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 6, 2023:
Virginia set to invest record amount in youth mental health
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
Elijah Lee, a freshman at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, advocated for more funding for youth mental health services this year — and also helped draft multiple pieces of legislation.
“It saddens me to know that I've lost friends and peers, and people that I call brothers and sisters to suicide,” Lee said. “Not because their schools didn't care about them, not because their families didn't love them, not because they were bad people, but because they simply didn't have the resources to address the root of a problem.”
Police use of facial recognition tech resumes with guardrails
Reported by VPM News’ Adrienne McGibbon
The high-tech tool has drawn scrutiny from state legislators and privacy advocates during the past several years, but some lawmakers hope new legislation will provide more guidance and limitations on how it is used.
During the recent General Assembly session, Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell (D–Fairfax) and Del. Jay Leftwich (R–Chesapeake) co-sponsored a bill that permits use of facial recognition technology — with some restrictions.
In other news:
- Negotiations on filling vacant State Corporation Commission seats falter (Virginia Mercury)
- Charlottesville’s homeless shelter staff say demand for beds this winter is double what they can accommodate (Charlottesville Tomorrow)
In case you missed it:
After layoffs, Amazon pauses work on Virginia headquarters (The Associated Press)
- Billups Funeral Home building in Church Hill finds a buyer (Richmond BizSense)