IN THE NEWS:  

1. A bunch of new polls in Virginia are showing Virginia is no longer a battleground state, if it ever was one. When Biden was the candidate, the polls indicated that Republicans would be targeting Virginia as a swing state. Now all that is slipping out of reach for Trump voters. 

2. The funding formula for how public schools currently receive state money uses Census data to figure out the staffing levels needed for the school-age population in an area. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is considering a plan to move to a new formula that calculates money based on students. 

3. Reporting for Richmonder.org, Graham Moomaw has a bombshell story revealing that skill games are back--three new machines at a sports bar in Henrico that are practically daring authorities to test their legal case.

At the Watercooler:

• Lauren and Michael react to the racist lies peddled on the national debate stage targeting Haitian immigrants--and how it's part of a standard playbook.

This week, Michael is joined by the Cato Institute's Director of Immigration Studies David Bier and Senior Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Singer to break down the false narrative that ties illegal immigration to the fentanyl crisis. They say the real source of fentanyl comes from US citizens at ports of entry, and argue that harder drug prohibition leads directly to harder drugs being manufactured.

IN THE NEWS:

1. During a recent training event for Republican poll watchers in Arlington, Virginia, party chairman Rich Anderson didn't mince words about the 45 days of voting that starts Friday, September 20. But some of the people urging their supporters to vote early now were trying to undermine the 45 days of early voting during the General Assembly session earlier this year, says House Privileges and Elections Committee Chairwoman Cia Price.

2. Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares says local law enforcement officials have the authority -- and a moral duty -- to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. In a statement, he thanked sheriffs who are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. However, advocates worry that people who feel like they are in danger of being deported might stop contacting the police when they need help or stop cooperating with investigations.

3. Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has a message for his constituents. It's all about that *tax* base. That's the headline in his latest newsletter. He says his city will be missing out on $11 million this year because of the declining values of commercial real estate in Alexandria

This week, Michael is joined by Shawn Weneta of The Humanization Project and Ben Knotts of Americans for Prosperity to discuss Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 36: "Stand Tall, Stay Strong, Succeed Together," meant to help Virginians on probation re-enter society and avoid recidivism. 

IN THE NEWS:

1. Republicans have a goal of identifying 5,000 volunteers to serve as poll watchers for every precinct during all 45 days of voting. But there are concerns about Republican attempts to block certification of elections results that don't go their way.

2. If elected to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris says she wants to offer $25,000 in downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers. Harris is also talking about taking on corporate landlords by restricting rent increases to 5 percent for landlords with more than 50 units. In addition to that, she also wants to create tax incentives for the construction of new homes. While Democrats are talking about increasing the supply of housing, Republicans are talking about decreasing demand by deporting undocumented immigrants as well as allowing some housing development on federal lands and reducing mortgage rates.

3. Over the weekend, we saw spouses of the Democratic ticket barnstorming the state, which is a time-honored tradition in American politics. 

At the watercooler:

• JD Vance getting booed by the Firefighter's Union.

• Right-wing outlet "The Daily Wire" attacking a Virginia journalist without bothering to contact him.

This week, Michael is joined by John Milliken, co-editor of The New Dominion and Senior Fellow-In-Residence at George Mason University's Schar School, to illustrate the history of the Byrd Machine with the help of archival audio from the LIbrary of Virginia. 

IN THE NEWS:

1. As Democrats arrived in Chicago for their convention, a new Roanoke College poll showed that Vice President Kamala Harris has a 3% edge in Virginia over former President Donald Trump.

2. In July, Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, directing the Virginia Department of Education to draft guidance for public school divisions to adopt local policies and procedures establishing cell phone-free education. With school starting this week, what might the future hold for students and cell phone usage

3. Speaking of polls, Governor Youngkin’s approval has jumped to its highest number.
   In a new Roanoke College survey of Virginia likely voters, Youngkin’s popularity surged to 59%. When compared to others, that rating makes him the sixth-most popular governor in the nation.

This week, Michael is joined by Mary Garner McGehee, audio producer for the Virginia Audio Collective and the new host of Bold Dominion, our longtime sister show. They discuss the revamped explainer for state politics, including episodes on Virginia's recycling, minimum wage, and other state politics topics that often fly beneath the radar. 

IN THE NEWS:

1. The tradition in Virginia politics for many years was for state Democrats to remain quiet about national Democrats they did not like and didn’t want to vote for. Now things are much more explicit--and some experts are predicting more Never Trump Republicans will emerge in Virginia.

2. For years, schools identified how many students lived in poverty by taking a look at who received free or reduced-price lunches. That left many high-poverty students out of the equation, and the system had to be scrapped when many divisions started making meals universally available. The new way of identifying high-poverty students is based on participation in federal assistance programs, and the Department of Education estimates that 43 percent of public students are at-risk. 

3. For many years, Pell Grants were not available to people who are incarcerated. But now the law has changed, and about 14,000 people who are incarcerated have access to the money to pay for college classes. But only 11 of Virginia's 45 prisons offer college classes.

This week, Michael and Lauren are joined by former candidate Susanna Gibson and the Poynter Institute's Kelly McBride to discuss the recent hacked information regarding Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, the Washington Post story detailing explicit videos of Susanna, and how those stories relate to other instances of leaks and hacks through the evolving media landscape.

