Updated: Nov. 28, 2019 at 12:08 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Now, tribes like Wolf Creek have to petition the Office of Secretary of the Commonwealth, which will consult an appointed Indian Advisory Board before approval.
Updated: Nov. 21, 2019 at 12:11 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Lawmakers realized reaching a uniform average likely can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach.
Updated: Nov. 14, 2019 at 10:07 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia allocates aid money from the state to each public college and university, which is then responsible for awarding it to students.
‘The party needs to have a tough conversation’: Republicans play catch-up when it comes to diversity
Updated: Nov. 1, 2019 at 11:07 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Compared to past cycles, the Virginia GOP is running a more diverse slate of candidates for this year’s General Assembly elections.
Updated: Oct. 25, 2019 at 11:42 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
In some competitive races around the state, Democratic candidates are promising to restore funding for public schools.
Updated: Oct. 18, 2019 at 10:39 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Since 2012, 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is based on student test performance, a metric that was put into place so the state would have access to certain federal funding streams.
Updated: Oct. 17, 2019 at 10:03 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
This comes a month after Richmond City Council adopted a nonbinding resolution banning the practice in the city.
Updated: Oct. 11, 2019 at 10:28 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Lawmakers are considering a tax for vape products in Virginia.
Updated: Sep. 23, 2019 at 11:23 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Since January, students have been able to send concerns to Scott Kemp, the state’s first student loan ombudsman.
Updated: Sep. 12, 2019 at 1:05 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Residents are calling for the state to study the possibility of connecting the state via east-west passenger rail service.
Updated: Sep. 12, 2019 at 12:18 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The General Assembly agreed on a bipartisan plan earlier this year to deal with federal tax law changes.
Updated: Sep. 3, 2019 at 9:50 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
After the morning bell rang on the first day of school at Fox Elementary in Richmond and the children had filed into their classrooms, four people remained outside the school.
Updated: Aug. 27, 2019 at 9:02 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
"A lot of folks are good with diversity in principle, or maybe they’re good with a little diversity," Kamras said. "But in reality, when it hits a certain threshold, things suddenly change."
Updated: Aug. 20, 2019 at 2:53 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Northam, speaking at a presentation to the Joint Money Committee, owns and leases about 50 acres of farm land on the Eastern Shore.
Updated: Jul. 19, 2019 at 11:37 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The program puts community college students through general education classes that will be accepted at almost every public university or college.
Updated: Jun. 27, 2019 at 12:21 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
A plurality of respondents said they preferred Democrats to take control of the two chambers Republicans narrowly hold, but the number dropped nine points since last July.
Updated: Jun. 25, 2019 at 10:41 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia State, George Mason, James Madison, Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth universities are projected to produce 400 more teachers through 26 new bachelor degree programs.
Updated: Jun. 10, 2019 at 8:29 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Virginia Beach is the state's most populous city and its delegation in Richmond generally prefers to stay out of political fights on controversial topics.
Updated: Jun. 7, 2019 at 11:35 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
With primary day on Tuesday, it’s still unclear who the actual Republican nominee is in the 97th House District.
Updated: May. 29, 2019 at 12:10 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
At each of Virginia’s public colleges and universities, in-state undergraduate students won’t pay more in tuition next school year.
Updated: May. 23, 2019 at 1:22 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Lawmakers have put pressure on the library to work faster, but have shied away from giving the library funding it would need to do so.
Updated: May. 17, 2019 at 11:32 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Existing law says a person who commits assault and battery on a family member three times in 20 years would be guilty of the lowest-level felony charge in the state.
Updated: May. 10, 2019 at 1:53 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The state funds one full-time counselor per 500 elementary students; one full-time counselor per 400 middle-school students and one full-time counselor per 350 students in high schools.
Updated: May. 9, 2019 at 11:41 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s new political action committee isn’t for a gubernatorial run — at least not yet.
Updated: May. 7, 2019 at 12:23 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
A new interpretation of a federal law by the U.S. Department of Justice could mean some nationwide games offered by the Virginia Lottery would have to stop, cutting off about 15 percent of the agency’s annual sales.
