Sen. Rosalyn Dance, Del. Lashrecse Aird host town-hall meeting in Dinwiddie; among topics discussed are school-counseling initiatives, upping the minimum wage and a ‘Second Chances’ bill — When Amy Woolard began speaking at Saturday morning’s legislative town-hall meeting, little did she know that one of her topics — what she referred to as the “criminalization of childhood” — would resonate so closely with where she was speaking.
Richmond Councilwoman Reva Trammell points to a mattress laying amid trash and debris strewn through the alleyway behind City Motel on Jefferson Davis Highway. "See. They even drag the mattresses back here," she said. The motor lodge is located amid what she identifies as a hot spot for prostitution in her district - an issue she has railed against for years.
African-American lawmakers said Monday they have been successful this legislative session in addressing the problem of food deserts, funding apprenticeships for high school students and relaxing overly harsh school disciplinary policies.
The Senate passed a bill Monday that would take back money from Virginia Lottery winners if they had received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits in the previous five years.
The Virginia Senate on Friday voted 23-16 to pass “ban the box” legislation governing public employment.
Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam was impressed as he wandered around Pocahontas Island with state Sen. Rosalyn Dance and local historian Richard Stewart. "I never really knew all that existed," Northam said. "To have Mr. Stewart talk about the amazing history of Petersburg, especially the slave history — it's important for us all to be reminded of that, of where we came from and where we're trying to go." Northam, a Democrat running for governor this year, spent the afternoon walking around some of the historic parts of Petersburg, starting with Stewart's museum on Witten Street.
State Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg, told her hometown mayor in a personal phone conversation in February that she would work to cut all federal and state funding for the city if the mayor failed to rally the City Council around a motion to fire the city’s nonelected leadership. “You will get no state money. You will get no federal money. You will not because my reputation is out there,” Dance told Mayor W. Howard Myers, according to a notarized transcript and recording of the conversation obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
With the deadline for the state Senate and House of Delegates to complete work on legislation just a week away, senators on Tuesday passed a slew of bills covering issues ranging from expunging minor criminal offenses to marriage age and providing health care in medically underserved areas. Senators unanimously passed Senate Bill 22, sponsored by Sen. Ryan T. McDougle, R-Hanover, which would allow the expunging of simple alcohol and marijuana possession charges for offenders under 21 years old, five years after the completion of a sentence.
A bill to require cameras in classrooms with special education students stalled Thursday after the patron requested more time to discuss the issue with stakeholders and determine its financial implications. The legislation — Senate Bill 763 — was filed by Rosalyn Dance, D-Richmond, at the request of special education advocates who say cameras will give parents confidence in how their non-verbal children are cared for and also will protect teachers and aides against unfounded accusations of wrongdoing.
The state Senate on Monday passed measures to expand absentee voting. Three bills now go to the House. n SB106 by Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, would allow people to vote absentee in person before an election without providing an excuse for why they couldn’t vote on Election Day.