IN THE NEWS:

1. When the House of Delegate unanimously approved the appointment of Lindsey Burke to the George Mason University board of visitors, members of the General Assembly did not know that she would later play a prominent role in Project 2025. That’s the conservative think-tank plan to reshape the federal government’s functions and benefits. Now Speaker of the House Don Scott is calling on the governor to remove the co-author of Project 2025 chapter on education.

2. Experts say Virginia will benefit from tens of millions of dollars from the Infrastructure Act to finance energy storage for data centers. Supporters of clean energy are hopeful this program in Manassas will show how new technology can address the rising demand from data centers without the need for new energy generation from fossil fuels.

3. From the hills of Appalachia to the melodic tones of the Piedmont, Virginia has some of the most perplexing accents in the country. A survey conducted by language-learning platform Guide2Fluency shows Appalachia and Piedmont accents have artificial intelligence stumped. 

This week we are joined by the founder of the Richmonder and one of his new star reporters, Michael Phillips and Graham Moomaw. They explain what they hope to accomplish with the launch of the new site on Sept. 9, and they'll also share some thoughts about hot sauce.

IN THE NEWS:

1. In a 2019 memoir, Kamala Harris described herself as a "progressive prosecutor.” But many criminal justice reform advocates aren't so sure about her record, which includes prosecuting parents when their students were truant and notifying immigration authorities when undocumented juveniles were charged with felonies.

2. Trump Force 47 is the name of the Republican get-out-the-vote operation this year. It involves training sessions at various locations across Virginia where volunteers are learning about how to target potential voters in critical precincts. But will it actually expand the base?

3. The Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia is calling on the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys to investigate slot-machine style devices known as skill games--specifically, Fairfax, Henrico and Portsmouth.  Some of those prosecutors note that it's law enforcement's job to investigate crimes.

 Jon Baliles (former Richmond City Councilman, advisors to Mayors Wilder and Stoney, and author of RVA 5x5 Substack) joins Michael to discuss the candidates for Richmond's mayoral election, which has a unique structure that requires the winning candidate to win 5 of 9 districts to avoid a runoff.

IN THE NEWS:

1. Before Joe Biden dropped out of the race for president, several polls took a look at how Kamala Harris would do against Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup in Virginia. Mark Rozell of the Schar School says any Democrat running against Trump would probably fare as well as Biden if not marginally better. And, he says, that could win the election.

2. Northern Virginia has long been the global capital of data centers, but now they are expanding to the rest of Virginia. According to the Piedmont Environmental Council, Virginia already has about 200 data centers with applications pending for 100 more. Some members of the General Assembly are sounding alarm bells on the rapid growth.

3. Virginia has the worst on-time delivery rates in the country ever since the United States Postal Service made changes to the Richmond Regional Processing and Delivery Center. That's a problem for newspapers that are delivered using periodical delivery rates.

Friend of the show Nathan Moore (station manager of WTJU Charlottesville and writer of Apple Atchin Radio) joins Michael to discuss his tour of community radio stations in Appalachia; the importance of trust and community bonds to the public radio model, and what VP nominee J.D. Vance gets wrong about the area.

IN THE NEWS:

1. President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and throwing the presidential race into total chaos. We have no precedent for this because nothing like this has ever happened. How are Virginia politicians responding?

2. According to the latest FBI data, crime is down across the country. Here in Virginia, crime spiked in the early 1990s and has been steadily going down ever since. Violent crime, for example, is one third of what it was at that time. 

3. The price of new cars is going down. So are the prices for blue jeans and microwave ovens. That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows even the prices of eggs in Virginia is dropping. But the recent spike in inflation disproportionately harmed low-income people in Virginia.

At the Watercooler:

• More on Biden dropping out

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interpretive rule on "paycheck advances" counting as loans

The guest for this episode is a delegate to the Republican convention in Wisconsin. He is a member of the platform committee, and he's the chairman of the First Congressional District Republican Committee -- Jeff Ryer. He joins us to give us an inside look at what's happening in the Virginia delegation and give us a sense as to how Republicans are feeling about the election heading into the fall campaign season.

IN THE NEWS:

1. If you're looking for an example of a recount that changed the results of an election, you'll have to go all the way back to Indiana, 1985. Here in Virginia, recounts have been conducted in three congressional elections since 1967, and none of them changed the outcome--but Bob Good in the 5th District is pushing for one anyway.

2. With the aid of AI, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton has regaied her voice; trained up on her public speeches, the AI voice sounds much like Wexton did before she was silenced by Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and she says this tool could be life-changing for Americans with disabilities.

3. The rapid rise of fentanyl overdoses is causing concern among lawmakers, although they are not yet on the same page about how to handle the situation.That's why the General Assembly created a new task force to consider the policy choices and how they would work. For example, how much does an individual need to have to be prosecuted as a dealer versus helped as a patient suffering from substance abuse disorder? 

At the Watercooler:

• The Democrats are still trying to figure out if Biden will be their nominee

• The 1932 Democratic convention, where Harry Byrd tried to unseat Franklin Roosevelt

This week, Michael is joined by an Alexandria legend, former Delegate Marian van Landingham; who served in the General Assembly for twenty-four years and spearheaded the transformation of Alexandria's Torpedo Factory from military storage into a world-famous art center.