The Virginia Mercury
@MercuryVirginia
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An independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news source covering Virginia government and policy.
Richmond, VA
Joined June 2018
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Virginia Senate votes to scrap Lee-Jackson day and make Election Day a state holiday by
@gmoomaw
22
128
302
Leaders in the Virginia House of Delegates blocked
@carterforva
's effort to force vote on right-to-work repeal
10
43
207
COMMENTARY: Youngkin's removal of degree preferences from many state jobs was not only a long-overdue break for people who’ve had to hustle harder to get ahead, it was a smart, early recognition of and accommodation for the workforce of the future.
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172
Class action suit filed against Richmond Police over tear-gassing of protesters
0
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ICYMI: Virginia's watchdog agency said it has closed its probe into the hiring of a Virginia trooper who killed three people in California while attempting to abduct a teenage girl, and there is no official report on what it found.
6
60
169
Metalheads with kazoos drown out Westboro Baptist Church at Capitol
1
41
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After an inquiry from right-wing media outlet Daily Wire about two websites listed on a Virginia Dept of Health webpage offering resources for LGBTQ youth, internal agency emails indicate Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration took the entire page down.
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With $1.9 billion in unanticipated state revenues, Youngkin is proposing $400M in new taxpayer relief.
But some Democrats said the money, which largely comes from taxes on investments, should go to pressing state needs like worker salaries and schools.
6
22
106
Amid dire shortages of local news outlets nationwide, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, is backing a resolution recognizing the industry “serves an essential function in the democracy of the United States.”
9
23
96
Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation banning the "panic" defense in crimes targeting LGBTQ people
via
@vcucns
1
16
95
COMMENTARY: “I think that because we’ve come so far in history, we think that things can’t happen anymore. And we forget racism isn’t something that we just leave in the past. It’s something that can pop up at any time.”
0
28
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Spanberger pulls ahead in tight race with Freitas as Spotsylvania reports absentee votes by
@gmoomaw
2
20
88
ICYMI: Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday he hopes there will be no more legal challenges over the issue as school divisions work to comply with a March 1 deadline to make masks optional By
@gmoomaw
34
20
70
Northam appoints first African American judge to State Corporation Commission by
@SarahVogelsong
7
21
72
Mercury reporter wins prestigious environmental reporting award Congrats to
@SarahVogelsong
!
4
2
77
Report from
@TCIFiscal
: Virginia’s immigrants making strong contribution to state economy by
@__KatieOConnor
2
38
66
In 2017, 39% of Virginians favored legalizing recreational marijuana.
That number is now at 61%, according to a new
@MaryWash
poll.
3
10
59
‘A victory for working people.’ Virginia adopts first-in-the-nation pandemic workplace safety rules. by
@nedoliver
1
28
60
At Northam’s request, Virginia Supreme Court grants state-wide eviction moratorium by
@nedoliver
1
38
62
COMMENTARY: Some might label stories of Va.'s Black watermen “divisive concepts,” but they are factual accounts of local African Americans who worked to overcome systemic racism that plagued every facet of their lives for most of the state’s existence.
3
29
57
In one of Richmond’s highest crime neighborhoods, a plea for police accountability.
"There's no respect."
0
21
53
Dominion cancels Atlantic Coast Pipeline, announces sale of natural gas transmission and storage assets by
@SarahVogelsong
0
18
51
COMMENTARY: A new passenger rail corridor from Blacksburg to Hampton Roads could provide Virginia's first east-west connection in over 40 years.
1
13
51
Sen. Tim Kaine is wading into the battle to resurrect Northern Neck Ginger Ale, a soft drink produced in Montross for almost 75 years that has maintained a cult following in Virginia despite being discontinued in 2020.
0
14
48
Virginia Democrats triumphed in Tuesday's General Assembly elections, winning majorities in both chambers and dealing a major blow to Gov. Glenn Youngkin
0
20
49
Faculty question student coronavirus testing contracts at three Virginia public universities by
@kamamasters
1
25
46
“It’s the eighth permit that this pipeline has lost, either in federal court of having been withdrawn by a federal agency”: Federal court overturns Union Hill compressor station permit by
@SarahVogelsong
0
24
48
COMMENTARY: If numbers show pedestrian deaths exceeded 15% of Virginia traffic deaths in 2022, the state will be required to spend at least 15% of its federal highway safety dollars on bike and pedestrian projects going forward.
