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.