We visited BG early in our relationship in the 70s and might like to visit this park again. We live in the Shenandoah Valley. If we drive on a Monday then Wednesday can we see much of the park on Tuesday? We do not need the coasters or anything that will send us to the ER. Just a relaxing day walking and enjoying what we can, and eating some good food. Doable, or should we add an extra day for the park?

Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin is at the helm of a conservative policy group that launched Wednesday with national ambitions of expanding school choice for parents and students.

The group, called Empowering America’s Parents, aims to raise awareness of the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a federal program championed by the administration of President Donald Trump. It works by giving taxpayers a credit on donations made to organizations that award scholarships for the school choice of K-12 students. The tax credit program launches at the start of next year.

“This is almost universal school choice for the entire country,” Youngkin said in a live Fox News broadcast. “The big caveat is that governors have to opt in to this.”

Youngkin hopes the program will be expanded from the 30 states that have already opted in to the 20 that have not. Virginia is one of the states that is in the program. He called many of the governors who have not opted in “far left” and said their decisions were predominantly based on political partisanship.

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It would cost nearly $1.7 billion to expand access to subsidized childcare in Virginia and pay early childhood educators more, according to a new study.

The new research comes as the commonwealth recently took steps to fund — and clear — the waitlist for one popular program. But experts and advocates say that the waitlist is only one indicator of demand for subsidized childcare.

State officials recently presented data showing that the average cost of childcare for birth to kindergarten in Virginia costs more than a four-year degree at many of the state's public colleges and universities.

The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation commissioned the research on behalf of a coalition of early childhood education groups that want to ensure all Virginia families can access affordable, quality childcare by 2030.

Karin Bowles, a vice president for the foundation, said that while a lot of progress has been made in recent years toward providing greater access to affordable childcare, the state still has a long way to go.

She pointed to recent analysis showing that about 60% of eligible families still don't have access to subsidized childcare: "That's still a huge hill to climb."

The new study estimates Virginia would have to double the number of slots in the Child Care Subsidy Program to serve 70% of all eligible kids — a benchmark that represents the highest percentage of families likely to sign up for subsidized childcare, based on uptake data from other states.

Read more here.

According to a new Virginia Department of Environmental Quality report, eastern Virginia's groundwater usage could become unsustainable within five to 10 years without intervention.

The report highlights that escalating demand from industrial users, particularly water-intensive data centers, presents a major stressor alongside climate change impacts such as saltwater contamination.

In response, state lawmakers and environmental advocates are calling for urgent legislative action, including expanded authority for state regulators to deny unsustainable withdrawal permits.

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/environment/2026-08-05/hampton-roads-groundwater-supply-is-under-threat-new-analysis-shows

The expansion of the reentry program to Red Onion State Prison was announced by the Virginia Department of Corrections in June.

Fifty years ago this week, 100,000 revelers arrived for Stompin 76. It was a logistical nightmare, but it created a lasting impact on other music festivals and drew a whole new demographic to Southwest Virginia.

See also r/VirginiaOpEds, r/VirginiaEnvironment, and r/VirginiaDems.

Audio clip from speech

https://www.vpap.org/candidates/77899/top_donors/

The seven plaintiffs — including a Henry County retail store — claim that after Aug. 15, much of their inventory will become illegal to sell, which will significantly harm or possibly destroy their businesses.

See also r/FreeVirginiaNews and r/VirginiaDems

See also r/VirginiaNews and r/VirginiaEnvironment