This week starts an awareness week for children’s mental health. To share insights on ways adults can help children who are struggling -- VPM News Morning Edition anchor Phil Liles spoke with Dr. Karen Kochel, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Richmond.

Environmental advocates are concerned that Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney's budget proposal isn't keeping up with previous commitments to make the city more resilient to climate change; Richmond public safety officials report more coyote sightings in the area this spring; Petersburg leaders are looking for ways to respond to a recent increase in gun violence; and other local news stories.

Fairfax Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn was voted out of a leadership role by her Democratic colleagues in the House of Delegates yesterday; A Virginia Senate panel has rejected Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to temporarily suspend the gas tax; The Richmond and Henrico health districts have set up an email alert system to let community members know when there are spikes in opioid overdoses in their neighborhoods; and other local news stories.

Democrats in Virginia’s Senate are threatening to reject changes Governor Glenn Youngkin wants to make to cannabis laws; Lawmakers are heading back to the state Capitol today to consider Governor Glenn Youngkin’s vetoes and changes to legislation; The visitor’s center at the Virginia Capitol will be closing next week due to construction; and other local news stories.

A group of Hanover County students spent last Friday in silence as part of a national day of LGBTQ advocacy; Sen. Bernie Sanders came to Richmond this weekend to celebrate the recent unionization of seven Starbucks locations in Virginia; The top Democrat in Virginia’s House of Delegates is facing a challenge from within her own ranks; and other local news stories.

For almost 70 years, Virginia has been waging a crusade against litter through campaigns, roadway signs, and fines; The Scott Road Bridge in Henrico may soon be replaced with one that won’t allow cars; Next month, the Virginia Rent Relief Program will no longer accept new applications from community members in need of financial assistance; and other local news stories.

The Virginia Department of Education voluntarily handed over a file on Tuesday that it previously blocked from public release; A Charlottesville-based medical company has received emergency use authorization for a new rapid test for COVID-19; City officials released a draft plan this week on the methods Richmond wants to use to tackle climate change; and other local news stories.

More than 220 places of worship in Hampton Roads are at risk of serious damage from persistent flooding and sea level rise; The Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled that a man found guilty in 1994 of sexually abusing his children is innocent; Governor Glenn Youngkin is ordering a review of security and safety at Virginia’s state mental health hospitals; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 17 directs state officials to bring new recycling technology to Virginia, but not everyone is convinced the tech is as effective as advertised; Large-scale solar farms in Virginia will soon have stricter water quality standards; Regional transportation officials will soon decide how to spend nearly $280 million dollars on projects over the next four years; and other local news stories.

At Richmond's George Whythe High School a vigil was held for a 17-year-old gun shot victim; Russia issues sanctions against some members of U.S. House or Reps, including some in Va; The number of house fires in Chesterfield County is up compared to last year; and other local news.

Richmond’s two homeless shelters to close this month; Virginians can apply to state program to protect their ash trees; Water bills were recently paid off for Petersburg residents; and other local news stories

04/13/22 Gov. Glenn Youngkin Vetoes Target Sen. Ebbin; Gov. Youngkin signals support for facial recognition technology; Richmond City Council and School Board appear to come to agreement on George Wythe High School, and other local news stories.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs new legislation; Youngkin appoints former former Trump official to be Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Education; Richmond Mayor proposes new ordinance around George Whythe; and other local news stories.

A VPM News public records request shows a Richmond city official attempted to get an independent city auditor to update an audit on school construction costs over a year after it was published; Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a new executive order yesterday recognizing the value of recycling and waste reduction in Virginia; Fairfax County’s top prosecutor has launched a new program that aims to provide people accused of nonviolent crimes with programs and services instead of a criminal record; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has offered a slate of new appointees to fill vacancies on the Virginia Parole Board after Senate Democrats rejected his first picks; A permanent exhibit honoring the lives of the one and a half million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust is opening in Richmond; Three national civil rights organizations have teamed up to launch a new campaign in response to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s tip line to report so-called inherently divisive concepts; and other local news stories.

In Southwest Virginia, there’s a new store that needs no price tags. That’s because everything on the shelves is completely free; To-go cocktails and alcohol deliveries are here to stay in Virginia for two more years; A statewide campaign launched this week to raise awareness about safe driving practices for teens; and other local news stories.

The Virginia General Assembly reconvened yesterday to finish work on the state budget and almost fifty bills; State lawmakers are back to negotiating the thorny politics of seating two new justices to the Virginia Supreme Court; Two out of three judges on a federal appeals panel have agreed to allow a Fairfax County governor’s school to continue with its current admissions process, at least for the next incoming class of students; and other local news stories.

Most parts of Central Virginia were advised to find shelter yesterday afternoon; Some Richmonders say the mayor’s Civilian Review Board proposal threatens to weaken the board’s power and its independence from police; Regulations have yet to take effect that are aimed at “fast-tracking” the review process for new Civil War signage in Virginia; and other local news stories.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin met with stakeholders yesterday to talk about legislation he is deciding whether to sign into law; A federal court dismissed an appeal by Mountain Valley Pipeline in an Air Pollution Control Board case; Students at Atlee High School in Hanover County have been suspended for a school walkout a couple of weeks ago; and other local news stories.

The Virginia Education Association, an advocacy group and union, has announced plans to publish recently rescinded state education equity guidelines on their own website; A group called the Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF, has been asked to review the equal opportunities policy for Hanover County Public Schools. But the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed ADF an anti-LGBTQ hate group; The board who manages the historic Montpelier home of James Madison will no longer share authority with a group of people descended from Africans once enslaved there; and other local news stories.

A proposed natural gas project would double the size of a pipeline that runs through Hampton Roads; Six buildings on the University of Richmond campus will be renamed, including two that were the focus of student and faculty protests last year; It’s now optional to wear face masks in classrooms at the University of Virginia; and other local news stories.

For the first time in over 100 years, Mattaponi women will be able to vote for their next chief; Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order making masks in schools voluntary cannot be enforced in some school districts; The contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week have highlighted the lack of professional diversity on the nation’s highest court; and other local news stories.

Resources for Richmond families who need housing can’t keep up with pandemic spikes in homelessness; Virginia lawmakers will be called back to Richmond on April 4th to finish work on bills and the state budget; Lashrecse Aird plans to run for the state Senate seat in 2023; and other local news stories.

Hampton University is offering free room, board, and tuition for up to 100 students this summer whose education was disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; A federal district court in Richmond is weighing whether a lawsuit to force Virginia to hold another House of Delegates election can go forward; Federal legislation named after a physician from Charlottesville has been signed into law by President Joe Biden; and other local news stories.

Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears kicked off Virginia Women Veterans Week yesterday at the Virginia War Memorial; Yesterday, a state health panel revoked Virginia’s workplace standards on preventing the spread of COVID-19; The U.S. Naming Commission has released 90 options to rename Fort Lee and eight other military bases originally named after Confederate leaders; and other local news stories.