Michael Pope

Since Virginia's new red flag law was signed by the governor last year, law enforcement officials across Virginia have issued 170 emergency substantial risk orders — temporarily removing firearms from people who courts have determined to be dangerous. That includes 32 in Fairfax County, 16 in Prince William County and 13 in Virginia Beach.

The recent rise in absentee voting has had an unintended consequence — much less data about where votes are coming from. Instead of votes being counted at your local precinct, they’re tabulated in one at-large precinct.

Back in 1998, a police officer in Waverly was murdered and the local community in Sussex County wanted justice. That's when two Black men ended up pleading guilty to crimes they now say they did not commit.

Former felons who have turned their lives around have the ability to serve as role models, especially for kids who are at risk of finding themselves getting caught up in the criminal justice system. The idea is that they become credible messengers.

In the past few years, Democrats have implemented a host of new gun violence prevention measures.Now that Republicans are moving into positions of power in Richmond, many of those new laws may be reevaluated.

Court is now in session. But this is a court unlike the ones you're probably familiar with. The defendants are all children accused of minor offenses, and the idea is that these kids will receive justice without becoming part of the system.

Back in 2020, lawmakers were interested in finding ways to eliminate what some people call the school-to-prison pipeline. So they passed a bill that eliminated the requirement that principals report suspected misdemeanors to law enforcement.

Congress is currently debating a proposal for four weeks of paid family and medical leave as part of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda. But, even if that plan gets to the president's desk and becomes law, state Senator Jennifer Boysko, a Democrat from Herndon, says that's not enough. That's why she introduced Senate Bill One to make sure people have 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.

A Republican bill to ban critical race theory from Virginia classrooms will have to face a Senate Education Committee with nine Democrats and six Republicans. And any effort to roll back environmental targets for reducing carbon emissions; well, that’ll have to face a Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with 12 Democrats and only three Republicans.

Now that the public health emergency declaration has expired, all those old rules prohibiting virtual participation in local government meetings – well, they’re back in place. But maybe not for all that long.