The Constitution’s framers battled over the structure of the U.S. Senate and how its members would be chosen
Read moreIn Winchester, the truth about a local news website is the city’s best-kept secret
The Winchester Gazette launched its website in August 2023. Questions about its owners and journalism have persisted ever since. Photo illustration
As the hometown newspaper cut staff and TV stations left one small Virginia town, a website appeared touting a new, trusted source of local news. But the who, what, when, where and why of it have baffled residents.
Read moreThe centuries-old question of Rights on Virginia’s ballot
Adam Jennison, 13, of NW DC, middle, and Madeleine Joseph, 13, of Northwest Washington, take their first peek at the actual Bill of Rights document at the National Archives. File Photo/Alamy
Two November ballot issues for Virginia voters have deep roots in human rights
Read moreResearching a dark history, Virginia lawmakers seek more from universities
A view of Vinegar Hill in the early 1960s — before Charlottesville city leaders uprooted the thriving Black community — looking north at the intersection of Main and Ridge streets. (Charlottesville Housing Authority)
A General Assembly commission is probing public universities' disruption of Black communities across the Commonwealth
Read moreGuns, militias and a long-running Virginia debate
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team march to their posts near the U.S Capitol building Jan. 17, 2021, in Washington, D.C. At least 25,000 National Guard men and women conduct security, communication and logistical missions leading up to the 59th Presidential Inauguration. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham)
The Founders argued over the state’s authority to control armed forces. It remains a flashpoint.
Read moreVirginia’s redistricting failure – a symptom of a larger problem?
Political signs offer opposing views on redistricting ahead of the April 21 Virginia referendum. Source // Wikimedia Commons
George Washington believed the House of Representatives should be close to the people. The Founders failed to anticipate a century of Congressional stagnation with a fast-growing population.
Read moreThree Words and a Quiet Revolution
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump hold a "We the People" banner, a Three Percenters flag and a 13-star Betsy Ross U.S. flag, gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
A simple change to the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution drew little debate from the Founders. Its ambiguity continues to be seized and fought over.
Read moreOur Unfinished Union
Photo Illustration by Christopher Tyree // VCIJ
The mission of this series is to give readers insights into how the Founding Fathers debated and addressed the issues we still contest today.
Read moreVirginia state senator’s solar plan roils conservationists
Republican Sen. Richard Stuart sits in the Senate chamber in Richmond, January 16, 2026. Stuart is trying install a solar farm on property he owns that is under a conservation easement. Photo by Christopher Tyree // VCIJ
Republican Sen. Richard Stuart wants to develop a large solar farm on his property. Green energy advocates say it would set a dangerous precedent.
Read moreVirginia anti-violence programs slashed in federal cuts
Alex De Paula, former program director of Safer Together, speaks about the anti-violence initiative in April 2024, at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. The three-year, $2 million program was cancelled this year after the Trump administration stopped funding its federal grant. (handout photo)
A Portsmouth nonprofit built a program to aid victims of gun violence in Hampton Roads. It was one of several anti-crime projects in Virginia to lose its funding to the Trump administration’s cuts this year.
Read moreAfter DOGE, a life upended
Tanna Price helped governments around the world build their economies and root out corruption. News of USAID cuts reached her in Sri Lanka. Almost a year later, Price and thousands of other professionals like her look toward an uncertain future.
Read moreUnder Trump, a lifeline for young women in rural Virginia fights to survive
Since 1967, Job Corps has been a fixture in Marion, Va. The residential campus on Main Street has trained generations in health care skills. Despite bipartisan support under previous administrations, the Trump administration is trying to close it.
Read moreReturn of the measles virus to Virginia brings new risks for children
A map shows kindergarten measles vaccination rate across Virginia’s counties and cities according to the vaccination data reported by schools at the start of the school year. Map by Kunle Falayi // VCIJ at WHRO
Just half of Virginia’s public and private kindergarten classes reported a 95% vaccination rate – the key threshold for herd immunity – at the start of the 2024-25 school year, according to an analysis of state health data by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
Read moreSearch the VCIJ database to see vaccination rates for Virginia’s schools
Nearly half of the commonwealth’s public and private kindergarten classes fail to meet an important vaccination threshold, an analysis of state health data by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO shows.
Read moreElection 2024
Detailed data on the 2024 general election in Virginia.
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.
A portrait of Trible and his wife hangs in the library named after them. Photo by Christopher Tyree // VCIJ at WHRO
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 moreVirginia campaigns set fundraising records
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.
Read moreAnte up: $8 million casino referendum in Richmond breaks state record
Illustration by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
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 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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