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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Pointing to what data, science and experts have been telling him, Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday the state is at least two or three months away from returning to normal life following the coronavirus pandemic. “While it would be nice to say this will be behind us in two weeks, that’s really not what the data tells us,” he said at a press conference in Richmond.
By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Two residents of Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Henrico County are the Richmond area’s first COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the state’s death toll to nine. The Richmond and Henrico County Health Districts on Tuesday described the residents as “elderly” and said they were among several patients at the center receiving treatment for the coronavirus at a Richmond-area hospital.
By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
High school seniors in Virginia will graduate on time despite public and private schools being closed for the rest of the academic year, the state Education Department said in guidance published Monday. The department is also asking educators to teach students in every grade the material they were supposed to learn through the end of the year, James F. Lane, the state superintendent of public instruction, wrote in a memo to school officials...
By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
With the threat of the coronavirus looming, Lynchburg Mayor Treney Tweedy sharply criticized Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s decision to invite students back to campus, calling the move reckless and unfortunate. “I was very surprised and disappointed to later learn of President Falwell’s most recent decision to allow students back on campus,” Tweedy said at a Lynchburg City Council meeting Tuesday.
By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury
A candidate seeking the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D) has filed a lawsuit against Virginia election officials that argues the COVID-19 pandemic has made it too difficult to gather the petition signatures necessary to qualify for the June primary ballot. Omari Faulkner, a Navy reservist and former Georgetown University basketball player, filed the suit in the Richmond Circuit Court this week.
By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Despite continuing supply shortages, the University of Virginia is testing between 25 and 50 patients a day using its own COVID-19 test. Dr. Amy Mathers, an infectious disease physician and associate director of clinical microbiology, and Mendy Poulter, director of clinical microbiology, led the effort to create the tests at the university that were announced last week.
By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Of all the places to go on spring break, Michael Ros figured, surely McAfee Knob would be safe. Conscious of the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Maryland student searched the internet for popular day hikes along the Appalachian Trail and decided to make the drive early Tuesday for a trek to the rocky outcrop in Roanoke County.
The Full Report
44 articles, 17 publications
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The Virginia Public Access Project
Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows a timeline of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases each day and a statewide map showing the number of cases by locality.
By BEN FINLEY, Associated Press
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam doubled down Tuesday on his warning that people will have to stay at home and many businesses will remain shuttered for “months, not weeks” as the nation battles the coronavirus pandemic. Northam, who is a doctor, warned against “mixed messages” when asked about President Donald Trump’s outlook on the coronavirus. The Democrat did not share Trump’s hopes that the country would reopen by Easter, which is 19 days away.
By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday batted down a suggestion from President Donald Trump that the nation’s economy could be “open by Easter.” Hours later, the Richmond area reported its first two coronavirus deaths, pushing Virginia’s statewide toll to at least nine. “While it would be nice to say that this will be behind us in two weeks, that’s really not what the data tells us,” Northam said in a briefing with reporters. “The data tells us that this will be with us for at least two to three months and perhaps even longer.”
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, FENIT NIRAPPIL, OVETTA WIGGINS AND RACHEL CHASON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Washington-area leaders slammed President Trump on Tuesday for defying health experts by calling for the United States to return to normal by Easter, and announced plans to further restrict business and improvise solutions for medical equipment and bed space as the coronavirus outbreak claimed more lives.
By STEPHANIE AKIN, Roll Call
The novel coronavirus is posing a new threat to the already endangered Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican facing an insurgency within his own party in a Virginia district targeted by Democrats. With prohibitions on mass gatherings likely to extend into the spring, leaders of the district GOP are considering alternatives to an April 25 convention where the 2020 nominee is supposed to be chosen.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Guidance from the Virginia Department of Education released after Gov. Ralph Northam ordered state schools to be closed for the rest of the school year provides leniency so members of the senior class can still graduate. The guidelines, sent to superintendents across the state Monday night, allow school districts to waive eight graduation requirements in an effort to not further burden seniors...
By PETER VIETH, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Subscription required for some articles)
Courts across Virginia have been forced to rapidly escalate their planning and communication processes over the past two weeks in an effort to avoid public gatherings and therefore to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Rapidly changing policies and schedules exposed the independent nature of state courts, with each court issuing separate announcements, and lawyers and litigants sometimes struggling to keep up with the changes.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Virginia ABC stores will open late and close early for a deep cleaning in response to the spread of coronavirus. The state-owned liquor monopoly said Tuesday that it will reduce operating hours at 364 stores, in addition to the 24 stores on the Peninsula that are operating under limited hours...
