[491] In 1940, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" was named the state song, but it was retired in 1997 due to its references to slavery. [16][17] Initially, the name applied to the entire coastal region from South Carolina to Maine, plus the island of Bermuda. [320], The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is a six-day festival held annually in Winchester which includes parades and bluegrass concerts. Here's how big that out-migration is", "Is Richmond Turning Into the New Bedroom Community for DC Workers? [428] Notable examples include Inova Fairfax Hospital, the largest hospital in the Washington Metropolitan Area, and the VCU Medical Center, located on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. [325] The lieutenant governor is the official head of the Senate, and is responsible for breaking ties. [36], The British Parliament's efforts to levy new taxes in the decade following the French and Indian War were deeply unpopular in the colonies. [62] A homecoming parade to honor African-American veterans returning from the war was attacked in July 1919 as part of a renewed white-supremacy movement that was known as Red Summer. [439] USA Today is the flagship publication of Gannett, Inc., which merged with GateHouse Media in 2019, and operates over one hundred local newspapers nationwide. The three-fifths compromise ensured that Virginia, with its large number of slaves, initially had the largest bloc in the House of Representatives. [394], Public K12 schools in Virginia are generally operated by the counties and cities, and not by the state. [277][278] Commercial fishing supports 18,220 jobs as of 2020[update], while recreation fishing supports another 5,893. cities. Learn more about working in Virginia. All food donations can be dropped off at your local food bank . The Secretary of the Commonwealth's office works with various state agencies to consider individuals who may be eligible to have their rights restored. [203][204] Though the Black population was reduced by the Great Migration to northern industrial cities in the first half of the 20th century, since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of Blacks returning south. Besides the general public schools in Virginia, there are Governor's Schools and selective magnet schools. [284] Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay are the most grown varieties. [352] They sought to stymie the political power of Northern Virginia, perpetuate segregation, and successfully restricted voter registration such that between 1905 and 1948, roughly one-third of votes in the state were cast by state employees and officeholders themselves, and voter turnout was regularly below ten percent. [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. The case stems from the marriage between Andrew Kinney, a black man, and Mahala Miller, a white woman. [274] Soybeans were the most profitable single crop in Virginia in 2021, ahead of corn and cut flowers as other leading agricultural products. [139][140] Native carnivorans include black bears, who have a population of around five to six thousand in the state,[141] as well as bobcats, coyotes, both gray and red foxes, raccoons, weasels and skunks. The Commonwealth will also send this information directly to the IRS. [343] Prisoner parole was ended in 1995,[344] and Virginia's rate of recidivism of released felons who are re-convicted within three years and sentenced to a year or more is 23.1%, the lowest in the country as of 2019[update]. [392] Virginia's K7 schools had a studentteacher ratio of 12.15:1 as of the 202122 school year, and 12.52:1 for grades 812. [316], Many counties and localities host county fairs and festivals. [83] The Central Intelligence Agency outgrew their offices in Foggy Bottom during the Korean War, and moved to Langley in 1961, in part due to a decision by the National Security Council that the agency relocate outside the District of Columbia. [111] More than 72million tons of other non-fuel resources, such as slate, kyanite, sand, or gravel, were also mined in Virginia in 2020[update]. [87], Virginia is located in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia will mail the 1095-B forms by January 31 of each year. Among other religions, adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constitute just over one percent of the population, with 216congregations in Virginia as of 2022[update]. The state's lakes and rivers are home to Eastern blacknose dace and sculpin on the Appalachian Plateau; smallmouth bass and redhorse sucker in the Ridge-and-Valley region; brook trout, the state fish, and Kanawha darter in the Blue Ridge; stripeback darter and Roanoke bass in the Piedmont; and swampfish, bluespotted sunfish, and pirate perch in the Tidewater. Several smaller schools compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the USA South Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III. [150][151] An estimated 227million Chesapeake blue crabs live in the bay as of 2022[update]. Virginia's two U.S. [194] The state government has extended recognition to eleven indigenous tribes resident in Virginia. The judicial hierarchy starts