Virginia Rising

By Rosaland Tyler The recent election of President Barack Obama and the effort that is underway to halt the surprise redistricting plan in Richmond both shine a light on a partnership African Americans formed in the Depression. Read more.  

By Paula Bryant Opponents of uranium mining may have had the upper hand Thursday when Sen. John Watkins withdrew his SB 1353 to avoid a vote because he knew 11 or 12 of the 15 on the Senate Ag Committee were against the bill that directed the state to write regulations for uranium mining and milling. But instead of celebrating …

By Brentin Mock, Desmond Meade stood with his wife on the National Mall on that sunny Inauguration Day, listening to a speech delivered by a president he did not vote for. But he followed attentively, hoping to hear just a few words that might address a man like himself: African-American, one-time homeless, recovered from substance abuse, and formerly incarcerated. His …

By Armando Trull, A DREAM Act-type bill that would have allowed undocumented immigrant students in Virginia to pay in-state tuition to state universities had a rough day Thursday as a Senate committee voted it down but a House of Delegates committee approved the measure. Read more here.

By Jennifer Burns RICHMOND,Va. (WTVR) – A coalition of five progressive groups gathered 18,000 signatures and delivered them to Governor Bob McDonnell’s office. The group wants the governor to veto a bill that would change Virginia voting lines. Read more.

By Markus Schmidt A coalition of progressive groups spearheaded by Virginia New Majority delivered more than 18,000 petitions to Gov. Bob McDonnell today, asking him to veto a surprise redistricting change if it reaches his desk. Noah Feldman of Virginia New Majority called the change engineered by Senate Republicans “a massive power grab by the conservative state legislature that is …

By Todd Wilson RICHMOND – A coalition of progressive activist organizations delivered a petition containing 18,000 signatures to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office Wednesday asking the governor to veto the Senate redistricting plan should it make it to his desk. Last week Senate Republicans used the absence of a Democratic member of the evenly-divided chamber to push through an off-year redistricting …

By Julian Walker Representatives from several left-of-center advocacy groups marched to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office carrying a stack of papers and a message: reject Senate Republicans’ redistricting plan if necessary. The pile of paper was petitions with more than 18,000 citizen signatures against the controversial redistricting overhaul masterminded by the Senate GOP Caucus last week and now pending in the …

By Ed Sykes Thousands of petitions opposing a surprise redistricting move in the Virginia Senate last week are now in the hands of Governor Bob McDonnell. Activist groups, led by Virginia New Majority and including Charlottesville-based Virginia Organizing, delivered 18,000 signatures to the Governor’s office Wednesday morning. They vehemently oppose a surprise move last Monday by Senate Republicans to pass …

By Katherine Johnson RICHMOND – Augustine Carter spent six years working to get a Virginia identification card so she could vote. Carter had no birth certificate; the only evidence she had of her birth was a certificate of baptism. “I went to get my state ID renewed, and I carried this church document, and I was turned down completely. They …