WMRA Daily

We meet two of the Republicans who want to challenge incumbent Senator Mark Warner in November… Jeff Schapiro previews next week's primary, and surveys the week in Virginia politics… Virginia will have a new task force to crack down on vape shops selling nicotine-based substances to underage customers….

Democrat Beth Macy, running in the 6th Congressional District, attends a veterans event in Winchester… Next Tuesday is primary election day in Virginia, and we have a primer… Virginia's assault weapons ban will stay blocked until the U-S Supreme Court rules on similar bans in other states….

Harrisonburg becomes the latest Virginia locality to shut down its Flock license plate reader system… Augusta County's library board ends planning for a Pride event, after a similar decision by county supervisors last year… A new workforce program aims to address the growing mental health needs of Virginia's college students….

A turkey escapes the poultry industry and finds a home in Nelson County... Harrisonburg City Council plans to vote on automatic license plate readers... a program to use drones as first responders is unveiled in Central Virginia... Virginia Democrats are looking ahead to the 2028 election... And we take a late summer road trip through the Shenandoah Valley...

Waynesboro residents are pushing back against Northrop Grumman as the aerospace and defense company seeks to increase its chemical emissions at its plant in the city... Senator Mark Warner announced that his current campaign for re-election could be his last... Early voting in Virginia's primary elections is down from 2024... and local governments are trying to figure out ways to reign in data center development...

Weather officials confirm that at least four tornados swept through our area during Tuesday's severe storms… Summertime should be a time for fun and sun for our kids, but many of them face hunger as well… Energy – how it's produced and consumed – is very much in Virginia headlines, and Jeff Schapiro takes a look at the politics of that….

Virginians have been hit with some of the highest fuel cost increases in the nation because of the war on Iran… The General Assembly may return to Richmond soon for a special session to consider the massive Dominion merger… We check on one very rare plant in the New River Valley – so rare, only five were counted last year….

A Charlottesville non-profit is taking a leading role in opposing the proposed massive Dominion merger… It's not just weed that can get you high -- hemp products are increasingly more potent than allowed under Virginia law… We go bat-watching at Harrisonburg's EJC Arboretum….

Running for reelection, Senator Mark Warner takes a campaign spin through the Valley and central Virginia… Voters will decide on a referendum allowing local sales taxes to pay for school construction… We talk with the director of Virginia Clean Cities about this week's EV showcase at JMU….

We've had rain, so why is there still extreme drought in our area?... A former Waynesboro cop is sentenced to jail for assaulting a fellow officer with a Taser… Crime, including violent offenses, is down across Virginia, according to State Police….

A hospital in Bath County is at risk of closure… Dominion Energy and NextEra filed applications to merge…Drought conditions persist across Virginia… and Radio IQ's Michael Pope and Politics analyst Jeff Schapiro recap the week in politics and state government…

Harrisonburg City Council announced plans to remove Flock cameras from the city…Virginia State Police have released their crime statistics for 2025… A state judge struck down a challenge to a proposed amendment for reproductive rights…And a Harrisonburg line dancing club has seen an uptick in younger attendees in recent years…

Extreme temperatures in Virginia have impacted grape crops at vineyards…A drought watch has been declared for Charlottesville and Albemarle County… Smoking appears to be making a comeback with Gen Z…And we'll meet some of the world's last Guam Kingfishers that are part of a conservation project in Front Royal...

A Bridgewater College political scientist will give a talk about authoritarianism... New gun laws passed by the General Assembly are facing legal battles... Congressman John McGuire will face one of three Democrats in the race for Virginia's 5th District... and a Grammy-wining Richmond Jazz drummer has been named as the artistic director for the Newport Jazz Festival...

Charlottesville residents choose the new design for a public art project using melted down bronze from the former Robert E. Lee monument… JMU says full speed ahead on expansions for Bridgeforth Stadium and student housing… Gas prices in Virginia, and nationwide, are climbing again amid renewed fighting in the Middle East….

Immigration advocates and faith leaders in Staunton rally support for a youth being forced out of the country, away from his family, by immigration enforcement… Public surveys show solid support for a trail-only option for the proposed project between Broadway and Front Royal… Senator Tim Kaine tours the Moton Museum in Farmville, and Jeff Schapiro surveys the week in Virginia politics….

