Virginians bet $182 million on sports in August
Virginians bet $182 million in August, a 13% increase from July, according to data released Friday by the Virginia Lottery. Virginian sports bettors won $171 million in August. Virginia sports betting wagers total more than $1.48 billion since the state legalized sports betting in mid-January. In July, the state reaped about $16[...]
Va. new jobless claims settle down after last week’s surge
After a 300% surge in new unemployment claims the previous week, the state saw numbers return to relatively normal levels in the filing week ending Sept. 25, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Last week, 8,717 people filed initial claims, a decrease of 7,245 from the week before. Continued claims, however, ros[...]
Enter the candidates
With early voting starting the next day, Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin came out swinging in their Sept. 16 first debate, sniping over issues ranging from coronavirus vaccine mandates to abortion in what The Washington Post described as a “bare-knuckled” sparring match at the Appalachian School of Law. Democratic former Gov. McAuliffe […]
$300M widening of U.S. Route 58 has started in Patrick County
A groundbreaking ceremony took place Wednesday in Patrick County to widen a 7.4-mile stretch of U.S. Route 58 in Patrick County, the first phase of a project to create a continuous four-lane highway between Virginia Beach and Interstate 77. The project, part of the U.S. Route 58 Corridor Development Program enacted by state lawm[...]
State launches app to connect vendors with Va. agencies
Virginia has launched an app to help connect state government agencies and other users with local, woman- and minority-owned businesses more efficiently, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The Start Small app is available for free, and it allows users to conduct keyword searches to match with businesses that fit their needs, and can be narrowed […]
Governor: Staff shortages becoming dire in Va. hospitals
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said that hospital workers in the state are “losing their patience” and that medical facilities will not be able to handle all patients with COVID-19 or other ailments if hospitals are understaffed beyond where they are now. “They need our help,” he said Monday at a news confer[...]
Youngkin has 5-point lead in UMW governor’s race poll
In the most recent round of dueling gubernatorial poll results, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin has a five-point lead among likely voters against Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Virginia’s former governor seeking a second, nonconsecutive term, according to a University of Mary Washington statewide survey conducted earlier th[...]
New jobless claims in Va. surge by 300%
After three weeks of declining unemployment claims statewide, the number of new claims shot up more than 300% last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. At the same time, continued claims dropped by more than 3,000 for the filing week ending Sept. 18. The VEC said in Thursday’s report that the end of [...]
VCU poll shows McAuliffe with 9-point lead in governor’s race
A new statewide poll from Virginia Commonwealth University shows Democratic former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe with a nine-point lead over Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, a far different take than the much tighter race indicated by a Washington Post-George Mason University poll released Saturday. VCU’s[...]
Va. unemployment rate drops to 4% in August
In August, the state’s unemployment rate was at 4%, a 0.2-point decline below July’s rate, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The state’s unemployment rate has declined for 15 months straight, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, the state’s jobless rate was at 7%, 3 points higher than last month. Virginia continued to […]
Va. rolls out digital proof for vaccinations
The Virginia Department of Health has started adding scannable QR codes to COVID-19 vaccination records, digitizing the proof-of-vaccination process, the state announced Thursday. VDH said QR codes available now cannot be altered or forged, and health information is available from the codes only if and when a person chooses to s[...]
Va. new jobless claims declined again last week
Virginia’s new unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row last week, declining by 20%, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Continued jobless claims also decreased for the filing week ending Sept. 4, down 2,036 claims from the previous week to total 44,435. Initial claims totaled 6,179, down 1,5[...]