The City of Richmond planning commission gave first approval for the city to buy an abandoned right of way from freighting giant CSX on Monday; Governor Glenn Youngkin was in Southwest Virginia last week to further sketch out his vision for the state’s energy plan; Richmond police say they’re investigating eight shooting incidents over the weekend in which two people were killed and 10 were injured; and other local news stories.

Members of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration pressed officials to cancel a no-bid state contract awarded to the ad firm he used during his campaign; and a group of teenagers in Norfolk have transformed a vacant lot into a “green oasis."

Jackson Ward residents are seeking reparations after Interstate 95 split the neighborhood in the 1950s; The Richmond Folk Festival entertained a record number of attendees last weekend; Many colleges across the country started a new type of grading system early in the pandemic, and some are keeping that system around for this school year; and other local news stories.

Abortion continues to be a major concern across Virginia; Gas prices are rising in Virginia following OPEC’s announcement that it is cutting oil production by 2 million barrels per day; Congressman Donald McEachin is asking Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and city council president Cynthia Newbille to initiate a flood wall climate resiliency study; and other local news stories.

There’s been a rise in reports of antisemitism in Virginia, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League; A new report from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services says Black and Latino drivers are more likely to be stopped by police than their white counterparts; The pandemic has intensified a shortage of school bus drivers across the state, but in Richmond Public Schools, all driver vacancies have been filled; and other local news stories.

A February trial date has been set in a lawsuit over plans to melt down the statue of Robert E. Lee that was taken down in Charlottesville last year; It’s been nearly a century since a statue of Christopher Columbus was unveiled in Richmond’s Byrd Park, and a little over two years since protesters tore it down; Researchers at the University of Virginia are getting more than three and a half million dollars to help treat Crohn’s disease; and other local news stories.

Election Day in Virginia is less than a month away; The candidates running to represent Virginia's sixth district in the U.S. House of Representatives recently met on the debate stage; Richmond City Council may take up a final vote on legislation to create a civilian review board tonight; and other local news stories.

Local registrars in Virginia are getting a late start updating voter rolls, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch; The Virginia Department of Education is refusing to release more than 300 pages of documents related to recently proposed policies for transgender students; Several roads will be closed near Brown’s Island in Richmond starting Friday afternoon because of the Richmond Folk Festival; and other local news stories.

FEMA has approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Buchanan and Tazewell Counties, where extreme rainfall caused floods and landslides in July; Virginia Democrats are calling for an investigation into a state contract awarded to an ad agency connected to Governor Glenn Youngkin; For the second month in a row, Amtrak ridership in Virginia hit record highs; and other local news stories.

Richmond school leaders will soon be convening workgroups to review curriculum materials; A new state report shows the number of people working remotely for the commonwealth of Virginia has nearly tripled from pre-pandemic levels; Organizations in Virginia are providing support in the wake of Hurricanes Ian and Fiona; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin outlined the 2022 Virginia Energy Plan yesterday during a press conference in Lynchburg; Yesterday, parts of Hampton roads were preparing for significant tidal flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian; The Menokin Glass House Project in Warsaw is getting $1 million from the state; and other local news stories.

The Navy met its retention goal last year. But whether the military is keeping people with the skills it needs is a bigger question. Anthony Cordesman is a national security analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He spoke with Paul Bibeau with our partner station WHRO about the challenges.

Over the past four months, VPM News reporters have explored ways Virginians are trying to curb the devastating effects of gun violence in our communities and how survivors and their families are learning to heal. This edition of the VPM Daily Newscast includes all of the stories from our special series “Another Way: How one Virginia city reckons with gun violence,” hosted by Sara McCloskey. To read more about this coverage head to VPM.org/gun-violence.

In Virginia, there were more eviction hearings scheduled in September compared to any month since October 2017; GRTC has approved a new plan that would improve over half of its bus stop locations; On Thursday, a Richmond court heard arguments in a case regarding the city’s last standing confederate monument; and other local news stories.

Two years since the city started removing its own confederate monuments, one still stands in a Richmond neighborhood; Central and Southeast Virginia should expect several days of wind and rain starting Friday as Hurricane Ian moves north; The Virginia DMV has issued roughly 5,600 IDs with a nonbinary gender designation; and other local news stories.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney called on federal officials to investigate a hospital on the city’s east side, which was the focus of a recent New York Times report; Virginians are sounding off on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposed rollback of protections for transgender students. The proposal prompted several school protests yesterday; State officials are looking into why maternal mortality rates have more than doubled in Virginia; and other local news stories.

Students are planning to walk out of close to 100 Virginia schools today to protest the Youngkin administration’s draft policies on the treatment of transgender students in school; The Navy is ramping up staffing to deal with a backlog of discharge papers; Bon Secours and Richmond Community Hospital are allegedly using a program to buy discounted medication available to nonprofit hospitals and being reimbursed at a much higher rate by insurance companies; and other local news stories.

This week, VPM News is exploring ways Virginians are trying to curb the devastating effects of gun violence in our communities and how they’re learning to heal. Our special series, “Another Way,” starts with the story of a 17-year-old student from Richmond’s George Wythe High School. Samiyah Yellardy was shot and killed in her own home in April. VPM News reporter Megan Pauly spoke with her mother, who reflects on her daughter’s life, loss and hopes for the future.

Richmond city council is ready to select RVA Diamond Partners LLC for a $2.4 billion redevelopment project near Scott's Addition; Virginia Union University may get to keep its bell tower logos, but at a cost; Virginia’s Executive Mansion will get an extra layer of security; and other local news stories.

Virginia Beach helped a nonprofit access state financing for a proposed community for people with developmental disabilities; The new General Assembly building will not be finished this fall as originally planned; Construction has started on a new GRTC bus transfer station in Richmond’s downtown; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration has rolled out a new draft policy regarding the treatment of transgender students; Gov. Youngkin is set to campaign next month for Kari Lake, who has leaned into election conspiracy theories as a candidate in the Arizona governor's race; This Friday is the first day of in-person early voting in Virginia for the November 8th election; and other local news stories.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced new policies last week regarding transgender students in public schools; Community members marched to the John Marshall Court building on Sunday to call for the gun violence to stop; Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith is continuing a series of community conversations he says are intended to rebuild community trust; and other local news stories.

Volunteers with Mennonite Disaster Service are deployed all over the country to help communities rebuild after floods, fires, and storms. Randi B. Hagi, from partner station WMRA, spoke with volunteers from the Shenandoah Valley about the support they provide to other communities when disaster strikes.

A new report from Old Dominion University puts a dollar figure on how much coastal Virginia could lose from flooding and sea level rise; The newest form of protection against COVID-19 became available this week at the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts; Hanover County’s Board of Supervisors is considering whether to remove the county’s school board chair; and other local news stories.

Richmond City officials picked a developer this week to oversee revitalization of the area dubbed The Diamond District; Governor Glenn Youngkin left Virginia a dozen times for personal or political travel between March and August; U.S. Representative Elaine Luria will have additional security while she is home in Norfolk; and other local news stories.