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COVID roundup: Nearly 25% of Virginians vaccinated; fewer restrictions expected April 1
Nearly a quarter of Virginia’s population has now been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s update Monday, March 22, and counties in the Eastern Shore, Southern Virginia and northern Shenandoah Valley have expanded vaccination to include people in group 1c. So far, 3.1 million vaccine doses have been administered statewide as […]
Dewberry selected to develop Va. coastal resilience plan
Updated March 19 Fairfax-based engineering and planning firm Dewberry has been awarded a $2.6 million contract by the state to develop Virginia’s first Coastal Resilience Master Plan, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. Dewberry, joined by Louisiana-based The Water Institute of the Gulf and Virginia subcontractors GKY & Associates, Vision Planning and Consulting, and The Miles [&helli[...]
Online games made up 21% of Va. Lottery income
The Virginia Lottery raked in $436 million from online lottery games between their July 1, 2020, launch and the end of February, making up 21.8% of the state lottery’s total $2 billion revenue during that period. According to a news release Wednesday, 163,000 players have won prizes playing the lottery online, including the Mega Millions, […]
Danville, Eastern Shore first Va. localities to move into third vaccination phase
Danville and Eastern Shore health districts will be moving into phase 1c of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout this week, vaccinating a variety of workers from sectors including energy, higher education, finance, legal and housing and construction. Other regions are likely to follow soon, the Virginia Department of Health announced Tuesday. Others in group 1c include […]
Va. unemployment fell to 5.3% in January
Virginia’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.6% in December 2020 to 5.3% in January, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. The state saw a gain of 14,100 nonfarm payroll jobs during January. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in January, falling to 6.2% in February. Nevertheless, Virginia’s January unemployment rate was still significantly higher than in […]
COVID roundup: Va. deaths surpass 10,000; 21% of population vaccinated
Virginia exceeded 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths as of March 15, one year and one day after the first COVID-19 death was recorded in the state. Also, 21% of the state’s population — 1.7 million people — have now received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, according to the Virginia Department of Health. And more […]
Virginians ages 65+ have mostly gotten COVID shots
With more than 1.6 million Virginians having received COVID-19 vaccinations, the number of people age 65 and older seeking COVID-19 shots is beginning to slow down, Dr. Danny Avula said Friday. That has left more appointments open for younger people with health issues or who work in essential jobs. Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, said […]
New jobless claims increased last week in Va.
Initial unemployment claims increased across the state last week, while continued claims dropped slightly, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. For the filing week ending March 6, 13,736 people filed new claims for unemployment insurance, up from 12,155 the previous week. Meanwhile, 62,269 people filed continued claims, marking a 2.7% decrease from the previous week […]
The pandemic — one year later
One year ago this week, Virginians started bumping elbows instead of shaking hands. We raced about trying to find toilet paper and hand sanitizer and began washing our hands obsessively as a virus we’d only heard about in the news suddenly appeared in Virginia and would quickly transform daily life as we knew it. Virginia’s […]
VMI alums and cadets report racial slurs used on ‘regular basis’
In an interim report, investigators looking into reported racist incidents at Virginia Military Institute say some alumni and current cadets have reported hearing racial slurs “on a regular basis” at the state-funded military college in Lexington. The Washington, D.C.-based law firm Barnes & Thornburg LLP, which submitted the report Monday to Peter A. Blake, director […]
Virginia ABC announces Pappy Van Winkle lotteries
On Wednesday, the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority announced that several highly prized Pappy Van Winkle whiskey products will be entered into an online lottery in March and April. The 23-year-old bourbon whiskey costs $300 per bottle, but in the online marketplace, a bottle of 25-year-old Old Rip Van Winkle bourbon was on sale for […]
State reaches $39.3M settlement with defunct Keysville tobacco company
Twenty-three years after the landmark Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement was reached, defunct Keysville tobacco company S&M Brands Inc. has settled with Virginia for nearly $40 million, the attorney general’s office announced Wednesday. S&M Brands, the makers of Bailey cigarettes and other products, closed in 2019. It was started in 1995 by father and son Mac […]
