Republicans from the Shenandoah Valley and even West Virginia attended the 21st annual Oysters with Obenshain fundraiser at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds on Wednesday night. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.

It’s not just abundant jobs and high wages that draw folks into the skilled trades. Many say it feeds their passion for working with their hands. Here’s the third and final installment of our series, “Trading Up.” WMRA’s Christine Kueter reports.

The number of registered apprenticeships in Virginia has grown six-fold in the last decade. They’re good investments for employers, who “grow their own” to meet labor force needs. WMRA’s Christine Kueter continues in this second part of our three-part series “Trading Up.”

Economic, job, and education changes are luring more young people to skilled trades such as construction, electrical work, plumbing, and auto maintenance. In part one of our three-part series, we'll explore who’s opting in and why. WMRA’s Christine Kueter digs in.

In 1990, Earl Swift backpacked the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. Early on his trek, he spent time with a friendly couple who were murdered weeks later at a mountaintop campsite. Earl’s new book, Up On Cove Mountain, chronicles that hike and his return to the trail thirty years later to make sense of the violence.

Virginia legalized sports betting, and casino gambling for some cities, in 2020. Since then, demand for help with gambling addiction has ballooned. A statewide initiative launched treatment services in 2022 to help people struggling with problem gambling. WMRA’s Ayse Pirge reports.

Newtown is a small cluster of homes a couple miles from Crozet in western Albemarle County. At one point, Newtown had a school, a community center, a church, and a general store. It was also home to Greenwood Chemical Company, where a 1985 explosion killed four workers and stunned the community. The land became a Superfund site, and soon Albemarle County will try to auction it off to the highest bidder. WMRA’s Christine Kueter continues the story.

Virginia Fresh Match, which allows people to double their SNAP benefits on fresh produce in partner locations, has lost its federal funding this year. But the organization still retains its funding from the state. WMRA’s Ayse Pirge has more.

In 1985, an explosion at a Newtown chemical plant killed four men in their 30s. Now, Albemarle County is searching for anyone with a claim on the 33-acre property, now a Superfund site, to pay back taxes by October 30, before the parcel is auctioned off. WMRA’s Christine Kueter reports in the first of a two-part story.

Two Virginia electric utilities have received failing grades in a new Sierra Club report examining their plans to transition away from fossil fuels. WMRA's Anjoleigh Schindler has more.