VaNews
April 9, 2020

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** Cox Media
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Top of the News


** Northam wants lawmakers to move May city elections to November ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The June 9 congressional primaries will be postponed by two weeks, and the May municipal elections could be moved to November, Virginia’s governor said Wednesday. Holding the elections as scheduled would put voters’ and election officials’ health at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ralph Northam said at a press conference in Richmond.
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** Report: Social distancing is helping in Virginia, but COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET BALCH, JUSTIN MATTINGLY AND SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Although hospitalizations for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in Virginia jumped by 106 patients between Tuesday and Wednesday and deaths rose to 75 statewide, new projections show signs of hope that the state may not be as hard hit as originally thought, most likely because of the impact of social distancing.
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** Virginia's data on how coronavirus affects minorities is incomplete ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Reports in some areas of the country show the novel coronavirus is having a disproportionate effect on African Americans. But data in Virginia, like many other places, is so incomplete that it’s difficult to know if that’s happening here.
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** Canterbury deaths reach 35; lawmakers push for U.S. aid ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The number of deaths from COVID-19 has risen to 35 at Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, more than doubling the toll of coronavirus fatalities in less than a week at the skilled nursing facility in western Henrico County.
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** Nursing homes, assisted living facilities want more information from state on COVID-19 outbreaks ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

LeadingAge Virginia — an association of nonprofit senior living centers — asked the Virginia Department of Health last week for a daily list of nursing homes and assisted living facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks. “We just wanted the names of the communities,” said Dana Parsons, the association’s vice president and legislative counsel, in an interview Tuesday. “We’re not asking them to tell us who’s infected, but it’s helpful to know which facilities are seeing outbreaks.” The state agency refused, Parsons said in a later email.
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** Nation’s only doctor governor offers sober voice on virus ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his top aides were having a meeting about the coronavirus when the discussion turned to neckties. The governor said he had read a study in a medical journal showing that ties worn by doctors at hospitals can host harmful germs and help spread disease. So Northam issued an informal edict to his staff: Keep the ties in the closet until further notice.
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** Local governments in D.C. region revise budgets, halt projects ([link removed])
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By DARRAN SIMON AND PATRICIA SULLIVAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Alexandria officials have begun placing long-awaited projects such as a new Waterfront Park on hold. The D.C. government has frozen hiring and will forgo salary increases. And in Montgomery County, a proposal for a supplemental property tax increase is dead. The financial impact of the shutdown of businesses and organizations caused by the coronavirus pandemic is quickly coming into view.
The Full Report
54 articles, 30 publications

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** FROM VPAP
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** From VPAP Map, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows a timeline of the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and a statewide map showing the number of cases by locality. VPAP has added a map of deaths by health district. Updated each morning shortly after 9:00 a.m.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** Governor: Elections scheduled for this spring won't proceed as planned ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia elections scheduled for this spring won't proceed as planned, Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday. Local elections set for next month will be pushed to November, pending action from the General Assembly, Northam said. He is also pushing the June Congressional primaries back two weeks, from June 9 to June 23.
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** Northam delays June primary elections due to coronavirus ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that he would delay the June primary elections for Congress by two weeks because of the coronavirus. The governor said at a news conference that he would use his executive authority to move the June 9 primary to June 23. Northam said he’s also planning to work with the General Assembly to delay local elections scheduled for May until November.
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** Northam recommends moving municipal elections to November ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that he is recommending postponing the May 5 municipal elections to November and delaying the June 9 congressional primaries by two weeks out of a concern about people voting in person during the coronavirus pandemic.
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** Grocers seek veto of plastic bag tax, saying reusable bags pose coronavirus risk ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Some supermarkets are urging Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to veto a bill meant to discourage the use of throwaway plastic grocery bags, saying the nudge toward reusable totes could contribute to the spread of coronavirus. The Virginia Food Industry Association has asked Northam (D) to veto two bills that would give localities the power to impose a 5-cent tax on single-use plastic grocery bags.
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** Southwest Virginia man sues Northam, saying executive orders have 'chilling effect' on religious freedom ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

A Russell County man is suing Gov. Ralph Northam, saying Northam's executive orders limiting religious services to no more than 10 people violates the Virginia Constitution. Larry Hughes filed the suit Monday in Russell County Circuit Court ...


