Legislation that would lower Virginia restaurants' food-to-liquor sales ratio is headed to Gov. Spanberger's desk.

Why it matters: Many in the restaurant industry have been pushing for a ratio change for more than a decade.

State of play: The bill would create a tiered structure to replace the long-standing rule that requires at least 45% of restaurants' sales to come from food and no more than 55% from liquor.

• If enacted, the new food-and-liquor ratios would be based on a restaurant's size, rather than the existing system with one ratio for all.
• Per the bill, size is determined by average monthly sales or, for the smallest restaurants, sales and the number of seats — with the caveat that a restaurant must have the same number of seats at tables as it does at the bar.

Zoom in: Under the pending legislation:

• Large restaurants — ones with at least $48,000 in average monthly food sales — would have no ratio.
• Medium restaurants — with $25,000 - $47,999 in average monthly food sales — would move to 30%-food-to-70% liquor sales ratio.
• Small restaurants — with $4,000 - $24,999 in average monthly food sales — would keep the existing 45%-food-to-55% liquor ratio.

The intrigue: Under Virginia's liquor laws, wine and beer don't count as food or booze and therefore affect either ratio.

• But soda and other nonalcoholic beverages count toward food sales.

Of note: The rise of craft cocktails and high-end spirits — where one drink can cost as much as a dinner entree — is what's driven the push for legislative change for more than a decade.

Flashback: Virginia's food-to-liquor ratio dates to 1968 and is from post-Prohibition Virginia and a mid-20th-century fight for restaurants to even be allowed to sell liquor.

What we're watching: Whether the governor signs the new ratio legislation.

More on the ratios and how we got here

The CarMax Park signs are finally up at Richmond's new ballpark.

Why it matters: Behind the scenes, the Flying Squirrels' parent company is threatening legal action against the city's Economic Development Authority.

Driving the news: An attorney for Navigators Baseball — which owns the Squirrels and is developing the stadium — sent a letter to the EDA this week claiming it's owed $6.5 million, reports BizSense.

• Navigators said the money covers construction costs it fronted with the understanding that EDA would reimburse those expenses.
• The group warned that failing to reimburse the money could jeopardize the stadium's April opening.

Zoom in: The letter also objected to comments from city administrator Sharon Ebert at a City Council committee meeting where she suggested the EDA might need its own operating agreement with VCU.

• Navigators said a separate EDA-VCU deal would violate its lease with the EDA and potentially Major League Baseball rules.

Ebert and the EDA didn't comment on what they plan to do next, but the city confirmed receipt of the letter to Axios.

• "We are committed to working — diligently and transparently — with all of our partners to build a vibrant and thriving Diamond District," said chief administrative officer Odie Donald II.
• "While there is still work to do, we're on the right track."

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🏥 About 25,000 Virginians have lost or canceled their Affordable Care Act health coverage since open enrollment ended Jan. 30, triple the number recorded this time last year. (WRIC)

• The state's marketplace director warns the number could climb as high as 100,000, in part due to rising premiums.

Henrico Police say a driver struck and killed a 43-year-old man who was walking on Nine Mile Road Tuesday night. (Henrico Citizen)

• That road stretch in Eastern Henrico is listed in the county's High-Injury Network.

🚧 Henrico's Board of Zoning Appeals denied a developer's bid to move ahead with a 195-acre data center campus in Varina, ruling the project requires Board of Supervisors approval to proceed. (Times-Dispatch)

🍸 The Virginia ABC rejected a request to extend the state's happy hour cutoff from 9pm to midnight. (WRIC)

🏀 The Lakers have hired former UVA basketball coach Tony Bennett as an NBA draft adviser. (The Athletic)

Virginia's share of single moms over 40 has nearly tripled in the past 20 years as the state's overall births decline, according to CDC data.

Why it matters: More women are choosing solo motherhood later in life, reshaping when and how Virginians build families.

By the numbers: In Virginia, 1.2% of babies — over 1,100 — were born to unmarried women 40 and older in 2024.

• That percentage was 0.44% in 2007, or less than 480.
• Nationwide, it was about 1.1% in 2024 and 0.5% in 2007.

Between the lines: "Unmarried women" can include cohabitating couples.

Sabrina's thought bubble: I'm taking this as a sign to live it up in my 30s.

Driving around Richmond will get more expensive starting this weekend.

Why it matters: If you're a red light-runner or non-E-ZPass toll road user, your time is up.

Driving the news: All-electronic tolling on Powhite Parkway, the Downtown Expressway and the Boulevard Bridge starts tomorrow, RMTA announced this week.

• That means drivers without an E-ZPass on those roads or the ramps to access them will be automatically billed by mail through a pay-by-plate system using license plate cameras.
• Those drivers will pay double the current cash rate.

Caveat: The Downtown Expressway will only go cashless at night.

Meanwhile, the 30-day warning period for two of the city's first four red light cameras — 25th Street at Main Street and Belvidere Street at Cary Street — ends March 8.

• The warning period for other two — Chamberlayne Avenue at Brookland Park Boulevard and Chamberlayne Avenue at Laburnum Avenue — began Feb. 23 and will end on March 25.
• That means drivers who run a red light on those intersections can expect a $50 citation in the mail.

Warn a driver

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the red light cameras' 30-day warning period ends, for two of the sites, on March 8, and for the other two on March 25 (not on March 1 for all).