Virginia continues to react to the invasion of Ukraine; Governor Glenn Youngkin seeks emergency funding to protect HBCUs, Marijuana reform fails in the General Assembly; and other local news stories.

The actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin are coming under the scrutiny of elected leaders across the country, including in Virginia; Lawmakers are hashing out the specifics of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first budget; If a regular car is parked in a spot with an electric vehicle charging station, the driver could soon be fined in Virginia; and other local news stories.

State lawmakers want to set aside money in this year’s budget to hire more nurses to examine people who have been sexually assaulted; Governor Glenn Youngkin signed two election related bills into law yesterday; Richmond may be blocked from having a second chance at a casino, if part of the Senate’s budget proposal is passed; and other local news stories.

The GOP-controlled House of Delegates has failed to confirm 11 Northam appointees to various state boards, including 3 members of the State Board of Education; A bill now on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk would bring back a requirement for principals to report low-level offenses that happen on school property to law enforcement; Some lawmakers support rolling back overtime protections they initially voted for; and other local news stories.

A new poll of registered Virginia voters finds the electorate is mixed on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s approach to taxes; The General Assembly’s finance committees are proposing big spending increases for public schools in the state budget, including a $2 billion dollar program to update schools; Virginia lawmakers made a major change to a bill aimed at combating hazing on college campuses; and other local news stories.

Community members are rallying around students, parents and staff at William Fox Elementary School to help ease their transition back online; A redevelopment project in Richmond’s Diamond District has attracted solicitations from over a dozen developers; One of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s campaign promises was boosting school choice. A legislative proposal to do that would create lab schools; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin signed legislation yesterday that would allow parents to opt their kids out of local mandates starting March 1st; Construction crews have unearthed a metal box at the former site of the Jefferson Davis monument in Richmond; Cyclists may have to adjust their riding style again after the state Senate approved changes to a law that’s barely a year old; and other local news stories.

Adults in Virginia will be able to buy cannabis in September under legislation passed by the state Senate yesterday; Governor Glenn Youngkin has made a few changes to a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of wearing facemasks at school; The House of Delegates and state Senate have both accepted bills that would change how state pollution control boards operate; and other local news stories.

School construction is top-of-mind for school leaders after William Fox Elementary school caught fire this weekend; About 80 Richmond City Public School teachers may lose their jobs next year if the school district’s proposed budget is approved; The first bill signed into law by Virginia’s new governor aims to support dairy farmers; and other local news stories.

The Attorney General has decided the state will not support overturning the case of two men convicted of murdering a Waverly police officer in 1998; Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics is apologizing after a radio broadcaster from a competing school says he was prevented from working at a men’s basketball game this week; The new GOP majority in Virginia’s House of Delegates is trying to roll back voting access laws passed by Democrats over the last two years; and other local news stories.

More than 3,000 people, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, attended Wednesday's memorial service honoring the officers killed at Bridgewater College last week; President Joe Biden will be visiting Culpeper today; The Virginia Senate is set to take up a bill that would require local registrars to sort absentee votes by precinct; and other local news stories.

House Republicans have put a stop to two proposed constitutional amendments that Democrats had been fighting for; In a party-line vote, the Virginia Senate rejected the nomination of Andrew Wheeler for Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources; An Albemarle County parent filed a complaint with the attorney general, saying their school district’s COVID policies are discriminatory; and other local news stories.

The Supreme Court of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit from a group of Chesapeake parents trying to undo Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order on school mask mandates; Legislative proposals to make it easier for charter schools to open in the state are facing stiff opposition in the General Assembly; The Virginia Senate has rejected a bill that would eliminate every mandatory minimum criminal sentence; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin's office has been denying FOIA requests for emails from the new teacher tip line; Gov. Youngkin’s administration is joining a lawsuit filed by Loudoun County parents over the school district’s mask mandate; Virginia voters could opt-in to a new photo ID program under a bill that passed the House of Delegates yesterday; and other local news stories.

Large, destructive, semi-aquatic rodents called nutria are inching northward along Virginia’s coastal wetlands; Virginia will not make restaurants and bars liable for overserving alcohol to customers who cause injury or property damage while intoxicated; Capitol Police are investigating an incident involving state Senator Joe Morrissey and the president of the Petersburg NAACP; and other local news stories.

A male suspect has been taken into custody after authorities say he shot and killed who campus officers at Bridgewater College campus; Governor Glenn Youngkin’s pick for the state’s top environmental post was singled out yesterday; Several parents of students with disabilities have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and other state officials, over the governor’s executive order ending the mask mandate in schools; and other local news stories.

Republicans in the General Assembly are seeking to undo minimum wage increases put in place by Democrats; The General Assembly is also considering a bill that would allow people to sue bars and restaurants if they serve alcohol to an underage customer who goes on to cause an accident or injury; The City of Richmond is currently accepting applications for real estate tax relief for residents who are older or have a disability; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency ahead of a Nor’easter expected later today; The Attorney General’s office announced a change in policy this week that will reduce attorney fees the office charges for the collection of defaulted student debt; A survey from Old Dominion University sheds some light on why some workers have called it quits; and other local news stories.

Democrats in Virginia’s Senate have dealt a blow to a major campaign promise from Attorney General Jason Miyares; A bill is heading to the Senate floor that would give a state commission power to extend Virginia’s oyster harvesting season by a month; and other local news stories.

An education bill supported by Governor Glenn Youngkin that would undo recent efforts by Virginia Governor’s schools to increase student diversity is making its way through the General Assembly; The state Senate has approved a bill that would allow Charlottesville to seek a 1 percent tax increase to fund school construction projects; Andrew Wheeler, the nominee for Virginia’s top environmental and natural resources post, addressed a state senate committee yesterday; and other local news stories.

One of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive orders took effect yesterday that seeks to eliminate school district mandates for mask-wearing, but the legality of the directive is in question; Seven school boards from around the state want to stop Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order on school mask mandates; Teachers union leaders from Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond asked their school districts yesterday to step up support for students and staff; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency ahead of winter weather over the next few days; Some Virginia Republicans are attempting to repeal legislation that would combat the school-to-prison pipeline; Chesterfield County’s school board voted yesterday to maintain its masking mandate for students, staff and visitors; and other local news stories.

Governor Glenn Youngkin has chosen a staffer from the conservative Heritage Foundation to lead the state’s diversity efforts; Several Hampton Roads cities are asking the General Assembly to allow state funding to care for historic Black cemeteries; Employees at Virginia Commonwealth University are no longer required to be vaccinated or report their vaccination status to the university; and other local news stories.

Some lawmakers want to mandate that all public schools, including at the elementary level, have a police presence; Supply chain issues are affecting school lunches; Parents in Chesapeake are suing Governor Glenn Youngkin over his move to get rid of local mask mandates in schools; and other local news stories.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed state lawmakers for the first time yesterday afternoon; Newly released campaign filings show that Dominion Energy and its executives spent more than a quarter of a million dollars funding a secretive political group that attacked Governor Glenn Youngkin during his campaign; Experts examine the pros and cons of the charter school model; and other local news stories.