Tessera

Jahd Khalil@jahd.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger's vetoes today bring my count to 29. That's close to the 33 vetoes former Gov. Glenn Youngkin in his first year, when the legislature was split. www.vpap.org/visuals/visu... (@vpapupdates)

Vetoes by Year: 2025

vpap.org

Spanberger vetoes retail weed market bill, despite campaign pledge by @deanmirshahi.bsky.social www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Spanberger vetoes retail weed market bill, despite campaign pledge by @deanmirshahi.bsky.social www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Spanberger vetoes retail weed market bill, despite campaign pledge

Now, Virginia is likely to stay in marijuana purgatory through 2027.

vpm.org

Gov Spanberger's veto of collective bargaining legislation and her explanation is out lis.virginia.gov/bill-details...

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1263, which aims to establish a system for public sector collective bargaining.

I support establishing collective bargaining rights for public sector employees. Under current law, state employees are prohibited from collective bargaining, and local public sector employees can only bargain if their locality opts in to collective bargaining. Public servants should have the same right to collectively bargain that Virginia's private sector workers have.

I appreciate the General Assembly for their work on this legislation. I know we all want to create a strong, feasible, and durable public sector collective bargaining system that gives public servants a collective voice while we work to strengthen our schools, keep our communities safe, and deliver services to our neighbors and communities across the Commonwealth.

In an effort to achieve these shared goals, I put forth amendments which would have required the state to setup a system allowing state employees, home care workers, and higher education service employees to enter into collective bargaining agreements first, in order to demonstrate the efficacy of this new system, with public employees in localities following closely after. While preserving the enrolled bill's focus on allowing public employees to achieve collective bargaining, my amendments would have also provided additional flexibility for public employers to take into account existing local budget timelines and processes. However, the General Assembly rejected these amendments.

I remain committed to continuing to work with the General Assembly, unions, localities, and public servants across the Commonwealth to develop a public sector collective bargaining system that works for Virginia. However, I believe additional amendments are needed to the enrolled bill currently before me.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.

Virginia politicians react to SCOVA overturning redistricting vote www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Virginia politicians react to SCOVA overturning redistricting vote

GOP calls decision a win for 'rule of law;' Democrats say court threw out 'will of the people.'

vpm.org

Supreme Court of Virginia nullifies redistricting vote results www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Supreme Court of Virginia nullifies redistricting vote results

BREAKING: Democrats' 10–1 congressional maps thrown out.

vpm.org

Wild stat in this @uvalaw.bsky.social Q&A: "By the end of 2024, Virginia already had more data center demand in terms of electricity consumption than Tokyo, London and San Francisco combined" news.virginia.edu/content/qa-a...

Q&A: Are data centers putting too much pressure on states like Virginia?

UVA experts discuss the surge of localities seeking to limit or ban the power-hungry operations.

news.virginia.edu

Yes: Virginia votes to redraw congressional maps, favoring Democrats by @deanmirshahi.bsky.social and I www.vpm.org/elections/20...

Yes: Virginia votes to redraw congressional maps, favoring Democrats

Now, Dems have to defend the measure in court.

vpm.org

Virginians turn out for redistricting on April Election Day www.vpm.org/elections/20...

Virginians turn out for redistricting on April Election Day

The polls are open until 7 p.m.

vpm.org

Richmond City settles former FOIA officer lawsuit after hostile litigation @deanmirshahi.bsky.social @vpm.org www.vpm.org/news/2026-04...

Richmond City settles former FOIA officer lawsuit after hostile litigation

Connie Clay sought $250K in damages. The city spent over $670K fighting it.

vpm.org

VPM News @vpm.org · 4mo ago

Virginia Senator @kaine.senate.gov thinks the Trump admin has maybe pushed out another Virginia University president, Virginia Tech’s Tim Sands, and wants Gov @abigailspanberger.com to investigate

"I'm deeply troubled by the sudden departure of President Tim Sands at Virginia Tech. He has been an exceptional leader for over a decade - a period of significant growth for the university, including through its deepened partnership with Carilion Clinic in the Roanoke region and its impressive Innovation Campus in Alexandria. This action has the earmarks of previous well-publicized efforts to oust Presidents at other Virginia public universities - VMI, UVA and George Mason. I urge Governor Spanberger to get to the bottom of this latest attack on Virginia higher education and take all necessary action to insulate university leadership from politically-motivated schemes."

Welcome to our digital-first video series "Amending Virginia," where @jahd.bsky.social, our state politics reporter, is speaking to advocates who support and oppose each of the constitutional amendments to help you better understand the proposed changes.

Amending Virginia: Pro- and anti-redistricting camps wield 'fairness' in voter appeals

Watch the first episode of our new series on state constitutional amendments now.

vpm.org

Sean McGoey @seanmcgoey.com · 5mo ago

A fight over a tax break for data centers has pushed VA budget negotiations to the last possible minute, with a resolution by Saturday unlikely. New from the @vpm.org Capitol Correspondents Gruesome Twosome (reporter extraordinaire @jahd.bsky.social & photo god/master of secrets @theshabomb.com):

$2B data center tax break fight pushes Virginia budget negotiations

Lawmakers may be out of time to finalize spending during their regular session.

vpm.org

Whittney Evans @whittneye.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Virginia House and Senate will not have a budget today, Speaker of the House Don Scott tells me.

