Virginia’s minimum wage is on track to continue increasing over the next two years.
Two companion bills — SB1 and HB1 — have passed both chambers and are expected to go to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), who has indicated that she will sign them into law.
Democratic-led states are increasingly pushing back against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — and Virginia is the latest to join in.
The Virginia Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would place hefty guardrails on any proposed 287(g) agreements allowing local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration functions. The bill still must go to the House.
The severe winter storm expected to arrive tonight in Northern Virginia will likely bring days of slippery conditions on Arlington’s streets and sidewalks, authorities warn.
A Winter Storm Warning goes into effect at 11 p.m. tonight ahead of around 6-10 inches of expected snow, sleet and ice. Up to 14 inches of accumulation is possible in the region, with snow expected to turn to sleet tomorrow morning and freezing rain by Sunday evening, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has declared a state of emergency ahead of this weekend’s snowstorm, which is expected to bring power outages along with heavy accumulation throughout Virginia.
The newly inaugurated governor signed an executive order today declaring an emergency “due to severe winter weather,” with the most severe impacts expected Saturday and Sunday. The D.C. area is likely to get more than 5 inches of snow, with double-digit accumulation also possible, according to a Winter Storm Watch issued today.
Increasing power demand from a growing number of data centers, many located in Northern Virginia, has made rising utility costs a key issue for Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) in her first days in office.
In her first address to the Virginia General Assembly yesterday (Monday), Spanberger outlined her Affordable Virginia Agenda, a set of proposals addressing energy, health care and housing costs. Spanberger also issued an executive order on her first day in office that directs her cabinet members and agencies to identify policy changes that would reduce costs for Virginians in energy and other areas.
Northern Virginia Democrats were in high spirits at the inauguration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger this weekend, looking toward new opportunities for a variety of bills held back by the previous administration.
Legislators and political observers expect fewer vetoes and more collaboration with Democratic policymakers — including those in Northern Virginia — under Spanberger, a centrist Democrat who emphasized bipartisan solutions to issues like housing and health care costs on the campaign trail and in her inauguration speech.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.
The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.
Representatives of both the business community and organized labor voiced skepticism at a recent forum that an end to Virginia’s right-to-work law is on the horizon for 2026.
“Right to work is not a big thing to us right now,” said Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26.
A recent presentation from a former local official examined Virginia’s three-decade statewide transformation from politically red to purple to now (maybe) blue.
John Milliken, former County Board member and Virginia Secretary of Transportation, explored the Old Dominion’s political evolution at the gubernatorial level from the narrow 2001 election of Mark Warner to the 2025 landslide bringing Abigail Spanberger into office.
Several Democratic policymakers have high hopes for a bill to crack down on assault weapons once Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger takes office.
Legislation to outlaw any sales or transfers of new “assault firearms” passed both chambers in each of the last two legislative sessions, but was vetoed upon reaching the desk of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Abigail Spanberger is set to be sworn in as Virginia’s first female governor next week at an inauguration bookended by other events and festivities in Richmond.
The Democrat is scheduled to take the oath of office at noon on Saturday, Jan. 17 at the Virginia State Capitol Building, in the centerpiece of an inauguration weekend with the theme “United for Virginia’s Future.”
At the close of a tumultuous economic year for Arlington, County Board Chair Takis Karantonis is seeking a return to stability and continued focus on infrastructure goals in 2026.
Karantonis, who is coming to the end of his one-year turn at the County Board chairmanship, used an interview with Fox 5 yesterday (Thursday) to emphasize the hardship that 2025 has brought to many of Arlington’s federal workers, immigrant communities and businesses large and small.
