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Keeping this dream alive won't be easy
What would you do for a shot at the American dream? Would you travel by foot for two weeks straight, sleeping during the day and walking by night, to escape the rural poverty of southwestern Mexico? Would you give up everything — family, school, friends — to trek 2,600 miles, with next to no money or job prospects, to another city where literally no one speaks your language? That’s Beato Ortiz Hernandez. He crossed the border in 2000, at the age of 15, and made his way to Richmond in search of a better life.
‘Make a better life’: Fort Monroe naturalization ceremony welcomes nearly 100 new citizens
Val Milan spent the past 10 years selling houses to families in Hampton Roads as a real estate agent. But as a green card holder from Ukraine, she never experienced the full joy she helped give clients of feeling truly at home in America. Milan joined 97 people from 40 different countries Friday morning to recite the oath of allegiance in a naturalization ceremony as part of Fort Monroe’s Fourth at the Fort festivities. “It’s much deeper now,” Milan said. “The land is my home.”
Mobile Response Unit aims to bring addiction support to rural communities
During the ongoing opioid crisis, four Central Virginia localities are launching a new initiative that brings addiction response and recovery support directly to people’s doorsteps. With more than $113,000 in funding from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority, Prince George County, Hopewell, Dinwiddie and Surry counties are teaming up to roll out a Mobile Overdose Response Unit — a first-of-its-kind regional collaboration aimed at saving lives and breaking the cycle of addiction.
Porn sites still accessible in Virginia despite age verification law
Many porn sites are still unrestricted years after Virginia passed a law limiting access to them. Why it matters: Virginia was among the first states to require age verification for adult sites, but an Axios review found progress has been slow. By the numbers: Of the top 57 active "porn tube" sites listed on toppornsites.com, as of Tuesday: Only four asked Virginians for age verification with a government-issued ID, as the 2023 law mandates. 16 were blocked entirely, and 3 just required a click of a button to access.
Democrats beginning process to challenge US Rep. Rob Wittman
Congressional midterm elections are still 17 months away, but already Democrats are itching for a fight against U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman. In April, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified Virginia’s 1st Congressional District as one of 35 Republican-held seats it hopes to flip in the 2026 midterm elections. Wittman, R-Westmoreland, has represented the 1st District since 2007. So far, two Democrats have announced they intend to seek their party’s nomination and others have not ruled out the possibility.
Virginia Democrats are eyeing 13 potential seats that could flip blue this year
Democrats are targeting more than a dozen Republican-held seats in the Virginia House of Delegates this year. Lucky 13 is the target number of seats this year for Democrats, who are hoping to flip the districts from red to blue. Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says the battleground is suburban. "They're often in outer ring suburban communities, particularly in the Richmond and Hampton Roads area where elections are won and lost in Virginia. These are contested spaces, these outer ring suburban counties," Farnsworth says.
Riley rebounds, takes second shot at Virginia's 5th District seat in Congress
Paul Riley is making his second bid to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. Only this time, he is running on a platform that emphasizes his veteran status and economic policies. “It’s the same old me, but we’re going to come out there with a little bit more force and a little bit stronger,” the Democrat told The Daily Progress shortly before launching his campaign in the western Albemarle County village of Crozet last Wednesday.
From VPAP New Episode: The Virginia Press Room Podcast
In the latest episode of the podcast from VaNews and VPM, Michael Pope is joined by Lauren Burke of the Black Virginia News podcast, Chris Saxman of the VIP podcast, and Rich Meagher of the RVA’s Got Issues podcast. They discuss the week's top headlines: Virginia Republicans hold unity event, the Big Beautiful Bill in Congress, and a potential new regional authority following Richmond's water crises. Tune in for insights and analysis on Virginia politics. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Southside farmers don’t think new solar farm rules will stop farmland loss
New solar farm regulations require developers in Virginia to mitigate the impact of their projects on prime farmland in certain cases. Effective in June, the rules apply to new solar projects that produce less than 150 megawatts of electricity and disturb more than 10 acres of prime soil. Those projects will have to provide a perpetual conservation easement equal in size to the area of disturbed farmland. Some Hampton Roads farmers, though, question whether the rules will have the intended outcomes.
At George Washington’s home, dozens become citizens on July 4th
At her naturalization ceremony at Mount Vernon, Randa Alakkad raised her right hand and wiped a tear off her cheek with her left. When she came to study in the United States from Syria 12 years ago, she never expected she would take her oath of allegiance on the country’s 249th birthday, at the home of George Washington. . . . She was among more than 100 immigrants from 95 countries who became U.S. citizens at the historic estate in Virginia on Friday morning. Thousands of spectators came to the ceremony, and to watch former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger deliver the marquee address.