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Bank account garnishment limit likely to get to the governor’s desk
Imagine the scenario: You owe a large sum of money and the debt collectors are after you. They make an arrangement with your bank to take everything you've got. Delegate Phil Hernandez is a Democrat from Norfolk who introduced legislation to protect people who are having a hard time making ends meet. "Under current law, when a garnishment hits your bank account you can be taken to zero overnight. Every last dollar in your account can be just gone in an instant," Hernandez said.
‘Farewell’: Richmond Free Press ceases publication
Richmond’s Black newspaper announced Thursday that it will end all publication this week after 34 years. “This chapter in the life of the Richmond Free Press has come to a close. As we prepare to pivot, we want to express our profound gratitude to our loyal readers,” wrote Jean Boone, Free Press publisher, in a Facebook post. Last week’s print edition was the outlet’s last hard-copy newspaper, according to the paper. The closure announcement was made in a final, online-only edition.
Virginia unemployment claims jump 71%
Unemployment claims rose sharply in Virginia last week, with more likely ahead, as Amazon announced it will lay off almost 700 employees at five grocery stores it plans to close in April in Northern Virginia. Virginia Works, the state workforce development agency, said Thursday that the state received 4,592 unemployment claims last week, a 71% spike from the previous week when it received about 2,300 fewer initial claims for jobless benefits. The level of claims is up 43% from the same week a year earlier.
Lynchburg City Council votes in favor of new abortion zoning ordinance
After a nearly five-hour-long public hearing on Thursday, Lynchburg City Council voted 4-2 to adopt an abortion zoning ordinance that was created by Councilman Martin Misjuns and the Family Foundation. Misjuns' ordinance would forbid any abortion clinics from being built within 1,000 feet of a school, church, or neighborhood.
How Virginia’s top court might decide Democrats’ gerrymandering fate
Virginia Democrats are moving forward with plans to gerrymander their way to four more congressional seats — but they need help from the state’s top court. After a lower court blocked Democrats’ efforts to amend the state Constitution and redraw federal congressional lines ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, the Virginia Court of Appeals requested the Virginia Supreme Court weigh in. That puts the fate of the map — and potentially congressional control after the 2026 midterms — in the hands of a group of justices that observers say can be hard to predict.
Bill to support popular vote in presidential elections passes Virginia Senate, House
The Virginia Senate has approved a bill seeking to base presidential election results on the national popular vote rather than the electoral vote. The Senate passed Sen. Adam Ebbin’s (D-39) national popular vote bill 21-19 on party lines Monday, and the House voted to engross a companion bill and [it passed Thursday 61-36]. The National Popular Vote interstate compact seeks to use constitutional authority allowing states to decide how to award electoral votes — by switching to a nationwide popular vote. According to the Virginia legislation, the compact could take effect if a majority of the United States’ electoral votes — 270 of the total 538 — have joined the compact.
White's Ferry: Will the historic transport ever operate again?
A once bustling 1,100-foot stretch across the Potomac River from Loudoun County to Poolesville, in Montgomery County, Maryland has sat quiet for nearly six years. White’s Ferry, the centuries-old wire cable ferry service, was the last of 100 ferries that once operated on the river. Since before the Civil War, it carried passengers — and later vehicles — on a four-minute trip between White’s Ferry Road off Route 15 in Loudoun County and Poolesville. Before it closed, the ferry took between 600 and 800 vehicles each day at a cost of $5 for a one-way ticket, or $8 for a round trip. But in December 2020, the ferry ceased operations after a decades-long dispute when a court ruling in Loudoun County concluded that no public landing exists on the Virginia shoreline ...
Virginia reports slight decline in January revenues
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced that January 2026 state revenues dropped, but emphasized that annual growth continues. The governor’s office announced in a press release on Thursday, Feb. 12, that Virginia’s January general fund revenues had declined from last year, while year-to-date collections remain above 2025’s levels due to high individual income and sales tax receipts. According to a release from the governor’s office, on a fiscal year-to-date basis, through the first seven months of fiscal year 2026, collections have grown 6.9% — 2.9% ahead of the forecast.
Rep. Eugene Vindman announces re-election campaign — but in 1st Congressional District
Rep. Eugene Vindman on Thursday announced that he intends to run for re-election — but in what could be a new congressional district for him. The Democrat represents Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which includes the Fredericksburg area. But his announcement said he would run in the 1st Congressional District if voters approve a mid-decade redrawing of political boundaries “to confront Trump administration corruption.” The 1st District is now the political home of GOP Rep. Rob Wittman, who has represented much of the Fredericksburg region in the past under old boundaries.
Yancey: The Confederacy is losing again, this time in the General Assembly
These are hard times to be a Confederate. Those words could have been written in 1865, too, but we have reason to write them anew 161 years later. For the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger, portable toilets were set up around two of the Confederate statues on Capitol Square. Now, multiple bills are moving through the General Assembly to purge both those statues and other remnants of Confederate reverence from Virginia.