VaNews Feb. 5, 2020
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Today's Sponsor:


** Humane Dominion
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Supporting Humane Treatment of All of Virginia’s Animals.

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** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: 'CROSSOVER' LOOMING ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

With a Feb. 11 deadline approaching for each chamber of the Virginia legislature to complete work on its own bills, committees began the week with more legislation on their dockets compared to the same point two years ago.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES BILL TO SCRAP ONLINE COURSES FOR CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT ([link removed])
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By WHITTNEY EVANS, VPM

A measure to eliminate the option to qualify for a concealed handgun permit in Virginia by taking an online course passed out of a House committee Tuesday. Right now, people applying for a concealed carry permit in Virginia don’t have to prove they know how to use a firearm. They can take a firearms safety course in person or online before filing an application with the local circuit court. Some state lawmakers want to do away with the online option.


** AS POPULARITY OF PEER-TO-PEER CAR-SHARING GROWS, GENERAL ASSEMBLY TAKES STEPS TO REGULATE ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Neil Aneja always wanted a Tesla, so he drove three hours away and bought one. He brought it back to Roanoke and lets people rent it. Aneja has three vehicles — the Tesla Model 3, H3 Hummer and Mini Countryman — that he rents to people through a peer-to-peer car -sharing app called Turo. “It’s like Airbnb for cars,” said Aneja, 28, of Roanoke


** IN REBUKE OF TRUMP PLAN, VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS VOTE TO BLOCK OFFSHORE DRILLING ([link removed])
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By NICHOLA GROOM, Reuters

Virginia Democratic-led lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill to block future oil and gas development off the state's coastline, reflecting opposition to the Republican Trump administration's efforts to open Atlantic waters to fossil fuel exploration.


** VIRGINIA HOUSE AND SENATE PASS BANS ON OFFSHORE DRILLING ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia House on Tuesday passed legislation to ban offshore drilling on the state’s coast, and prohibit the state from endorsing offshore gas or oil developments in federal waters. The Senate approved a similar measure last week,


** VA. SENATE PANEL ADVANCES REDISTRICTING COMMISSION DESPITE QUALMS ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A proposed amendment to the state constitution creating a bipartisan commission to draw Virginia's political map advanced in the Senate on Tuesday but faces an uncertain future in the House of Delegates. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 13-1 to approve the constitutional amendment


** SENATE PANEL BACKS BILLS TO IMPLEMENT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ON REDISTRICTING ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Senate panel on Tuesday advanced legislation that would help hand power over redistricting to a commission with parameters on how it should draw maps of General Assembly and congressional districts. The Privileges and Elections Committee cleared two pieces of legislation


** ALONG PARTY LINES, SENATE BACKS REMOVING PHOTO ID REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia voters could soon no longer be required to show a photo ID at the polls. The state Senate approved Tuesday a bill from Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, to remove the requirement in a 21-19, party-line vote.


** VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE PLAN TO LEGALIZE CASINOS ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia lawmakers took steps Tuesday to legalize casinos in five cities around the state. House and Senate committees both advanced legislation that would allow voters in Bristol, Danville, Richmond, Norfolk and Portsmouth to hold local referendums to approve casinos. Virginia is currently one of only a handful of states that forbid any type of casinos, but it has been inching toward legalizing them


** TENTATIVE AGREEMENT IN RICHMOND WOULD ALLOW CASINOS IN NORFOLK, PORTSMOUTH AND 3 OTHER CITIES ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A tentative agreement in Richmond could bring casinos to Norfolk, Portsmouth and three other Virginia cities — something that’s been in the making for years or, in Portsmouth’s case, decades. “Here I stand, fighting for casino legislation because of what I believe it would do to help my city — a distressed city,” said Sen. Louise Lucas, a Democrat from Portsmouth


** RICHMOND BACKS MORE COMPETITION AS HOUSE PANEL ADVANCES CASINO BILL ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Richmond changed the rules of the game for casino legislation that a House of Delegates subcommittee endorsed on Tuesday night. Instead of two potential competitors for a lucrative casino license in the city — the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Colonial Downs Group — the House General Laws subcommittee opened the door for more competition in the city and more participation by black investors in any gaming operation.


