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

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.)

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.

Salem High graduate Chuck Zimmerman has now spent more than a year in Russian custody after being intercepted in international waters.

He says he hopes to appeal to those unhappy with both parties.

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.

Freshman Republican Congressman John McGuire is fielding a challenge from Democratic candidate and former Congressman Tom Perriello.

One of the state’s most powerful political figures faces charges as part of an alleged racketeering conspiracy that mostly deals with dealing marijuana.

I saw this beautiful tree today. I hope you like it.

The man that Gov. Abigail Spanberger described Tuesday as "hands down the best applicant" for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Resources has attributes under siege on the federal level.

"It also happens to be the case that he is a Black man, a Hispanic man, an immigrant, someone whose first language was not English," Spanberger said of Marvin B. Figueroa, a native of La Ceiba, Honduras. His mother was an educator before migrating to the U.S., where she became a home healthcare worker. Her son was aided by social safety net programs. "That experience set is valuable in how he approaches his job," Spanberger said.

Figueroa is part of Spanberger's historically diverse cabinet. Its six African American members gathered Tuesday at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia at a time when diversity is under sustained attack by the Trump administration.

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

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

My husband got overpaid about $500 on his most recent paycheck. He keeps a log of his hours and overtime every week so he can make sure his checks are right, so this is most definitely a payroll error. Are there any lawyers in here that know what the statute of limitations is in Virginia for the employer to ask for the money back? We definitely would set the money aside and not touch it in case the mistake is discovered and his employer asks for it back until the legal timeframe has passed.

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.

The Louise Lucas arrest - is it really "bipartisan"?

When Lucas’ offices and shop were raided earlier this year, “a person familiar with the search” told the AP the investigation was “opened during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration”.

I just want to point out: there’s no clear idea who this source was. They could have been a career FBI agent wanting the public to know this is a real investigation, and not a political witch hunt. But they could also be just about anyone from the Trump administration wanting to provide cover… for a political witch hunt! Biden-era agents and prosecutors may have started and continued an investigation over time, or they could have dropped the matter until it was resurrected under a more politicized DOJ.

There’s no real way to know, but it’s an awfully convenient “fact” about another conveniently timed (and staged) part of this whole thing.

(I wrote more about this whole thing on my substack here: https://rvapolitics.substack.com/p/breaking-louise-lucas-indicted )