It's Monday, Virginia! Here are your Virginia Updates for September 13 📬
This week we are sharing information about the upcoming General Election that is now
50 DAYS AWAY! 📰 We’re also sharing some marijuana updates, environmental updates - like the film festival for kids in the Richmond area (more info below), our Candidate Election Survey and the recent COVID-19 Plan announced by President Biden.
📫 ALSO THIS WEEK: This Wednesday we are sharing a Sample Ballot Guide to learn more about each position, what they do and what to expect on your ballot this November (or sooner if you’re voting early 🤩)
Here are this week's Virginia Updates. We have news on;
▪️50 Days till the Election!
▪️Marijuana Updates
▪️Environmental Updates
▪️Election Survey
▪️Vaccine Update + President Biden’s new plan to deal with covid
▪️COVID-19 Data
⚠️ To learn more about COVID-19, where to get vaccinated and more, vist: www.vdh.virginia.gov
❓GET MORE INFO: For more information and sources on today's post, please visit the link in our bio or ➡️ wevotevirginia.com
✅ Follow us @we_vote_va to stay best up to date on all that’s going on in Virginia!
50 days till the ELECTION!
Hey Virginia! Can you believe the November 2 General Election is only 50 DAYS AWAY?
The election is quickly approaching and we want to make sure everyone has the information they need to get out to vote! Check out these important dates coming up;
▪️FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17: FIRST DAY OF EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING
▪️TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12: LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE OR UPDATE YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
▪️FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22: LAST DAY TO REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT - - BY 5 P.M.
▪️SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30: LAST DAY TO VOTE EARLY IN-PERSON
▪️TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2: ELECTION DAY - - POLLS OPEN 6 A.M. - 7 P.M.
Come back this Wednesday for your Virginia Sample Ballot!
source: elections.virginia.gov
Marijuana Update
Last Friday, those with qualifying medical conditions can now purchase whole flower cannabis in Virginia.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed legislation to allow smokable marijuana sales. That law took effect on Sept. 1. Prior to this, dispensaries have been selling products manufactured from the oil of the plant.
Sales are limited to medical cardholders who have a doctor certification and a medical marijuana registration card from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. The legal limit is four ounces of botanical cannabis per month per patient. While factoring in other cannabis purchases, patients cannot exceed a 90-day supply over the course of 90 days.
In other marijuana news, marijuana arrests have fallen more than 90% in the Richmond region since Virginia’s new cannabis law went into effect on July 1.
During the first seven weeks of the law, only 25 marijuana-related arrests were made in Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. That’s compared to 257 arrests during the same seven-week period in 2020, according to arrest data provided by law enforcement officials in those localities.
“A 90% reduction in marijuana arrests indicates that the public policy is performing as intended and in a manner that is consistent with post-legalization observations from other states,” said Jenn Michelle Pedini, development director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), who also serves as executive director of the state chapter, Virginia NORML.
sources: wric.com & richmond.com & wtvr.com
Environmental Update
Data shows Richmond and Norfolk are warming faster than rest of Virginia
Both cities have warmed 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970 – meaning the two cities are warming just over 50% faster than the state as a whole. In addition to temperature changes, Virginia has experienced increasingly frequent and destructive storms and flooding. The leading cause of temperature increases is human-derived greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide and methane, which trap heat in our atmosphere.
And in Louisa County, the Board of Supervisors met
last week to discuss planning for utility-scale
solar developments.
One option the board has is to place a total acreage cap on the amount of land that can be used for solar. Another option is to put a cap on the total amount of energy the solar facilities would produce all together.
FUN OPPORTUNITY ⤵️
The Richmond Virginia Environmental Film Festival has announced it has created prizes for youth contest entries.
The 2022 Virginia Environmental Film Contest accepts submissions of films based on environmental topics related to Virginia. It is open to cinematography of all formats, genres and lengths.
Here are the prizes people can win:
$1,000 First Place
$500 Second Place
$100 Best Teen Submission (13-18)
$100 Best Youth Submission (12 and under)
$100 Best “Environmental Call to Action”
In addition to the cash prizes, winning movies will be shown at the Richmond Virginia Environmental Film Festival in February.
The announcement said a juried panel will judge the movies and announce the winners in January 2022.
Submissions will be accepted until Dec. 15, through FilmFreeway. You can find more details about the contents, rules and deadlines online here.
sources: wric.com & thecentralvirginian.com & wric.com
Candidate Questions
If you could ask the candidates running for office any question ~ what would you ask?
This week we're opening an anonymous survey to share your questions to the candidates running for office. We'll reach out to the campaigns for direct responses to the most popular questions. The candidates we'll reach out to are:
Governor:
Lieutenant Governor:
Attorney General:
To share your questions, please visit: bit.ly/va-election-q
source: wevotevirginia.com
Vaccine Updates
Last week President Biden announced a new six-prong strategy to deal with COVID-19. This includes;
(1) Vaccinating the unvaccinated with mandates for workers, public and private. (2) Further protecting the vaccinated through booster shots. (3) Keeping schools open by securing salaries of teacher or administrator and requiring vaccines. (4) Increasing testing by increasing funding. (5) Economic recovery by helping those hurt by the pandemic. (6) Improving care for those with covid-19.
Vaccine Summary: As of Monday, September 13
Total Doses Administered: 10,176,208
People Fully Vaccinated: 4,946,793 or 58%
% of Adults (18+) Fully Vaccinated: 69.1%
People Vaccinated with at least 1 dose: 5,581,444 or 65.4%
% of Adults (18+) Vaccinated with at least 1 dose: 77.6%
For more information on Virginia's vaccination efforts, please visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA
sources : vdh.virginia.gov & wtvr.com
COVID-19 Data
The Virginia Department of Health reported Tuesday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 811,079. The 811,079 consists of 611,798 confirmed and 199,281 probable cases. There are 12,089 COVID-19 deaths, and Virginia’s 7-day positivity rate is now at 10.9%.
source: vdh.virginia.gov
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Thanks for joining us this week. If you have any questions or would like more information about today's post, feel free to reach out below. Have a great week everyone!
Maria, Editor in Chief