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Planned Parenthood centers in Virginia brace for potential Medicaid funding loss
Planned Parenthood centers in Virginia and across the nation are preparing for potential impacts from the Trump administration's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which aims to prohibit Medicaid payments for services at facilities like Planned Parenthood for one year. A federal judge has temporarily blocked this provision for 14 days. Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the legislation could affect around 5,700 Medicaid patients in Virginia. She explained that these patients would lose access not only to abortion services but also to STI tests, cancer screenings, and contraception.
State budget change will deliver bigger gaming tax payday for Dumfries
The Town of Dumfries is expecting a bigger payoff next year as a result of a change in the way Virginia allocates gaming tax revenues to communities that host facilities such as The Rose and Rosies, which feature off-track betting and slots-like betting machines. . . . The amendment, which goes into effect in July 2026, will boost Dumfries budget by at least $1 million a year. Torian says he led the tax change to help Dumfries and other localities with Rosie’s gaming facilities grow their economies.
Virginia’s AG race heats up with GOP's ‘Soft Jay Jones’ campaign
Virginia Republicans might not be unified at the top of their statewide ticket, but they are unified in their attacks against the Democratic nominee for attorney general, painting him as a far-left criminal sympathizer. The Republican Party of Virginia launched a new attack campaign against the Democratic nominee for attorney general Jay Jones this week, dubbed “Soft Jay Jones.” The campaign, paid for by the Virginia GOP and authorized by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for reelection, cites some of Jones’ voting record as a delegate in Virginia’s General Assembly and paints Jones as soft on crime.
As part of FEMA Review Council, Youngkin to assess state, federal disaster coordination
In the wake of deadly flooding in central Texas and New Mexico that claimed over 100 lives with nearly 200 still missing, scrutiny of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which provides disaster recovery services and funding, has mounted. Before the floods, the federal government had announced plans to eliminate or remake the agency and is now reviewing its procedures, funding, and execution of agency missions, a process in which Virginia’s governor is taking an active role.
Joint cannabis commission holds first meeting amid push for regulated market
The newly formed joint commission tasked with overseeing Virginia’s transition to a legal retail cannabis market held its inaugural meeting in Richmond Wednesday, launching what lawmakers described as the next chapter in the commonwealth’s winding path toward a regulated marijuana industry. Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the House resolution creating the commission earlier this year, was elected chair during the meeting at the state Capitol. While no other formal action was taken, the panel laid out its mission and signaled it would use previously vetoed legislation as a foundation to craft a new proposal for 2026 — when Virginia will have a new governor.
Northern Va. state senator seeks answers from Walmart concerning sexual health products
As Virginia customers of Walmart shop on the company’s website, shoppers are receiving a message telling them they need to provide consent for data collection to search for items including pregnancy tests, birth control items and even a baby registry. State Sen. Barbara Favola, a Democrat representing Arlington, said the new message is coming in response to a law designed to protect people’s privacy when it comes to sexual health and reproductive information. Favola wrote the law aimed at providing enhanced privacy concerning this sensitive matter. She said she is surprised by the pop-up . . .
As partisan disputes boil, it’s still unclear how new federal law will impact Medicaid in Virginia
The “big beautiful bill” was passed by both chambers of Congress and last week. President Donald Trump signed it into law, triggering a countdown until sweeping changes to Medicaid take effect, including potential coverage loss for millions nationwide, financial strain to hospitals and new work requirements for Medicaid recipients. While the changes won’t kick in for more than a year, Virginia lawmakers are already preparing for the transformation of the state’s health care landscape. It’s still unclear exactly how many Virginians could lose Medicaid coverage because final analyses from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) haven’t dropped yet. The uncertainty has left many wondering if they or loved ones will be impacted — and set the stage for partisan bickering.
Threatened by rising waters, Norfolk museum fights back
When Erik Neil moved to Norfolk to become president of the Chrysler Museum of Art, he’d experienced the threat posed by the climate crisis to museum collections. Six months prior to Hurricane Katrina, he led an effort to find safe storage for the Newcomb Art Gallery collection at Tulane University in New Orleans. Just in time. The Chrysler Museum sits at the culmination of The Hague, an inlet of the Elizabeth River, a postcard-perfect location for decades. But that beauty belies an increasingly sinister reality. In recent years, rising tides and intensifying rainstorms repeatedly submerged streets, threatening the museum and its decade-old addition, the Perry Glass Studio. . . . Fast forward two decades from his days in Louisiana and Neil has overseen an evolving master plan to protect the museum and its collection in a city that is second behind New Orleans as most threatened by the effects of a warming world.
These Younger Democrats Are Sick of Their Party’s Status Quo
A number of prominent younger Democrats with records of winning tough races are forming a new group with big ambitions to remake their party’s image, recruit a new wave of candidates and challenge political orthodoxies they say are holding the party back. Members of the initiative, Majority Democrats, have different theories about how the national party has blundered. . . . According to Ms. Smith, members include: former Representative Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia; Representative Mikie Sherrill, the party’s candidate for governor of New Jersey; Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; members of Congress from highly competitive districts including Representatives Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan; and the mayors of Cincinnati, Denver, Scranton, Pa., Newport News, Va., and Kansas City, Mo.