The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
Listeners can subscribe through NPR One| Apple Podcasts| Megaphone| Spotifyand wherever you get your podcasts.
Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Aug. 30, 2024
VCU Health’s Bridging the Gap tackles youth gun violence causes
Reported by VPM News’ Phil Liles
Gun violence has been on the rise nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center. In June, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared it a public health crisis. Guns are also the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in Virginia.
Dr. Michel Aboutanos, medical director at VCU Health’s trauma center, recently spoke to VPM News Morning Edition host Phil Liles about “Bridging the Gap,” a first-in-the-nation program that looks to stop gun violence in the commonwealth by engaging with at-risk youth while they are still in the hospital recovering from gunshot injuries.
Chesterfield looks to overhaul labyrinthine zoning rules
Reported by VPM News’ Billy Shields
Last week, Chesterfield County officials heard presentations on a new draft of the Zoning Ordinance Modification Project — ZoMod for short — an effort to update the county’s antiquated zoning rules.
Decades of special exceptions to existing ordinances created a tangled web of carveouts that has made it increasingly difficult to determine what can be built where. Rachel Chieppa, a planner and ZoMod project manager, said that’s why updates are needed.
“I think of it as like an old car, you wouldn’t take the manual for a very old 1970s vehicle and work on a 2020 car,” she said. “We’ve gotten to the point where we just need to start fresh.”
In other news:
- Virginia Board of Education approves changes to accreditation, accountability systems (Virginia Mercury)
- Records: Boar's Head plant linked to deadly outbreak broke food safety rules dozens of times (The Associated Press)
- Charlottesville jail agrees to change 'humiliating and dehumanizing' uniforms (The Daily Progress)*
In case you missed it:
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