with the General District Courts and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts, with the Circuit Courts above them, then the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the Supreme Court of Virginia on top. Other museums include the popular Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum and the Chrysler Museum of Art. [360] That year, Governor Terry McAuliffe ended the lifetime ban and individually restored voting rights to over 200,000ex-felons. [275] However, the ongoing China-U.S. trade war led many Virginia farmers to plant cotton instead of soybeans in 2019. [233] Prior to the COVID-19 recession, in March 2020, Virginia had 4.36million people employed with an unemployment rate of 2.9%,[234] but jobless claims due to the virus soared over 10% in early April 2020,[235] before leaving off around 5% in November 2020. [353] These changes moved Virginia from being ranked as the second most difficult state to vote in 2016, to the twelfth easiest in 2020. [380], In 2021, Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win the governor's race since 2009,[381] with his party also winning the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general and gaining seven seats in the House of Delegates, giving them current control of that body. [170] The differences between counties and cities in Virginia are small and have to do with how each assess new taxes, whether a referendum is necessary to issue bonds, and with the application of Dillon's Rule, which limits the authority of cities and counties to countermand acts expressly allowed by the General Assembly. The NCAA currently holds its Division III championships in football, men's basketball, volleyball, and softball in Salem. [113], Virginia has a humid subtropical climate that transitions to humid continental west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. [361], Regional differences also play a large part in Virginia politics. The works of Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Glasgow often dealt with social inequalities and the role of women in her culture. The state flag of Virginia consists of the obverse of the seal against a blue background. Virginia natives currently competing in the series include Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler. Virginia has the fourth largest overseas population of U.S. states due to its federal employees and military personnel. [298] Glasgow's peer and close friend James Branch Cabell wrote extensively about the changing position of gentry in the Reconstruction era, and challenged its moral code with Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice. One of those killed was an 18-year-old man who had just graduated. Facebook Office of the Governor. Representatives from 27 of these counties instead began the Wheeling Convention that month, which organized a government loyal to the Union and led to the separation of West Virginia as a new state. [103] The Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, south of the Allegheny Plateau. [171], Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its city proper has a population of over 230,000, while its metropolitan area has over 1.3million. More major battles were fought in Virginia during the American Civil War, which split the state as the government in Richmond joined the Confederacy, but many northwestern counties remained loyal to the Union and separated as the state of West Virginia in 1863. [326] The governor also nominates their eleven cabinet members and others who head various state departments. [289] The sales tax for food and certain essential personal hygiene goods was lowered to 1% in January 2023. [38] After the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the British governor in 1774, Virginia's revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the Virginia Conventions. [19], Though more immigrants soon joined, many were ill prepared for the dangers of the new settlement. [35] The Kingdom of France, which claimed this area as part of their colony of New France, viewed this as a threat, and in 1754 the French and Indian War engulfed England, France, the Iroquois, and other allied tribes on both sides. Fictionalized stories about Virginia's history first became popular in the period after the Revolutionary War. The Virginia State Fair is held at the Meadow Event Park every September. Senators are in classes 1 and 2. Dezeen School Shows: a printmaking project exploring the artist's Qatari heritage and a multi-sensory flower installation . [63] During the post-war Reconstruction era, African Americans were able to unite in communities, particularly around Richmond, Danville, and the Tidewater region, and take a greater role in Virginia society, as many achieved some land ownership during the 1870s. [159] The U.S. Forest Service administers the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, which cover more than 1.6million acres (6,500km2) within Virginia's mountains, and continue into West Virginia and Kentucky. [211] In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau found that only 0.5% of Virginians were exclusively American Indian or Alaska Native, though 