VISUALIZATION: TO FUND CAMPAIGNS, CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS REACH INTO THEIR OWN POCKETS

Last year, counties across Virginia held elections for “constitutional officers” – five positions mandated in the State Constitution. VPAP found the top donors to candidates in four of the five positions were the candidate themselves. The exception was candidates for commonwealth's attorney, who overall got most of their money from single-interest groups. A criminal justice reform PAC financed by George Soros poured $2 million into three counties in Northern Virginia.

A YEAR AGO, A RACIST PHOTO NEARLY BROUGHT DOWN VIRGINIA’S GOVERNOR

During his State of the Commonwealth address earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam spoke to Virginia lawmakers about taking an “honest look” at the state’s past. After congratulating the new Democratic majority on their gains in the General Assembly, he listed the priorities of his “fair and equitable” legislative agenda.

BILL AIMS TO ADD MORE FORENSIC NURSES TO HELP SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS

Legislation to help sexual assault survivors get improved access to forensic examinations and other services is making its way through the General Assembly this year. A shortage of qualified nurses and facilities in Virginia sometimes means traumatized assault victims must travel from hospital to hospital, or for hours and hundreds of miles to have evidence of the attack properly collected for authorities.

VA. HOUSE PASSES EDUCATION BILLS ON TRANSGENDER STUDENTS, COLLEGE ASSAULT POLICIES

A series of education bills that could impact students ranging in age from kindergarten through college passed the Virginia House or Senate Friday.

VIRGINIA TEACHERS BACK COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, PUSH FOR SCHOOL FUNDING

In the middle of Monday’s rally where more than 2,000 teachers called on state lawmakers to increase education funding, a different type of chant broke out. “What do we want? Collective bargaining. When do we want it? Now,” educators from across the state screamed.

GREENWAY OVERSIGHT BILL KILLED AGAIN; OWNERS APPLY FOR 5 YEARS OF HIGHER TOLL INCREASES

The General Assembly has once again struck down a bill to strengthen oversight of tolls on the Dulles Greenway, as the state’s only privately-owned toll road has applied for five years of toll increases at the highest rates since 2013.

IN ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, VA FEDERAL WORKERS MAY BE PROTECTED FROM EVICTIONS

One year later, the 2019 government shutdown is still fresh on the minds of federal workers...and lawmakers in Virginia. Delegate Marcia Price is working to alleviate some of the strain on federal employees in the event of a future shutdown. She introduced a bill this session that essentially gives them a 30-day leeway with rent payments.

LEVINE'S GUARDIANSHIP VISITATION BILL KILLED BY VIRGINIA BAR ASSOCIATION OPPOSITION

A bill proposed by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, aimed at giving loved ones stronger rights to challenge visitation restrictions imposed by the legal guardian of an incapacitated person was killed for the third straight year Friday after last-minute opposition from the Virginia Bar Association.

HOUSE COMMITTEE BACKS HUDSON'S BILL TO REMOVE CITY COUNCIL SALARY LIMITS

A Virginia House of Delegates committee has backed a bill by Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, to remove salary limits on city councils statewide. On Friday, the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns voted 16-5, mainly along party lines, to send the bill to the full House.

FUTURE OF NAVY HILL BILL UNCERTAIN

An effort to devote state sales taxes to a project centered on replacing the Richmond Coliseum may not be dead after all. A subcommittee of the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee on Thursday tabled a bill from Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, that supporters of the Navy Hill project say would help dramatically reduce the size of a special tax zone that has been a major stumbling block. If a bill is laid on the table, it is not officially killed and can be reconsidered

LYNCHBURG LEGISLATOR LEARNS TO BEWARE OF WHAT YOU ASK FOR

Why would a legislator file a bill to do something he doesn’t want done? Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, introduced a bill at the start of the General Assembly session calling for the removal of the statue of former governor and U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd from Capitol Square.

UVA STUDY FINDS HIV OUTCOMES, COSTS IMPROVED BY STATE-RUN PLANS

After the Affordable Care Act went into effect in the U.S., some states that did not immediately expand Medicaid — Virginia, South Carolina and Nebraska — allowed residents with HIV to get therapy and medications through state-run programs that used federal funds to create ACA-compliant health plans. These programs, though they did not offer as many residents the full health benefits that could have been available through Medicaid expansion, improved health outcomes and saved costs, a new study from the University of Virginia suggests.

THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IN VIRGINIA

his week, 10 Virginia newspapers were sold to a company based in Davenport, Iowa. Sandy Hausman spoke with a national expert on newspaper economics to see what this might mean for readers and their communities.

CAMERAS, SIGNS, SERVICE TRUCKS COMING TO I-95

After hearing the preliminary results from an Interstate 95 corridor study, the Commonwealth Transportation Board voted this month to allocate $68 million for operational improvements, such as responding to accidents or other incidents and managing congestion. Ben Mannell, the project manager for the study, which included I-95, Route 1 and Route 301, said these operational improvements have the highest return on investment and fastest implementation compared to adding more lanes.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY STUDENT CLEARED OF CORONAVIRUS

Test results for a George Mason University student who was being tested for the novel coronavirus have come back negative, the Virginia Department of Health said Friday. A second person in Northern Virginia was placed on the pending list on Thursday.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATES POTENTIAL MEASLES EXPOSURE IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

People who spent time at five Northern Virginia locations earlier this month might have been exposed to someone with measles.

COLONIAL FORGE, OTHER VIRGINIA SCHOOLS HELP GAMING GROW INTO BIG-TIME SPORT

No one cheered Colonial Forge’s starting five as they took their positions for the state championship. A few hundred people were watching, just not from the confines of Room 122, a business and econ classroom retrofitted with a half-dozen PCs along the back wall. On a Smartboard projector at the front of the classroom, a pair of broadcasters previewed the impending action, analyzing the matchups and strategies that would play out. Over the next two hours, the Eagles made some flashy plays, received coaching, built leads and lost them—all while remaining seated.

TENT CITY FOR HOMELESS POPS UP IN RICHMOND

Rhonda L. Sneed is proud of creating the most affordable housing community in Richmond — a tent city located on Oliver Hill Way across the street from the Richmond Justice Center. A small determined woman with a mop of curly hair, the 60-year-old New York native who was a Richmond Free Press Personality in January 2018 is leading a cadre of volunteers and benefactors to provide the free housing to about 80 people who have no other place to go and have too little money to afford better.

AS LEGAL QUESTIONS REMAIN, 3 GAMING PARLORS CROWD MILE OF U.S. 58 IN RINGGOLD

On a state level, the legality of skilled-gaming machines still is up in the air. On a local level, Pittsylvania County is in the process of updating its zoning ordinance to require businesses to maintain special use permits to operate the machines. Even with so many legal question marks, three gaming parlors have popped up within a mile of each other along U.S. 58 east in Ringgold.

PROMISES, PROMISES

We congratulate Richmond City Council members Kim B. Gray, Chris A. Hilbert, Kristen N. Larson, Stephanie A. Lynch and Reva M. Trammell who — like we — are neither bought nor bound to Dominion Energy CEO Tom Farrell’s and Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s vision of a $1.5 billion new Coliseum and accompanying development in Downtown.

SCHAPIRO: A YEAR AFTER BLACKFACE CALAMITY, NORTHAM MOVES LIGHT YEARS AHEAD

A year ago Saturday, it appeared to some in the cramped echo chamber that is the Jefferson-designed state Capitol that only hours remained in Ralph Northam’s governorship; that he would be run off after 13 months by a racial imbroglio that had instantly transformed the pediatrician into a pariah and restored the Old South guise of a Virginia that is now a multihued suburban colossus.

CLEMENT, GUTHRIE AND PLAUGHER: NORTHAM’S TRANSPORTATION OMNIBUS KEEPS VIRGINIA MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Very few pieces of legislation will have as much of a generational impact as Gov. Ralph Northam’s transportation omnibus legislation, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax (Senate Bill 890) and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax (House Bill 1414). This package completely restructures and streamlines the way our state distributes our transportation dollars.

Whitt Clement represents the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance. Lisa Guthrie is executive director of the Virginia Transit Association. Danny Plaugher is executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail.

DEVEREAUX: RURAL VIRGINIA NEEDS MEDICARE FOR ALL

With Democratic Party presidential primaries just around the corner the issue of fixing our broken health care system is back in the national conversation. Comprehensive plans proposed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warner have come under increased scrutiny. As a family medicine physician in Giles County I am convinced that Medicare for All is the best solution for the health care problems of rural Virginia.

Devereaux is a member of Physicians for a National Health Program. He lives in Giles County.