Del. Sally Hudson wants more reform measures as Virginia gears to legalize simple possession of marijuana Del. Sally Hudson (Source: WVIR) By Max Marcilla | May 5, 2021 at 9:22 PM EDT - Updated May 5 at 9:22 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Conversations about marijuana legalization are growing louder less than two months until legalization begins in the commonwealth.
At a virtual town hall hosted by Home to Hope, Del. Sally Hudson, a Democrat who represents Charlottesville and Albemarle County, said while she supported and voted for the bill set to take place in July, there are some shortcomings. She’s planning to push for more reform in upcoming sessions.
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Amber Dimmerling has been waiting for answers from the Virginia Employment Commission since September, when the state agency abruptly ended her unemployment insurance benefits.
The 40-year-old single mother had moved from her home in McLean to her motherâs house in Fredericksburg after losing her restaurant job in Fairfax County at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago.
Now Dimmerling is one of five plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the employment commission â and itâs a federal judge who wants answers from the VEC.
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As we witness incidents of brutality and violence against members of the Black community across the country, join us for a special Courageous Conversation featuring community-based guest panelists to reflect on our roles as educators, colleagues and active citizens in combatting the criminalization of Blackness.
Hosted by Natoya Haskins, Director of Diversity & Inclusion in the School of Education, our panel will include:
Linwood Blizzard, Candidate for House of Delegates, Senior Pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church in Heathsville, Virginia
Deborah Cheesebro, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police, William & Mary
To understand the frustrations some Virginians are experiencing with unemployment benefits, itâs worth spending a few minutes chatting with Eddie Seay. Though the progressive activist is based in Franklin County, heâs been working on behalf of aggrieved workers throughout the commonwealth.
Months after their layoffs, many are still waiting for their unemployment benefits to begin, Seay told me. For others, benefits started but were mysteriously cut off. And getting an explanation for either is often impossible, he added.
On one day last week, Seay said he made 126 phone calls to the agencyâs toll-free line on behalf of claimants who for one reason or another havenât received benefits they believe were due. Not once among all those calls was Seay able to talk to a human at the VEC, he said.