Members of the Virginia General Assembly gaveled into session Wednesday. But it wasn't what anyone expected.
The news conferences had been scheduled. Committee meetings were on the calendar. Everything was ready for the opening of the General Assembly session to begin. But then came a twist – a massive winter storm that led to a boil water notice in Richmond.
"All of a sudden it all dried up and went away and everyone left Richmond and many of our delegates went home for the night because they hadn't been able to have a shower for a few days," Delegate Mike Cherry of Colonial Heights said. "And, I’ll tell you as a colleague of theirs, I was very grateful that they did go home to do that before we all get packed into this room and all 100 of us sit around today [and] gavel into session."
The details about who was fully showered and how they were showering was the top topic of conversation around the Capitol.
"It was shaky where I'm staying downtown," House Speaker Don Scott added. "We went in, we went out, we went in, we went out and then this morning we came back in with water and had pressure. It's still not potable – drinking it still out of a bottle. But we'll be OK. We’ve seen tougher times, but this is a good wakeup call for all of us at how precarious these things we take for granted can be."
Lawmakers are giving up on this week, vowing to return next week and still finish in 45 days, even if that means potentially working on the weekends.
Governor Glenn Youngkin’s State of the Commonwealth address was also postponed to Monday.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
