VaNews July 3, 2019
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** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM TOUTS OPPORTUNITY TO GET SUSPENDED DRIVER'S LICENSES RESTORED ([link removed])
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By GABBY BIRENBAUM, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

On Tuesday morning, Angela Battle of Richmond entered the Summit Avenue office of Drive-to-Work, an organization that helps people to restore their driving privileges, in order to make a payment on her court fines. Her inability to pay the fines resulted in the suspension of her driver’s license, and for the past three months, life had been “really hard,” as she had to make decisions about taking the risk of driving without a license.


** IN ROANOKE, NORTHAM CELEBRATES RESTORATION OF DRIVING PRIVILEGES ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Just one day after Virginians with court debt got their driving privileges restored, Gov. Ralph Northam celebrated the suspension of what he deemed to be an “unfair” practice. Northam joined elected officials Tuesday at the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority, where the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles had a bus stationed outside a low-income housing community to help people with driver’s license matters.


** NORTHAM ANNOUNCES 'HISTORIC' FUNDING FOR BMP'S ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that $73 million is now available for the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices — a cost-share program that provides incentives and assistance to farmers. The state funding represents the “largest-ever” investment, according to a press release.


** LT. GOV. FAIRFAX TALKS ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE DURING VISIT TO PORTSMOUTH ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Inside the Seaboard Square Community Center, children shot their hands into the air. Answering their questions Tuesday: Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. A Portsmouth School Board member, De’Andre Barnes, explained why the lieutenant governor was there. Some neighborhoods in the city have seen a lot of crime, he said, and this was a chance for them to ask questions of someone who can bring about change in the state.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** FORMER DEL. RON VILLANUEVA SENTENCED TO 2½ YEARS IN PRISON FOR DEFRAUDING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ([link removed])
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By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Former state Del. Ron Villanueva is a mentor, a family man and just a generally good person, civic and business leaders said. Over the years, he's traveled to the Philippines to assist with an Operation Smile trip and repeatedly taken a family friend to the hospital to visit her dying father. But he is also a criminal.


** FORMER VIRGINIA STATE DELEGATE GETS PRISON TIME FOR $80 MILLION CONTRACTING FRAUD ([link removed])
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By RACHEL WEINER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A former member of the Virginia General Assembly was sentenced Tuesday to 2½ years in prison for taking part in an $80 million government contracting fraud conspiracy. Ronald Villanueva, 49, a former Republican delegate from Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge this year and agreed to pay more than half a million dollars in restitution.


** ‘THEY WANT OUR STATE’: VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS AND NRA SAY GUN CONTROL IS JUST THE START OF UPHEAVAL ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

One evening, one city still reeling from mass gun violence, two separate gatherings. At a recreation center, residents fearful of too many guns. At a hotel conference room, National Rifle Association members worried about gun restrictions. The dueling messages have been playing out around Virginia as lawmakers and the NRA rally opposing camps ahead of next week’s General Assembly special session on gun control.


** AFTER VA BEACH, A GROWING CALL TO LET LOCALITIES BAN GUNS IN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS ([link removed])
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By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

Richmond City Councilman Michael Jones tried twice last year to pass resolutions on Confederate monuments. After the deadly march in Charlottesville, he wanted Richmond to take action -- but the dialogue wasn’t all civil.


** MOST VIRGINIANS FAVOR GUN CONTROLS, CNU POLLS SHOW ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Most Virginians say gun control is more important than protecting the right to own guns — and support for controls soars when asked about specific measures, polls by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy conducted over the past few years show.


** MAN FINED $200 FOR SENDING PROVOCATIVE PHOTOS OF ESTRANGED WIFE TO VA. LAWMAKER ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Norfolk man was convicted Tuesday in what Virginia Capitol Police called a “revenge pornography case” involving the man’s estranged wife and a Virginia lawmaker for whom she worked.


** NEW VIRGINIA LAW IS SHAKING UP ‘HAPPY HOUR’ ([link removed])
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By SIERRA FOX, WRIC

Virginia restaurants and bars are now free to advertise their ‘Happy Hour’ specials. This change went into effect on July 1. The law allows them to use “creative marketing techniques” to advertise those specials as long as those efforts don’t promote “overconsumption” or entice minors to drink.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** GOP NOMINEE SCOTT WYATT AND SPEAKER KIRK COX URGE REPUBLICANS TO UNITE AND FOCUS ON NOVEMBER ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Scott Wyatt, the GOP nominee in the 97th House District, on Tuesday urged Republicans to look forward and unite now that Del. Chris Peace has dropped his bid to retain the seat. “I wish him well and I want to thank him for his service,” to the district, Wyatt said of Peace in a brief telephone interview.


** MAN CHARGED WITH ONLINE THREAT TO LYNCH MUSLIM CANDIDATE ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

A North Carolina man has been charged with posting an anonymous threat on social media to lynch a Muslim-American candidate for a state Senate seat in Virginia. A warrant for the arrest of Joseph Cecil Vandevere, 52, of Black Mountain, was issued after his June 20 indictment, federal court records show.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS EXPECT HOLIDAY BED SHORTAGE, SCRAMBLE TO ENSURE NO ONE LEFT OUT ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ AND FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia mental health officials expect state hospitals to run out of room over the Independence Day holiday weekend, forcing people in psychiatric crisis to wait in temporary custody until beds become available in public or private psychiatric facilities. Dr. Hughes Melton, state commissioner of behavioral health and developmental services, issued a warning late Monday to local and regional mental health agencies, private psychiatric hospitals and law enforcement officials


** NORFOLK’S FAILURE TO PREVENT BRUTAL BEATING IN CITY OFFICE VIOLATED STATE HUMAN-RIGHTS RULES, REPORT SAYS ([link removed])
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By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A state panel ruled the Norfolk Community Services Board violated human-rights regulations when it failed to prevent a man in a mental health crisis from beating another man into a coma last year.


