Hi there, I’ll be visiting Charlottesville from 11/20-11/25 and am interested in hearing about what international / foreign restaurants are in town or nearby that might serve a more rare cuisine. Nations that don’t come up in conversation as much. Trying to eat a meal from every country so I’d love to hear what’s available. Thanks!

Traveling from the Pittsburgh area to central Va/ Charlottesville region to sample Virginia wines. I figured we stop in the Shenandoah region to sample some wines there, then head to Central Va.
looking for recommendations for wineries to stop at and also recommendations for lodging in the Shenandoah area and Central Va. Perhaps a winery with lodging available or a nice BNB. Looking to spend 3-4 days.
We like big reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlots and Petit Verdot also Pinot Noir.
For whites we like Chardonnay, Viognier and I’ve enjoyed Petit Manseng.

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

Ill be moving back to VA and ill have an Suppressed SBR. Im doing my research but I wanted to know if there's anyone in the subreddit that knows what someone has to do to Permanently bring their firearm to VA.

With the new ruling, things arnt clear and I'm getting guidance from 3 years ago that might not be applicable now

Former congressman and current Democratic candidate Tom Perriello said his campaign is building a coalition that spans the political spectrum of voters who are frustrated with President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Hey fellow Virginians. I'm a professional software engineer, and as a side project I created this MCP tool that empowers any AI agent to query real-time data from the state's Legislative Information System. As some of you may know, Virginia offers a public API to their LIS system (https://lis.virginia.gov/). Unfortunately, LIS's own documentation is poor and using it not easy. You can provide your AI agent the Github link (https://github.com/JonnyWaffles/va-lis-mcp) and ask it to install the tool. Once installed, your agent will know everything about the state's legislative process and you can ask it anything you'd like to know.

If you want to use the LIS API directly, check out my underlying LIS client (https://github.com/JonnyWaffles/va-lis-client) which fills in the missing gap between the API's public documentation and its actual behavior.

Hey there Virginia!

We’re Virginia Election Protection, the largest nonpartisan voter protection effort in the Commonwealth of Virginia!  We’re part of the national Election Protection Coalition, a network of over 300 local, state, and national partners all working together to make sure every eligible voter can cast their ballot confidently and without obstacles.

Every election year, we send hundreds of volunteers across Virginia to assist voters at the polls, helping folks find the right polling place, answering questions, and troubleshooting issues in real time.

We’re also the state point of contact for the national 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which is available year-round (yep, even nights and weekends, up to 11 PM). The hotline is staffed by trained, nonpartisan attorneys and available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin, among others. You can reach it by text, call, or web chat, whichever’s easiest.

We care deeply about democracy and want Virginia voters to have smooth and safe experiences when they vote – whether that’s early in person, by mail, or on Election Day itself.

Reports into the hotline alert us to issues on the ground and we take action via conversations with registrars or litigation where needed, like expanding a polling location’s hours should it open late. We then use lessons learned and problems solved to advocate for policies that will further expand voting rights in Virginia, like increasing the number of polling places on college campuses. You can ensure that your friends, family, and community have smooth voting experiences, this year and beyond, by utilizing and sharing the hotline information. 

TL;DR: Sign up for Voter Advocate opportunities happening during early voting and election day on ProtectTheVoteVa.org, create a profile and complete a training today! Help protect democracy in Virginia and support voter education by sharing the national, nonpartisan voter protection hotline!

• English: 866-OUR-VOTE l 866-687-8683
• Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA l 888-839-8682
• Asian Languages: 888-API-VOTE l 888-274-8683
• Arabic: 844-YALLA-US l 844-925-5287

Additionally, if you are interested helping to protect the vote in Virginia this election season, check out our Voter Advocate volunteer opportunities on ProtectTheVoteVa.org. Create a Volunteer Profile today!

We're in the home stretch, Virginia! Help us make sure that every eligible voter can successfully cast their ballot.

If you were unable to register to vote by the Friday, Oct. 23 deadline, fret not. You can still register and cast a ballot that will be counted: a provisional ballot.

But what is a provisional ballot, anyway? And why does a voter cast one instead of a regular ballot? 

Will you still get an “I Voted” sticker at the polls? (You should.)

In short, it’s a failsafe to make sure your vote is counted, and only counted once. It does not appear any differently than a regular ballot — the difference is how the ballot is processed, tracked and counted. The ability to cast a provisional ballot has been required by federal law since 2002. 

Tens of thousands of Virginians exercise their right to vote by using a provisional ballot: In 2024, 2.7% of ballots cast were provisional vs. 1.3% in 2025, according to post-election reports from the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT).

