In 2020, Virginia started on a path to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. But this year the governor vetoed the annual increase. In this episode, we talk with Levi Goren, Director of Research & Education Policy at the Commonwealth Institute, about what the minimum wage is, how it is related to inflation, and who is impacted by
Hundreds of thousands of Virginians take time every day to sort and clean their recyclable materials. As a consumer, maybe you even think about whether a material is recyclable before you buy it. But what happens after you put your bottles, cans, and boxes out by the curb?
Food is just more expensive than it was a few years ago. The rate of inflation for food has leveled off in 2024, but we’re still adjusting to the price increases we saw in 2022 and 2023. So in this episode, we look into food assistance programs like SNAP, WIC and food banks: how they work, how they’re funded, and how they’re coping with rising food prices
In the face of ever-worsening climate change, it takes more than paper straws and recycling to make a dent in our carbon emissions--it takes policy on a national, state, and local scale. So what does local climate action look like?
We’ve all heard of machine politics. Tammany Hall. Boss Tweed. Right in the heart of New York City, the Gilded Age, an era synonymous with corruption in America’s history. But Virginia has its own slice of machine-politics history: under the control of Harry Byrd, Sr
The 2023 primary results are in...and they're pretty interesting. Many incumbents held onto their seats, but some challengers won key victories--Democratic Senators Joe Morrissey and Chap Petersen were defeated by Lashrecse Aird and newcomer Saddam Salim, while
The United States saw over 44,300 deaths from guns in 2022. And as the last year has made painfully clear, Virginia is not immune. Our state has been rocked by the horrific shootings in Charlottesville, Chesapeake, and Newport News.
Whether coming for school, work, or to escape bad situations at home, immigrants are a vital part of Virginia’s culture and economy. So today we’re digging into the opportunities and the obstacles facing immigrants and refugees in the state.
As the Bold Dominion team works on an upcoming episode, here's one from the vaults -- a Bold Dominion classic covering the perennially important, yet frequently misunderstood, Dillon Rule. This episode originally aired in February 2021.