Updated: May. 2, 2019 at 2:12 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The state’s Standards of Learning, which are supposed to be reflected in the books, make only passing references to African Americans, some scholars said.
Updated: Apr. 26, 2019 at 3:27 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The weekly pay of Virginia teachers in the last four years has fallen 31 percent lower than the wages of other college-educated workers.
Updated: Apr. 23, 2019 at 12:13 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Michael hit Virginia in mid-October, killing six people across the state and leaving behind millions of dollars of damage to personal and public property.
Updated: Apr. 3, 2019 at 1:00 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Last year was the seventh straight year of enrollment decline for the Virginia Community College system.
Updated: Apr. 1, 2019 at 9:59 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The number of unfilled teaching positions in Virginia increased 40 percent from 2007 to 2017.
Updated: Mar. 27, 2019 at 8:37 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Unite America wants to recognize models of bipartisanship in the General Assembly.
Updated: Mar. 8, 2019 at 12:37 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Virginia is one of 35 states that have a law to limit the amount of time trains can block crossings, but rail companies contend that federal commerce laws preempt the state's law.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2019 at 9:01 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The constitutional amendment has to pass the General Assembly again next year and then be approved by voters in a statewide referendum before going into effect.
Updated: Feb. 13, 2019 at 11:02 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The former California governor was one of the first in the country to implement major redistricting reform.
Updated: Feb. 12, 2019 at 11:01 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
The state Department of Elections doesn’t fund local elections but it does create guidance and regulations.
Updated: Feb. 5, 2019 at 12:34 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
What defines Virginia’s low- and middle-income residents is at the heart of a heated debate about taxes.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2019 at 4:08 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Happy hour laws have changed in recent years, like in 2014 when restaurants were given permission to advertise happy hour on flyers, social media and sandwich boards outside of businesses.
Updated: Jan. 16, 2019 at 1:17 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed raising all teachers’ pay by five percent, 3 percent more than what’s in the existing state budget.
Updated: Jan. 14, 2019 at 11:06 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Virginia’s ratio law has been in place since 1968 and bans bars in the state by requiring 45 percent of a business’s annual sales come from food and the remaining 55 percent from alcohol.
Updated: Jan. 4, 2019 at 8:19 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Right now, there are more than a dozen licenses businesses can apply for to be allowed to serve alcohol.
Updated: Dec. 6, 2018 at 1:23 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Right now, Virginia regulates liquor sales in restaurants by sales price, and only 55 percent of annual sales can come from liquor.
Updated: Dec. 3, 2018 at 11:36 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Federal permits to allow Atlantic seismic testing, a preparatory step for future offshore drilling possibly off the coast of Virginia, were issued despite widespread opposition.
Updated: Nov. 26, 2018 at 8:40 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
A proposal to change a prepaid college savings plan would make it more affordable and flexible for future college students, state auditors found.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2018 at 11:06 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Lawmakers are getting closer to finalizing proposed legislation to change Virginia’s alcohol-control laws, including the mixed-drink ratio rule that limits liquor sales and essentially prevents full-fledged bars from operating in the state.
Updated: Nov. 14, 2018 at 2:01 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Direct incentives to Amazon will be paid annually based on job creation and wage levels, with minimum average wages of at least $150,000. The company will be eligible to receive up to $22,000 per job or up to $550 million in incentives.
Updated: Nov. 14, 2018 at 11:03 AM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
There’s no way to know how many people were turned away at the polls because their paperwork from the DMV wasn’t processed correctly.
Updated: Nov. 12, 2018 at 4:50 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Midterms are over for Virginia voters, but there will be at least one more election before the end of the year for some.
Updated: Nov. 9, 2018 at 4:34 PM EST
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
After a day of mishaps that slowed voters down by hours in Chesterfield County, a court order that was supposed to extend polling hours wasn’t carried out, Republicans say.
Updated: Nov. 1, 2018 at 11:14 AM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Both proposed amendments would give localities the option to extend certain tax breaks to some homeowners.
Updated: Oct. 30, 2018 at 2:40 PM EDT
|By Mechelle Hankerson | Virginia Mercury
Staff members from the DEQ proposed a change to lower the cap from 33 to 28 million tons of carbon output.
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