There are some new insights into the shape of the race for governor.Jeff Schapiro, political columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Michael Pope recap the week in politics and state government.

Over a decade ago Virginia closed most of its state-run training centers used to house the intellectually and developmentally disabled. The institutionalized treatment provided in them led to a Department of Justice monitoring program that ended this week.

A 2022 report found over 50% of Virginia’s youth, about 75,000 kids, reported suffering from at least one major depressive episode. Advocates and elected officials in Richmond hope to reduce that number.

Republicans are hoping to give low-income families money for private schooling. However, some powerful Democrats are against the plan.

The draft is written to halt offshore wind development from Rhode Island to Virginia for six months so the incoming interior secretary could review how leases and permits were issued.

In Bluefield, West Virginia, a bar called the Shamrock was once a beacon of safety and community for many gay people in the Coalfields. The bar closed in 2001, and last year the building where it stood was torn down. But stories about the Shamrock, and the woman who owned it, are being preserved in a museum.

Members of the General Assembly are debating a bill that could eventually lead to a new casino in Northern Virginia. And opposition to the idea is already growing.

Front Royal Republican Delegate Delores Oates is worried transgender student athletes are robbing cisgender women of opportunities.

Moms are demanding action, rallying at Capitol Square to get the attention of lawmakers.

It’s unclear if the change is connected to last week’s crisis at a city water treatment facility that left residents under a boil water advisory for days.