** JOHNSON: DEVELOPERS, CITY MANAGER ‘STOLE’ IDEA FOR CASINO IN SOUTHWEST VA. ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Commercial developer Steve Johnson on Tuesday claimed developers of the casino proposed for the Bristol Mall and Bristol Virginia City Manager Randy Eads “stole” his idea to locate a casino in Southwest Virginia. Johnson, who most recently developed the 250-acre Pinnacle center in Bristol, Tennessee, also labeled the Virginia General Assembly a “coin-operated government” beset by “cronyism,” saying financial contributions from Bristol casino principals are causing state lawmakers to turn a deaf ear to his efforts to establish a casino on part of the undeveloped 350-acre portion of The Pinnacle in Washington County, Virginia.


** BILL EASING HURDLES TO PROVE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS ADVANCES ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A bill aimed at easing two paths for wrongfully convicted people to prove their innocence was advanced Monday in the Virginia General Assembly.


** SURROGATES COULD NOT BE FORCED TO ABORT MULTIPLES UNDER BILL PASSED BY SENATE ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A surrogate mother could not be forced to abort a fetus with abnormalities or reduce the number of fetuses she is carrying under a bill that won unanimous support Tuesday in the Virginia Senate. The surrogate also could not be prohibited from terminating the pregnancy, under an amendment that was critical to winning support from Democrats


** MARIJUANA DEBATE HEATS UP WITH DECRIMINALIZATION, DISPENSARIES ON THE DOCKET ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE

Advocates hoped new Democratic majorities would spell big changes for Virginia’s marijuana laws. And there’s already traction on several fronts, including decriminalizing marijuana possession, expanding the new medical marijuana program, and studies for future legalization. Despite all that enthusiasm, legislation has moved slowly through committees and full-scale Colorado-style legalization likely at least a year away.


** VIRGINIA CITIES COULD TAKE DOWN OR MOVE CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS UNDER PROPOSED LAWS ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

After years of litigation and debate about whether some cities in Virginia have the legal right to move Confederate monuments, state lawmakers might answer the question for good. Bills pending on the General Assembly would give localities the power to remove or alter them — something currently banned under a state law whose enforceability has been questioned.


** VIRGINIA BILL AIMS TO SAVE LIVES IN EVENT OF OVERDOSE ([link removed])
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By JOSEPH WHITNEY SMITH, Associated Press

Cullen Hazelwood died of an overdose last year 2 miles from the hospital because his friend was scared to call for help, according to his mother Christy Farmer. Farmer wants to see legislation passed in the General Assembly that would extend immunity from prosecution to people reporting an overdose.


** KICKING THE CAN ON SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

It can be a multi-thousands of dollar surprise after a trip to the E.R. — that so-called “balance bill” by which doctors who are not in your insurer’s network, charge for the difference between the network payment the insurer made and the higher figure the doctors sought by declining to join the network in the first place.


** SENATE PASSES NOTICE BILL FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS ([link removed])
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By YASMINE JUMAA, WCVE

The Virginia Senate unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would require housing authorities to give residents nine months notice if they plan to sell or demolish any properties. Last month, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority voted to submit its demolition application for Creighton Court to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval. But public housing residents got a day's notice before the agency moved forward with its plan.


** HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE KILLS REGULATION BILL FOR LAY SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCATES ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A bill that would have created license requirements and a professional code of conduct for non-attorney advocates in special education disputes will not reach a floor vote this year.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** ABC MAKES ITS 2021 MOVE OFFICIAL ([link removed])
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By JOHN O'CONNOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

With the sound of heavy machinery operating in the background, Gov. Ralph Northam spoke Tuesday at a construction site about 100 yards off Hanover County’s Pole Green Road. To that tract, Virginia’s Alcohol Beverage Control Authority headquarters and warehouse will relocate in 2021 from their current home on Hermitage Road behind The Diamond.


