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 Sept. 12, 2024:
Richmond inspector general releases batch of watchdog reports
Reported by VPM News’ Sean McGoey
The office of Richmond Inspector General James Osuna recently released more than a dozen investigative reports that had not previously been published, despite city rules requiring them to be made public.
Earlier this month, as initially reported by WRIC, OIG’s public-facing database added 17 reports, dating from December 2020 to this Monday. The reports detail a range of misconduct — everything from city employees conducting outside work while on the clock to a six-figure embezzlement investigation conducted with the help of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
City Council President Kristen Nye said that Osuna’s office had been operating under legal guidance to focus on protecting whistleblowers. Even though the reports are anonymized, she said, the nature of the information included in the investigations could give clues about who was making complaints.
Electricity costs burden vulnerable groups as Richmond heats up
Reported by VPM News’ Patrick Larsen
A new study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says one in four low-income households across the country are spending 15% of their income on energy. In Richmond, they’re spending even more — at least 17.5%.
“In order to pay for that high [of an] energy bill, they might make a decision on maybe not purchasing food or just letting go of another bill,” said the study’s co-author Roxana Ayala, ACEEE senior research analyst.
Ayala said she hopes the research can be a starting point for elected officials “to engage these energy-burdened households … to understand what are their needs and the types of solutions that would ideally work best for them.”
In other news:
- Virginia is changing the way it rates K-12 schools. Most will be failing as a result (Axios Richmond)
- Riggleman’s road: From GOP congressman to Republicans for Harris (Cardinal News)
- ‘Imminent threat’ found at Boar’s Head plant 2 years before fatal listeria outbreak (The New York Times)*
In case you missed it:
- Harris, Youngkin get good news in new polls (VPM News)
- A combination of heat and drought walloped Virginia vegetable farmers (Inside Climate News)
- UVA will investigate hospital complaints, but execs are staying (The Daily Progress)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
