VA launches enhanced holiday DUI enforcement campaign

Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced enhanced holiday DUI enforcement across Virginia as part of the state’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.

The governor is urging Virginians to plan ahead for a safe ride home if holiday celebrations include alcohol.

From December 10, 2025 – January 1, 2026, police departments across the Commonwealth.

Officers will conduct increased saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints during the period.

State officials note that drunk driving remains a serious concern.

Last year, 318 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in Virginia, an 8.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Along with increased enforcement, the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign includes an expanded media effort.

This year’s message is titled “What’s the Damage,” highlights the real costs of a DUI.

It will appear on television, social media, and in locations where alcohol is sold.

Since the campaign began in 2002, Virginia has seen progress in reducing impaired driving.

Over the past five years, alcohol-related crashes statewide have decreased by four percent, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

The campaign is supported by a DMV grant and administered by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, a Virginia-based nonprofit focused on traffic safety.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Gov. Youngkin announces $154 million in affordable housing Loans

News to know valley graphic created by Royal Broadcasting employee Brooke Greene used by permission

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a record-breaking $154 million in Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans for 47 projects across the Commonwealth.

The recommended projects will create and preserve 3,014 homes for low-income households.

The loans represent the greatest single investment in the Affordable and Special Needs Housing Program ever administered by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The loans will leverage $974 million in public and private resources, bringing a total of $1.1 billion of affordable housing to construction in communities across the Commonwealth.

Locally, 3.2 million was awarded to Harwood Place in Warren County and Cline Manor in Frederick County, both managed by Surber Development and Consulting LLC, while just under a million dollars was awarded to Norris Village in Winchester City, managed by Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

New Puller Veterans Care Center opens in Warrenton

News to know valley graphic created by Royal Broadcasting employee Brooke Greene used by permission

Local, state, and federal leaders, along with Governor Youngkin, celebrated the grand opening of the new Puller Veterans Care Center in Warrenton – a state-of-the-art facility built to serve Virginia veterans in need of long-term care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitation care in Northern Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth.

Designed with veterans in mind, the care center is a 128-bed facility organized into eight households, with each household having 16 private rooms with a private bathroom and walk in shower.

Each household also has a spacious living and dining room.

Built on the former Vint Hill Farms Station in Fauquier County, which previously served as a United States Army and National Security Agency facility, the site played a critical role in eavesdropping on enemy communications during World War II, when it intercepted a message that helped lead to the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

 

Virginia Tech Winchester AREC awarded grant.

Governor Youngkin announced grant funding which has been awarded to several agricultural projects in Virginia.

Just over $600,000 is awarded as part of a federal Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and will support projects that advance production in specialty crops and to also increase economic development.

Virginia Tech, Winchester AREC and Dr. Sherif M. Sherif was among one of the recipients for funding.

This project by Virginia Tech in Winchester focuses on research around optimizing plant growth regulator applications balancing fruit coloration, drop control, and the quality of apples in postharvest.

This project will communicate findings to apple growers across the state.

Other areas awarded grants include Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Appalachian Sustainable Development Duffield, Virginia Tech Painter Virginia, Virginia Tech Virginia Beach, and Institute for Advanced Learning and Research Danville.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Operation Magic Dragon success

VSP official patch and logo used by permission by Information Officer Brent Coffey

Governor Youngkin and the Virginia State Police (VSP) announced the results of Operation Magic Dragon on Friday, a major, multi-month investigation that targeted criminal activity in state vape and e-cigarette retail shops.

The VSP began the probe after seeing a rise in illegal drug and weapons offenses around the shops.

Beginning September 2025, a focused surge operation identified 172 establishments across all regions of Virginia involved in criminal activity.

The investigation yielded the following massive seizures:

  • Marijuana and THC Products: Over 155 kilograms of marijuana, marijuana concentrate, THC vape cartridges, and THC edibles were seized.
  • Harder Drugs: Seizures included cocaine, methamphetamine, and psilocybin (mushrooms).
  • Illegal Weapons: Authorities recovered 21 illegal firearms linked to the operations.

Governor Youngkin emphasized that the results demonstrate an unwavering commitment to keeping communities safe.

VSP confirmed that every single establishment involved in these seizures contained illegal drugs or contraband being sold.