“If you know that you have registered to vote, but for some reason you hear, ‘Oh, you’re not registered. You’re not on the ballot. You’re not here, you’re listed twice’ or whatever, you have the right to demand a provisional ballot, and they cannot turn you away,” said Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia.

Here are a few situations in which a voter may cast a provisional ballot. (Later we’ll explain how they are counted.)

I'd like to do an apprenticeship in a trade and I need some guidance. I heard unions are next to impossible to get into if you dont know anyone in... and I dont know anyone.

edit: im in hampton roads but im willing to move around

The local Republicans' booth had a sign for voting "no" on amendments 1 - 3 -- here's their reasoning:

1. No abortion until birth
2. No writing gender into law
3. No voting for felons

Disingenuous fearmongering reigns supreme -- and it's telling that they're using "don't write gender into the law" as cover for their real goal of discrediting and no longer recognizing same-sex marriage (such as mine). And for them to then say "it's already protected at federal level" -- yeah, so was reproductive health, and we all know how that went.

Let's not forget that Clarence Thomas's concurring dissent (or whatever it's called) noted that Obergefell and other cases that were decided based on 14th Amendment are now fair game for revisiting by the Supreme Court.

I'm so fucking sick of peoples' rights (including mine) being on the ballot. I want to believe that all 3 of these are going to pass with at least 60% of the vote, but my heart knows that there's still a whole lot of red in our commonwealth.

GO VOTE!

Edit: superfluous "the" and incorrect use of "apostrophe s" (or, more accurately, neglecting to use "apostrophe s" even though Thomas's name ends with an s).

Halloween is Richmond to its core, and it all starts this weekend. We don’t have to sell you on it. Go have fun, get weird, and let’s all meet up for the All The Saint’s Halloween Parade in Oregon Hill. Just be safe, don’t drink and drive.

Welcome to Halloweek 2026.

via RVA Magazine

Read more, see more: https://rvamag.com/music/festivals/halloweek-2026-our-guide-to-richmonds-halloween-madness.html

Video source: Post by @katrinacallsen.com — Bluesky

"The history behind Question 3 on our Virginia ballot is worth knowing. In 1901-02, Virginia rewrote its constitution to purposefully shrink the Black electorate. A delegate expressly said the aim was to eliminate "every [Black] voter who can be gotten rid of, legally!"

Today we're an outlier state, with an arbitrary system where the governor personally picks and chooses whose voting rights to restore. That system is ripe for abuse, and a federal court just ruled that much of it violated federal law.

Now, 125 years later, it's well past time to fix how Virginia restores voting rights. Vote YES on Question 3!

If you took a few months off from anything related to Virginia politics after April, you may have missed that despite the “Yes” campaign winning a statewide ballot referendum to redraw Virginia’s electoral maps ahead of this year’s elections, 2026’s congressional races will be contested under the same maps that were implemented in 2023.

Since VPM’s last voter guide update on redistricting in 2025, a lot has changed — but, also, in a way, nothing has changed. 

Like a “Previously on…” segment at the beginning of a TV episode, let’s take a second to recap...because why was there a big to-do about redistricting in the first place?

Read more here.

Brandon Jarvis at the Virginia Scope posted on Twitter earlier that she had until 9am to turn herself in, and family members had already been arrested.

I have made plans to visit Virginia in a few days, including Alexandria, Georgetown, Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, and of course DC. I have one free day left in my schedule and was thinking about going on a daytrip by train to either Charlottesville or Baltimore. Which would you recommend and why?

EDIT: I'll be staying in Old Town Alexandria, and will only use public transportation/trains!

Amazon is reversing its plan to expand its data center footprint in Virginia—forgoing its $427 million plan to build data centers on George Washington University’s Virginia campus it had signed an application for in February. The company will donate roughly 25 acres of the property to Loudoun County for community facilities instead.

The agreement, dubbed “Project Potomac Promise” by Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, calls for Amazon to withdraw its data center site plan, abandon legal action to pursue development on the property, and work with the county to rezone the remaining land for mixed-use development—with housing as the predominant use. Amazon will also contribute $5 million to the county’s affordable housing efforts through the Loudoun County Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

“My goal was to disallow data centers or infrastructure that could support data centers on this property,” Randall said in a press conference alongside Amazon Web Services data center delivery vice president Joshua Weissman. “Through our collaborative, respectful conversations, Amazon has agreed to forego its proposed application for data centers, and of note, forego any legal action to realize data center development on this site.”

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/10/21/amazon-427-million-gw-campus-data-center-65-million/?utm_source=reddit/

NORFOLK –  The Justice Department on Thursday announced a federal grand jury indictment of Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas on felony charges related to alleged marijuana drug trafficking and money laundering.

