Whittney Evans

Curious Commonwealth asks: What's with Virginia's off-year elections? Why does every year feature a major election in the commonwealth?

"And you can make a good argument that having elections all the time is too much," he said. "It overloads the electorate with information, and with candidates, and with advertisements and decisions." -Brent Tarter

SEND QUESTIONS AT VPM.ORG/CURIOUS

@vpm.org www.vpm.org/news/2025-08...

Curious Commonwealth asks: Why don’t the Seven Cities get along? The region’s historical tension has its roots in segregation, economics.

The latest from @vpm.org Curious Commonwealth. Submit a question at VPM.org/Curious.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-08...

UVA president Jim Ryan resigns under pressure from Trump administration The Justice Department has been investigating UVA over its diversity practices.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-06...

Local artist Bukuru Nyandwi is photographed on Friday, July 12, 2024 at Studio Two Three in Richmond, Virginia.

VPM News wants to know: What brings you joy? Do you, your family or your community engage in a unique activity in Central Virginia that enriches your life and brings a smile to your face?

We’d love to learn more about it and share it with our audience over the summer! Email us at tips@vpm.org ☀️

Curious Commonwealth asks: Who was Humphrey Calder? Who are a playground and community center in Richmond’s Museum District named after?

Calder emphasized the importance of maintaining and beautifying parks, including Byrd Park and Shields Lake. He advocated for accessible green spaces for the community, even allowing children to play on the grass, which was uncommon at the time. @vpm.org

www.vpm.org/news/2025-05...

A ‘recycled’ Curious Commonwealth update What does the data tell us about how much Virginia recycles?

“The status quo for a long time is just to rely on the goodwill of people wanting to be environmental stewards,” Wilson said. “We kind of need to move away from that and actually set up things that encourage recycling in a real way.” @ellywilson.bsky.social @vpm.org

www.vpm.org/news/2025-04...

Why is Virginia a Dillon Rule state? Who’s Dillon, and why does the commonwealth follow his rule?

NEW from @jahd.bsky.social at @vpm.org — Curious Commonwealth: Why is Virginia a Dillon Rule state? www.vpm.org/news/2025-03...

Oyster eating focuses state lawmakers on Chesapeake Bay restoration The waterway’s foundation hosts an annual event to celebrate progress, advocacy.

From the incomparable @jahd.bsky.social and Patrick Larsen: The @chesapeakebayfdn.bsky.social hosts an annual oyster eating "contest" at the Virginia State Capitol to keep the conservation conversation on the table. @vpm.org

www.vpm.org/news/2025-02...

Virginia High School League bans trans students from girls’ sports The organization initially said it would maintain its existing policy.

@vpm.org The league’s executive committee voted to bring the organization into compliance with President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” — a reversal from the organization’s initially published stance.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-02...

Henrico County reviews internal reports on January water outage Official miscommunications during the crisis affected the county’s response.

@vpm.org Official miscommunications during the crisis affected the county’s response.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-02...

Legal fight against AI-generated child pornography is complicated – a legal scholar explains why, and how the law could catch up US law tries to strike a balance between free speech and protecting people from harm. When it comes to child pornography, AI makes that task all the more difficult.

Legal fight against AI-generated child pornography is complicated – a legal scholar explains why, and how the law could catch up

“Each of those four kids already demonstrated through the appeals process, in order to receive the waiver, that they have no competitive advantage over any other student and now they don’t get to play sports with their friends anymore,” she said.

VHSL reverses transgender athlete participation policy to align with Trump's executive order The Virginia High School League (VHSL) has changed its policy regarding transgender athlete participation.

State Sen. Danica Roem, the first openly transgender member of the Virginia legislature, said there are only four trans student-athletes out of 1.2 million Virginia public school students who have been allowed to play sports.

richmond.com/news/state-r...