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.

Ante up: $8 million casino referendum in Richmond breaks state record

September 22, 2023 Guest User

*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.

Nearly $2 million in “dark money” pours into historic Virginia campaigns

September 15, 2023 Guest User

“Dark money” organizations have spent more than $1.7 million on Virginia candidates. More than $1.4 Million going to Republican candidates. *Photo by Jimmy Cloutier // VCIJ*

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.

‘I just don't want to die’: Black pregnant women are turning to midwives for personalized care — and a better chance at survival

August 8, 2023 Guest User

Home from the hospital, Amoni Thompson-Jones; her husband, Casey Jones; and their newborn baby, Amara Thompson, meet with midwife Ebony Simpson in their Alexandria, Virginia, apartment. Thompson-Jones told Simpson how unhappy she was with the hospital care she received. She said she felt as if the doctors had a “birth playlist” they followed whenever a woman came in and didn’t really listen to her concerns. Even if, like Thompson-Jones, the mother ultimately gives birth in a hospital, the midwives do follow-up postpartum checks with mother and baby for up to a year after the birth.

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.