2.1% were in some combination with other ethnicities. [305] Besides these sites, many open-air museums are located in the Commonwealth, such as Colonial Williamsburg, the Frontier Culture Museum, and various historic battlefields. The state's capital is Richmond, its most-populous city is Virginia Beach, and Fairfax County is the state's most-populous political subdivision. [227] Fairfax Station is the site of the Ekoji Buddhist Temple, of the Jodo Shinshu school, and the Hindu Durga Temple. [420] Mortality rates among white middle-class Virginians have also been rising, with drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, and suicide as leading causes. [55] Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election further convinced many southern supporters of slavery that his opposition to its expansion would ultimately mean the end of slavery across the country. Afraid of further uprisings, Virginia's government in the 1830s encouraged free Blacks to migrate to Liberia. [299] William Styron approached history in works such as The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie's Choice. Several other airports offer limited commercial passenger service, and sixty-six public airports serve the state's aviation needs. [193][194] Immigrants from the islands of Britain and Ireland settled throughout the Commonwealth during the colonial period,[195] a time when roughly three-fourths of immigrants came as indentured servants. [86] Racial injustice and the presence of Confederate monuments in Virginia have also led to large demonstrations, including in August 2017, when a white supremacist drove his car into protesters, killing one, and in June 2020, when protests that were part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement brought about the removal of statues on Monument Avenue in Richmond and elsewhere. [21] Demand for exported tobacco, however, fueled the need for more labor. [77][78], The civil rights movement gained national support during the 1960s. [262][263] Data centers in Virginia handled around one-third of all internet traffic and directly employed 13,500 Virginians in 2023 and supported 45,000 total jobs. Some became touchstones that helped shape the state's historic politics and beliefs as, despite historic inaccuracies, myths about Pocahontas and John Smith, George Washington's childhood, and the causes of the Civil War all became embedded in both the local and national cultures. [279] Eastern oyster harvests had increased from 23,000bushels in 2001 to over 500,000 in 2013,[280] but fell to 248,347 in 2019 because of low salinity in coastal waters due to heavy spring rains. [205] The Commonwealth has the highest number of Black-white interracial marriages in the United States,[206] and 8.2% of Virginians describe themselves as multiracial. [112] The largest-known deposits of uranium in the U.S. are under Coles Hill, Virginia. The Old Time Fiddlers' Convention in Galax, begun in 1935, is one of the oldest and largest such events worldwide, and Wolf Trap hosts the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which produces an opera festival every summer. Independent PBS affiliates exist throughout Virginia, and the Arlington PBS member station WETA-TV produces programs such as the PBS NewsHour and Washington Week. The map in this article, taken from the official United States Census Bureau site, includes Clifton Forge and Bedford as independent cities. Virginia has many professional caliber golf courses including Kingsmill Resort outside Williamsburg, which hosts an LPGA Tour tournament in May, and the Country Club of Virginia outside Richmond, which hosts a charity classic on the men's senior tour in October. The Pennsylvania Dutch and their style can also be found in parts of the Commonwealth. [288] Unlike the majority of states, Virginia has a sales tax on groceries, but at a lower rate than the general sales tax. VRE averaged over 90,000weekly riders in 2019, but saw a dramatic 90% decline in ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Virginia's population in 2022[update] was over 8.68million, with 35% living within the Greater Washington metropolitan area. [238] The Hampton Roads region has the state's highest per capita number of homeless individuals, with 11 per 10,000, as of 2020[update]. Those who . Welcome to VCU, a world un like any other. Commonwealth Applications Notary [ Log On ] [ Create Account ] [ Forgot Password ] Please enter your user name and password. The Treaty of 1677 further reduced the independence of the tribes that signed it, and aided the colony's assimilation of their land in the years that followed. The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state, a reluctance to publicly finance stadiums, and the proximity of teams in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Charlotte, and Raleigh. [201], The largest minority group in Virginia are Blacks and African Americans, who include about one-fifth of the population. [223][224] Roman Catholics are the next largest religious group with around twelve percent. Virginia wine is made in many parts of the Commonwealth. P.O. For other uses, see, "The Old Dominion" redirects