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Episode Notes Our episode about everything passenger rail in Virginia. From the history of rail in the state, to why our trains aren't as fast as Europe's, to some of the improvements to the rail system on the horizon, we discuss the ins and outs of rail travel in the Commonwealth. Special thanks to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and the C & O Historical Society! Sources https://www.amtrak.com/amtrak-history-1970s https://www.aar.org/chronology-of-americas-freight-railroads/ https://enotrans.org/article/amtrak-at-50-the-rail-passenger-service-act-of-1970/ https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/amtrak-virginia-sets-all-time-record-with-2024-ridership/ https://www.vre.org/assets/1/6/2024_CEO_Report_May.pdf https://www.vre.org/about/ https://www.vre.org/assets/1/6/VRE_FY_2025_Budget.pdf https://www.wmata.com/about/history/ https://wmata.com/initiatives/budget/upload/Remediated-FY2025-Approved-Budget-FINAL.pdf https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/va-transportation-board-approves-railway-sale-to-support-southwest-va-passenger-rail-expansion/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Forge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleghany_County,_Virginia

The General Assembly session is just about wrapped up for the year. The Democrat- controlled house sent Republican Governor Youngkin 916 bills to consider. On Sunday, Youngkin signed 599 bills into law, vetoed 157 bills, and sent 159 bills back to the General Assembly with amendments. On this episode, we talk about a few of these new laws taking effect soon in Virginia.   https://virginiamercury.com/2025/03/25/youngkin-unleashes-veto-storm-to-drown-progressive-legislation/   https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-search

We just couldn’t get enough of tax season so we’re back again this week to talk in more detail about our Virginia state income tax returns. What do all those questions on the forms actually mean and why do we have them?     https://www.tax.virginia.gov/news/whats-new-filing-season   https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/vatax-pdf/2024-760-instructions.pdf#page=28   https://www.tax.virginia.gov/who-must-file   https://www.irs.gov/credits-and-deductions   https://www.tax.virginia.gov/deductions   https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodeupdates/title58.1/section58.1-322.02/   https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+oth+HB2373F161+PDF   https://thecommonwealthinstitute.org/tci_blog/proven-and-effective-tax-credits-to-lift-up-virginia-families/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20lawmakers%20improved%20the,exceed%20their%20income%20tax%20liability https://trackbill.com/bill/virginia-house-bill-2859-income-tax-deduction-for-bone-marrow-donor-screening-fee/507213/ https://www.tax.virginia.gov/reciprocity   https://www.tax.virginia.gov/penalties-and-interest

When doing your state taxes, it’s easy to just click through the boxes and not think much about what they mean. So on this episode, we are doing a deep dive into Virginia state taxes. What are the types of taxes we pay, where does the money go and how did we wind up with the system we have?   Resources: https://sfac.virginia.gov/pdf/Tax%20Policy/2024/08142024_No3_JLARC%20tax%20progressivity.pdf https://virginiamercury.com/2022/11/04/virginias-highest-tax-bracket-starts-at-17k-some-say-its-time-for-an-update/ https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/2024-legislative-summary.pdf https://www.tax.virginia.gov/retail-sales-and-use-tax https://virginiamercury.com/2023/02/24/virginia-explained-why-can-just-nine-localities-impose-a-sales-tax-for-school-capital-projects/ https://vadogwood.com/2024/01/19/virginia-senate-votes-to-make-sales-tax-holiday-permanent/ https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/2022-local-tax-rates.pdf   https://virginiamercury.com/2025/02/02/democrats-ditch-youngkins-tax-plan-propose-1-billion-rebate-instead/https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/sessionreport/2024/2/2434

This time of year, there is a ton of news about the Virginia general assembly. Bills being proposed, bills being passed through committee, and soon, crossover! If this has you spelunking into the depths of your high school civics class, we are here to give you a refresh! We’ll talk about the history of the General Assembly, how a bill becomes a law, and give you some tips for processing legislative news. Sources: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/the-constitution-of-virginia-1776/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virginia_state_legislatures https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/full-and-part-time-legislatures https://virginiamercury.com/2024/02/23/senate-bill-on-personal-use-of-campaign-cash-heads-to-house-panel-that-killed-it-before/ https://virginiamercury.com/2024/04/17/virginia-legislature-will-consider-reworked-state-budget-in-may-13-special-session/ https://www.wvtf.org/news/2024-05-13/virginia-house-and-senate-pass-youngkin-signs-budget-in-special-session https://www.wvtf.org/news/2024-05-20/the-general-assembly-is-technically-still-in-session https://dpb.virginia.gov/about/history.cfm

In the United States, every state regulates alcohol and liquor in a unique way. Their right to do so is even enshrined in the Constitution! So how did Virginia’s Alcohol and Beverage Control Authority come about? Why is liquor only sold in ABC stores? And is it true that Virginia doesn’t have any bars? We’ll trace the history of booze in Virginia from the first colonies, through Prohibition, to the end of dry counties in Virginia in 2019, and we’ll discuss how VABC enforces liquor laws in Virginia. Resources: 90 Years of VABC magazine article: https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/2024-Q1-Spirited-VA/index.php#/p/16 Titos is Virginia’s Favorite Spirit: https://www.abc.virginia.gov/about/media-room/2024/20241122-titos-continues-reign-as-virginians-favorite-spirit Americans buy more liquor in December: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/03/10-facts-about-americans-and-alcohol-as-dry-january-begins/ DC Grocery Story liquor sales: https://abca.dc.gov/page/full-service-grocery-store#gsc.tab=0 Why is liquor sold in different stores? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/nyregion/liquor-law-wine-supermarkets.html A history of Prohibition in VA https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/culture-features/2023/11/14/drinking-in-history-a-look-back-at-virginias-past-90-years-post-prohibition/ VABC Underage Buyer Program: https://www.abc.virginia.gov/enforcement/uab-program Virginia Restaurant law: https://virginiamercury.com/2018/10/02/where-did-virginias-food-to-liquor-ratio-come-from-and-does-it-still-serve-a-purpose/ VABC Hearing outcomes: https://www.abc.virginia.gov/enforcement/hearings-and-appeals/final-decisions

