The CDC's vaccine advisory panel voted on Friday to drop a recommendation that most adults get the COVID-19 vaccine, but ruled that the vaccine should remain available without a prescription and covered by insurance for those who want it.

Early voting is now open in Virginia! www.vpm.org/elections/20...

A new study found that 21 of the 25 Richmond neighborhoods facing the highest average energy cost burdens were majority-Black, including several historically redlined areas in the East End and Southside.

We asked you how it was going if you were trying to get the new 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine in Central Virginia. The overwhelming response was: It's a little bit (or a lot) confusing! Patrick Larsen on the current landscape — which could change again next week:

At the upcoming University of Virginia Board of Visitors Finance Committee meeting on Sept. 12, the university is expected to lease and transfer the historic Oak Lawn home to Charlottesville City Schools for a “nominal fee.” www.vpm.org/news/2025-09...

Thanks to @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social and @vpm.org for this fantastic story! www.vpm.org/news/2025-09...

SOON.

We're on week two of Finding Joy!

What do rats, heavy metal, athletics and community service have in common? They’re just a few of the things that bring joy to people's lives across Central Virginia! Finding Joy, our summer series, is exploring some of those people, places and activities now through Sept. 5. ☀️A THREAD:

Hey #RVA! What brings you joy? Phil Liles and the crew are at RPL Main Branch (101 East Franklin St.) until 1 p.m. recording your answers :)

"Operation Defend and Deliver" would defend policy wins of the past four years that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Gov. Glenn Youngkin had made. But, when asked, her office and campaign have been unable to show what kind of role she has had in Youngkin's administration.

Virginia revised its constitution in 1851 to allow popular elections for governor. The first such election happened that same year, a year before the 1852 presidential election. That's the whole story of how Virginia's off-year elections began. Just kidding! Curious Commonwealth has more:

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and General Assembly Democrats painted divergent pictures of the future health of Virginia's economy and finances at dueling presentations Thursday. There might be truth to both of those financial pictures. More from @jahd.bsky.social:

About 60 Virginia National Guard members will be deployed around the state as early as September to support immigration enforcement agents with administrative and logistics support. Training and processing is set to start at the end of this month, with members reporting for duty by early September.

Megan Pauly, who has reported extensively for VPM News on campus protests at VCU and Haddad’s degree being withheld, spoke to VPM News Features Editor Whittney Evans about how this situation unfolded and why Haddad’s degree was withheld in the first place. A transcript of that interview is below.

Hey, Central Virginia. It's really, really hot outside. Stay cool! www.vpm.org/news/2025-06...

Letitia Shelton will replace outgoing Richmond finance director Sheila White, who announced her resignation earlier this month. The department has faced a series of recent issues, including overcharging restaurants for the city’s meals tax and sending out incorrect property tax rebate checks.

The Virginia Readmission Act of 1870 prohibits voter disenfranchisement except as a punishment for offenses that were considered felonies at common law at the time — including murder, manslaughter, arson, burglary, robbery, rape, sodomy, mayhem and larceny.

A spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushed back on an estimate by the CFO of Virginia's Medicaid agency that federal cuts could cause “a macroeconomic financial shock" for the state, saying that “economic impacts should be evaluated by individuals with specific expertise in hospital finance.”

After more than a dozen ICE arrests at the Chesterfield County Courthouse last month, there are concerns over potential long-term ramifications of courthouse detentions for the legal system. “ICE is using the courthouses as a dragnet,” said Eden Heilman, legal director for @acluva.bsky.social.

HAPPENING NOW: @vpm.org’s mug stop at give and take coffee in Charlottesville! Come meet @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social and see how we’re helping local news out here. We also have FREE MUGS!

Congress will claw back $1.1B from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. VPM, which is a PBS and NPR affiliate, will lose more than $2.5M over the next two years in lost funds. VPM President Jayme Swain says the cuts could result in the loss of Central Virginia local programming.

Parents of children participating in the Child Care Subsidy Program who are unemployed — and aren’t in an approved education or job training program — have to find a job within 90 days or risk losing care. Before July 1, there was no limit on the amount of time parents could utilize the program.

The rescission package passed by Congress+Senate withdraws all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in FY2026 and 2027, leaving even stations that remain operational scrambling to restore their budgets. (The federal fiscal year runs from 10/1 to 9/30; Virginia’s runs from 7/1 to 6/30.)

Congress has voted to claw back $9 billion in funding for various aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that President Donald Trump is expected to approve. But what, who and where, exactly, would be impacted by the funding loss in Virginia? www.vpm.org/news/2025-07...