here. 576: State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2018, "States That Still Impose Sales Taxes on Groceries Should Consider Reducing or Eliminating Them", "Grocery sales tax reduction begins in Virginia", "Fairfax native Matt Bondurant's book is now the movie 'Lawless', "Gov. The bay was formed from the drowned river valley of the ancient Susquehanna River. Virginia's economy has diverse sources of income, including local and federal government, military, farming and high-tech. King Charles II of England first referred to "our auntient dominion of Virginia" in 1660, the year of his restoration, perhaps because Virginia was home to many of his supporters during the English Civil War. Together with the Virginia dynasty of presidents, this gave the Commonwealth national importance. [486] Students at the University of Virginia began using The Cavalier Song as their school fight song in 1925, and the school's sports teams were named Cavaliers after the song. Another 23,149Virginians live overseas, giving the state a total population of 8,654,542. [85] Mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and in Virginia Beach in 2019 led to passage of gun control measures in 2020. Although the state was under one-party rule for nearly a century following the Reconstruction era, both major political parties are competitive in modern Virginia. [457] The Eastern Shore of Virginia is the site of Wallops Flight Facility, a rocket launch center owned by NASA, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a commercial spaceport. [90] The Commonwealth is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the north and east; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina to the south; by Tennessee to the southwest; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to the north and west. [264] In 2022, the state ranked fourth for fastest average internet download speeds in the United States, with 139.6Mbit/s,[265] and seventh in the percent of households with broadband access, at 92.9%. [128] The closure and conversion of coal power plants in Virginia and the Ohio Valley region has reduced haze in the mountains, which peaked in 1998. [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. [161], State agencies control about one-third of protected land in the state,[157] and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation manages over 75,900 acres (307.2km2) in forty Virginia state parks and 59,222 acres (239.7km2) in 65 Natural Area Preserves, plus three undeveloped parks. [81][82], The expansion of federal government offices into Northern Virginia's suburbs during the Cold War boosted the region's population and economy. [434][435] The nationally available Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is headquartered in Arlington. [119] Hurricanes and tropical storms can occur from August to October, and though they typically impact coastal regions, the deadliest natural disaster in Virginia was Hurricane Camille, which killed over 150 people mainly in inland Nelson County in 1969. It generated $26billion in 2018, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year. The Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. Federal passage of the Civil Rights Act in June 1964 and Voting Rights Act in August 1965, and their later enforcement, helped end racial segregation in Virginia and overturn Jim Crow era state laws. [341] Virginia's prison system incarcerates 30,936people as of 2018[update], 53% of whom are Black,[342] and the state has the sixteenth-highest rate of incarceration in the country, at 422 per 100,000residents. [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. [72] During World War I, German submarines like U-151 attacked ships outside the port,[73] which was a major site for transportation of both soldiers and supplies. Virginian James Albert Bonsack invented the tobacco cigarette rolling machine in 1880 leading to new large-scale production centered around Richmond. Phone Call Center: (804) 371-9733 Toll-free 1-866-722-2551. [158] Shenandoah was established in 1935 and encompasses the scenic Skyline Drive. [106] 35million years ago, a bolide impacted what is now eastern Virginia. [140], Virginia's bird fauna consists of 422 counted species, of which 359 are regularly occurring, 41 are accidental (vagrant), 20 are hypothetical, and two are extinct; of the regularly occurring species, 214 have bred in Virginia, while the rest are winter residents or transients in Virginia. Richmond, VA 23218 . Northern Virginia is part of the much larger Washington, D.C. media market, which is the country's 9th-largest.