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 April 3, 2025:
Parents say they're being left out of children’s rehabilitation at Bon Air JCC
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares
The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, which runs Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, has defined its mission as enhancing “public safety by providing effective accountability measures and interventions that improve the lives of” youth.
But as one Hampton Roads mother told VPM News, staffing issues at the only state-run correctional center that houses juveniles have snowballed into negative consequences for her son and other minors incarcerated at the Chesterfield County facility.
“It's affecting the kids' mental health,” she said. “It's affecting their schooling. It's affecting their access to communication with their family, exercise and showers.”
The mother — who is not being identified due to concerns over retribution — said that DJJ has acted as a barrier to parental support for incarcerated minors, including canceling visits without notification. And DJJ board members and state lawmakers are calling for increased transparency from the department around practices at Bon Air.
Reconvened General Assembly largely rejects Youngkin's budget changes
Reported by VPM News’ Jahd Khalil
The House and Senate largely stuck to the legislation and budget they passed in February, as lawmakers reconvened in Richmond to consider hundreds of vetoes and amendments from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
On bills where there were policy differences, generally there was not big overlap in how Democrats and Republicans voted on the governor’s amendments. But House Republicans voted to pass original forms of four bills dealing with maternal health.
All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates are up for election this fall, which puts the votes and comments of those running for reelection under extra scrutiny. By the time the Legislature adjourned late Wednesday, they had only accepted a few dozen budget amendments too.
“We were not going to allow the governor to basically shift money away from the priorities that Democrats had demonstrated when we passed a budget back in February,” said state Sen. Mamie Locke.
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- Thousands gather in Richmond for March for Life in anti-abortion demonstration (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Surge in Virginia syphilis cases alarms physicians (Virginia Gazette)*
- Bon Secours and Cigna reach agreement, keeping 30,000 Virginians in-network (Virginia Mercury)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
