The Virginia Parole Board last year granted parole in less than 4 percent of the cases it considered. Even old men – prisoners in their 70s and 80s who have served decades behind bars – were routinely denied parole.
Full story »
There are more than 400 dogs in the Virginia Dangerous Dogs Registry, a list of animals that have attacked someone or hurt or killed another dog or cat.
Full story »
Rubicon Inc., a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that has served the Richmond community for more than 40 years, is trying to regain its financial footing after nearly having to close its doors last fall.
Full story »
Human trafficking survivors and support groups are speaking out and working with state legislators to combat the problem of human trafficking in Virginia.
Full story »
Virginia’s suicide rate is the highest it’s been in 13 years, according to the state’s chief medical examiner. Experts say the causes may include the poor economy and lack of mental health services.
Full story »
An ominous “MLK Day plot.” A proposed overhaul of the Electoral College system. Voter ID legislation. Those are issues that fueled partisanship at the Virginia Capitol this year and turned the bad blood between Republicans and Democrats into one of the most talked-about topics of the General Assembly’s session.
Full story »
Lottery winners aren’t the only ones with any luck: The Virginia Lottery saw record ticket sales in the past year, as the economy continued its recovery and several big-name retailers began selling tickets.
Full story »
Just 19 out of 100 Virginia House members are women – a far cry from parity in a state where 50.9 percent of the population is female. Underrepresentation is even worse in the 40-member Virginia Senate, where women hold six seats – just 15 percent.
Full story »
About 12 years ago, Michael Maupin lost his right to vote in Virginia because of a felony drug conviction. But Maupin has hope for the future because he just received a letter from Gov. Bob McDonnell restoring his civil rights.
For the past two years, the Virginia Parole Board has granted less than 4 percent of the cases it has heard.
Students at VCU and other institutions of higher education in Virginia often end up buying textbooks they never use, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students and other young adults.
Nearly 75 percent of Virginia Commonwealth University students are unsure of their student loan debt payments upon graduation, according to a survey by Virginia21, an advocacy group for college students.
Virginia already has a registry for “dangerous dogs” – animals that have attacked other pets or people. So how about having a registry for people who abuse animals? That’s what some animal welfare advocates would like.
This map and data set show the number of “dangerous dogs” in each county and city of Virginia.
The number of home-schoolers in Virginia has increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade, to more than 32,000 children. If they were a school district, it would be the ninth-largest in the state – with almost as many students as the Norfolk Public Schools.
Here are statistics for the number of home-schoolers statewide and in each school division of Virginia.
These graphics show how home schooling has exploded in Virginia.
Sarah Burns of Chesterfield County discusses the pit bull that she adopted: “She’s really sweet.”
A report and data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that African American and Hispanic students are vastly underrepresented among students identified as gifted by the state’s public schools.
Virginia’s only middle and high school for advanced students is challenging the way traditional gifted education is taught.
Here is the data used in this news article. You can access the data as a series of Web pages or view it below.
Here is the report that the Virginia Department of Education completed in May 2010 about racial disparities in students identified for gifted education programs.
Elisabeth Corey has repressed memories of the abuse she suffered at the hands of family members while growing up in Northern Virginia. She’s a survivor of family-controlled sex trafficking and endured sexual abuse from male family members.
In 2010, Josh Bailey and his wife, Andrea, founded the Gray Haven Project. The organization helps human trafficking survivors rebuild their lives.
Here are charts and tables about human trafficking in Virginia and the United States.
This map and data set show the 2011 suicide rate for each Virginia locality. They also show the unemployment rate for that year.
Suicide rates are on the rise in Virginia — and higher than they’ve been in 13 years. Whites are far more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to commit suicide. And men commit suicide far more often than women.
No General Assembly session is without its ups and downs, quarrels and disputes. However, the 2013 session may have taken the trophy for the most sparring between Democrats and Republicans – especially when it came to transportation.
When Senate Republicans rammed through a redistricting bill on Martin Luther King Day, critics started grumbling about an “MLK Day plot.”
The power struggle between Republicans and Democrats is one of the most talked about topics in national and statewide politics.
Sales of Virginia Lottery tickets have risen steadily — and last year, they jumped by 9 percent.
Since 1999, the Virginia Lottery has generated more than $5 billion for public education.
Here is a map of the 25 outlets that sold the most Virginia Lottery tickets in fiscal year 2012.
Here is a timeline tracing women’s involvement in politics in Virginia.
The number of women in the Virginia General Assembly has risen steadily over the years. Even so, women still are vastly underrepresented among state legislators.
Of Virginia’s 140 state legislators, 25 — or 17.9 percent — are women. Thirty-seven states have a higher proportion of female lawmakers.
State officials are raising money to build a monument celebrating the achievements of Virginia women on the grounds of the state Capitol.
Almost all of the statues at the state Capitol depict men. No wonder there’s a movement to install a monument honoring achievements by Virginia women.
Five teams of students from three Northern Virginia schools will compete for more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes in the finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge, the world’s largest student rocket competition, on May 11.
The World Road Cycling Championships, one of the most prestigious international competitions for bicyclists, is coming to Richmond in two years, giving a healthy boost to the city’s image and tourist industry.
With a new law mandating that school administrators be evaluated every year, a national organization has started training school leaders in Virginia to improve school climate, teacher effectiveness and student outcomes.
A new state law to stiffen penalties for Virginians caught texting while driving will save countless lives, the head of a nonprofit driving safety organization says.
After Dallas Public Schools initiated a successful program getting about 93,000 students to read about 1 million books, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced a partnership with Richmond Public Schools to encourage second-graders to read.
Virginia’s multibillion-dollar transportation funding package will put a heavier burden on lower-income households than on more affluent families, according to a Richmond-based think tank.
The spotlight continues to stay on Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli over their dealings with Star Scientific Inc., which has been accused of trying to curry favor with state officials.
Americans woke up this morning to headlines saying one of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects was shot by police and that the other one was still on the run.
The Virginia Commission on Youth gathered at the Capitol this month to discuss how to prevent the “fragmentation of families” by encouraging parents to stay together in raising their children in Richmond and across the commonwealth.
The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require abortion clinics to meet hospital building-code standards – rules that abortion rights activists said would force many of the state’s 20 clinics to close.
Beginning in July 2014, each school board in Virginia must include in its student code of conduct a prohibition against bullying, including cyberbullying. Moreover, school divisions must educate teachers and other employees about bullying and “the need to create a bully-free environment.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Friday that he will be appointing outside counsel to the Star Scientific case.
To curb the sale of stolen property, pawnshops soon will keep a photo of people who sell the stores items. And pawnbrokers will be prohibited from receiving or re-selling goods if the original serial number has been altered or changed in some way.
The General Assembly on Wednesday narrowly approved an amendment by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will prohibit certain health insurance companies in Virginia from providing coverage for women seeking an abortion.
The Senate on Wednesday upheld Gov. Bob McDonnell’s veto of legislation to boost efforts to establish a tourist train between Tazewell County and Bramwell, W.Va.
In a demonstration that made everybody wince, VCU students on Tuesday saw VCU Police Department recruits get sprayed in the face with pepper spray as part of a training exercise.
Sen. Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake, announced his retirement Wednesday from the state Senate after serving 14 years in the Virginia General Assembly.
Starting July 1, parents in Virginia will have “a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care” of their children.
All’s well that ends well, Shakespeare’s own words, as the Virginia Shakespeare Festival at the College of William and Mary will become the official Shakespeare Festival of Virginia starting July 1.
Interested and anxious parents and rambunctious and excited students packed the Cultural Arts Center last weekend to share a common interest: home schooling.
