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 May 22, 2025:
Long waitlist for subsidized child care to continue into FY26
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
Virginia’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year does not include funding requested by a coalition of lawmakers, business owners and advocates to fully fund slots for thousands of children currently waitlisted for subsidized child care programs in the commonwealth.
State officials estimate about 4,000 children will be able to move off a waitlist for the Child Care Subsidy Program in the new fiscal year (which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026), but thousands of additional families will remain waitlisted.
Jenna Conway, Virginia’s deputy superintendent of early childhood care and education, worries that failing to fully clear the waitlist is creating “a real disconnect and disruption in the system” for both providers and families.
“You can’t pay payroll with a waitlist spot. You can’t pay your tuition with a waitlist spot,” Conway told VPM News. “All you can do is wait.”
The waitlist jumped from approximately 3,000 kids last August to over 12,000 kids by Jan. 1, but has plateaued in recent months. Because the waitlist isn’t budging, Conway said, families who’ve been on it are giving up hope of receiving subsidized child care and instead opting out of the workforce.
“They feel stuck; that’s what we hear from providers,” Conway said. “These working families are in an impossible situation.”
Sabrina Joy-Hogg to leave interim post as Richmond’s top city administrator
Reported by VPM News’ Dean Mirshahi
Sabrina Joy-Hogg will resign as Richmond’s interim chief administrative officer on June 6, the City announced Wednesday.
Joy-Hogg, who started working at City Hall in 2022 under former Mayor Levar Stoney, was confirmed by Richmond City Council as interim CAO in February. On top of running day-to-day operations as the City’s top administrator, Joy-Hogg also serves as the senior deputy CAO of finance and administration.
Mayor Danny Avula announced a national search for a permanent CAO, a process that the City said is wrapping up “with the candidate soon to be announced.” Both roles Joy-Hogg had will be filled on an interim basis “in the coming weeks,” per the City.
Joy-Hogg will begin as Newport News’ senior deputy city manager for finance and administration on June 16, according to a release from that city.
"As I prepare to close this chapter, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve achieved together,” Joy-Hogg said in a statement accompanying Richmond’s release. “From raising the City’s minimum wage and successfully transitioning to the Virginia Retirement System, to creating a $10 million capital improvement fund, and developing a bond strategy to expand affordable housing, we’ve made lasting improvements.”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth:
- Spanberger: time to crack down on insurer practices that keep drug costs up (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Richmond puts $128K toward keeping local AmeriCorps program afloat after federal cuts (The Richmonder)
- Gerry Connolly, a Democratic congressman and fixture of Virginia politics, dies at 75 (The Associated Press)
- GRTC changing locations for planned Pulse terminus in western Henrico (Richmond BizSense)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.