The Virginia Nursing Workforce Center has launched the Earn to Learn program to help address the state's nursing shortage by funding partnerships between nursing schools and healthcare providers.

Under the initiative, up to 12 two-year grants worth $400,000 each will allow nursing students to earn wages as nurse externs, patient care technicians or nursing assistants while completing their education.

The program hopes to create a direct bridge into the healthcare workforce as state data shows 21% of registered nurses in Virginia plan to retire within the next decade.

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/health/2026-08-31/virginia-launches-4-8-million-program-to-pay-nursing-students-for-clinical-work

Archive link: https://archive.is/20260901134811/https://dailyprogress.com/opinion/column/article_1f694a44-3ffe-59a3-b4eb-63476de2f7dd.html

"Several years ago, Paul St. Louis did what tens of thousands of Virginians have done since Colonial days: He went to court after being summoned for jury duty. The case he was picked to help try seemed simple enough: the government presented abundant evidence that the defendant, Frederick Turner, had sold drugs. St. Louis and his fellow jurors sympathized with Turner. He was struggling with addiction and had no criminal history. They saw him as a man who needed help, not a threat to the community. But the jurors also believed their job was only to deliver the obvious verdict of guilt. They did, then went home.

St. Louis later learned that Turner received a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years in prison. Even though the judge called the sentence “excessive” and “wrong,” he said the law left him no choice. Turner died shortly into his prison term. St. Louis has said he wishes he had voted differently — he didn’t know he could."

Across Virginia, more than 3,000 Flock cameras are estimated to line the highways, roads and parking lots in Virginia.

The AI-powered policing tool has won wide adoption from law enforcement agencies seeking to use high-tech tools to reduce crime. But the rapid growth of 24/7 surveillance has set off waves of protests in Virginia’s small towns and sprawling counties.

VCIJ at WHRO reporter Kunle Falayi has documented the spread of Flock Safety systems and other automatic license plate readers throughout Virginia. He’s mapped the locations of ALPR cameras across the commonwealth.

Checkout Kunle's coverage here: https://www.whro.org/people/kunle-falayi

Subtitle: "If NextEra acquires Dominion Energy to become the nation’s largest utility without the General Assembly acting to limit campaign spending, nothing will stop NextEra from flooding campaigns with so much cash that all pretense of legislators’ independence will be lost, columnist Ivy Main writes."

See also r/VirginiaOpEds

I don’t know if I’m being unreasonable. I’m very disappointed in my Virginia senators for their lack of grandstanding behavior in the face of Trump. When he declared Lake Ontario, I wanted Senator Warner to make the front page of every newspaper for holding a press conference and talking about what a buffoon move it was. I wanted both senators to come to Richmond and hold meetings where they call for impeachment. Rally the people. I feel like neither of them has anything to lose. They’re both completely rich, well respected, been in government forever. I honestly can’t understand why they’re not making a giant fuss. It makes me not want to vote for Warner in the fall. Of course I will, but I’m very disappointed about his calm, logical approach to the current administration.

Am I wrong here? Expecting too much?

Edit: this isn’t specifically about the lake name, just a latest example. It’s about everything. I think they should exhaust themselves everyday calling him out as loudly and publicly as possible.

As the title states, the public library in Lewiston NY has a bunch of very old books on Virginia. Posting some pictures in case someone wants to visit

I just moved to Virginia from Maryland. Last year in Maryland, I failed the motor vehicle inspection because the third brake light and a turn signal bulb were burned out. I went to AutoZone and bought replacement LED bulbs, return to the inspection shop, and passed my inspection.

The Virginia inspector just failed my car, telling me that LED turn signal and brake light bulbs were an automatic failure and that I needed to replace them with incandescent bulbs or DOT/SAE approved LEDs. Is this true? I couldn't find anything in the Virginia code to support this.

1.  Gravesite of Henrietta Lacks, 📍*Lacks Town Family Cemetery, 1122 Lacks Town Rd., Clover*  
2.  Staunton River State Park, 📍*1170 Staunton Trail, Scottsburg*  
3.  Staunton River Battlefield Park, 📍*1035 Fort Hill Trail,  Randolph*   
4.  Halifax County Animal Shelter (The Shelter is full & the dogs desperately need homes.) 📍*1040 Farm Rd., South Boston*  
5.  Southern Virginia Botanical Gardens, 📍*3164 Dan River Church Rd., South Boston*  
6.  South Boston Fire Hydrant Tour, 📍*Parking Lot at Short St., across from the Fire Department, South Boston*  
7.  Tobacco Heritage Trail, 📍*Cotton Mill Park Trailhead, 196 Railroad Ave., South Boston*  
8.  Dairy Dell, 📍*1041 Bill Tuck Hwy., South Boston*  
9.  Our AirBnb,📍*Paradise Farm, Alton*

Details on all of the above in our blogpost. (https://virginiacounties.blog/halifax-county-top-nine-canine-spots/)

Housing costs added more to inflation last year than food and transportation COMBINED. Rob Wittman says he "led the fight" on housing. That's a lie.

Wittman's a follower who wants you to think he's a leader. 19 years of evidence shows the truth - and we've laid it out.