** CONGRESS
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** WARNER, KAINE WILL VOTE TO CONVICT TRUMP. KAINE SAYS: 'UNCHALLENGED EVIL SPREADS LIKE A VIRUS.' ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A day ahead of President Donald Trump’s likely acquittal, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, said Tuesday that they will vote to convict the president on the two articles of impeachment.


** KAINE SAYS HE’LL VOTE TO REMOVE TRUMP, THOUGH PRESIDENT’S BEHAVIOR WAS NOT A SURPRISE ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

As far as Sen. Tim Kaine is concerned, the House of Representatives' impeachment managers have proven their case that President Donald Trump should be removed from office.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** LIFETOUCH PRODUCTION PLANT IN CHESAPEAKE TO CLOSE, AFFECTING 180 WORKERS ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Lifetouch, the brand known for its school portraits services, plans to close its Chesapeake production facility by summer’s end, affecting about 180 employees. A spokeswoman for Shutterfly, the online photo developing site that owns Lifetouch, said equipment and volumes of portrait packages from school picture days stored at the Chesapeake plant will be moved to a new production hub in Texas.


** SPECIALIZED TRUCK MAKER TO EXPAND IN BEDFORD COUNTY, ADDING 61 JOBS ([link removed])
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By SHANNON KEITH, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A manufacturer and distributor of specialized trucks and heavy equipment in Bedford County plans to expand operations and create more than 60 jobs, according to a news release from Gov. Ralph Northam’s office. Custom Truck One Source plans to double its production at its facility in Forest, investing $2.6 million and an additional 61 jobs in the area.


** MR. PEANUT IS DEAD! LONG LIVE BABY NUT! ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

It wasn’t as if anyone could be truly surprised by what happened to Suffolk’s own Mr. Peanut during Sunday’s Super Bowl. We’ve become so accustomed to long-gone characters coming back from the dead that “it’s almost normal now. It’s a new normal,” said Linda Ferguson, a longtime Suffolk resident and dean of the Birdsong School of Social Science and professor of management, business and economics at Virginia Wesleyan University.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** FIRM: PIPELINE WOULD ‘KILL’ PLANNED WETLAND BANK ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Fauquier Times

A Fauquier-based environmental consulting firm is asking state and federal officials to suspend a key permit for a new natural gas pipeline slated for Prince William and Fauquier counties because it will run afoul of a client’s conservation easement and a pending wetland mitigation bank in Catlett.


** LOCAL
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** VCU HEALTH SHARES DETAILS OF PLANS THAT RELY ON NAVY HILL PROJECT CITY COUNCIL IS POISED TO REJECT ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET BALCH AND SAMUEL NORTHROP, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

VCU Health released details on an expansion that would be part of the larger Navy Hill project on Tuesday, a day after the Richmond City Council took two steps signaling majority opposition to the project. VCU Health said the plan — including offices for medical school faculty, retail shopping and dining, 1,500 parking spaces, and housing for the families of sick patients in need — is dependent on the $1.5 billion Navy Hill downtown redevelopment project.


** STAFFORD SUPERVISORS TERMINATE AQUIA TOWN CENTER AGREEMENT ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A plan to redevelop Aquia Town Center has taken a step backward. On Tuesday, Stafford County supervisors voted unanimously to terminate the county’s memorandum of understanding with property owner Mosaic Realty Partners because of the company’s failure to install new sign panels at the entrance of the former shopping center just outside the gates of Aquia Harbour.


** DAVID BOWERS TO RUN AGAIN FOR ROANOKE MAYOR ([link removed])
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By MATT CHITTUM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

It was two days too late according to the calendar, but Tuesday was nevertheless a sort of Groundhog Day in Roanoke politics. Former Roanoke Mayor David Bowers, the city’s most unsinkable politician, popped up again, hoping to see his shadow and win another four years in office.


** TAZEWELL SUPERVISORS TO DISCUSS VEXIT TONIGHT ([link removed])
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By JIM TALBERT, Clinch Valley News

Is another secession about to take place? Supervisor Tom Lester placed Vexit on the agenda for discussion at the Feb. 4 board of supervisors meeting. Vexit is a tag placed on the plan that would have Virginia counties leave the Commonwealth and join another state.

