As Virginia housing costs rise, the General Assembly offers little relief

February 20, 2025 Guest User

The backyard of a home for sale in Henrico County. *File photo by CHRISTOPHER TYREE // VCIJ*

The median price of a single-family home in Virginia rose almost 40% between 2019 and 2024, pushing home ownership out of reach for many working-class families.

This year, Virginia legislators have introduced various measures to make home buying more attainable, both by helping buyers and incentivizing more home building. Progress has been slow.

This year, Virginia legislators have introduced various measures to make home buying more attainable, both by helping buyers and incentivizing more home building.

Progress has been slow.

Virginia has an estimated housing shortage of about 105,000 homes, according to a 2022 study by Up for Growth, a housing advocacy group. The scarcity of housing has driven up home prices and rents to record levels in recent years, according to Pew researchers.

Election 2024

November 12, 2024 Guest User

Detailed data on the 2024 general election in Virginia.

Lawsuit seeks to open up Virginia police employment records

October 11, 2024 Louis Hansen

Nonprofit newsroom claims Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services improperly withheld names, records of law enforcement officers.

Virginia is in the minority of states keeping even the most basic police data secret

February 8, 2024 Guest User

A recruitment poster for the Norfolk, Virginia Police Department hangs inside a New York City subway train in July 2022. *Photo by Dan Morisson // VCIJ at WHRO*

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police, Virginia lawmakers took action on reports that state policing regulators failed to strip the police certifications from dozens of officers with criminal convictions ranging from embezzlement to possession of child pornography and sexual assault.

The Legislature passed a bill in October 2020 requiring police departments to complete internal investigations even if officers resign during them, and to provide any records of misconduct to new prospective employers for officers; strengthening the requirements for agencies to send reports of misconduct to state regulators; expanding the offenses for which officers can be stripped of their certifications; and requiring a state board to write a statewide standard of conduct for policing.

Three years later, barely anything has changed.

Lawmaker Seeks Study, Relief for Black Communities Uprooted by Virginia Universities

January 17, 2024 Guest User

Following an investigation by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO and ProPublica, Del. Delores McQuinn introduces bill for a commission to investigate the displacement of Black neighborhoods by Virginia’s public colleges and universities

Virginia Lawmaker Calls for Commission to Study State Universities’ History of Uprooting Black Communities

November 10, 2023 Guest User

A Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority map from the 1960s shows how Old Dominion University (then called Old Dominion College) planned to expand into the Lamberts Point neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia. (*Old Dominion University Special Collections & University Archives)*

In response to our reporting, state Delegate Delores McQuinn said a task force could shed light on the impact of college expansion in Virginia. Officials are also calling for displaced families to receive redress, from scholarships to reparations.

Virginia campaigns set fundraising records

November 6, 2023 Guest User

Sun sets on Virginia Capitol in Richmond, Va., Nov. 3, 2023. All 140 seats in the General Assembly are on the ballot this year. *Photo by Jimmy Clutier*

Virginia’s high-stakes General Assembly elections on Nov. 7 are the commonwealth’s most expensive on record — and could prove to be among the costliest legislative elections in U.S. history.