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Despite coronavirus challenge, a top grade for Virginia finances ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Analysts really like it when a government socks away money when times are good -- which was a big talking point when Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne talked recently to bond rating agencies about the new coronavirus. And a first formal reaction is in: Fitch Ratings says Virginia will keep its AAA grade -- the top of its chart -- and that the state’s outlook is stable.
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** Advocates call for quick action in response to spread of virus in Va. prisons ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Fear has crept into the warrens of Virginia’s 30,000-inmate prison system along with the COVID-19 virus, which has thus far infected more than 40 inmates and staff members in at least seven facilities.
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** Dozens of Virginia prisoners are being released during coronavirus. Advocates say it’s not nearly enough. ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In March 2019, seven people were granted parole and released from Virginia’s prisons. A year later, that number jumped to 96, a 1,271% increase. Officials say the Virginia Parole Board — five people appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam to grant or deny parole to state prisoners — is working “overtime” during the coronavirus pandemic.
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** Suit filed against Va. officials seeks release of some prison inmates and more protection from COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia’s failure to reduce the prison population or protect inmates against COVID-19 impinges on their constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Richmond.
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** Virginia launches educational ‘VA TV Classroom’ teacher-led instruction ([link removed])
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By NICOLE BRAILER, WAVY

In Virginia, four public media television stations will soon air classroom instruction in response to social distancing and schools closing for the remainder of the academic year, according to a statement released on Wednesday. . . . The Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced that the Department of Education has partnered with Blue Ridge PBS, VPM, WETA and WHRO Public Media to make this possible.
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** Virginia restaurants can now serve cocktails for delivery and takeout ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW KORFHAGE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The last shoe finally dropped on restaurant alcohol sales. Takeout and delivery cocktails will be legal in Virginia as of Friday for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. "All Virginia restaurants that remain open are now takeout or delivery only,” Northam said Wednesday. "Allowing them to sell mixed beverages with takeout or delivery orders will help them augment their revenue streams...
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** Va. to allow takeout, delivery cocktails ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN AND KARRI PEIFER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Gov. Ralph Northam has directed the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to allow businesses with mixed-beverage licenses, such as restaurants and distilleries, to sell mixed drinks on a takeout and delivery basis. The directive, announced Wednesday, goes into effect Friday.
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** Supervisor asks DOJ to investigate Riverside jail ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

A member of the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate a civil rights investigation of Riverside Regional Jail. In a letter to Eric S. Dreiband, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, Clover Hill District Supervisor Chris Winslow alleges “pervasive, open and egregious” violations of the civil rights of men and women incarcerated at the regional jail in Prince George County.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Small businesses, their banks race to secure some of $349 billion in federal coronavirus loans ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

It’s a modern-day gold rush, except the picks to break down mountains have been replaced with the clicks to apply online for what is bound to be free money for many in need. Small business owners in Hampton Roads have raced to claim some of the nearly $349 billion pledged by the federal government through the Paycheck Protection Program...
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** Richmond-area businesses are 'in a footrace' for stimulus funds ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Like numerous other Richmond-area business owners, Gary Weiner is hoping to get a small piece of the $350 billion aid package to help small businesses like his Saxon Shoes stores weather the economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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** Local banks take 'all-hands-on-deck' approach to loan volume ([link removed])
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By MATT WELCH, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As small businesses nationwide are applying for financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, local banks are working to stay abreast of guidelines and process applications quickly. Open season for loan applications through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — dubbed the CARES Act — along with the Paycheck Protection Program, was declared Friday. Business owners have flocked to their lending agents to find relief.
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** COVID-19 hits breweries, tourism in Nelson County ([link removed])
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By NICK CROPPER, Nelson County Times

