Welcome to Tuesday.

🌧️ Today's weather: Showers, mainly after 2pm. High near 71.

🎧 Sounds like: "Money, Money, Money" by Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia.

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Today's newsletter is 902 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Lawmakers passed and Gov. Youngkin signed the state's biennial budget after reconvening for a brief special session in Richmond on Monday.

Why it matters: Virginia was facing the possibility of a government shutdown on July 1 if it didn't approve a new two-year blueprint.

Catch up quick: The budget passed 94-6 in the House and 39-1 in the Senate; seven Republicans total voted against it.

• It comes after a compromise between Youngkin, a Republican and leaders of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, who last month voted to reject all of Youngkin's budget amendments in favor of creating the new budget, Virginia Mercury reported.

Zoom in: The $188 billion budget for fiscal years 2024-26 is nearly identical to the one the Democrat-controlled legislature proposed in March, Cardinal News reported.

Among the budget highlights, per the Times-Dispatch:

• Raises: K-12 teachers, school support staff and all state employees are set to get 3% annual raises for the next two years.
• Schools: K-12 public schools will see $2.5 billion in new state funding.
• Early childhood: There's $527.8 million extra for early childhood programs.
• Higher ed: More than $200 million to cap tuition increases.

What's no longer in the budget:

RGGI: Democrats agreed to drop their push for Virginia to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate compact aiming to reduce carbon emission and greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, per AP.

Digital sales tax: Youngkin had proposed an expanded state sales tax to include digital purchases, like streaming services and music downloads, as part of a broader tax restructure.

• Instead, a joint legislative subcommittee will study the issue for possible action next year, per Virginia Mercury.

Skills games: The budget doesn't lay out a future for so-called skills games, the slots-like betting machines found in convenience stores and trucks stops, Virginia Mercury reports.

• The General Assembly was poised to legalize them until Youngkin rewrote that bill to essentially ban them in most places.
• Revenue from the machines was stripped from the passed budget, but a regulatory provision that could allow for the games in the near future remained.

Keep reading for what's next for skills games

More recent graduates are eyeing Richmond this year for a post-college move, per a new report from Handshake, a campus recruitment website.

State of play: Virginia Beach and Richmond ranked in the top 15 of cities that saw the biggest increases over last year in the share of jobs applications from recent college graduates, Handshake's data shows.

• Virginia Beach saw a 0.15 percentage point increase, the sixth highest in the nation.
• Richmond had the 14th highest increase, at 0.11 percentage points.

The big picture: The class of 2024 is looking at careers and cities that offer job security, work/life balance and the ability to live near family and friends, Axios' Jennifer Kingson reports.

Yes, but: New York City continues to be the most popular destination for class of 2024 applicants, attracting 9.1% of total applications.

• Rounding out the top five destinations are Chicago, with 4.8% of applications, D.C., Dallas and Atlanta with around 3% each.

Reality check: Richmond's share of total job applications per the survey was a paltry 0.71% — the 34th highest in the country — but nailed the No. 1 spot for Virginia cities.

Go deeper with what fields college grads are eyeing

🏗️ A California developer has proposed a $3 billion data center project in a nearly 120-acre section of Powhatan about 20-minutes from Richmond. (Times-Dispatch)

📈 VCU will raise the undergraduate cost of tuition by 2.7% this fall, translating to a $350 and $930 increase for in-state and out-of state students, respectively. (WRIC)

A driver died Monday morning after running into a toll booth on the Downtown Expressway, leading to the car catching fire and a shutdown of the eastbound lanes until 9am. (Times-Dispatch)

What’s in it for you: Fridays at Kroger means you earn four times fuel points on groceries.

Clip the coupon in the Kroger app and be on your way to saving big when you fill up for your next weekend getaway.

The deets.

The RPS Education Foundation is raising money for Richmond Public Schools by auctioning off 75 different experiences to the highest bidder.

How it works: People have until May 28 to bid for the items, which have varying starting prices.

• The topics include food, tastings, weekend getaways in London and VCU men's basketball suite tickets.

Some of our favorites with the current bids:

📚 Be RPS superintendent Jason Kamras for a day. $200.

🏃🏻‍♀️ Join Mayor Stoney on the campaign trail for lieutenant governor. $250.

😋 Design and name a sandwich at Garnett's. $360.

⛳️ Round of golf and lunch with former Gov. Terry McAuliffe. $450.

🍦 Have a private tasting of all 36 flavors at Gelati Celesti. $500.

Keep reading for a barbecue masterclass

A new sports bar and trading card shop hybrid concept is preparing to open in the former Circuit Arcade Bar space in Scott's Addition.

State of play: The dual concept Parlay Bar & Lounge and Graybo's Sports Cards is from Richmond-developer Duke Dodson, of Dodson Companies, and designed for sports fans, per a news release.

Zoom in: Parlay will have high-def TVs, lounge seating, a putting green and five "semi-private pods" available to private, high-end sports-viewing parties.

• Partnering on the restaurant are chef Robyn Carter and restaurateur Kelsey Biser, the team behind Colonial Beach restaurants Drift Seafood + Bar and Muse Pizzeria & Arcade.
• On the menu: Pizza, sandwiches, entree salads ($12-$18), apps and a full bar.

What's next: The free Grand Opening celebration is Saturday 3-8pm and will include live music, the Preakness Stakes on TV, and food and drink for purchase.

Tell a friend

In other words, don’t guess on gifts they might enjoy. Give a gift card and give the freedom to choose how to spend the gift.

At Kroger, gift card purchases mean you earn up to four times the fuel points when you clip the coupon in the Kroger app.

What you need to know.

⏰ Sabrina is telling her friends about this TikTok of VCU students walking out of graduation that has 11 million views and 1.4 million likes.

😬 Karri is very grateful that Sabrina keeps up with TikTok and sends her all of the fun things as she still doesn't 100% understand it and has accidentally created like 10 accounts.

Thanks to Fadel Allassan for editing and Carlin Becker for copy editing today's edition.