Today's Sponsor:


** Humane Dominion
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Supporting Humane Treatment of All of Virginia’s Animals.


** EDITORIALS
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** WHAT HURST COULD DO ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Nobody wants to be pulled over by the police on suspicion of driving under the influence. If you’re a politician, that desire is surely less. And that brings us to the case of Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, who recently had that unfortunate experience.


** VEXIT IS A SILLY IDEA ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

One hundred and fifty-eight years having elapsed in the wink of an eye, state lawmakers in West Virginia decided last month to renew their 1862 invitation to Frederick County, across the border in the sovereign commonwealth of Virginia, to switch states. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice sweetened the pot, telling all Virginia localities and citizens to “come on down!”


** AUTHORIZE STATE INVESTIGATION OF BEACH SHOOTING ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

When completed, the two investigations into the May 31 shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center should provide detailed insight into the series of events that led to a city worker killing 12 people and wounding four others. Thorough as they may be, however, the community and the commonwealth would be served by a state-mandated look into what transpired that awful day and the forces that contributed to the shooter’s rampage.


** IT'S TIME TO HONOR LEGAL LEGENDS ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

This Thursday, two Virginia legal titans will finally receive long-overdue recognition in Richmond. Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson III, African American lawyers who helped dismember segregation, will be honored with the unveiling of historical markers


** EXPRESSING OUR APPRECIATION FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Every morning, almost 1.3 million children walk through the doors of a public school in Virginia. That’s not counting thousands of other students who attend private schools or are homeschooled. No matter where or how a child learns, growing up is challenging. Students need resources


** COLUMNISTS
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** BERES: AN EXCELLENT WAY TO ELECT A PRESIDENT ([link removed])
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By ROBIN BERES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

All in all, it’s been a good week for the Constitution and for the Electoral College in Virginia. Over the past several days, two bills that proposed to restructure how the commonwealth’s electoral votes are awarded to candidates both failed to advance in the General Assembly.

Robin Beres is deputy opinions editor


** POLITIFACT: JENKINS "HALF TRUE" ON CLAIM GUNS OUTNUMBER CITIZENS ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE

Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins recently told state senators that reinstating Virginia’s one-handgun-a-month purchase limit would not reduce crime. Jenkins spoke against a bill limiting purchases and made an interesting statistical claim. “Simply put, there are more guns in this country than there are citizens,” he said. “All you’re going to do is continue to drive up the cost for the criminal to purchase the illegal guns. Evil will still be committed.” Are there more guns than people in the United States?


** OP-ED
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** HOWARD: SUPPORT STATE TAKEOVER OF GREEN PASTURES ([link removed])
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By JOSH HOWARD, Published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The Commonwealth has an opportunity at hand — saving Green Pastures, Virginia’s only historically African American recreation site managed by the USDA Forest Service. Green Pastures in Alleghany County should be recognized as one of the nation’s most important treasures of Black History, especially in a rural context. Instead, it’s future awaits a vote in the General Assembly.

Howard is a public historian and co-owner of Passel Historical Consultants. He is a native of Clifton Forge.


** MCEACHIN: SUPPORT BLUEPRINT FOR 100% CLEAN ENERGY ([link removed])
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By REP. DONALD MCEACHIN, Published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

On Nov. 4, the first day he could, President Donald Trump officially initiated the one-year process to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, a monumental partnership intended to address and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Instead of leading the world in the creation of a healthy, sustainable planet for all living things, Trump willfully abdicated our national responsibility to address our global climate crisis.

A. Donald McEachin represents the 4th Virginia Congressional District.


** LAMNECK: THE PUSH FOR LGBTQ NONDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS ([link removed])
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By VEE LAMNECK, Published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

General Assembly 2020 is well underway, and we are already witnessing a wave of encouraging, positive progress as LGBTQ-friendly legislation moves through both chambers. Equality Virginia is advocating for a variety of pro-equality bills, from banning conversion therapy on minors to making it easier for transgender people to update their birth certificates.

Vee Lamneck is executive director of Equality Virginia
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