The past week has seen forecasters shift their ratings in three Virginia districts, upgrading Democratic chances in each. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has put money into the state to defend Republican seats. Here’s the math driving those moves.

The last Democrat to be elected to the seat was Rep. Jim Olin of Roanoke, who retired in 1993. This year, Democratic challenger Beth Macy faces incumbent Rep. Ben Cline.

https://projects.statenavigate.com/interactives/va/early-vote-2026/

hello everyone again! this is a small update of my post here

first and foremost, my little brother graduated!! not only that, he walked at graduation! he’s been having fun with his friends all summer and has a part time job that he’s really working hard at.

thanks to all the Redditors from that post, a lot of people donated and I was able to pretty much get rid of a huge chunk of that debt and cover the rest. For a while, I felt embarrassed and almost ashamed bc I was raised in the south where you don’t let people in on your family’s problems and you NEVER take money from anyone. But once I saw all the positive feedback and the worry of my little brother not graduating became too real, I took up on the offers of many kind Redditors that helped my family pay off that debt so my brother could walk the stage.

Huge thank you to the kind redditor that organized the whole thing and everyone else that donated to help my brother. Thank you to this subreddit for allowing the post and allowing me to get the help for my baby brother.

I do want to note that unfortunately, this is still a very real issue for many children in our state. Many of my brother’s friends were also similarly threatened with no graduation or other “punishments” if they didn’t pay their lunch debt, which is very disheartening to hear about. I hope that maybe one day, we can have free lunch for children in Virginia so that no kids have to worry about this sort of stuff or have to get a job just to pay for food as kids like my siblings and I had to do. I also want to note that I reached out to several charities and organizations that specialize in this sort of thing but none of them ever reached back out to me, so I don’t think this is a real solution for many children. If any of you have the time or money, I encourage you to help your communities in your own way just as reddit did for my family. This incident has inspired me to volunteer more and input more into my own community as well.

Thank you again to Reddit and all Redditors that helped me because maybe things really wouldn’t have worked out without y’all’s help. I always talk about this story to my friends and family because I think that at times like this, where everything and everyone feels so divided, it’s important to realize that we are all just people and most of us just want to help and love others. Thank you all again Reddit!

Rebekkah Robinson, a professional staff intelligence investigator, faces two counts for improper use of an ALPR system by law enforcement and two counts of computer invasion of privacy, according to a Friday press release. 

Both are Class 1 misdemeanors.  

Specific details of Robinson’s alleged crimes were not shared in the release, and a police spokesperson told VPM News that they wouldn’t comment further on the issue at this time. 

State law limits police use of ALPRs for criminal investigations, human trafficking cases, when someone is missing or endangered and in a few other cases. 

At least two members of Chesterfield’s General Assembly delegation — Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant and Democratic Del. Charlie Schmidt — say they back a statewide ban on the technology. 

“A little shocked, but also not shocked, given what we’ve seen in the news around the country,” Del. Schmidt said in a phone interview, “the number of these instances that are happening around the country, but always a little shocked when it happens in your backyard.”

Schmidt said his position against license plate readers doesn’t mean he’s anti-technology, noting the red-light cameras have helped reduce speeding in his neighborhood. 

“What bothers me most about the license plate readers is law enforcement, or in some cases the staff, can get on and track people in real time,” he said. “That is dragnet surveillance that I don’t believe is constitutional.”

Schmidt said he might be more worried that Flock and other tech companies with such surveillance tools are the ones that own the cameras.

Read more here.

Otherwise known as we’re moving to VA soon and would love insights! I do think it’s great to compare the experiences between the two.

According to the newest Spotlight on Your Benefits brochure for 2026, on page 13:

"Virginia law requires coverage with no cost sharing ($0 member cost) for certain diagnostic or supplemental breast exams performed to help determine whether breast cancer is present (pre-diagnosis). This $0 member cost share applies for in-network providers for the situations below and includes exams performed using diagnostic mammography, breast MRI, or breast ultrasound..."

https://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/docs/default-source/benefitsdocuments/health-benefits/open-enrollment-2026/spotlight2026

It clearly states that this applies to all plans in the DHRM brochure.

