", "State says it's ready to get tough on oyster poachers", "Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Abolish the Death Penalty", "0.42% of Virginia residents are incarcerated, study finds", "Parole Remains Elusive for Virginia Prisoners", "Virginia's recidivism rate remains lowest in the country", "Explaining recidivism rates in Virginia, why the conversation around them is limited", "Virginia ranks among states with lowest crime rates", "Virginia Index Crime and Drug Arrest Trends 20082017", "As Northam considers marijuana bill, some Virginians push for legalization now", "Virginia latest state to legalize marijuana after Gov. The Commonwealth in Richmond | Richmond VA Hotel on Capitol Square [417], There are however racial and social health disparities. [373] Control of the House came down to a tied election in the 94th district, which the Republican won by a drawing of lots, giving the party a slim 5149 majority in the 201819 legislative sessions. [301] Mount Vernon native Matt Bondurant received critical acclaim for his historic novel The Wettest County in the World about moonshiners in Franklin County during prohibition. The Commonwealth, Virginia Beach: See 60 unbiased reviews of The Commonwealth, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #135 of 1,340 restaurants in Virginia Beach. [133], Forests cover 62% of Virginia as of 2021[update], of which 80% is considered hardwood forest, meaning that trees in Virginia are primarily deciduous and broad-leaved. [13] To help counter Spain's colonies in the Caribbean, Queen Elizabeth I of England supported Walter Raleigh's April 1584 expedition to the Atlantic coast of North America. [145] Audubon recognizes 21 Important Bird Areas in the state. [84] The agency was involved in various Cold War events, and its headquarters was a target of Soviet espionage activities. [7][4][8], The first people are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12,000 years ago. Besides the general public schools in Virginia, there are Governor's Schools and selective magnet schools. [181] In western Virginia, Roanoke city and Montgomery County, part of the BlacksburgChristiansburg metropolitan area, both have surpassed a population of over 100,000 since 2018. According to the 2002 Census of Governments, Virginia ranked . Over the next month, Lee drove the Union army back, and starting that September led the first of several invasions into Union territory. [116] Spongy moth infestations in oak trees and the blight in chestnut trees have decreased both of their numbers, leaving more room for hickory and invasive ailanthus trees. [185] The fertility rate in Virginia as of 2020[update] was 55.8 per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 44,[186] and the median age as of 2021[update] was the same as the national average of 38.8years old, with the oldest city by median age being James City and the youngest being Lynchburg, home to several universities. Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia,[a] is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. [302] Virginia also names a state Poet Laureate. With high rates of heart disease and diabetes, African Americans in Virginia had an average life expectancy four years lower than whites and twelve years lower than Asian Americans and Latinos in 2017,[418] and were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic. The Harrison Opera House, in Norfolk, is home of the Virginia Opera. Union General George B. McClellan organized the Army of the Potomac, which landed on the Virginia Peninsula in March 1862 and reached the outskirts of Richmond that June. It borders Maryland and the District of Columbia to the northeast, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, Kentucky to the southwest and West Virginia to the north and west. 1 best high school in the US: Report", "Home Schooled Students & Religious Exemptions", "A look at graduation rate data for Virginia's public high school Class of 2022", "The Racial Gap in Four-Year High School Graduation Rates", "Decades after Brown decision, Virginia is still grappling with school segregation", "Report finds $23 billion racial funding gap for schools", "VCU study: School segregation worsening in Virginia", "UVA Promises Free Tuition To Middle Income Students, Similar Trend At Other Universities Nationwide", "Report: UVA is 3rd best public university; William & Mary drops", "Virginia governor signs bills creating tuition-free community college program for low, middle-income students", "Stories march through doors of 1827 Naval Medical Center", "Infant Mortality in the United States, 2018: Data From the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File", "Virginia has 2 of US News' 10 healthiest communities for 2020", "Fact check: Black people make up disproportionate share of COVID-19 deaths in Richmond, Virginia", "Black women in Virginia die in childbirth at 3 times the rate of any other race. [361], Regional differences also play a large part in Virginia politics. Learn more about working in Virginia. Five minor league baseball and two mid-level hockey teams play in Virginia. Virginia's state government employs over 106,000 public employees, who combined have a median income of $52,401 as of 2018[update],[257] with the Departments of Education and of Transportation being the largest by expenditure. [414], Virginia has a mixed health record. [42] British forces indeed landed around Portsmouth in October 1780, and soldiers under Benedict Arnold managed to raid Richmond in January 1781. Locations & Additional Contacts. [157] Federal lands account for the majority, with thirty National Park Service units in the state, such as Great Falls Park and the Appalachian Trail, and one national park, Shenandoah. Afraid of further uprisings, Virginia's government in the 1830s encouraged free Blacks to migrate to Liberia. For other uses, see, Map of the United States with Virginia highlighted, Largest Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas in Virginia. [179] The three are part of the larger Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which has a population over 1.7million people and is the site of the world's largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk. [47], Between 1790 and 1860, the number of slaves in Virginia rose from around 290thousand to over 490thousand, roughly one-third of the state population during that time, and the number of slaveholders rose to over fifty thousand, both the most in the U.S.