By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A 29-year-old inmate at Riverside Regional jail went into medical distress and died early Tuesday, jail officials said, the third prisoner death at the facility in eight months. The inmate, Michael Dillon, experienced a medical emergency at 12:06 a.m. while being examined by medical personnel and eventually died after efforts to revive him failed, Capt. Charlene Jones said in a news release.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
While restaurants and some businesses have closed or curtailed operations because of the coronavirus outbreak, some retailers are hiring more workers. A growing list of retail chains and other businesses also are offering special bonuses or sweetening benefits to workers.
By MATT CHITTUM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
You want gooseberries? Sarah-Jane Bova Jones has a lot of gooseberries. And a lot of other stuff, too. Tangerines, kale, cucumbers, potatoes, onions. Tons of it. No, really. Actual tons of it. And she’d love you to have some of it — cheap. Produce Source Partners in Roanoke, formerly Quality Produce, had its warehouse all stocked up with more fruit and vegetables on the way to supply Virginia Tech and Radford University ahead of students returning from spring break this month.
By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury
In Pittsylvania County, in the heart of Southside tobacco country, farmer Robert Mills’ greenhouse is full of seedlings ready to be transplanted. Mills, however, is uncertain about whether he should put them into the ground. “We have to make a commitment as to whether we’re going to plant any of these crops,” he said. But “we have not gotten any confirmation for sure that we’re going to be able to get our migrant workers. That puts us in a real tough situation.”
By JEFF HAMPTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project plans to install its first visible piece of equipment off the Outer Banks — a buoy that can measure the winds nearly 800 feet above the surface. The equipment will include a surface buoy and a bottom platform working together that will measure weather patterns, currents and wave action, among other things, said Craig Poff, director of development for the project.
By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Dominion Energy has set a date to implode its vacant One James River Plaza office tower in downtown Richmond. The Richmond-based energy giant said it plans to demolish the 21-story office tower on May 30. A backup date — if it rains or is too windy on the initial date — would be the following day.
By JUSTIN GEORGE AND KATHERINE SHAVER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Metro is taking the dramatic step of closing 19 stations in an effort to save dwindling cleaning resources to combat the coronavirus, while also protecting more of its employees from potential exposure to the virus, the agency announced Tuesday night. The closures, which will begin Thursday, include the Smithsonian and Arlington Cemetery stations, which were closed last week to discourage people from visiting the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.
By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Far fewer riders are taking Hampton Roads Transit’s buses, light rails and ferries over the past two weeks. But the agency’s leadership is good with that, and some of the region’s leaders want it to go even lower.
By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
While most colleges and universities in Virginia have closed their dorms and facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic, Liberty University in Lynchburg is welcoming students back to campus. The private evangelical Christian university’s spring break ended this past weekend, and students were allowed to return to their dorms Monday, according to Scott Lamb, a university spokesman. As of Tuesday, about 1,100 had moved back in, he said.
By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press
Officials in Lynchburg said Tuesday that they were fielding complaints about the hundreds of students who have returned from spring break to Liberty University, where President Jerry Falwell Jr. welcomed them back amid the coronavirus pandemic. "We could not be more disappointed in the action that Jerry took in telling students they could come back and take their online classes on campus," Lynchburg City Manager Bonnie Svrcek told The Associated Press.
By SUSAN SVRLUGA AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Students returned to Liberty University after spring break this week, even as colleges and universities across the country have sent students home to try to slow the spread of covid-19. Earlier this month, Jerry Falwell Jr., the school’s president, said on Fox News that people were overreacting to the coronavirus pandemic and that the campus would open as usual this week. A few days later, after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) banned gatherings of 100 people or more, Falwell reversed course and said most classes would be conducted online.
By LUANNE RIFE AND SAM WALL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
A Radford University student has tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first confirmed case of the virus in the New River Valley, as the numbers continue to climb in Virginia. The student is a woman in her 20s who returned to Radford after traveling during spring break and has been self-isolating at an off-campus location that is not connected to the school, according to a university news release.