** BIG WINNERS IN VIRGINIA CAN NOW STAY ANONYMOUS ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL POPE, WVTF

Imagine hitting a $10 million jackpot in the Virginia Lottery. Immediately your phone blows up. Long-lost relatives start calling. Charities hit you up for donations. Maybe you even get scammed. For people who win the lottery, sometimes more money means to more problems. “They’ve been subjected to frivolous lawsuits and threatened,” said Delegate Lee Ware, a Republican from Powhatan. “A Virginian who won a prize has moved five times in the last decade to get away from some of these kinds of problems.”


** TRANSPORTATION
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** UMW'S RUCKER APPOINTED TO STATE TRANSPORTATION BOARD ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Fredericksburg region has a new representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Cedric Rucker, University of Mary Washington associate vice president and dean of student life, has been appointed to the position by Gov. Ralph Northam.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** VCU RENEWS CONTRACT FOR FORMER GOV. L. DOUGLAS WILDER ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, who was accused by a student earlier this year of sexual harassment, will remain employed by Virginia Commonwealth University for another year.


** FOLLOWING CONTROVERSY, FORMER LT. GOV. BILL BOLLING LEAVES JOB AT JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A new state law has forced former Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling out of a job he helped create for himself at James Madison University. It was not clear if the university expected Bolling’s employment as a senior fellow in residence for public service to end under the new law, or if university officials were caught off guard. But both Bolling and university President Jon Alger issued statements Tuesday saying the law means Bolling’s employment has ended.


** BOLLING STEPS DOWN FROM JMU POSITION ([link removed])
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By LAINE GRIFFIN, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Bill Bolling, a senior fellow in residence for public service at James Madison University, stepped down after a piece of legislation prohibiting him from continuing his role at the university went into effect.


** LOCAL
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** PRINCE WILLIAM SUPERVISORS APPROVED MOBILITY, PARK BOND REFERENDUMS ([link removed])
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By STACY SHAW, Bristow Beat

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to put two bond referendums questions on the ballot in the November election; one a $355 million road bond and a $41 million parks bond. The proposal was less ambition to the bonds originally proposed. Before voting on the referendum, the supervisors decided to split the question and eliminate some of the originally proposed projects.


** VIRGINIA BEACH APPROVES INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO MASS SHOOTING ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Since his wife was killed in a mass shooting at her work on May 31, Jason Nixon said he has been so stressed that he's become sick. He's been to the emergency room twice, and he is going to the hospital next week, possibly to have his gallbladder removed. It started bothering him after his wife, Kate, was killed, he said.


** VIRGINIA BEACH COUNCIL VOTES FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE OF MASS SHOOTING ([link removed])
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By MARTIN WEIL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Virginia Beach City Council voted Tuesday to order an independent review of the circumstances leading to the deadly mass shooting there several weeks ago — a move that had been sought by the families of some of the victims, who were dissatisfied with the information that has so far been released.


** NORFOLK TEACHER UNION HEAD ASKS FOR CRIMINAL PROBE OF PLANE TICKET PURCHASE FOR BOARD MEMBER ([link removed])
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By SARA GREGORY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The president of one of the city's two teacher associations has asked for a criminal investigation into whether Norfolk School Board members violated state conflict-of-interest laws when they approved buying a plane ticket for one member's family vacation.


** CITY NIXES JEFFERSON'S BIRTHDAY AS HOLIDAY ([link removed])
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By NOLAN STOUT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

To a smattering of applause as the clock approached midnight, Charlottesville City Council abolished the celebration of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. Council voted, 4-1, to remove April 13 as a paid holiday at its meeting on Monday.


** CITY COUNCIL VOTES ON NEW GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOAL ([link removed])
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By BRIANNA HAMBLIN, CBS 19

The Charlottesville City Council voted on the consent agenda to adopt the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050.


** BOTETOURT COUNTY TO BUILD DATA CENTER IN GREENFIELD ([link removed])
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By ALISON GRAHAM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Botetourt County announced Tuesday it will build a data center with the help of the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority. The center will be built within existing infrastructure in the Greenfield industrial park and is expected to be up and running by spring 2020. Supervisor Mac Scothorn announced the development at a broadband expansion event attended by Gov. Ralph Northam


** EDITORIALS
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** BAND-AID SOLUTION TO TEACHER BURNOUT ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Commonwealth of Virginia has launched a new initiative that will make it easier for students to acquire the educational credentials needed to obtain a teaching license in Virginia. State officials hope the new teacher preparation programs announced by Gov. Ralph Northam last week will encourage more people to consider a career in education.


** AMTRAK, TAKE A CHANCE ON BEDFORD ([link removed])
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News & Advance Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

This October, it will be 10 years since the Commonwealth of Virginia and Amtrak initiated dedicated passenger rail service between Lynchburg’s Kemper Station and Union Station in Washington, D.C. And what a decade it’s been. There were many supporters of passenger rail service in Central Virginia, but the great unknown — the great fear — was how successful it would be.


** OP-ED
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** SHERLOCK: OVERSIGHT NEEDED TO CURB HEALTH CARE COSTS ([link removed])
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By JAMES SHERLOCK, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Commonwealth has not had a free market in health care since 1973. The Virginia Department of Health in its administration of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need law has exercised total authority over the building and expansion of hospitals, surgical centers, imagery centers, emergency centers and the acquisition and replacement of medical capital equipment. VDH has thus controlled and has largely eliminated competition

James Sherlock is a retired naval officer living in Virginia Beach
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