Some breweries in Nelson County have suffered at the hands of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Operations at Blue Mountain Brewery have been heavily affected since Gov. Ralph Northam imposed restrictions on Virginian restaurants to serve only takeout or delivery.
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** Ballad Health announces furloughs, pay cuts ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Ballad Health will furlough more than 1,300 employees later this week and require management personnel to take pay cuts amid drastic business slowdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ballad CEO Alan Levine announced the changes Wednesday during a video news conference, at the same time employees across its 21 hospitals and other health care facilities were being notified.
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** Sentara Healthcare, VCU Health System seal the deal on Virginia Premier ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare and Richmond-based VCU Health System finalized their previously announced joint ownership of the Virginia Premier health plan on Wednesday. Sentara is now the majority owner and VCU Health has a 20% ownership stake of Virginia Premier, a Medicaid managed care organization.
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** CarMax to furlough 15,000 employees nationwide, including 450 in Virginia ([link removed])
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By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Automotive retailer CarMax Inc. is requiring more than half of its employees nationwide — about 15,500 workers — to take unpaid furlough leave starting April 18 as the coronavirus pandemic takes an economic toll on the Goochland County-based chain. ... The 10 stores in Virginia, including the two in the Richmond region, remain open.
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** Dominion: Significant new natural gas generation not viable ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Dominion Energy Virginia recently told state regulators “significant build-out” of natural gas-fired power plants is no longer viable because of renewable energy legislation lawmakers passed earlier this year. The disclosure came in a filing with the State Corporation Commission several weeks before Dominion has to file its integrated resource plan, or IRP, a long-range planning document ...


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Newport News airport officials fear coronavirus stimulus bill could lead airlines to pull out and consolidate in Norfolk ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is sounding the alarm. The economic chaos sown by the new coronavirus — and the recent federal stimulus law designed to alleviate that chaos — could lead to the end of commercial air service at the airport, local officials fear.
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** Lynchburg Regional Airport to lose $800,000 as ridership plummets ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The Lynchburg Regional Airport is expected to lose about $800,000 in revenue as the coronavirus pandemic leads to steep drops in ridership. The number of daily passengers flying in and out of the Hill City has decreased by 85% during the last month and Tuesday there were no flights in or out for the first time since the start of the outbreak, according to Airport Director Andrew LaGala.
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** Virginia bus service will suspend rides starting Friday ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A bus agency connecting Virginia cities to Washington, D.C., announced plans to suspend service since not enough customers are taking rides during the coronavirus pandemic. The Virginia Breeze will suspend all long-distance services starting Friday, the state’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation said in a news release Wednesday.
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** Virginia Breeze bus to suspend service between Blacksburg and Washington ([link removed])
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By JEFF STURGEON, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The Virginia Breeze announced plans to suspend bus service Friday between Blacksburg and Union Station in Washington because not enough riders are traveling during the virus emergency.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Jerry Falwell Jr. says warrants are out for 2 journalists after critical stories on coronavirus decision ([link removed])
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By CAITLIN OPRYSKO, Politico

Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, said on Wednesday that arrest warrants had been issued for journalists from The New York Times and ProPublica after both outlets published articles critical of his decision to partially reopen Liberty’s campus amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photocopies of the two warrants published on the website of Todd Starnes, a conservative radio host, charge that Julia Rendleman, a freelance photographer for the Times, and Alec MacGillis, a ProPublica reporter, committed misdemeanor trespassing on the Lynchburg, Va., campus of the college while working on their articles.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Another grave milestone: More than 10,600 cases in D.C., Maryland and Virginia ([link removed])
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By ERIN COX, JOHN D. HARDEN, FENIT NIRAPPIL AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The District, Maryland and Virginia surpassed another grave milestone in the coronavirus crisis Wednesday, as the tally of confirmed cases surged beyond 10,600, and Maryland reported more than 20 deaths in a single day for just the second time. So far, 227 people had died in the two states and the District combined as of Wednesday morning...
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** Fredericksburg-area doctors worry virus fears keeping patients who need critical care out of hospitals ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Local doctors are worried that deaths in the Fredericksburg area will climb—not necessarily because of COVID-19—but because people with life-threatening conditions are afraid to go to the emergency room. Dr. Donna Gamache, the Spotsylvania County doctor who examines patients in the parking lot to minimize everyone’s exposure, has seen some horrible conditions in the last three days. One patient had a perforated appendix; another was suffering serious chest pain.
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** NASA Langley employee who tested positive for the coronavirus has died ([link removed])
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Southside Daily

A NASA Langley Research Center employee who tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID 19) Sunday, has died. . . . April Phillips, spokeswoman for NASA Langley, said the employee, a contractor who worked in administrative support mission essential functions in the security department, died Monday evening. The agency was notified of the employee’s death on Tuesday morning.
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** Fauquier has first death attributed to COVID-19 ([link removed])
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Fauquier Now

