Michael is an award-winning journalist who started covering Virginia news in 2013 with reporting stints at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Business, and Richmond BizSense. A graduate of William & Mary and Northern Virginia Community College, he also covered financial news for S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Michael O’Connor
Latest from Michael O’Connor
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Virginia Republican blames, attacks fired federal contractors as ‘not very smart’
The Virginia Senate advanced legislation that would give emergency assistance to federal independent contractors fired in President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s purge of the federal government. The debate over legislation that would offer emergency relief to Virginia federal independent contractors fired as part of the Trump administration’s purging of the federal government has given…
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How another Trump trade war could hurt Virginia
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has meant tariffs are back in the news, raising fears about how the levies on foreign goods will impact Virginia’s economy with its robust international trade.
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Virginia House Republican admits most Virginians support abortion rights before voting against them
In a rare moment of candor, a Virginia Republican acknowledged the unpopularity of opposing abortion rights before voting against adding them to the Virginia constitution.
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Cannabis market bill heading to Youngkin’s desk, veto expected
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a staunch opponent of marijuana, will likely once again block the creation of a retail marijuana market in Virginia.
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Musk, Trump funding chaos force Virginia community health centers to close
Some of Virginia’s community health centers have had to close locations because of the Trump Administration’s federal funding freeze.
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Virginia Dems advance budget items focused on helping with high prices
Virginia House and Senate Democrats advanced state budget proposals that aim to help people struggling with the high cost of living and rejected several high-profile budget proposals from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
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Virginia House forms emergency committee over Musk’s attacks on federal workers
A bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers will look into the impacts of the Trump Administration’s drastic and legally questionable shrinking of federal services and its workforce.
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Virginia Senate Dems pass bill to protect health care workers from out-of-state attacks
Virginia Senate Democrats on Monday passed legislation aimed at protecting medical workers and patients from out-of-state prosecutions for legal activities in Virginia.
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UVA, VCU end care for trans minors following Trump order, state guidance
Two of Virginia’s major health systems quietly stopped providing gender-affirming care to minors in response to directives from the Trump administration and Virginia’s Republican Attorney General.
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Virginia leaders slam Trump’s immediate, baseless blame of DEI for crash
Some Virginia leaders criticized Trump’s choice to immediately blame DEI as the cause despite no evidence of the cause of the crash yet, something he admitted wasn’t known just minutes earlier in his remarks.