[432]. [109] Virginia's iconic Natural Bridge is also the remaining roof of a collapsed limestone cave. The convention then voted to join the Confederacy, which named Richmond its capital on May 20. REVIVE! Over three million people, 35% of Virginians, live in the twenty jurisdictions collectively defined as Northern Virginia, which is part of the larger Washington metropolitan area and the Northeast megalopolis. Physical Address Office of the Clerk 1st floor 1300 E. Main St. Richmond, Virginia 23219 [153][116] Amphibians found in Virginia include the Cumberland Plateau salamander and Eastern hellbender,[154] while the northern watersnake is the most common of the 32snake species. The United Methodist Church, representing about six percent of Virginians, has the Virginia Conference as their regional body in most of the Commonwealth, while the Holston Conference represents much of extreme Southwest Virginia. [297] Virginia furniture and architecture are typical of American colonial architecture. [482] Access to youth soccer in Virginia however is highly correlated to race and median household income, with opportunities almost completely disappearing in areas where the non-white population exceeded 90%, particularly in the Southwest and Southside regions of the Commonwealth. [214], American Community Survey five-year estimate, According to U.S. Census data as of 2019[update] on Virginia residents age five and older, 83.2% (6,683,027) speak English at home as a first language, while 16.8% (1,352,586) speak something other than English. What's going on? Thomas Jefferson and many of the Commonwealth's early leaders favored the Neoclassical architecture style, leading to its use for important state buildings. [340], Between 1608 and 2021, when the death penalty was abolished, the state executed over 1,300 people, including 113 following the resumption of capital punishment in 1982. [323] The elected members became the House of Burgesses in 1642, and governed with the Governor's Council, which was appointed by the British monarchy, until Virginians declared their independence from Britain in 1776. [399], In 2022, 92.1% of high school students graduated on-time after four years,[400] and 89.3% of adults over the age 25 had their high school diploma. [451], Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors, and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. from Fredericksburg and Manassas. Delegates serve two-year terms, while senators serve four-year terms, with the next scheduled elections for both taking place in November 2023. [365] International immigration and domestic migration into Virginia have also increased the proportion of eligible voters born outside the state from 44% in 1980 to 55% in 2019. Main Location. The Harrison Opera House, in Norfolk, is home of the Virginia Opera. House of Delegates elections take place concurrent with each of those elections as delegates have two-year terms. [231] Several Christian universities are also based in the state, including Regent University, Liberty University, and the University of Lynchburg. The Executive Branches of the Commonwealth of Virginia prides itself on its commitment to recruiting, hiring and retaining Veterans and their spouses. [240] Though the Gini index shows Virginia has less income inequality than the national average,[241] the state's middle class is also smaller than the majority of states. Box 1475 Richmond, VA 23218 804-786-2441 Email the Secretariat The form below helps us to better assist you in a timely manner. Virginia: The Wheeling Conventions, legal vs. illegal separation", "7 things you probably didn't know about the City of Seven Hills, a.k.a Lynchburg", "On this day in 1917, a giant WWI port of embarkation began to transform Hampton Roads", "Land and Labor: The Quest for Black Economic Independence on Virginia's Lower Peninsula, 18651880", "Deference and Violence in the Postbellum Urban South: Manners and Massacres in Danville, Virginia", "Editorial: Remembering the Red Summer of 1919", "V for Virginia: The Commonwealth Goes to War", "It Happened Here First: Arlington Students Integrate Virginia Schools", "In the 1950s, rather than integrate its public schools, Virginia closed them", "Civil rights progress in Va., but barriers remain", "Virginia's latest constitution turns 50", "Three Things About the CIA's Langley Headquarters", "Northam signs history-making batch of gun control bills", "Gen. Robert E. Lee is the only Confederate icon still standing on a Richmond avenue forever changed", "Mid-Atlantic Home: MidAtlantic Information Office: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", "Supreme Court Rules for Virginia in Potomac Conflict", "Pieces of the Past: Supreme Court looked at controversy over Bristol border location", "Tangier, the Sinking Island in the Chesapeake", "Shifting sands: Virginia's barrier islands are constantly on the move", "Great Falls National Park on the Potomac River", "Virginia earthquake largest recorded in commonwealth", "2011 Virginia earthquake felt by third of U.S.", "Chesapeake Bay Crater Offers Clues to Ancient Cataclysm", "Lake Drummond's Name and Origin Still a Mystery to Some", "6 Spectacular Caves You'll Want to Explore in the Shenandoah", "Comparison of Annually Reported Tonnage Data", "Uranium mining ban upheld as Supreme Court of Va. declines to reopen lower court ruling", "Severe weather awareness for spring, summer", "Annual tornado drill in Virginia will be held March 17", "Virginia's deadliest natural disaster unfolded 50 years ago from Hurricane Camille", "Your primer to understanding Mid-Atlantic cold air damming and 'the wedge', "Snowiest Day On Record: The Day Fairfax Co.
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