrapped up this week’s Women’s Global Leadership forum at UVa… among the topics, women in office, and we have a look at Virginia’s increasingly female legislature… and, what was it like behind the scenes in the campaigns for governor?

Virginia Republicans try to figure out what went wrong for them in last week’s elections, as election officials continue to determine who won a few races that are still too close to call… and, we’ve got an audio tapestry of a local tribute to the late Leonard Cohen, that took place last weekend at Pale Fire in Harrisonburg….

Tuition is going up next year for incoming JMU freshmen… a survey finds that many minority voters last week were motivated by the rise of white supremacy… and that helped lead to a statewide Democratic sweep, and we’ll see how some of the Republicans whom voters fired are taking it….

After a big week for Democrats in Virginia, longtime sixth district Congressman Bob Goodlatte says he’ll retire after his current term expires… we profile the new lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax… and, we take a look at the wrangling over what to do about overcrowding at Harrisonburg High School….

Two days after the election, a few house races remain contested, and the outcomes of those races could make all the difference in a possible shift in the power balance in Richmond. But while we wait for the recount, Governor-elect Ralph Northam is wasting no time in setting the tone for the next term...

A big day for Democrats in Virginia yesterday, as the party sweeps statewide races… control of the House of Delegates will come down to a few races that were too close to call early Wednesday morning… but, in the WMRA region, Republican incumbents in the House of Delegates all beat back their challengers….

A Lynchburg police officer shot and killed a woman wielding a knife early Monday morning… we hear from the candidates for governor on the final day of campaigning… and, can you take a ballot selfie?  (And should you?)....

The latest Halloween costume controversy happened at Virginia Military Institute last week… a look at the campaigns, and the importance of voter turnout, as we approach election day in Virginia… and, as another season of enrollment begins, a look at the health insurance markets in Virginia….

Tony Wilt and Brent Finnegan in the 26th have a polite debate… the candidates for governor wrangle over Confederate monuments… and we have the last of our interviews with the men running for governor, with my conversation with Republican Ed Gillespie…

TED-X is back in Charlottesville for its 8th edition, we’ll have a preview… what do the public opinion polls really say about who’s likely to win next week’s elections?…. and, we continue our conversations with the candidates for governor, with Bob's interview with Libertarian Cliff Hyra….

Virginia’s crime commission reports that black males are particularly targeted for marijuana-related arrests – is it time to change the law?… Governor Terry McAuliffe convenes a panel to explore how low-income communities in Virginia bear the brunt of climate change…. and, we begin our conversations with the candidates for governor, with Bob Leweke's interview with Dr. Ralph Northam….

A new poll shows the biggest lead yet for Democrat Ralph Northam in the governor’s race… after Monday’s crime commission report, one prominent Republican lawmaker says it’s time to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana… and, we have the final installment in our series of House of Delegates races profiles….

Will Virginia be the next state to decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana?... thousands of children and pregnant women are on the verge of losing health coverage in Virginia… and, a federal court could re-define search and seizure laws regarding cellphones and other electronic devices at airports….

Virginia’s first commercial wind farm gets another delay, says the company that’s been wanting to build it for two years now… the Wildlife Center of Virginia has now treated 43 bald eagles, many of them with lead in their system from bullets (note to hunters – there are alternatives to lead bullets out there)… and politics – we survey the 58th House District near Charlottesville, take a look at the latest polls, and see what our representatives are up to….

Get ready to pay more for a pass to Shenandoah National Park, visitor fees may be going up next year… and it’s time to take a look at the candidates, with a survey of candidates for Charlottesville City Council, and competitive races for the House of Delegates in districts covering Harrisonburg and the central Shenandoah Valley… we’ll have profiles….

Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte says he wants to know more about the Justice Department’s role during last year’s election… JMU says it may have an outbreak of viral meningitis on its hands (that’s a lot less serious than the bacterial version)… and, we spend a cold night outside with the slave-dwelling project in Charlottesville….

A look at the strategy behind this year’s House of Delegates races… a new Canadian-style approach to treating opioid addiction… and, a college collaboration to open up access to STEM programs, reaching all the way back into grade school….

The Democratic candidate for governor, Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, visited Charlottesville over the weekend… and, more than two months after the events of August 12th, other cities in Virginia move to regulate demonstrations to avoid the violence that happened in Charlottesville….

Former President Obama campaigns in Virginia for Ralph Northam… State health officials plan for the worst, just in case, while still protecting the public from things like the flu… and, we have a look at an alternative model of education for disabled students….

Black and disabled students are suspended at least three times as often as other students in Virginia, according to a new report… a new symposium at UVa explores the role of slaves in constructing the university and other prominent structures… and, Charlottesville may soon get a new docket for people with mental health issues who also run afoul of the law….

A former youth softball coach who has worked around the region for decades is in custody on charges of sexual crimes against children… a look at the possible Trump effect on Virginia’s elections in November… and, UVa puts Thomas Jefferson’s legal reading list online….

Recent drought conditions may actually be good for Virginia’s farmers… the governor’s race tightens, according to the latest poll… and, in a probably unrelated note, Virginia’s liquor sales are up….

Poultry workers in Rockingham rally for the right to organize… ESPN’s GameDay has left town, but JMU is once again basking in the afterglow of national exposure… and, current and former vice presidents visit Virginia to campaign for their parties’ respective candidates for governor....

If you aren’t yet registered in Virginia, and you want to vote in November, you’d better register, the deadline is fast approaching… DeAndre Harris, a black man seen on video being beaten by white men at the August 12th rally in Charlottesville, turns himself in on a charge filed by the leader of a white supremacist organization in North Carolina, even as Charlottesville joins a lawsuit to prevent future white supremacist rallies in the city ….

A governor’s commission dedicated to racial healing met for the first time Wednesday… meanwhile, another man has been arrested in the alleged beating of DeAndre Harris during the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, even as Harris himself has been charged with assault… and, Gov. McAuliffe has gone all in on Virginia’s craft brew industry, but is the growth of that sector sustainable?