We have the latest on a Staunton man detained by ICE, now back home with his family… New state funding lowers health insurance premiums for about 200,000 Virginians enrolled in the state's marketplace… Adoption in Virginia gets a big boost from a private non-profit….

Senator Tim Kaine starts a tour of the Shenandoah Valley with a stop at a health clinic in Winchester… A Louisa County music teacher is the new president of the National Education Association… Virginia's new law against law enforcement officers wearing masks may not survive in court….

A state Supreme Court panel denies the attorney general's effort to combine separate lawsuits against the state's assault weapons ban… Artificial intelligence is not very good at illustrating small towns… During its annual Fourth of July yard sale, the small community of Fulks Run reflects on America's 250th birthday….

Farmville asks residents to conserve water… After a six-year hiatus, Charlottesville City will again deploy School Resource Officers to public schools… Shenandoah University gets a grant to create a shared commercial kitchen for the Winchester area….

Cooling centers open around the region as we head into an Independence Day weekend of extreme heat… The Free Clinic of Culpeper launches a new peer recovery program… We pay a visit to the Front Royal campus of the Smithsonian Institute, where rescuing black-footed ferrets has become a success story….

State health officials warn of dangerous heat this July 4th weekend… WMRA's Calvin Pynn explores the phenomenon of “flash droughts”… A federal judge blocks a new Virginia law that prevents ICE officers from wearing masks….

The measles outbreak in Buckingham County spreads to neighboring Cumberland… A Virginia program called SUN Bucks helps feed children when school is out of session, and some farmers markets are participating... Staunton residents with Valley Supportive Housing help alleviate housing instability there….

ICE confirms arrests in the Ruckersville area, just days before restrictions on cooperation with local law enforcement go into effect… It's official, Virginia has a budget, just before today's deadline… We dig into the popularity (and health risks) of raw milk….

As potentially dangerous, triple-digit heat looms later this week, Rockingham and Augusta counties declare drought emergencies… Fewer Virginians sign up for health insurance using the state's health exchange, with the end of federal subsidies and higher premiums to blame… On July 1st, Virginia's unemployment benefits increase, and Styrofoam begins to go away….

Areas east of the Blue Ridge are still under extreme drought, but weekend rain could help… As Virginia's budget debate moves toward a resolution just before the deadline, Jeff Schapiro shares his perspective on Virginia politics… We take a ride through American history on the Norfolk & Southern 611 steam train….

Page County deputies shoot and kill a woman after a welfare checkup… For the first time, EMU names a Black woman as president… Jim Ryan reflects on life one year after resigning as UVa's president….

Shenandoah County leaders move forward on new rules for data centers… In the second part of our series on the rebuilding of Nelson County's Department of Social Services, we investigate the staffing challenges faced by small rural agencies… We meet the all-volunteer crew in Mount Solon that rehabilitates injured bats and teaches the public how to protect them….

Nelson County's Department of Social Services is rebuilding after a year of turmoil… The General Assembly approves a new budget, just over a week before the deadline… We take a deeper look at the compromise in that budget over a legal marijuana marketplace….

The Virginia House and State Senate meet today to vote on Virginia's next two-year budget… Virginia remains in a near-statewide drought warning… Residents in Chesterfield county push back on plans for three new data centers.

Researchers from the University of Virginia have found a possible negative side effect of weight loss injection drugs on muscle mass ... Mary Page Marlowe tells the story of a woman's life over the course of several decades, complicated by her personal choices and circumstances. The play, produced by local theater company ShenanArts, debuts in Staunton tomorrow ... and more.

Shenandoah National Park officials suspect a norovirus outbreak along the Appalachian Trail is infecting some hikers… The case against the Natural Bridge Zoo will be split into three separate trials… A Fluvanna County woman invents a wearable device to help breast-feeding mothers....

Residents pack a public forum in Strasburg over a proposed data center complex… The two missing baby giraffes from the Natural Bridge Zoo have been found safe… Governor Spanberger and legislative leaders announce a deal on a retail marijuana market….

Residents in several places in the northern Shenandoah Valley are debating proposed data center projects… Morale in Albemarle County's police department is down, according to one survey… Old-fashioned pinball and video games are thriving at parlors around the state, and we visit one in Charlottesville….

