The Virginia Department of Corrections came under national scrutiny in September when visitors learned they would not be allowed to wear tampons or menstrual cups, citing them as an apparent contraband risk. A FOIA request for a more thorough explanation of the tampon ban - through policy documents and a log of contraband incidents alluded to in the Times - revealed a two-month wait of rejection, denial and, finally, the single-page document behind the ban.

Driving through Virginia, one might wonder if there was any Civil War trivia not deemed worthy of throwing on a plaque and setting up by a highway. Wonder no more.

MuckRock’s resident Virginian spent the cost of decent meal on inspection reports of the Trump Winery in Charlottesville - and got a costly reminder that just because records are hard to get doesn’t necessarily mean they’re worth getting.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts occupies that most treasured space where public opinion can be excavated through public records requests. As a state agency, the museum’s budget documents, meeting minutes, and complaints from visitors about its art are at our oily fingertips.

Motel 6 collaborating with law enforcement to spy on guests may be outrageous, but it’s hardly a surprise. After it was revealed in 2015 that a location in Warwick, Rhode Island had been sharing its guest lists with local police, internal emails show the hotel chain was not especially reticent after they were caught.