2
15
48
Northam requests additional federal aid to fully mobilize Virginia National Guard by
@kamamasters
0
30
44
Virginia confirms first case of UK variant coronavirus strain
3
27
44
Column: Virginia can — and must — do better for the dogs confined at a Cumberland breeding facility.
12
26
43
COMMENTARY: No matter your political persuasion, you should worry about what's happening to Virginia's newspapers, writes
@rczullo
2
34
46
COMMENTARY: Youngkin didn’t just kill one deal for a factory or even a slice of the car battery industry. He severely imperiled the potential for a new manufacturing sector coming to Virginia.
0
25
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COMMENTARY: The EJI calendar's recounting of racial injustices is a testament to the resilience and excellence of people of color, who have achieved much here despite what they have faced.
2
30
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COMMENTARY| Hanover swiftly rushed to the defense of guns; not so quickly for residents shaken by a racist rally by
@WordsByWillis
2
19
45
Veteran Virginia political analyst: Refusing Dominion donations has become "THE litmus test" issue for Virginia progressives
1
19
42
Virginia legalized marijuana, but people currently in prison on charges related to the drug will stay there under the new law.
Lawmakers said they ran out of time to include a resentencing provision.
8
30
40
At least five current senators, including Morrissey, Chase and, in a surprise twist, Chap Petersen, were defeated in Virginia's Tuesday primaries.
3
12
41
COMMENTARY: How Virginia’s new gun laws will reduce intimate partner homicide
0
23
39
A longshot proposal with broad popularity — converting abandoned rail lines to a biking and walking trail in the Shenandoah Valley — is set to take its first official step towards becoming a reality. by
@yitgordon
0
13
42
COMMENTARY: A retired reporter describes the unlearning of what he was taught about the Civil War and Virginia's troubled racial history. "I learned that children aren't always taught the truth."
1
17
41
In his first major bill signing of 2023, Youngkin greenlit legislation that will make Virginia recognize many professional licenses issued by other states, a shift supporters say will remove red tape that can be an obstacle for incoming workers.
3
10
42
Commentary: Fairfax County is first in Virginia to end voluntary cooperation with ICE. It shouldn’t be the last
1
8
41
COMMENTARY: "I was horrified and disgusted to witness the tail end of a small Ku Klux Klan gathering 10 minutes from my house on Saturday.
Horrified and disgusted, but not surprised.
This is, after all, Hanover," writes
@WordsByWillis
4
22
39
New from Mercury contributor
@WordsByWillis
: Virginia’s black farmers look to bolster ranks and grow their communities
1
17
38
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney revisited last summer's racial justice protests in a New York Times essay.
But city officials still aren't explaining why police teargassed peaceful protesters and what happened to the officers involved.
4
17
39
Northam: ‘We are going to move forward with legalizing marijuana in Virginia’ by
@gmoomaw
and
@nedoliver
0
10
36
African American babies are now twice as likely to die as white babies, a racial disparity wider than it was in 1850, when most American black women were enslaved,
@WordsByWillis
reports
0
37
37
Virginia State Police is refusing to release 247 pages of personnel records that could shed more light on the time a former trooper who killed three people in California last month spent as a state employee.
6
23
38
Virginia promised Amazon it will withhold as many public records as possible and warn the company when it can’t by
@nedoliver
4
58
35
Introducing the Mercury's newest feature: FOIA Friday, a look at what Virginia officials withheld or disclosed over the past week.
0
10
37
Democrats — including Virginia's U.S. Reps. Jennifer McClellan and Abigail Spanberger — are trying to repeal a dormant 19th century federal law that’s still technically on the books and could be used to implement a national abortion ban.
5
17
38
Robert E. Lee statue removed from Virginia Capitol overnight
2
7
36
Protesters dye fountain red at the Capitol and chant ‘We got the guillotine’ outside governor’s office by
@nedoliver
0
10
31
Kaine said about 80,000 children could lose child care spots in Virginia, while nearly 2,800 early childhood education workers could see layoffs if a pandemic-era child care subsidy program is allowed to expire at the end of the month.