By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE
On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam announced K-12 students across Virginia will be out of school for the remainder of the academic school year. Teachers and school divisions have been scrambling to put together worksheets and set up video lessons. . . . Many area teachers like Robert Dunham, a fifth-grade special education teacher at Overby-Sheppard Elementary School, have started launching their own online lessons for students. He’s using Zoom to teach a class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, since Zoom is offering unlimited meetings for teachers during the COVID-19 crisis.
By SAMUEL NORTHROP, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
With schools now in the second week of a state-mandated shutdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19, teachers across the region are navigating remote instruction. Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday all schools would remain closed until the end of the year, but school systems are still required to offer meal assistance and continued instruction through the break.
ArlNow
An Arlington firefighter has tested positive for the coronavirus, a fire department spokesman confirms to ARLnow. Officials are not revealing the fire station at which the firefighter worked, citing privacy concerns. The spokesman told ARLnow that the county’s health department has notified people the firefighter might have come into contact with, but ACFD personnel who worked with him or her are staying on the job. “Because they’re not showing symptoms they’re still working, and that’s at the direction of Arlington public health,” said Capt. Justin Tirelli.
By CATHERINE DOUGLAS MORAN, Reston Now
Fairfax County announced today that it is closing both its indoor and outdoor parks “until further notice” due to the coronavirus pandemic. . . .Earlier this month, the county closed indoor parks for two weeks starting Monday, March 16. Yesterday, the county announced the closure of its playgrounds, skate parks and restrooms.
By KARINA BOLSTER, WWBT
Richmond City leaders are warning people about the importance of social distancing while outdoors and if not followed, could result in city parks closing down. Mayor Levar Stoney, Richmond Police Chief Will Smith and Richmond Parks, Recreations & Community Facilities Director Chris Frelke announced they have several options on the table if people do not follow recommendations put in place by Governor Northam.
By MARK BERMAN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Virginia High School League officials discussed Tuesday the possibility of letting spring teams return to action in the summer but put off any decision until May....If the VHSL does give summer action the go-ahead, Haun figures teams would be allowed to restart preseason practice in late June. He figures the games would take place in July.
By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury
Virginia’s emergency network for health facilities across the commonwealth is a one-way street when it comes to personal protective equipment. Member facilities can enter in what they need — hand sanitizer, for instance, or surgical masks — and six regional health care coalitions, which partner with the Virginia Health Department and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, will try to provide it. “We don’t know what their stockpile looks like,” said Morris Funk, president and CEO of Beth Sholom Senior Living in Richmond. What he does know is that the need at Beth Sholom is becoming increasingly dire. The 350-person retirement community, which includes independent and assisted living along with a nursing home, is down to its last 12 bottles of hand sanitizer.
By BROCK VERGAKIS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The Norfolk-based hospital ship USNS Comfort will deploy to New York within two weeks to provide relief to overcrowded hospitals treating patients infected with the coronavirus, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday. The Comfort is one of two, 1,000-bed hospital ships the military is dispatching to help treat adults who are not infected with the virus. The ship’s medical staff will be able to conduct general surgeries, critical care and provide ward care for adults.
By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
United Ways across Southwest Virginia are launching efforts to provide aid to residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. United Way of Roanoke Valley on Tuesday announced the COVID-19 Community Response Fund, designed to help families in the region both during the current coronavirus pandemic and into its aftermath.
By ASHLEY HOPKO, Reston Now
A Reston father and his two sons teamed up to make a group to help people who could be severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. After feeling bored in self-isolation, Colin, Hayden and their dad, Ray Whitney, researched how they could best assist their community and discovered a group called Caremongers out of Canada. After some guidance from its volunteers, the trio founded one of their own chapters for the Reston community.
By ALEXA DOIRON, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)
Riverside Healthcare has started an emergency fund to provide financial resources to medical facilities combatting the coronavirus (COVID-19). Riverside recently launched a crowdsourcing campaign on the website EverdayHero to address the coronavirus pandemic. . . .The money raised from the campaign will go directly to the health care system and clinicians who are responding in the most urgent areas by providing supplies and resources needed at the facilities.
