About half of states provide citizens with a path to bypass elected officials to change local laws — or recall the officials themselves. 

But is Virginia one of them? Editor Whittney Evans investigates the answers in this week’s Curious Commonwealth with RVA’s Got Issues’ Rich Meagher (Short Summer Break Edition).

Submit your own question at ⁠⁠vpm.org/curious⁠⁠. You can listen to RVA's Got Issues on its website or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this episode was missing the Curious Commonwealth music. Sorry about that!

Plus: group behind June cyberattack on Albemarle County has been identified; and other stories 

It’s unclear what the extent of the effects will be or when they’ll hit Virginia.

Plus: Richmond's finance director resigns and VPM News will be hosting a Mug Stop in Charlottesville!

VPM News Host Lyndon German and BizSense Reporter Jackie  Jackie DiBartolomeo explored the Richmond region's top business stories. This week they discuss the redevelopment Richmond'slong-dormant Intermediate Terminal Building, a sandwich shop owners lawsuit against the restaurant's founders and the launch of a local health tech start up.

In other news: UVA President Jim Ryan exits job, US Rep. Rob Wittman talks Medicaid, Richmond hires new CAO — and more Central Virginia news.

The Central Virginia county has fully replaced its school board within the last two years. It remains one of 12 districts in the commonwealth with an appointed, not elected, board. 

In other news: Environmental advocates call for pollution curbing at beaches, JMU has a new president — and more Central Virginia news. 

A recent report from the US Department of Agriculture states that Virginia’s over- and underpayment error rate of SNAP food benefits hovers around 11%. In remarks Tuesday, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the commonwealth could bring that number down below the pay-it-back threshold implemented in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

In other news: The City of Richmond is looking to redevelop a century-old warehouse in Rockett’s Landing, Charlottesville still plans to implement a homelessness intervention strategy — and more Central Virginia news. 

Flock Safety cameras across Virginia weren't meant to be used for immigration enforcement. But they were. 

You can read the full report from the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO on our website. 

In other news: A road in Downtown Richmond is closed for an emergency sewer assessment, amateur radio enthusiasts held an open house last week — and VPM News gets to toot its own horn about some two awards the team received. 

Richmond recently released a plan to tackle the urban heat island effect, but the federal spending bill signed on Friday impacts its potential funding.

In other news: Virginia’s ban on conversion therapy for minors was altered by a court’s decree to permit talk therapy; a Charlottesville zoning lawsuit was thrown out — and more Central Virginia news. 

Longtime VA House Speaker Todd Gilbert tapped as next US attorney for the Western District. 

Plus: Richmond Public Schools and the union representing school bus drivers finalize first-ever collective bargaining agreement.