VPM News

VCU releases pro-Palestinian campus activist’s degree after over 2 months Sereen Haddad won her appeal against a ruling that she broke university rules.

Megan Pauly, who has reported extensively for VPM News on campus protests at VCU and Haddad’s degree being withheld, spoke to VPM News Features Editor Whittney Evans about how this situation unfolded and why Haddad’s degree was withheld in the first place. A transcript of that interview is below.

Where are the cooling centers in Central Virginia? Updated July 27: It's gonna be another set of scorchers this week, y'all.

Hey, Central Virginia. It's really, really hot outside. Stay cool! www.vpm.org/news/2025-06...

Richmond native Letitia Shelton to take over city’s finance department Shelton most recently served as finance director in Virginia Beach.

Letitia Shelton will replace outgoing Richmond finance director Sheila White, who announced her resignation earlier this month.

The department has faced a series of recent issues, including overcharging restaurants for the city’s meals tax and sending out incorrect property tax rebate checks.

Civil rights groups push to end Virginia’s denial of voting rights to felons They argue that the practice violates a post-Civil War federal law.

The Virginia Readmission Act of 1870 prohibits voter disenfranchisement except as a punishment for offenses that were considered felonies at common law at the time — including murder, manslaughter, arson, burglary, robbery, rape, sodomy, mayhem and larceny.

Virginia hospitals could lose up to $26B due to federal Medicaid cuts Gov. Glenn Youngkin has called some estimates of the impact “literally made up.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushed back on an estimate by the CFO of Virginia's Medicaid agency that federal cuts could cause “a macroeconomic financial shock" for the state, saying that “economic impacts should be evaluated by individuals with specific expertise in hospital finance.”

Ongoing courthouse ICE detentions raise concern in Chesterfield The court clerk’s office says it believes the arrests are unlawful.

After more than a dozen ICE arrests at the Chesterfield County Courthouse last month, there are concerns over potential long-term ramifications of courthouse detentions for the legal system.

“ICE is using the courthouses as a dragnet,” said Eden Heilman, legal director for @acluva.bsky.social.

A screenshot from the give and take coffee instagram with four people clad in VPM gear!

HAPPENING NOW: @vpm.org’s mug stop at give and take coffee in Charlottesville! Come meet @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social and see how we’re helping local news out here.

We also have FREE MUGS!

Virginia public media stations brace for impact of federal funding cuts UPDATED: Several outlets, including VPM, expect to scale back local programming.

Questions about this article and VPM News’ overall editorial policy should be directed to Managing Editor Dawnthea M. Price Lisco (dplisco@vpm.org) and News Director Elliott Robinson (erobinson@vpm.org).

Congress will claw back $1.1B from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. VPM, which is a PBS and NPR affiliate, will lose more than $2.5M over the next two years in lost funds. VPM President Jayme Swain says the cuts could result in the loss of Central Virginia local programming.

Virginia parents seeking subsidized child care have 90 days to get a job Officials say the work requirement will create positive economic incentives.

Parents of children participating in the Child Care Subsidy Program who are unemployed — and aren’t in an approved education or job training program — have to find a job within 90 days or risk losing care.

Before July 1, there was no limit on the amount of time parents could utilize the program.

Virginia public media stations brace for impact of federal funding cuts UPDATED: Several outlets, including VPM, expect to scale back local programming.

The rescission package passed by Congress+Senate withdraws all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in FY2026 and 2027, leaving even stations that remain operational scrambling to restore their budgets. (The federal fiscal year runs from 10/1 to 9/30; Virginia’s runs from 7/1 to 6/30.)

A map of Virginia showing public media stations who all stand to lose money due to federal cuts to Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding.

Congress has voted to claw back $9 billion in funding for various aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that President Donald Trump is expected to approve. But what, who and where, exactly, would be impacted by the funding loss in Virginia?
www.vpm.org/news/2025-07...

P.S. – This Curious was tough to answer! The commonwealth's rules are very layered and the answer varies *extremely* by location and office.

If there's a ballot initiative or type of elected office you're curious about (ha) and we didn't get to it, please let us know!
— @dawnthea.bsky.social

Curious Commonwealth asks: How does Virginia do referendums and recalls? The answer depends on the ballot, office and location.

