Michael Pope
Virginia Public Radio ReporterMichael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria. He has reported for NPR, the New York Times and the Alexandria Gazette Packet. He has a master's degree in American Studies from Florida State University, and he is a former adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College. He is the author of five books.
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Governor Abigail Spanberger has not yet called lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session. But she’s facing a growing list of people calling for one to extend the timeline for state regulators to make a decision about allowing for a merger of Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy. -
Democratic socialists are gaining traction across the country. But they are struggling in Virginia congressional races.
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State regulators are currently considering an application from Dominion Energy to merge with Florida-based NextEra Energy. Members of the General Assembly may be about to return to the Capitol to ask that regulators have more time to consider the deal. -
The 2026 primaries for Congressional and local elections are next week, but Democrats are already looking ahead to 2028. -
Local governments are trying to figure out ways to stop data center development, or at least hit the pause button for a while.
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The fight over data centers may have started in Northern Virginia, but it's now expanding to many local elections for city councils and boards of supervisors across Virginia. -
Lawmakers may be returning to Richmond in the next few weeks for a special session to consider a merger between a state-regulated energy monopoly and a Florida company. -
Virginia currently has about 8.9 million people, and that population is projected to grow to 9.5 million by 2050. So that’s growth, but a sluggish pace compared to the Baby Boom that happened after World War II, which created an echo boom of millennials.
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State leaders could have included more school construction money in the state budget. Instead, voters will be considering a one-percent local sales tax in a handful of jurisdictions, including Richmond, Martinsville, York County and Fairfax City.
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It's been more than three years since Congress mandated that the Department of Homeland Security create a centralized program to collect data on fentanyl and put together a plan to keep chemical precursors from entering the U.S. But that never happened says Congressman James Walkinshaw, who introduced the Measuring Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act.