[49][50] Soil exhausted by years of monoculture tobacco farming pushed the plantation economy to expand westward,[51] and as labor-intensive cotton came to dominate southern agriculture after 1800, Virginia plantations turned to exporting slaves by the thousands, breaking up many families in the process and making the breeding of slaves, often through rape, a profitable business for their owners, especially as new federal laws restricted the importation of slaves from abroad. In the absence of professional sports, several of Virginia's collegiate sports programs have attracted strong followings, with a 2015 poll showing that 34% of Virginians were fans of the Virginia Cavaliers and 28% were fans of the rival Virginia Tech Hokies, making both more popular than the surveyed regional professional teams. [41] In April 1780, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson, who feared that Williamsburg's coastal location would make it vulnerable to British attack. [336] The largest law enforcement agency in Virginia is the Virginia State Police, with 3,035sworn and civilian members as of 2019[update]. The new constitution, which banned discrimination and removed articles that now violated federal law, passed in a referendum with 71.8% support and went into effect in June 1971. Among U.S. states, Virginia has the nineteenth lowest rate of premature deaths, with 7,931 per 100,000,[130] and an infant mortality rate of 5.61 per 1,000 live births. [130] As of March2023[update], 73.8% of Virginians had received a full COVID-19 vaccine. The Pentagon, built in Arlington during World War II as the headquarters of the Department of Defense, was one of the targets of the September 11, 2001 attacks; 189 people died at the site when a jet passenger plane was flown into the building. [121][122] On average, cities in Virginia can receive between 5.812.3 inches (1531cm) of snow annually, but recent winters have seen below-average snowfalls, and much of Virginia failed to register any measurable snow during 2022-2023 winter season. Virginia's workforce development programs have now been consolidated and upgraded, thanks to new legislation, a new agency and a new focus. In the 2018 mid-terms, the first under President Trump, Democrats took back the 2nd, as well as the 7th and 10th. Their homes in Virginia represent the birthplace of America and the South. [149] The Chesapeake Bay is host to clams, oysters, and 350species of saltwater and estuarine fish, including the bay's most abundant finfish, the Bay anchovy, as well as the invasive blue catfish. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1789. [450] VDOT operates several free ferries throughout Virginia, the most notable being the Jamestown Ferry which connects Jamestown to Scotland Wharf across the James River. [150][151] An estimated 227million Chesapeake blue crabs live in the bay as of 2022[update]. [314] Contemporary Virginia is also known for folk rock artists like Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz, hip hop stars like Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott and Pusha T, as well as thrash metal groups like GWAR and Lamb of God. [339] The governor can also call upon the Virginia National Guard, which consists of approximately 7,200army soldiers, 1,200airmen, 300Defense Force members, and 400civilians. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the other commonwealth associated with the United States of America. They landed in May 1607 and established a settlement named for the king, Jamestown. [144] Whales, dolphins, and porpoises have also been recorded in Virginia's coastal waters, with bottlenose dolphins being the most frequent aquatic mammals. [108], The Commonwealth's carbonate rock is filled with more than 4,000 limestone caves, ten of which are open for tourism, including the popular Luray Caverns and Skyline Caverns. The University of Virginia Medical Center, part of the University of Virginia Health System, is highly ranked in endocrinology according to U.S. News & World Report. The state's average per capita income in 2022 was $68,211,[232] and the gross domestic product (GDP) was $654.5billion, both ranking as 13th-highest among U.S. [454] Major freight railroads in Virginia include Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation, and in 2021 the state finalized a deal to purchase 223 miles (359km) of track and over 350 miles (560km) of right of way from CSX for future passenger rail service. Norfolk's Harborfest, in June, features boat racing and air shows. [442], Because of the 1932 Byrd Road Act, the state government controls most of Virginia's roads, instead of a local county authority as is usual in other states. This case, filed by Richmond natives Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill, was decided in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the doctrine of "separate but equal". [61], Virginia was formally restored to the United States in 1870, due to the work of the Committee of Nine. [315] Several members of country music band Old Dominion grew up in the Roanoke area, and took their band name from Virginia's state nickname. [166] The Chesapeake Bay is not a national park, but is protected by both state and federal legislation and the inter-state Chesapeake Bay Program, which conducts restoration on the bay and its watershed.[167]. Dezeen School Shows: a printmaking project exploring the artist's Qatari heritage and a multi-sensory flower installation . [66] However, with many railroad lines and other infrastructure investments destroyed during the Civil War, the Commonwealth was deeply in debt, and in the late 1870s redirected money from public schools to pay bondholders. The convention then voted to join the Confederacy, which named Richmond its capital on May 20. [31][32], Bacon's Rebellion forced the signing of Bacon's Laws, which restored some of the colony's rights and sanctioned both attacks on native tribes and the enslavement of their men and women. [116][120] Between December and March, cold-air damming caused by the Appalachian Mountains can lead to significant snowfalls across the state, such as the January 2016 blizzard, which created the state's highest recorded one-day snowfall of 36.6 inches (93cm) near Bluemont.
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