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Where bills stand at the midpoint of the General Assembly
Here’s the status of some key legislation, from animal welfare to taxes.
Politics
The 2026 session halfway mark: Retail marijuana and minimum wage increase survive, ‘right-to-work’ repeal fails
The last day for lawmakers to take action on bills in their chamber of origin was Tuesday before they are sent to the other chamber for a vote.
Local
‘Casino or not,’ efforts take shape to analyze options for Roanoke’s Berglund Center
Efforts are underway to look at what’s feasible — and what Roanoke’s residents want to see happen with the city’s civic center.
Culture
Roanoke-born hip-hop music producer celebrates Grammy wins with Kendrick Lamar
Ruchuan Akers, known in the rap world as Scott Bridgeway, shared two Grammys with Kendrick Lamar, Sza and other collaborators at the recent Grammy Awards presentation.
education
Buchanan County tentatively agrees to give $3.4 million to struggling law school
The funding still must be approved by the IDA and the board of the Appalachian School of Law.
eCONOMY
Tech briefs: Virginia Tech experts weigh in on illegal robocalls, AI tools for hackers and more
The Tiny Cargo Co. opens new space for clean room manufacturing, and a scratch-built website and app debuts, focused on Roanoke-area events.
OPinion
Health care leader: Fiscal oversight of Medicaid is important, but only addresses part of the problem
Providers who operate in good faith regularly report confusion about expectations and duplicative requirements, while bad actors exploit gaps between agencies.
Health Care
The Pulse: Dental clinic expansion, transplant support and virus research
Community fundraising boosts dental access, a new nonprofit backs transplant patients and Virginia Tech studies emerging mosquito-borne threats.
news briefs
Headlines from across the state: Franklin County approves 103 new single-family homes for Westlake area; more …
From elsewhere: Martinsville mayor suspended from council until he appears in court over removal petition. Pittsylvania County supervisors censure Tim Dudley after alleged shoplifting incident. Lawsuit claims culture of sex discrimination in Franklin County Fire & EMS Department.
Sports
NIL could be made more transparent with new bill calling for work group on student athlete endorsement deals
The legislation comes as Virginia’s state universities have resisted calls to be more forthcoming about how they are complying with new compensation rules, which took effect last July, that allow schools to pay athletes directly.
WEATHER
Despite our recently departed Arctic chill, it’s been a warm, dry winter over much of the U.S.
The warm part of that equation is breaking in for at least a short spell in Virginia this week, but the dry part has been with us despite the mostly melted snowpack.
Cardinal 250
An army of ghosts haunts Prince Edward County history
Local legend says that 70 French soldiers from the Revolutionary War are buried at Kingsville. But were they really? Historians dig into the story to separate fact from folklore.
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