13
24
37
Chesterfield and Lynchburg hadn’t backed a Democrat for president since 1948. Biden changed that. by
@nedoliver
1
12
35
Federal court on Atlantic Coast Pipeline permit: "The Forest Service abdicated its responsibility to preserve national forest resources."
0
28
36
Did arena developers pay people to hold signs at a Richmond City Council meeting? No one’s denying it. by
@nedoliver
1
30
34
Over the objections of religious groups, Virginia is poised to mandate nondiscriminatory health care for transgender patients.
0
12
35
Some students and staff alarmed by Youngkin administration's request to review DEI and racial literacy curriculum at VCU and GMU
17
16
35
Windsor, site of viral traffic stop, leans heavily on ticketing to fund its budget, with nearly 10 percent of local revenues coming from fines.
5
8
32
Civil rights leader, former vice president take aim at Northam, Dominion during visit to Buckingham County by
@mechelleh
1
14
34
'Ice water on the bonfire:' Why Del.
@carterforva
refuses to endorse a massive Manassas economic development deal, by
@nedoliver
1
7
32
Virginia is one of the top five states with the most documented champion trees, ones which have grown to be the largest specimens of their species.
1
12
35
Some Virginia landlords are trying new eviction tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing tenants of abandoning apartments they're still living in.
2
46
29
With their upcoming control of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly, Democrats will have the chance to fill two long-time vacancies on the State Corporation Commission, the state body that regulates utilities, insurance, banking and business.
2
11
35
The bitterly fought Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been canceled, but its developers still haven't decided what to do about the land they gained control over for the project, in some cases through eminent domain.
3
36
31
State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, is launching her run for governor today, making her the second Black woman to enter the 2021 field
1
16
33
“If you’re going to fund one side of the courtroom, then you have to fund the other,” says Lauren Whitley, Richmond’s deputy public defender. “And to not do that automatically results in inequity.”
0
21
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In Lee Monument lawsuit, judge rules it’s no longer public policy in Virginia to honor the Confederacy by
@nedoliver
0
13
33
Richmond judge denies pro-gun groups’ motion to overturn Capitol Square firearm ban
1
14
30
In Virginia, records detailing police misconduct and use of force are effectively secret.
By
@nedoliver
1
28
29
PETA is asking state officials to take action to reduce hog truck crashes in southeastern Virginia.
2
8
31
Voters in the Richmond-area 57th House District on Election Day voiced a range of reactions to Susanna Gibson, the Democratic contender for a key legislative seat whose campaign was rocked this September by the news she had performed sex acts online.
5
9
33
Va. Senate votes to prohibit conversion therapy, create transgender school policy, repeal gay marriage ban by
@nedoliver
0
15
30
Democrat Jennifer McClellan easily defeated Republican Leon Benjamin in Tuesday's special election for the Richmond-based 4th Congressional District.
2
10
32
Virginia lawmakers vote to decriminalize marijuana, set $25 civil penalty for possession.
"This means close to 30,000 people a year will no longer be labeled as criminals."
1
27
28
Democratic Primary voters ousted some of the House's most outspoken members last night, including:
—The GA's only socialist
—A progressive activist who protested Trump during an official visit
—One of the most forceful proponents of gun control
4
20
29
COMMENTARY: Electrified rail is the future. Is Virginia all aboard?
0
7
30
The lack of a “.gov” in a Democratic party official’s attempted email to the Virginia Department of Elections will apparently leave Democrats without a candidate in a Republican-leaning state Senate district this year.
3
23
30
Mountain Valley Pipeline loses permission to cross Virginia waterways
1
17
28
The Va. General Assembly passed bills to:
- Raise the minimum wage
- Let localities remove Confederate statues
- Transform the energy sector in response to climate change
- Grant driving privileges to undocumented immigrants.
And that was just Tuesday.
2
12
28
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Virginia’s Republican-led House of Delegates did not have legal standing to pursue the appeal, a decision that allowed the justices to avoid some of the thornier legal issues at the heart of the case.
2
17
27
Breaking: Virginia regulatory board denies Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station permit by
@SarahVogelsong
1
8
28