~50% of the US provides citizens with a path to change laws via voter initiatives — or recall their elected officials. A Goochland County listener asked @whittneye.bsky.social whether Virginia is one of them. www.vpm.org/news/2025-07... #publicmedia #audiencepowered #curiouscommonwealth

Tune in today for updated reporting from @deanmirshahi.bsky.social on Sheila White's resignation as Richmond finance director:

“Our memory of the past is not just some academic subject. It's not just something for nerds who like history,” said Rivka Maizlish, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “It really can change the course of who has power in the present."

Hanover County School Board members Whitney Welsh (Henry District) and Greg Coleman (Beaverdam District) — the board's longest-tenured members despite both being appointed in 2023 — step into the leadership roles vacated by longtime board fixtures Bob May and Steve Ikenberry.

Hair We Go isn’t your average summer camp. It’s a place where Richmond girls learn that hair can be more than a style: It can be a step toward confidence and building a business. Beyond technique, the girls are also taught about how to build a brand and dream like business owners.

Students, faculty and community members gathered Saturday morning to show support for outgoing UVA President Jim Ryan. Ryan announced his resignation last week after the school faced scrutiny from federal investigators related to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices.

Some new laws in Virginia that take effect today are Democrats' answer to disparities in maternal mortality, a long waitlist for subsidized child care and access to health care. The "momnibus" package will fundamentally transform how Virginia supports mothers, babies, and families.

UVA President Jim Ryan resigned under pressure from Trump DOJ. Read more from the rest of the @vpm.org team

“They went for Columbia, and they went for Harvard, and then they came for us,” UVA Faculty Senate chair-elect Jeri Seidman told VPM News. “I think every university should now be worried about the DOJ believing that they can have a say in the administration of a university.”

BREAKING: UVA President Jim Ryan resigned Friday, according to news reports.

During the Charlottesville stop on the "Span Virginia Bus Tour" this week, @abigailspanberger.com and @senatorhashmi.bsky.social discussed the future of reproductive health care in Virginia. More from @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social:

ICE agents have been in regular attendance at the Chesterfield County Courthouse since last Friday, with plainclothes agents attending traffic court, arraignments & preliminary hearings. Some of the agents are masked, and when proceedings have finished they've been taking people out of the building.

Richmond’s audit of the staff P-card program found multiple issues: purchases with “missing or insufficient documentation,” unclear rules, inadequate training and inconsistent policy enforcement. www.vpm.org/news/2025-06... via @deanmirshahi.bsky.social #RVA

We're experiencing the hottest week of the summer (so far), and it's going to continue to be hot. Cooling centers have opened throughout Central Virginia to help residents stay cool amid some dangerously high temperatures.

Verizon customers have been experiencing a phone network outage in Albemarle County, with no anticipated timeline to restore service. Based on social media reports, phones at the University of Virginia, Greene County and the City of Charlottesville have also been spotty or down.

In the hours after President Trump announced strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, the state’s Democrats focused most of their criticism on the process behind the decision to bomb Iran without congressional approval or standard notification.

I was at a political gala for Virginia Democrats when the Iran news broke. In remarks minutes earlier Sen. Mark Warner said it was (paraphrasing) “easier to get into a Middle East war than out of one”. He’s not commenting until he gets more info.

Trying to get in touch with our newsroom? We have a staff page! www.vpm.org/newsroom

NEW: Levar Stoney concedes to Sen. Ghazala Hashmi in the Lieutenant Governor Democratic primary. @vpm.org

Happy Primary Election Day, Virginia! We're in the field today — keep an eye on our work (and the results, once they start rolling) at www.vpm.org/elections And a reminder: Polls close at 7 p.m., but if you're in line at 7 you can still vote! #VApol #ElectionDay

Our team wasn't just in Charlottesville yesterday. @jahd.bsky.social and @theshabomb.com were also at the Richmond protest. One of the common themes in both protests was opposition to President Donald Trump's administration's forceful use of executive power, which protesters said was authoritarian.

Drone photo by @theshabomb.com in Charlottesville taken shortly after the protest started this afternoon.

In Charlottesville, people could be seen lined up on both sides of Rt. 29, Hydraulic Rd. and beyond this afternoon as a "No Kings" protest was held from 12 p.m.-2 p.m., as part of the national day of protest opposing the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration.

Today, @vpm.org has teams across central Virginia covering today's protests. In Charlottesville, we have @meghin.bsky.social, @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social and @ezeamosp.bsky.social. In Richmond is @jahd.bsky.social and Billy Shields. @theshabomb.com is doing double duty.