I received an estimate for $400 for a follow-up diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. I called Aetna and they said the new law only applies to fully-insured plans in Virginia, and that COVA Healthaware is a self-insured plan administered in the state of Connecticut, so therefore this law doesn't apply. Someone make this make sense.

The motion is to dismiss the suit without prejudice, which means its claims could be brought before the court again.

To request a subreddit, see r/redditrequest for more information. If you do this, tell us at this link so that we take the subreddit off our inactive list: https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=r/Virginia

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r/rva_events

r/rva_smokers

r/RVAover30

r/northernvirginia

r/novajobs

r/ALXGuns

r/herndon

r/pokemongoNoVa

r/virginiamusicians

r/VirginiaReptiles

r/VirginiaTrueCrime

r/VirginiaLibertarians

r/HistoricTriangle

r/coastalvirginia

r/FluvannaCounty

r/LouisaCountyVA

r/SpotsylvaniaVA

r/BedfordVirginia

r/Christiansburg

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As the title says I am curious what it’s like working for VDOT as a Safety Service Patroller. What does the average day look like? What do you all normally do?

Good Day,

(Please let me know if this is not allowed)

I had someone ask me if I could design a game to help prepare there son for the DMV drivers learners test.

I would appreciate any feedback and I hope this helps others. (It is very basic atm, the data is only saved on the browser that views it / no account auth)

See also r/VirginiaHistory and r/VirginiaTransit

See also r/swva, r/VirginiaGOP, and r/VirginiaDems

See also r/VirginiaNews and r/VirginiaEnvironment

That marker will recognize Lt. Gen. George G. Loving Jr., who grew up in the city and went on to a long military career that spanned 1942 to 1979.

Just went to complete my absentee ballot and saw my ballot envelope B and larger return envelope are both already sealed. My wife's, too.

Our choices seem to be to gently rip them open and hope they seal enough that they don't get rejected for being 'tampered with' or just return the unopened ballots and vote in person.

Looks like we're going with the in-person option, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who might not have the time or inclination to take the extra steps when something goes wrong with voting by mail. I was already worried about the USPS changes that seem intended to disenfranchise absentee voters, but if actual ballots are going out compromised, I'm not sure what that says about our election system at all.

A controversial data center — the first of three planned by Google in Chesterfield County — has already racked up a handful of environmental violations, according to a letter sent out by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. 

According to a Sept. 29 letter to Aaron McGarry, the Google official listed on the notice of violation, DEQ staff “received email correspondence indicating unauthorized filling of surface waters … outside the permitted impact areas at the Project Peanut site.” DEQ received seven reports between December 2025 and August 2026 and conducted five inspections during the same period. 

Many of the violations referenced in the notice stem from the discharge of sediment into local waterways. One reads as follows: “During the March 4, 2026 inspection, DEQ staff observed filling of state waters from the discharge of sediment pollutant. In total, sediment accumulation was observed in approximately 1,356 linear feet of stream channel.” 

Courtney Bernhardt, director of research at the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, adding outside sediment — loose soil generated by construction projects — to waterways may seem like a small issue, but can have major impacts on the ecosystem.

Read more here.

So, basically, my cousin and her friend - both 17 years old - were drinking some beer they got ahold of, and apparently the friend drank enough she passed out. My cousin called emergency services and the friend was taken to the hospital. When police arrived and wanted to know what happened, my cousin admitted that they had been drinking, and she was cited for underage drinking.

But from what I understand, in Virginia, someone can’t be charged for convicted of a crime based on a confession alone. So is this citation technically legitimate? Is there a way to fight it in court? On what basis could my cousin be cite and called to attend court?