The VSP stated that Operation Magic Dragon is an ongoing initiative and will continue its efforts to disrupt criminal enterprises that target youth.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here

Gov. Youngkin announces Pharma Workforce Center

Governor Youngkin announced a partnership between global pharmaceutical leaders and the Commonwealth of Virginia is creating the nation’s largest talent pipeline for advanced drug manufacturing.

AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Merck have committed up to 120-million dollars to establish the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.

This new initiative, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and top universities, will deliver thousands of highly-trained professionals each year.

Just some of the universities mentioned were: James Madison (JMU), University of Virginia (UVA), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU),  and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT).

The center will fill thousands of new, high-wage jobs in Central Virginia, strengthening medicine supply chains and positioning the state as a healthcare leader.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here

Local Tourism Programs to receive marketing grants across VA

Governor Youngkin announced that 104 local tourism programs will receive more than $625,000 in matching-grant funds to boost the period between peak and off-peak season travel across the Commonwealth, supporting Virginia’s continued growth as an all-season tourism destination.

“Virginia’s recent record-breaking tourism numbers reflect the strength and potential of this industry to drive economic growth across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The $627,877 in awards is funded through three Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) programs: the Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program, the VA250 Tourism Marketing Program, and the Vacation Starts with VA DMO MMLP Co-op Program.

Local partners committed more than $729,992 to match the VTC grant funding, generating more than $1.3 million in new marketing initiatives.

In total, the programs will benefit 624 tourism partners statewide.

These programs are administered by VTC and are designed to leverage limited local marketing dollars with state funds to drive travel and visitor spending in the fall, winter, and early spring.

Harnessing the iconic Virginia is for Lovers brand, these programs use the hub-and-spoke tourism model to foster partnerships and create engaging itineraries to extend visitor stays and generate greater economic impact.

A full list of funding recipients for all grant programs can be found here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Youngkin announces grant funds to protect civil war battlefields

Governor Youngkin announced that more than $6.1 million in grant funds will be allocated to protect 423 acres of battlefield lands throughout the Commonwealth associated with the American Civil War.

The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) will administer the grant funds, which were awarded through the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund (VBPF).

For the 2025 grant round, three nonprofit organizations will be awarded VBPF grants this year: the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, the American Battlefield Trust, and the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation will be awarded $1,750,000—the largest amount distributed to a single project in this grant round—for the fee-simple acquisition of the 130-acre Glass Tract in Frederick County.

The property is associated with the Kernstown I Battlefield (1862) and is adjacent to other protected parcels of land.

Additionally, factors in the grant applications were considered, such as the proximity of a battlefield parcel to already protected lands; the threat of encroaching development that could transform a parcel’s historic look and feel at the time of a battle; and the potential for education, recreation, research, or heritage tourism in connection with a battlefield tract.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Prince William Crisis Center celebrates ribbon cutting

Governor Youngkin reports along with state and local leaders were a part of the ribbon cutting of the Prince William County Crisis Receiving Center on October 9th as part of Right Help, Right Now.

Right Help, Right Now is a plan by Governor Youngkin ensuring Virginians get immediate help before, during and after a crisis.

This crisis center will provide walk-in services, rapid stabilization, peer support along with connections to long term treatment, this helps individuals in a crisis situation to get timely help and reducing burden on emergency rooms as well as supporting law enforcement.

This 11.9 million dollar project was supported by state, federal and local investments and was developed in partnership with Prince William County, Connections Health Solutions, and local service providers.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Governor Youngkin directs regulations to secure sex-separated spaces

emergency funding for homeless

Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Directive 14 on October 2nd, mandating the creation of new state regulations to secure “the health, safety, privacy, dignity, and respect for all Virginians in sex separated spaces.”

The Governor’s action is intended to address policies that he claims compromise the safety of women and girls, including athletic competitions and dressing rooms.

Youngkin also thanked President Donald Trump and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education for their strong, common-sense approach to protecting women and girls.

The Directive specifically instructs the Board of Health to use the Virginia Administrative Process Act to promulgate regulations that achieve two primary goals:

  1. Prevent biological males from participating in organized female-only athletic teams and competitions in the state of Virginia.
  2. Prevent biological males from using designated female spaces where females are likely to be in a state of undress.

This executive action follows a petition accepted by the Board of Health in August from three female collegiate athletes.

The athletes stated they had been “directly harmed by males competing in female collegiate sports” and formally requested regulatory amendments to restrict biological males from female sports and private spaces.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.