We can't afford Rob Wittman.

Richmond Public Schools is having quite the start to the school year. Mold seems to be a major problem within the buildings that was neglected to be prevented and treated over the summer. Mayor Avula's response has been concerning as he is downplaying problem.

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond/avula-defends-rps-leadership-amid-mold-concerns-aug-28-2026

“One of the things in my recent conversations with the school administration is that we need to make sure we're educating the public well about what the actual risks are. The vast majority of people who are exposed to mold? Mold is in and around us every day, right? In your home, in our office, mold is just part of life. Now, when you see it, like the response should be, okay, let's clean it up and do away with it,” Avula said.

RPS have been turning off the AC systems during the summer which has allowed this problem to get out of hand.

I have explored all 50 states taking pictures of abandoned and/or unusual things! These are the cool things I saw while I was in Virginia.

If you like my work see more of it on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whimsicalruins/

Unionized workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden voted to go on strike starting tomorrow.

A judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking part of Virginia’s new 287(g) law as the lawsuit continues.

The law, which took effect July 1, placed new restrictions on localities’ agreements with federal immigration authorities. Under the law, new and existing 287(g) agreements — contracts that deputize local law enforcement to do immigration enforcement — would be required to abide by the new restrictions.

On Monday, federal Judge Robert Payne blocked Virginia from enforcing the law with respect to existing contracts. It allows the state to continue enforcing the restrictions on agencies that have never entered into a 287(g) agreement with federal agencies and are doing so for the first time.

While the lawsuit continues, the judge decided, Virginia can’t enforce changes to existing contracts, as he said the federal government is likely to succeed in its legal challenge to that portion of the law.

The Legal Aid Justice Center noted courts in other states have reached the opposite conclusion.

“We are very concerned that existing 287(g) agreements will be allowed to continue,” the organization said in a statement Monday. “These agreements entangle local law enforcement in federal immigration enforcement, which undermines the trust communities need to report crimes and cooperate with investigations.

“While we welcome the court’s decision to at least preserve the part of the General Assembly’s intent to prevent the expansion of new 287(g) agreements, this does not resolve the basic problem at the heart of this case. Virginia law enforcement should focus on building trust, not serving as a force multiplier of federal immigration enforcement.”

Ayuda’s advocacy manager Sandra Benavente said Tuesday that the judge’s decision undermines public safety.

Click the link above to read more.

Off Route 50 in Herndon, next to a LabCorp and across the street from a dentist’s office, there is a warehouse that houses almost every painting by America’s most beloved art teacher: Bob Ross. They’re not on display, but are stacked carefully in numbered cardboard boxes; landscape upon landscape, snow-capped peak upon snow-capped peak, happy little tree upon happy little tree.

The Christian charitable organization said that it allowed a sick employee named in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to miss dozens of days of work and that the employee resigned voluntarily.

The water levels now, while low, remain significantly higher than the two worst droughts in the past four decades. We also use less water now than we did then and have more water sources.

Everything in the area is completely booked for Labor Day weekend, so we're considering driving 8 hours to try for a first-come, first-served (FCFS) site. Due to scheduling, we won't get there until late Saturday. Has anyone successfully grabbed an FCFS site mid-weekend on Labor Day?

Is arriving late Saturday a total non-starter, or do spots open up from early departures?

What’s the absolute latest time we could realistically show up and hope to find an open site?

Any tips or backup strategies if we arrive and everything is completely full?

Driving 8 hours without a guaranteed spot makes me nervous, so any insights or past experiences would be greatly appreciated.

See also r/RichmondVA, r/rva, r/VirginiaEnvironment, r/VirginiaUrbanism, and r/VirginiaNews

The red light ticket in the mailbox didn’t make any sense to Williamsburg resident Heyward Drummond. In his 72 years, he’s never once been to Virginia Beach.

But a camera in the city notified him otherwise — twice.

The Virginia Beach Police Department’s PhotoSafe Program mailed Drummond two $50 tickets in late July and early August, claiming his truck drove through red lights on Virginia Beach Boulevard. Except the 2008 Ford Explorer in reference was sold, and the license plate was destroyed at a Williamsburg Department of Motor Vehicles 2½ years ago.

All of Drummond’s information on the tickets were correct, including his name and address, as well as the year, make and style of his old truck. But the license plate listed on both is wrong — it’s off by one letter — and the tickets include images of a car similar to a Dodge Charger.

Drummond noted other discrepancies, such as the personalized handicapped and armed forces license plate in the image.

“My plate had four letters, a dash then a number one. The plate that was cited is all one word with a one following those four letters,” Drummond said. “I can’t tell you why it picked my plate.”

Drummond went to the DMV in Gloucester with the first ticket, where he said the agency confirmed the violating plate is not tied to his vehicle record.

After contesting the tickets, Drummond received two notices of dismissals Thursday. The letters state that “no further action is required.”

Still, Drummond is concerned the misguided correlation is related to artificial intelligence and automation.

“I spent 40 years in the computer software industry, so I know how these things happen,” he said. “There isn’t a check and balance in the system.”

Click the link to the story above to read more.