A $1.6 million federal grant could unscramble the I-264 ramps in downtown Norfolk. But would it reopen an isolated, Black community?
Read morePolice reform may expand in Virginia, but behind closed doors
Since 2020, changes to the disciplinary process for law enforcement officers have driven up decertifications of wayward cops and prison guards. But a new law may shield investigators’ records and hearings from the public
Read moreVirginia Lawmakers Approve Commission to Examine Universities’ Displacement of Black Communities
The groundbreaking commission, which was proposed in response to our “Uprooted” series, would consider compensation for dislodged property owners and their descendants. Whether Gov. Glenn Youngkin will sign the bill is unclear.
Read moreAs the opioid epidemic persists, Virginia’s foster care support falters for families
A Richmond-area retiree raises four grandchildren, struggling to pay bills and navigate the tangled bureaucracy of kinship care
Relatives caring for children in Virginia are far less likely than caregivers in other states to have help from the foster care system for child care, counseling, grocery bills and other needs. About 12% of the children in Virginia’s foster care system live with relatives and receive support from the system, according to state data, far below the national rate of 33%.
Virginia is in the minority of states keeping even the most basic police data secret
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.
Read moreTask Force to Consider “Restorative Justice” for Black Families Uprooted by Virginia University’s Expansion
Spurred by our “Uprooted” series, a task force created by the city of Newport News and Christopher Newport University will reexamine decades of city and university records shedding light on a Black neighborhood’s destruction.
Read moreLawmaker Seeks Study, Relief for Black Communities Uprooted by Virginia Universities
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
Read moreThe University Uprooted a Black Neighborhood. Then Its Policies Reduced the Black Presence on Campus.
Black enrollment at Virginia’s Christopher Newport University fell by more than half under longtime president Paul Trible, a former Republican senator who wanted to “offer a private school experience.” By 2021, only 2.4% of full-time professors were Black.
Read moreNorfolk has a plan to save itself from rising seas. For many, it’s a $2.7 billion mystery
Norfolk, where the land is sinking and seas are rising faster than anywhere else on the Atlantic coast, is the first city in the U.S. to move forward with a coastal storm risk management plan under a 2015 Army Corps of Engineers strategy.
The two groups at opposite ends of the political and economic hierarchy each felt betrayed by a lack of transparency from federal and city officials about the largest infrastructure project in Norfolk’s history, one that will dramatically transform the city.
Read moreVirginia Lawmaker Calls for Commission to Study State Universities’ History of Uprooting Black Communities
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.
Read moreVirginia campaigns set fundraising records
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.
Read moreFifth Virginia casino in Richmond casino isn’t a sure bet
Results of the Nov. 7 referendum may shape the future of gambling resorts in the commonwealth
Read moreVirginia Law Allows the Papers of University Presidents to Stay Secret, Limiting Public Oversight
A provision in state law exempts college presidents’ “working papers and correspondence” from disclosure even after they step down — as we found out when we asked about one ex-president’s role in campus expansions that uprooted a Black neighborhood.
Read moreAnte up: $8 million casino referendum in Richmond breaks state record
Out-of-state developers have poured a record $8.1 million into a referendum campaign to allow the construction of a resort casino in Richmond, far-and-away the highest sum for a local election in Virginia.
Read moreNearly $2 million in “dark money” pours into historic Virginia campaigns
Independent political groups backed largely by “dark money” organizations and wealthy donors have spent nearly $1.7 million on Virginia candidates this election cycle, raising concerns about transparency and the influence of outside money in the tightly contested battle for control of the General Assembly.
Read moreVirginia’s Public Universities Have a Long History of Displacing Black Residents
Schools including Old Dominion and the flagship University of Virginia have expanded by dislodging Black families, sometimes by the threat or use of eminent domain.
Read moreErasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood
Sixty-plus years ago, the white leaders of Newport News, Virginia, seized the core of a thriving Black community to build a college. The school has been gobbling up the remaining houses ever since.
Read more‘I just don't want to die’: Black pregnant women are turning to midwives for personalized care — and a better chance at survival
In Virginia, Black women in recent years have been more than twice as likely as other mothers to have a death attributed to childbirth.
Photographer Karen Kasmauski followed the work of Black midwives between January and April this year in Virginia. Her series of photographs traces the relationships formed between midwives and their clients — from initial consultations and prenatal meetings to the birth and support in the months following pregnancy.
Read moreRichmond voting site closures could make in-person early voting inaccessible to minority voters
The Richmond Electoral Board’s decision last week to limit early voting locations could force voters in majority Black precincts to travel more than two hours by public transit to cast their ballots ahead of election day, an analysis by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO has found.
Read moreCandidates in Hampton Roads, Richmond, raked in more than $1 million in final primary sprint
Virginia legislative candidates across Greater Richmond and Hampton Roads raised nearly $3.8 million in the last three weeks of June — mostly from big donors giving more than $10,000 to their campaigns.
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