By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Among the many Peninsula public services that have closed or scaled back as the new coronavirus spreads are those for the homeless. “We’ve shut down our winter shelter program two weeks early,” said Matthew Stearn, executive director of Hampton Roads Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions, H.E.L.P. Inc., based in Hampton. “We can’t pack 50 people in a room overnight. That’s just asking for an infection.”
ArlNow
It’s not a zombie apocalypse, but surely some have wondered about the lights staying on during the coronavirus crisis. Good news: those who generate your electricity, treat your water and collect your trash are still working, even as many Arlington residents — with the notable exception of healthcare workers, public safety personnel and grocery store employees, among others — stay at home. There are plans for keeping these unsung heroes safe and on the job, officials say.
By DICK ULIANO, WTOP
Several Northern Virginia counties said they’re extending tax deadlines in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to delay the deadline for individuals and businesses to file property tax returns. The original deadline was May 1, and the consequence for filing late is a 10% penalty, according to a news release. The new deadline is June 1, the county said.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A Richmond department head who left City Hall last week is entitled to a near-six-figure payout. Douglas Dunlap, director of Richmond’s Department of Housing and Community Development, split with Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration last Wednesday. He made $143,222 annually....Dunlap was entitled to the amount only after signing a separation agreement that stipulates, among other provisions, that he will not pursue legal action against the city.
By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Virginia Beach plans to take major steps to keep the city on solid financial footing amid the coronavirus pandemic, including implementing an immediate citywide hiring freeze. On Tuesday, Acting City Manager Tom Leahy also suspended “not mission essential” expenses or costs that can be delayed to a future date without causing “irreparable harm.
By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
If Virginia Beach had its way in the late 1980s, every billboard in the city would be gone by now. The City Council regarded them as visual clutter and succeeded in passing a law that banned any new billboards in Virginia Beach. One local sign company, however, doesn’t think it’s fair and is pushing for change.
By RANDI B. HAGI, Harrisonburg Citizen
COVID-19 drove the discussions during Tuesday evening’s Harrisonburg City Council meeting, as the council confirmed a local state of emergency and addressed the public’s questions about how the city could help those experiencing homelessness during this pandemic. And while the council conducted its business in the chambers in city hall as usual, members of the public called in questions through a phone line — another way in which social distancing has altered civic life.
By MATT CHITTUM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Local governments in the Roanoke and New River valleys budgeted for this year and began next year’s budget planning based on a tax revenue reality that no longer exists. Budget minders are left to tear up revenue projections they thought would carry governments through June and scramble to curtail spending immediately. Hiring freezes and travel and nonessential spending halts are suddenly in place across the region.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
The pursuit of a college education carries the goal of a steady career path. In early January, Virginia’s colleges and universities celebrated a record number of bachelor’s degrees for the 2018-19 school year. By mid-March, the coronavirus shuttered campuses across the state. Students moved home and graduations were abruptly canceled. Classes were moved online. ... Virginia is one of a handful of states with a dedicated office to assist student loan borrowers in times of crisis.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
This is literally a leap year. And not just because we added Feb. 29 to the calendar. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend our lives and ravage the economy, we’ll be leaping over many regularly scheduled activities and events in 2020. Physically going to school in Virginia. High school and college graduations.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The effort to contain and mitigate the coronavirus pandemic requires global cooperation and national leadership, but responsibility for initiative the response has primarily been left to state and local leaders. As a result, governors are taking actions they believe best serve their residents, preserve the integrity of health systems and ultimately save lives. This creates a patchwork of guidelines that can be considerably different from one state to another.
Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
For the first time in 124 years, the vernal equinox—one of two days in the year when the days and nights are equally long—arrived early this year, on March 19th instead of the usual 20th or 21st. That hasn’t happened since 1896. But that’s not the only anomaly this year. Spring is when local governments adopt their budgets for the next fiscal year, but the coronavirus pandemic has turned that annual ritual on its head.
By JOSEPH P. CASEY AND LESLIE HALEY, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Hurricanes. Blizzards. The 2008 financial crisis. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. 9/11. We’ve dealt with myriad events that have tested our resolve and abilities, but something feels different now. Something is different now. It’s so different that the information we write about on a Sunday night might be different when this is published, pending more recent events. National and global health and economic crises are nothing new. But never have we dealt with a situation ...
Joseph P. Casey is county administrator of Chesterfield County. Leslie Haley is chair of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors.
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