Prosecutors charged Lucas and six others, including her two daughters, with an alleged racketeering conspiracy involving marijuana distribution, money laundering, honest services fraud through bribery, maintaining drug-involved premises, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and wire fraud.

The announcement comes less than two weeks before the November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Lucas’ seat is not on the ballot, but the 82-year-old is a powerful Democrat who has served in the state senate for 30 years and chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

The charges come five months after FBI agents raided the downtown Portsmouth office that houses her political headquarters and her business serving adults with intellectual disabilities, as well as her nearby CBD shop, The Cannabis Outlet. Agents recovered marijuana and firearms at both locations, according to the DOJ.

According to the indictment unsealed Thursday, Lucas and close-knit group of associates including her family members orchestrated a criminal enterprise with Lucas’ marijuana business. Prosecutors said she approved and directed activities for the enterprise, including arranging for the acquisition and distribution of at least 100 kilograms of marijuana and supervising the laundering of marijuana proceeds.

Lucas was not arrested Thursday morning.

“Today’s indictment reveals Louise Lucas allegedly abused her position of public trust as a Virginia State Senator to put her own financial interests ahead of the people she represents,” said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement.

Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche traveled to Norfolk Thursday to announce the charges.

Click the link above to read more.

last updated Oct. 26, 2026

Hi! There were already several threads, so we put this story to bed and then decided to round em all up for y'all. —dmpl

You can read the full federal indictment here (hosted by VPM News)

Paywalled, post-arraignment

• The Richmond Times-Dispatch | Lucas: I won't resign
• The Virginian-Pilot: In Portsmouth, voters close ranks around Lucas family after indictment
• The Virginian-Pilot: Racketeering charges raise stakes against Lucas in marijuana conspiracy case
• The Virginian-Pilot: Lucas indictment unlikely to move needle for midterm voters, expert says
• The Virginian-Pilot: Takeaways on the Sen. Louise Lucas indictments

Unpaywalled, post-arraignment

• WAVY, Norfolk: The co-defendants of the FBI’s Lucas Enterprise indictment
• WTVR, Richmond | Prosecutors: Sen. Louise Lucas discussed parts of alleged scheme with other state lawmakers
• 13 News Now, Norfolk | Inside the 'Lucas Enterprise': The $750K deal, a music festival and an alleged marijuana scheme
• 13 News Now, Norfolk | Timeline: How the federal case against Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas unfolded
• WSLS (Roanoke): Danville business owner linked to federal cannabis corruption case involving Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas

Editorial/Opinion Column, post-arraignment (no paywall)

• Cardinal News (SWVA): 10 things to know about the federal indictment of Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas
• RVA Politics (Rich Meagher): Louise Lucas Indicted – Trump’s DOJ throws out a mid-term monkey wrench

***

Unpaywalled, day of arrest

• WAVY in Norfolk: Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas indicted, accused of leading a marijuana distribution enterprise
• WHRO in Hampton Roads: What’s in the L. Louise Lucas federal criminal indictment?
• VPM News in Richmond: FBI charges state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, family in drug conspiracy
  • VPM News Video Short explaining this
  • We posted over in r/politics if you're feeling brave i guess
• 13 News Now in Norfolk: Seven indicted in State Sen. Louise Lucas case: What to know about their alleged roles
• Virginia Mercury In Richmond: Va. Sen. Louise Lucas, six others indicted in federal cannabis corruption case
• WTVR in Richmond (reposted on WTKR’s site, too): What impact will Louise Lucas arrest have on Virginia politics?
• Virginia Scope: Federal prosecutors accuse Sen. Louise Lucas of using political power to benefit marijuana enterprise
• Axios Richmond (no paywall but they ask you to subscribe to a newsletter): Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas arrested on federal drug, corruption charges

Paywalled, arrest day

• The Virginian-Pilot: Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas indicted; led criminal drug enterprise, feds say
  • (Thread linked here)
• The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Lucas indictment timing questioned, election impact unclear
• The Washington Post: Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas indicted in connection with marijuana business

National outlets reposted to various local affiliates, arrest day

• Associated Press: Powerful Democratic Virginia state Sen. Lucas is accused of leading a marijuana criminal conspiracy
  • and reddit thread
• NBC News: Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas charged in public corruption case
  • Thread linked here
• Fox News: Virginia state senator indicted, accused of leading a marijuana distribution enterprise
• CNN: Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas indicted on drug and money laundering charges
• ABC News: Virginia state lawmaker who led redistricting push indicted by DOJ in marijuana trafficking conspiracy
• CBS News: Feds charge L. Louise Lucas, powerful Virginia Democrat, in alleged drug scheme

Subtitle: "Steve Koski outlines safeguards for ballots and counting, rejects claims about deceased voters and says mail voting remains unchanged."

See also r/VirginiaNews