~50% of the US provides citizens with a path to change laws via voter initiatives — or recall their elected officials.

A Goochland County listener asked @whittneye.bsky.social whether Virginia is one of them.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-07... #publicmedia #audiencepowered #curiouscommonwealth

Tune in today for updated reporting from @deanmirshahi.bsky.social on Sheila White's resignation as Richmond finance director:

Richmond grapples with legacy of Confederate statues amid Trump DEI orders ‘Who we choose to honor and memorialize says a lot about who we are.’

“Our memory of the past is not just some academic subject. It's not just something for nerds who like history,” said Rivka Maizlish, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “It really can change the course of who has power in the present."

Hanover County School Board elects new leaders The new leadership replaces longtime fixtures in the board's top roles.

Hanover County School Board members Whitney Welsh (Henry District) and Greg Coleman (Beaverdam District) — the board's longest-tenured members despite both being appointed in 2023 — step into the leadership roles vacated by longtime board fixtures Bob May and Steve Ikenberry.

Richmond’s Hair We Go braids confidence into next generation A one-time grant from NextUp RVA makes this year’s summer camp free for RPS students.

Hair We Go isn’t your average summer camp. It’s a place where Richmond girls learn that hair can be more than a style: It can be a step toward confidence and building a business.

Beyond technique, the girls are also taught about how to build a brand and dream like business owners.

Students, faculty and community members gathered Saturday morning to show support for outgoing UVA President Jim Ryan.

Ryan announced his resignation last week after the school faced scrutiny from federal investigators related to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices.

State Democrats celebrate new maternal health care laws The ‘momnibus’ package is among the new laws going into effect Tuesday.

Some new laws in Virginia that take effect today are Democrats' answer to disparities in maternal mortality, a long waitlist for subsidized child care and access to health care.

The "momnibus" package will fundamentally transform how Virginia supports mothers, babies, and families.

UVA President Jim Ryan resigned under pressure from Trump DOJ. Read more from the rest of the @vpm.org team

Ryan's exit as UVA president met with surprise around the commonwealth Virginia Democrats — several of them UVA alums — publicly condemned the decision.

“They went for Columbia, and they went for Harvard, and then they came for us,” UVA Faculty Senate chair-elect Jeri Seidman told VPM News. “I think every university should now be worried about the DOJ believing that they can have a say in the administration of a university.”

“I love the University of Virginia deeply, and it's because of all of you,” Ryan said in brief, unplanned remarks at his Carr's Hill residence. “Regardless of my role, I will continue to do whatever I can to support this place and continue to make it the best place it can be."

Ryan confirmed his resignation in an university-wide email Friday afternoon: “To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.”

@nytimes.com reported Friday that Ryan told UVA's board of visitors that he would step down amid pressure from the US Justice Department.

DOJ was reportedly pressuring Ryan to resign in as a condition to settle a civil rights investigation into UVA's diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

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

BREAKING: UVA President Jim Ryan resigned Friday, according to news reports.

Spanberger, Hashmi advocate in Charlottesville for abortion access The Democratic gubernatorial nominee is on an 8-day bus tour of the state.

During the Charlottesville stop on the "Span Virginia Bus Tour" this week, @abigailspanberger.com and @senatorhashmi.bsky.social discussed the future of reproductive health care in Virginia.

More from @hannahdavisreid.bsky.social:

ICE is conducting daily detentions at Chesterfield County Courthouse Lawyers worry witnesses and victims may skip court out of fear of detainment.

ICE agents have been in regular attendance at the Chesterfield County Courthouse since last Friday, with plainclothes agents attending traffic court, arraignments & preliminary hearings. Some of the agents are masked, and when proceedings have finished they've been taking people out of the building.

Richmond P-card audit finds at least $5M in 'questionable' spending The review flagged about 25% of official purchases in a 23-month period.

Richmond’s audit of the staff P-card program found multiple issues: purchases with “missing or insufficient documentation,” unclear rules, inadequate training and inconsistent policy enforcement.

www.vpm.org/news/2025-06... via @deanmirshahi.bsky.social #RVA