Health officials ask residents in Buckingham County to help contain the measles outbreak there… Drought conditions worsen, with nearly 40% of Virginia under extreme drought… The House of Delegates releases its budget proposal, which still includes a tax break for data centers, but also a commission to study them….

Albemarle County's school superintendent resigns over his handling of accusations against two teachers…Harrisonburg hosts a new Pride-themed vendor market… We meet a cyclist traveling the East Coast to raise money for LGBTQ+ causes… Jeff Schapiro surveys the week in Virginia politics, and looks ahead to upcoming budget negotiations….

Virginia notches more than 100 measles cases, largely due to an outbreak in Buckingham County… Prosecutors in Page County and elsewhere vow not to enforce a new ban on so-called “assault weapons”… The war in Iran, and the resulting shortages and rise in prices, presents new challenges for local farmers….

UVa researchers launch a program to discourage the consumption of sugary drinks… A court orders registrars to accept student voter applications from JMU and other state campuses… Governor Spanberger appoints dozens of new members to governing boards at Virginia's colleges and universities….

Shenandoah County takes one step closer to welcoming a data center, despite the opposition of some residents… Due to federal budget cuts, Bath Community Hospital is among more than a dozen rural hospitals in Virginia in danger of closing… We explore the growing trend of IV infusions to boost energy, and the risks….

Dominion representatives skip a state meeting on offshore wind, even as the company hopes for state approval for a big merger… Could the war in Iran be a good thing for jobs in Virginia?... A free fishing program is expanded across the state….

Measles, mostly among the unvaccinated, continues to spread in Virginia… A late freeze, drought and war mean lower crop yields this season for farmers in the Shenandoah Valley… Nexus again violates court orders… The Staunton community works to revive a historic downtown theater….

At an appearance in Virginia amid a measles outbreak, Health Secretary RFK, Jr. encourages people to get vaccinated… One man is in prison for killing Towan Cappell in 2022, but did others escape justice because of Harrisonburg Police incompetence?... We go on a quest through the forest for turtles….

The lead investigator on a 2022 Harrisonburg murder scene had never worked a violent crime before (part two in our series on the case of the killing of Towan Cappell)… Experts say with gas prices momentarily falling, now is the time to fill your tank… A new report paints a much rosier picture for Virginia state revenues over the next few years….

Police mishandling of a 2022 murder in Harrisonburg means those who may have been involved have not faced justice… As the June 30th deadline for the budget approaches, leaders in the General Assembly battle each other and the governor for leverage… We talk with local hemp businesses about how they process the crop, and the regulatory challenges they face….

Park rangers launch sobriety checkpoints for Skyline Drive visitors… Even with last month's heavy rain, much of our area is still under extreme drought… A court ends a lawsuit against the state corrections department over alleged abuses at Fluvanna Correctional Center, but how are conditions there now?

A June date is set for the General Assembly to reconvene and finalize the state's budget, with a deadline looming at the end of the month… Jeff Schapiro lends his insight on that and more in the week in Virginia politics… Two nonprofits team up to save Virginia's farmland from development….

The 5th congressional district is the only one with primary elections for both major parties this year… A new forecast suggests Virginia's economy is heading for a rough patch… An independent record label that got its start in Charlottesville reissues a 30th anniversary series, and we take a listen….

Residents and supporters of Harrisonburg's Northeast neighborhood gather to protest police treatment of three teens as suspects after a shooting… Governor Spanberger's veto totals approach those of her predecessor in his first year in office… Federal government pressure influenced the lack of limits on AI in this year's General Assembly….

Charlottesvile City Council is noncommittal on placing new public art crafted using melted bronze from the old Lee statue… Meanwhile, the city marks the 50th anniversary of its downtown mall… Virginia state health agencies raise awareness about postpartum depression….

The so-called Shopping Cart Killer will serve life in prison for his crimes… We continue to explore some of the flurry of vetoes Governor Spanberger issued last week… President Trump considers a health care bill introduced by the late Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly….

This weekend's rain will help, but drought conditions have worsened in Virginia… Childhood vaccination gaps contribute to a measles outbreak in Buckingham County… How are Virginians who got “DOGE'd” a year ago doing now?