The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of March 27, 2023:
Virginia budget negotiations paused amid economic uncertainty
Reported by Ben Paviour
Two top Virginia lawmakers charged with negotiating an updated state budget said late last week that they’ll hold off hammering out a spending plan until they get a better sense of whether a U.S. recession is on the horizon.
Sen. George Barker (D-Fairfax) said Senate Democrats agreed with House Republicans, led in negotiations by Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach), on getting a better sense of how economic uncertainty might affect the state’s bottom line before deciding how much money to spend in the next fiscal year.
“We certainly are going to get a lot more information over the next several weeks and try to put something together that makes sense,” Barker said.
PolitiFact VA: Sturtevant flips again on support for red flag laws
Reported by VPM News’ Warren Fiske
Glen Sturtevant's candidacy comes along with an apology this spring in his primary election campaign for the 12th District Senate seat in Chesterfield and Colonial Heights.
Sturtevant, after opposing red flag bills for three straight years, voted for one in 2019. In this year’s Republican primary, he apologized for the 2019 vote, saying he opposes red flag laws and promising to lead a charge to repeal Virginia’s law
In other news:
- Forever chemicals a perpetual threat to Virginia drinking water (Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism)
- Roundabout debate comes full circle before Richmond City Council (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
- New VCU project for Public Safety Building site pegged at $415M (Richmond BizSense)
In case you missed it:
- Lawsuit alleges Youngkin pushed Dept. of Elections to change a Southside state Senate nomination process (Cardinal News)
- Questions loom about Virginia health agency head, duties of interim leader (The Washington Post)
- 58 dogs seized from Blundons Rd. property (News on the Neck)