Fauquier County has suffered its first confirmed death from the COVID-19 pandemic. An 84-year-old Warrenton man died of the disease early Tuesday evening, April 7, at Fauquier Hospital, friends and other local sources confirmed Wednesday morning.
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** ‘No Job? No Rent.’: Residents At An Alexandria Apartment Complex Prepare To Strike ([link removed])
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By ELIZA BERKON, WAMU

A month ago, Sami Bourma had two jobs. He was a cafeteria cook at the National Institutes of Health and an Uber driver. Now, he can’t work. Furloughed from his NIH job and wary of picking up passengers during the coronavirus pandemic, Bourma has no income. He can’t pay his rent at the Southern Towers apartment complex in Alexandria. But rather than tell his landlord he can’t pay, Bourma is organizing a property-wide rent strike, with more than 300 households all saying they not only can’t pay … they won’t pay.
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** Shenandoah National Park is now closed at the request of the state Department of Health ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Shenandoah National Park was closed Wednesday and going forward by the National Park Service following a request from the Rappahannock Rapidan Health District of the Virginia Department of Health.
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** Shenandoah National Park, portions of Blue Ridge Parkway immediately close until further notice ([link removed])
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By LAURA PETERS, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

The Shenandoah National Park and a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway will close temporarily after a recommendation from the Virginia Department of Health.
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** Immigration Advocates Concerned About COVID-19 in Virginia Detention Facilities ([link removed])
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By MALLORY NOE-PAYNE, WVTF

Confusion and uncertainty at two immigration detention facilities in Virginia have detainees worried about the spread of COVID-19, even as officials report no confirmed cases in either facility. An entire dorm room of detainees was held in isolation at the privately owned facility in Farmville because of possible exposure to the virus, although none were tested. Their 14 day quarantine period ended today, April 7th.


** LOCAL
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** Deliberately coughing on someone now a crime in Virginia Beach ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

No one wants to be coughed on deliberately. But as the coronavirus pandemic swept around the globe the past several weeks, people started viewing such actions as potentially deadly. And in Virginia Beach and other locales, they are now considering it to be criminal, too.
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** Arlington COVID response now caught up in campaign season ([link removed])
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By SCOTT MCCAFFREY, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Will the performance of the Arlington County government addressing the COVID-19 public-health situation become fodder for November’s general election? A candidate who already is on the ballot is pressing the case that it should. Audrey Clement, who has been running campaigns for elected office for more than a decade, said last week that the County Board failed to use its powers to force restaurants to close in the earliest days of the crisis.
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** Alexandria faces $100M budget gap because of coronavirus pandemic ([link removed])
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By ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ, WTOP

The City of Alexandria is feeling a budget crunch from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, leaving officials in the Virginia city with no choice but to revise down their funding plan for the next fiscal year. Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks announced revisions to his proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget in response to a $100 million gap amid the fallout to the coronavirus crisis.
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** COVID-19 Pandemic Drives Major Fairfax County Budget Changes ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill is pitching major revisions to his budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised budget eliminates a proposed three-cent tax rate increase and fee increases across-the-board in order to relieve pressure on the county’s taxpayers. Hill’s proposal also shifts spending to essential services only and removes all salary increases.
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** Game Over: Fairfax County removes basketball hoops, tennis court nets ([link removed])
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Fort Hunt Herald

The Park Authority has been cracking down on the unauthorized use of Fairfax County-owned recreational equipment by temporarily removing basketball hoops as well as tennis court and volleyball nets. This action is meant to discourage people from gathering at local parks in violation of Virginia’s social distancing rules for slowing the community spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
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** Loudoun County supervisors approve $3B annual budget, plan to freeze $100M due to coronavirus uncertainty ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a fiscal 2021 budget that reduces the tax rate one cent. The effect of the new budget on county homeowners remains uncertain given COVID-19's impact on the local economy. The county plans to freeze $100 million as a result of COVID-19.
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** Richmond City Council To Vote On Virtual Meetings During COVID-19 Pandemic ([link removed])
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By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

On Thursday afternoon, Richmond City Council will vote on new rules that would allow it to hold virtual rather than in-person meetings during the coronavirus pandemic. City council has had to cancel many of its meetings over the last few weeks, following Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order limiting public gatherings to 10 people or less. Richmond City Council’s new rules would require three days of public notice before a meeting and that it be live streamed online through its Legistar service.
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** During COVID-19, School Districts Struggle with Grades ([link removed])
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By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE

