The ballot referendum is Richmond City's second on the possibility of a Southside casino.

As Hamas militants engage with the Israeli military, the U.S. government has voiced its support for its regional allies; Richmond shops are being fined for violating new limits on hemp products that went into effect July 1st; There are a bunch of ways to vote in Virginia this year.

10/09/23 - How to address Richmond's smile gap

Carytown fixture Ellwood Thompson’s is under new ownership; A local video game shop and arcade is leveling up in Scott’s Addition, just as a related record shop is likewise planning an expansion of its own; Stony Point Fashion Park recently got the OK from the state to allow visitors to drink alcoholic beverages while they walk around the South Richmond mall; and the namesakes of a defunct Richmond-area home remodeling company are seeking legal shelter in the Mountain West seven months after abruptly shutting down their business and leaving clients and contractors in the lurch.

The Chickahominy District representative on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors is resigning; Billionaire Jeff Yass has donated two million dollars to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee; A flood of racist and antisemitic remarks disrupted a Charlottesville City Council meeting that discussed rezoning and unhoused people.

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority selected a New Orleans-based firm Tuesday night to help redevelop Gilpin Court; Two Richmond voting locations for the November 7th general election are being moved; Equitrans Midstream, the company behind a 303-mile natural gas pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia, has entered into a consent agreement with federal regulators.

10/04/23 - Virginia's Department of Elections working to resolve an issue where eligible voters were removed from the state's rolls; Nationwide Emergency Alert Test to take place today; VCU announces new pedestrian safety recommendations; and other stories

The financial conflict doesn't have an obvious effect on the casino ballot referendum

10/2/23 - Rumbling trains, car brakes screeching, and heavy construction are just some of the sounds that surround Richmond residents daily

Last week’s letter from Gov. Glenn Youngkin calling for changes to the governance of VCU Health is renewing scrutiny of the aborted downtown development that has cost the health system $80 million and counting in exit payments; Days after Chesterfield County issued an RFP for bids to reopen Southside Speedway, a big name in racing has gone public with his interest in bringing the shuttered racetrack back to life; and a local real-estate developer and his grandson join the competition on Fox's Lego Masters reality show.

09/29/23 - Hanover County’s comprehensive plan approved by the Board of Supervisors; RVAGreen 2050 climate action plan update; Richmond bike trips sped up between 2019-2022; and other stories

Dozens of community groups have struggled to regain their footing after the nonprofit Enrichmond Foundation, which managed their funds, collapsed; Forty-nine acres of land in eastern Henrico County are now protected by a historical preservation easement; The invasive spotted lanternfly continues to spread across Virginia after arriving from China. The pest threatens grapevines and other crops.

09/27/23 - Civically engaged Virginians focus on education, health, housing; Passenger steam locomotives are returning to Virginia's rails; Richmond’s city councilors unanimously voted to ease regulations on accessory dwelling units in the city; and other stories.

An Arlington County man was elated when his voting rights were reinstated in 2021. Then he was incorrectly removed from the voter rolls.

Phil Liles interviews Jenny Roe, a UVA researcher and co-author of Restorative Cities, to learn more

VCU Health’s costly exit from an ill-fated downtown development project has prompted calls for organizational and procedural change from Gov. Glenn Youngkin; An apartment building planned on a prominent intersection in Manchester appears to be a go after a recent land purchase; Virginia’s beer industry had reason to raise a pint to last week’s signing of the state budget; and other local business stories.

Curious Commonwealth recently received this question from a VPM News listener.

09/21/23 - The family of Irvo Otieno reaches $8.5 million settlement in his wrongful death suit; The Virginia Department of Elections announced it signed agreements with five states and Washington DC to share voter data; and other stories

Virginia opened a new trade office in Taiwan on Tuesday; Richmond Public Schools school board approved changes to specialty school admissions; Hardywood Park Craft Brewery recently announced they’ll be phasing out bottled beers to aluminum cans to be more sustainable; and other stories.

The companies hoping to bring a casino to Richmond have already contributed more than $8 million for the campaign, according to paperwork filed with the department of elections; The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance, a project of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, announced its 100th member this weekRepublican Delegate Rob Bell, who served Albemarle County for two decades, is now deputy attorney general for Health, Education and Social Services.

Many Virginia schools stayed closed longer during the pandemic than those in most other states. And those closures contributed to a significant loss in learning. Now, in the second full year of in-person instruction, they’re still working to fill the gaps. Megan Pauly reports on an effort in Richmond to get kids caught up.

More steps have been taken toward the planned development of the 200-acre GreenCity site in Henrico, A Charlottesville developer has revealed its plans for the 2-acre site it purchased earlier this year in Manchester, and KavaClub, a fledgling Fan bar that wants to serve the trendy Polynesian drink kava, has hit yet another legal roadblock.

About 1,200 acres in Hanover County are being considered for a future data center park; Public records show Governor Glenn Youngkin may have borrowed Altria’s corporate jet to attend a fundraiser in New York; Governor Youngkin signed Virginia’s budget Thursday on the steps of the state capitol building; and other local news stories.

VCU's Board of Visitors is set to meet to decide if buildings will be demolished to make way for new construction; Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican House and Democrat-controlled senate all proposed $100 million for a billion-dollar project in Richmond; Attorney General Jason Miyares and his team have received an $80 million dollar settlement from Monsanto for environmental contamination; and other stories

Concerns raised about Richmond's shelter plans for people experiencing homelessness in winter; Schools in Richmond now fully accredited