2026-07-15 22:10:28 From booze to balloons, a wide range of legislative action – NEW WTOP Skip to main content

From booze to balloons, a wide range of legislative action

By The Associated Press

Virginia’s General Assembly has approved a collection of bills that will impact consumers.

Some of the bills sought to address issues that have cropped up or become more pressing because of the coronavirus pandemic.

One bill will allow restaurants to continue to offer cocktails to go.

Another bill phases out the use of Styrofoam food containers by July 1, 2025.

But the bill allows localities to grant consecutive one-year exemptions to food vendors who face undue economic hardship.

Many restaurants continue to rely on takeout service to survive while the pandemic drags on.

Another bill bans the outdoor release of nonbiodegradable balloons.

US House campaigns are underway. Yet a redistricting battle triggered by Trump rages in some states

By The Associated Press
Candidates are campaigning and voting is underway in some primaries. Yet a national battle to redraw U.S. House districts for partisan advantage is still raging in some states ahead of the November midterm elections. Voters in Texas and North Carolina already have cast ballots in primary elections for U.S. House districts redrawn at President Donald Trump's urging. But the final boundaries for voting districts remain uncertain in Missouri, even though candidates already are filing for office. And they also are unclear in Virginia, where new congressional districts could hinge both on a voter referendum and court rulings. Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting when he urged Texas Republicans last summer to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and a tit-for-tat redistricting clash soon spread. So far, Republicans believe they could win nine additional seats in states where they have redrawn congressional districts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats elsewhere because of redistricting. But that presumes past voting patterns hold in November. And that's uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.
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