School’s out for the rest of the academic year, but school districts still have to decide how students’ grades are calculated for the third and fourth quarters. The Virginia Department of Education has advised school districts to not grade work as students learn remotely. Virginia is one of a handful of states that has cancelled in-person classes for the rest of the school year.
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** Confusion and controversy reign over food trucks in Virginia Beach residential neighborhoods ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW KORFHAGE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Angela Kirby pulled up on Lancelot Drive on April 3 to find someone she didn’t expect waiting for her: a zoning inspector. Kirby had been invited by housebound locals to bring her food truck, Pittsburgh’s Best, to the Avalon Terrace neighborhood of Virginia Beach to sling her Italian sausage and ham BBQ sandwiches to residents who didn’t want to leave their neighborhood for food during the coronavirus pandemic.
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** Trash collection in Williamsburg is being done differently to protect employees from the coronavirus ([link removed])
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By ALEXA DOIRON, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

The city of Williamsburg’s Public Works Department has changed how garbage is collected to protect its employees. Garbage truck drivers have started not manually picking up items outside of a resident’s cart. City spokeswoman LeeAnn Hartmann said typically, residents will place bags of debris and trash next to their garbage carts when they overflow and it causes truck drivers to have to get out of the vehicle and manually collect the extra bags.
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** Gloucester seeks help to boost broadband access as coronavirus demand for online service climbs ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

With Virginia students doing schoolwork at home, and hordes of adults trying to work from home, Gloucester County is putting out a call to businesses to open access to their wi-fi connections to county residents. The county itself is offering free, if limited, wi-fi access in the parking lots of the main library and its Point branch in Hayes.
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** Spotsylvania school officials work to expand internet access ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Spotsylvania County Public Schools has made internet hotspots available for students who cannot access the internet at home. The division is also making computers available to students who do not have them. ... Families can connect to the division’s Wi-Fi network from their vehicles in the parking lots...
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** EDA sells Main Street building ([link removed])
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By JOSH GULLY, Northern Virginia Daily

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority has sold the former Stokes Mart building at 506 E. Main St., a property EDA Executive Douglas Parsons said the authority should have never owned.
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** Danville candidates react to potential postponement of May election ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

Fred Shanks, who is seeking a fourth term on Danville’s City Council, intends to continue his campaign. “I plan on campaigning as hard as ever and hope this election will take place as scheduled,” he said Wednesday. On the other hand, Larry Campbell, who is running for his fourth term on the council, said he will put all further advertising and campaigning on hold

Today's Sponsor:


** Cox Media
------------------------------------------------------------

We know businesses are being impacted significantly at this time and want to do everything we can to help. Learn more at: www.coxmedia.com ([link removed]) .


** EDITORIALS
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** Stabilizing state budget will challenge Virginia ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam acknowledges that revenue models (money anticipated to arrive in the state treasury) are kaput. The forecasts that form the basis for state spending — on education, public safety, health care, all of it — flew out the window when the coronavirus rushed in.
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** Finding the good in the drone debate ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

What can a pandemic teach us about new technologies and the fears we harbor about using them? The need to practice social distancing and flatten the curve of the coronavirus has paralyzed day-to-day business. As public health officials recommend avoiding face-to-face contact with others, basic human exchanges and tasks have been upended.
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** Extend Virginia's tax deadline ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginians, like all Americans, are facing unforeseen hardships created in part by stay-at-home order Gov. Ralph Northam has instituted to curb the spread of COVID-19. The order, while necessary, has resulted in lost income for thousands across the state, at all levels.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Legislating Virginia in the time of cholera ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

In these cynical times, it’s no surprise some Virginians regard their legislators as deadbeats. And they can be. Consider this largely forgotten episode: In 1849, a cholera outbreak spurred lawmakers to do what their modern-day successors will do this month for the first time since that 19th-century epidemic — flee the state Capitol for a supposedly more salubrious setting.


** OP-ED
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** Wittman: We can't leave rural America behind ([link removed])
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By ROB WITTMAN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

As it has for most Americans, the coronavirus has significantly disrupted my daily life. As we adhere to social distancing practices, I am holding telephone town halls and virtual meetings, and I hear from folks in Virginia’s First District about how this crisis is affecting their health and financial independence. As Americans have been adapting to a new way of life during the coronavirus outbreak, high-speed internet access has become a necessity, now more than ever.

U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia has represented the 1st District since 2007
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