(C) Virginia Mercury This story was originally published by Virginia Mercury and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Mercury’s most read stories of 2023 [1] ['Sarah Vogelsong', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-01 This year, Mercury news reporters published over 1,021 stories and commentary writers put out 221 opinion pieces. Some of you read all of them. Others — including my parents, whom I would have hoped would be in the former category — were more choosy. As we embark on a fresh year of covering the weirdness and wonder of Virginia, here’s a glimpse at the stories that resonated with you most. 1. Virginia Democrats triumph in statehouse elections, reducing Youngkin’s power The rest of the country may already be fixated on the 2024 presidential election, but Virginians were clearly more concerned with who they were sending to Richmond for the last two years of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration. The 2023 General Assembly races were the most expensive in the state’s history, and they were nailbiters that saw Democrats eke out narrow victories in both the House and the Senate — sometimes by only double-digit votes. You wanted to read about it, many of you as soon as we posted this story around midnight on Election Night. 2. Invasive plants have spread all over Virginia. Some groups say that needs to stop. Policymakers, take note: Virginians have feelings about the English ivy, kudzu and autumn olive that they see creeping all over their backyards and neighborhoods. We see there’s already at least one bill about invasive species on the General Assembly’s docket this January, and if our readership is anything to go by, there’s going to be a lot of testimony to hear. 3. Ahead of new age verification law, Pornhub blocks access in Virginia Last year, a lawmaker who shall not be named asked one of our reporters if the Virginia Mercury was the publication that “just writes about bills and stuff.” The answer is yes. But in 2023, thanks to one of those bills — this one requiring porn sites to use age verification technology to confirm a viewer is 18 or over before allowing them access — we also wrote a reasonable amount about pornography policy. And you liked reading it, although maybe not as much as you liked reading about plants. 4. Youngkin signs universal license recognition law at Richmond barber shop This law signed by the governor will affect a lot of people’s lives. It makes Virginia recognize many of the professional licenses issued by other states, including those for barbers, interior designers, home contractors, tattooists and professional wrestlers, all of whom will have an easier time working when they move to the Old Dominion. But also, we think readers wanted to see a picture of Glenn Youngkin getting a haircut with an expression not dissimilar to that on the face of a first grader facing the Olan Mills photographer for the first time. 5. Report: As Northern Virginia prospers, some neighborhood conditions worsen Sometimes, people really are interested in studies by academics. Such was the case with this story, which recounted the results of Virginia Commonwealth University research that found despite all of Northern Virginia’s wealth, some neighborhoods are getting left far behind. 6. Many pornography websites aren’t complying with new Va. age verification law We don’t have to rehash this one. Reporter Meghan McIntyre found that most pornography websites weren’t complying with the new state law on age verification. One Reddit user speculated that we googled “top porn sites” to begin investigating compliance, and that user was pretty much correct. The things you do for journalism. 7. Marijuana will be legal in Virginia on July 1. Here’s what is and isn’t permitted under the new law. You guys love this story. It was written by the great Ned Oliver in 2021, and usually it’s higher on the most read list. We can only assume that more people are starting to understand what Virginia’s pot laws are and no longer need such a resource. As an aside: It’s very annoying when you think you’ve written a real slam-dunk piece about something timely only to see it get crushed in the readership stats by the 2021 marijuana explainer. 8. A military-themed brewery sparks a fight in a Virginia military city This story, by freelancer Jim Morrison, delved into the very intense debate that broke out in Norfolk over the proposed Armed Forces Brewing Company, which has leaned hard into flamboyant military marketing and tapped a brand ambassador who has made numerous anti-LGBTQ comments online. Local permitting and zoning disputes like this one often engender strong feelings, but Armed Forces Brewing turned them up to 11. 9. TikTok trend spurs record-breaking numbers of Virginians to cash out unclaimed property Look, we get it. We may be trying to do Serious Policy Journalism over here, but you just want to read about TikTok and money you might be able to get back from the state. At least read FOIA Friday before you head over to the app. 10. Va. ABC official files whistleblower suit, alleging retaliation for reporting millions in losses This article about a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower at Virginia’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority is part of a string of investigative pieces by Meghan McIntyre, whose interest in ABC began with a question about how the state decides which stores put their liquor behind glass partitions. Things clearly escalated from there. 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