3/24/26 - Governor Spanberger makes a push for redistricting amendment
Showing mention at 0:34 — highlighted below
Transcript
14 segmentsYou're listening to the VPM Daily Newscast, the recap of today's top stories in central Virginia. From the VPM Newsroom in Richmond, I'm Kim Strother. Late last week, Governor Abigail Spanberger joined more than a quarter of a million Virginians who have already voted on the redistricting ballot measure. The Democratic governor said she voted in support of a draft map that could give her party 10 of the state's 11 congressional seats instead of the six it has now. One thing that was extraordinarily important to me is that voters did have knowledge of what would be the map that would go in place again for temporary time until the next redistricting and that voters have access to that information before they cast their ballot. Voting on the amendment closes April 21st. The ROTC instructor killed by a gunman who burst into his classroom at Old Dominion University was laid to rest Sunday. Steve Walsh with our partner station, WHRO, has the story. Mortars filled the court at Cartway Arena to honor Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shaw. His wife, Catherine, says he cared deeply about his students. I truly believe Brandon knew exactly what he was doing in those final moments. He was protecting people. He was protecting his kids. ODU has been on spring break, but ROTC students filled several rows. Cadet Cecilia Faso describes Shaw as direct. Thank you for being our professor, our mentor, our friend. and upholding and exceeding the standard. We have the watch from here. Two students were injured in the shooting. The FBI confirms shock in front of the gunman when he entered the classroom and placed himself in front of his students. That was Steve Walsh reporting for WHRO. A group of Hanover County residents rallied late last week against a proposed data center dubbed the Mountain Road Technology Park. Residents like Clint Robertson voiced his opposition to the South Anna District Project. We've made it clear we want to stay rural in Hanover. Nothing rural about this data center or any of the data centers. I will be fighting against every... data center no matter where it is in hanover county the protest comes after hanover's planning commission postponed its vote on the controversial request applicant tracked which also brought in the county's 1200 acre data center property asked for a one month deferral mountain roads proposal is scheduled to be heard again on april 16th
Parts of Virginia are at an increased fire risk, according to the state's forestry department. Richmond, Petersburg, and the Hampton Roads area have a high fire danger rating because of dry weather and windy conditions. The Forestry Service says fires can start easily and can be difficult to control if remedial actions aren't taken quickly. Officials warn the public to be cautious when burning yard debris using fire pits and starting campfires. As Chesterfield County seeks public input on its $2.3 billion budget draft, one county official is warning of the potential for long-term shortfall. VPM News's Billy Shields has that story. The cost of a fire engine has doubled in the last five years and the number of calls for Chesterfield's fire and EMS squad is outpacing its population average. That means more wear and tear on an aging emergency vehicle fleet. Fire Chief Loy Center wants to establish a $5.5 million fund just to handle vehicle replacement and maintenance. The current proposed operating budget for Chesterfield Fire and EMS is about $94 million. Center says that his department is also going to need eight new firefighters to cover staffing as local volunteer rescue squads struggle to train new members. Your overtime costs can quickly approach and in some cases exceed what it would cost to hire full-time staff. It may create a situation where we are seeing more mandatory overtime. It's not a good position to be in. Chesterfield's supervisors are scheduled to vote on the $2.3 billion budget April 8th. Billy Shields, VPM News. After Hours by Weekend Plans has won this year's Newland Music Prize, which is awarded to the best album from the Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area. After Hours is the band's second album, with a blend of funk, jazz, hip-hop, and soul. It was six years in the making. In a statement, the band, which formed in 2016, said the win will motivate them to keep, quote, pushing the musical envelope. VPM News Operations Manager Elijah Hendrick is a judge for the Newland Award. This has been the VPM Daily Newscast. VPM.