44% of all renters in Virginia pay more than 30% of their income in rent and the average rent in the US has gone up 19% since 2019. So what is Virginia doing about it? What’s the role of state government in affordable housing policy? The Democrat-controlled General Assembly and the Republican Youngkin administration have managed to pass some affordable housing legislation over the past 3 years. Has affordable housing become a bipartisan issue in Virginia? To answer these questions, I have a couple experts on the podcast, Christie Marra is the Director of Housing Advocacy for the Virginia Poverty Law Center and Overton McGehee, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Virginia.     Read more: December 2021 “Affordable Housing in Virginia” Report by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2021-affordable-housing-in-virginia.asp

More than 4 million people voted in Virginia and on this episode we break down those results from the top of the ticket down to the upcoming General Assembly special elections. We also discuss the controversial purge of voters days before the election, other voting access issues and the end of gerrymandering in Virginia. Our guests are Nathan Moore, former host of Bold Dominion and local and state government nerd. He’s joined by Michael Pope, a journalist who’s been covering Virginia and Virginia politics for over 15 years and the host of Virginia politics podcast, Pod Virginia. Never heard of Pod Virginia? Check it out! https://podvirginia.com/   This episode was recorded on Thursday, November 7, 2024.

Check out Virginia Outdoor Adventures!  https://virginiaoutdooradventures.com/  US Senator Tim Kaine has covered 1,222 miles of Virginia’s trails, rivers and scenic roadways as part of what he calls “The Virginia Triathlon.” The Virginia Triathlon is a challenge to hike the Appalachian trail from the northern border of Virginia to the southern border, to cycle the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive and to paddle the James River from it’s origin at Clifton Forge all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Hear about his journey and how his outdoor endeavors have informed his career in politics and public service on this episode of Virginia Outdoor Adventures. Episode Notes Notes go here

This week we’re talking about roads. How they’re built, how new projects are proposed and funded, and how they’re maintained. Michael Barnes, Director of Planning for Albemarle County breaks down these questions and helps us better understand the considerations of transportation planning.

Solar has been getting a lot of attention in the past couple years and counties across Virginia have been passing stringent regulations on new solar developments. This week we spoke with Dr. Lee Daniels, Professor Emeritus of Land Rehabilitation and Dr. Ryan D. Stewart, Professor of Soil Physics & Hydrology, both at Virginia Tech about the effects of solar farms on the land and soil. And in the second half of the episode, Nathan Moore is back to talk about some other solar farm considerations.     Read the white paper: Soil-Site Management Protocols & Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Utility Scale Solar Site (USS) Development and Management in Virginia  https://www.deq.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/24050/638531957239470000

In 2020, Virginia started on a path to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. But this year the governor vetoed the annual increase. In this episode, we talk with Levi Goren, Director of Research & Education Policy at the Commonwealth Institute, about what the minimum wage is, how it is related to inflation, and who is impacted by its stagnation.     Read Levi’s article: https://thecommonwealthinstitute.org/research/12-is-not-enough-virginia-policymakers-must-act-on-the-minimum-wage/

Hundreds of thousands of Virginians take time every day to sort and clean their recyclable materials. As a consumer, maybe you even think about whether a material is recyclable before you buy it. But what happens after you put your bottles, cans, and boxes out by the curb? In this episode, Phil McKalips, Director of Solid Waste for the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, and Lauren Cutlip, board member for the Virginia Recycling Association, take us on a journey through the afterlife of our trash. Learn more about VA recycling: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/land-waste/recycling/recycling-data/recycling-rate-report#:~:text=The%20calendar%20year%202022%20Virginia,required%20to%20report%20for%202022

This week we’re talking about school boards. While many folks will associate their school board with local decisions about infrastructure or teacher salaries, many Virginia school boards have been forums for highly politicized debates and decisions about issues like book bans or transgender rights. Today we are joined by Breanna Diaz from the ACLU of Virginia to talk about what issues they’re hearing at School Board meetings across the state and what they mean for students, parents, and teachers.

Food is just more expensive than it was a few years ago. The rate of inflation for food has leveled off in 2024, but we’re still adjusting to the price increases we saw in 2022 and 2023. So in this episode, we look into food assistance programs like SNAP, WIC and food banks: how they work, how they’re funded, and how they’re coping with rising food prices. Our guests are Monica Kelly, Public Benefits Outreach Manager and Les Sinclair, Communications and PR Manager from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.     Access Food Assistance:   https://www.brafb.org/find-help/   https://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/food.cgi     Learn More and Sign up for Virginia Sun Bucks:   https://virginiasunbucks.com/     Check out the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s Blog: https://www.brafb.org/blog-chew-on-this/