@jahd.bsky.social @vpm.org www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Del. Josh Thomas wants to put Virginia's boys and men on a better path

"We want to make sure that we're not leaving them behind as we continue to move forward."

vpm.org

VPM News @vpm.org · 5mo ago

A PAC campaigning against the Virginia redistricting amendment is clearly targeting Black voters. This mailer I got today uses "ancestors" to reference the civil rights movement, and is using photos of the KKK and police targeting young Black girls.

A flyer with a black and white image of a civil rights march, with text saying "our ancestors fought to represent us. Vot eno and return your ballot immediately to ensure your voice is heard."

The Supreme Court of Virginia has ordered the Republican-leaning SWVA county to open early voting for the redistricting amendment. Prior to Wednesday's order, state and local election officials had been blocked from the work by a lawsuit brought by national GOP organizations. via @jahd.bsky.social

Court orders Tazewell County to open polls for redistricting amendment

The Supreme Court of Virginia's rulings will come after the April 21 ballot.

vpm.org

Workers, Speaker Scott criticize plan to axe data center tax exemption as budgets advance by @shannonheckt.bsky.social virginiamercury.com/2026/02/27/w...

Workers, Speaker Scott criticize plan to axe data center tax exemption as budgets advance • Virginia Mercury

The Senate proposal to end the sales and use tax exemption that’s saved data centers over $1 billion passes with bipartisan support.

virginiamercury.com

Data center tax break takes center stage in Virginia budget plans www.vpm.org/generalassem...

Data center tax break takes center stage in Virginia budget plans

The Senate proposal funds a tax rebate by ending a $1.6B sales tax exemption.

vpm.org

Jahd Khalil@jahd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

ICYMI live wamu.org/story/26/02/...

The Politics Hour: Redistricting update in Virginia and Maryland plus D.C.'s budget chaos

Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker on a U.S. Senate move that could cause major budget and tax season headaches. Plus, MD Rep. April McClain Delaney and VPM's Jahd Khalil on the redistricting de...

wamu.org

Tune in shortly! I'm the first guest up on The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood | @wamu.org @vpm.org wamu.org/show/the-pol...

WAMU 88.5 @wamu.org · 6mo ago

Tune in shortly! I'm the first guest up on The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood | @wamu.org @vpm.org wamu.org/show/the-pol...

The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi

Join Kojo and resident analyst Tom Sherwood on Fridays at noon for our weekly review of the politics, policies and personalities in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.Fri: 12-1 pm ETFri:…

wamu.org

You can join the conversation by commenting your questions below or calling in during the live show at (800)-433-8850.

Supreme Court of Virginia greenlights redistricting referendum www.vpm.org/npr-news/202... @vpm.org

Supreme Court of Virginia greenlights redistricting referendum

A vote on new congressional maps is still set for April 21.

vpm.org

Jahd Khalil@jahd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Richmond Free Press ceases publication after 34 years by Keyris Manzanares www.vpm.org/news/2026-02...

Richmond Free Press ceases publication after 34 years

A pillar of journalism for Richmond's Black community is closing its doors.

vpm.org

The Richmond Free Press is ceasing publication, according to its latest edition. richmondfreepress.com

The Richmond Free Press will cease publication this week, a bittersweet conclusion to a landmark publication that has served the Richmond community for 34 years.
This digital edition is the paper's first and last online version. Last week's print edition was the final printed Free Press.
"I don't know that [Ray] thought that we would last this long after his death," said Jean Boone, the Free Press publisher and founder's wife, "but we kept plugging along and pushing and making a way out of no way." Raymond H. Boone Sr. founded the paper and served as editor and publisher, launching the first edition on Jan. 16. 1992.

The Richmond Free Press is ceasing publication, according to its latest edition. richmondfreepress.com

Jahd Khalil@jahd.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Well, nevermind - committee recommends continuing this bill to next year (a means of killing the bill, for now). It would take this bill of Del. Convirs-Fowler's, too lis.virginia.gov/bill-details...

HB188 - 2026 Regular Session | LIS

lis.virginia.gov

Behemoth of a tax bill being heard in House Finance Sub #3 rn. It would cut taxes for lower and middle income by making 2 new tax brackets: on income above $600k and income above $1 mn lis.virginia.gov/bill-details...

HB979HC1 - 2026 Regular Session | LIS

lis.virginia.gov

Here's some zoomed-in example of new borders (in Black). The different colors note the sections came from different districts (current ones)

The new congressional map that Virginia Democrats are proposing is here. Here is a link to data tables with racial, ethnic, and political breakdown. lis.blob.core.windows.net/lisfiles/202...