VaNews
April 20, 2020

Today's Sponsor:


** The Nature Conservancy in Virginia
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Across the lands and waters on which all life depends, we’re working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Learn more: nature.org/virginia ([link removed])

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Top of the News


** Calls to ‘reopen Virginia’ are growing louder. But Northam and health officials say we’re not ready. ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The calls for Virginia’s governor to come up with a plan for reopening the state sooner rather than later are growing louder — from elected officials, advocates and residents — and President Donald Trump’s new guidelines to state leaders are likely to cause more voices to join the chorus. But the pressure to release such a plan comes as Virginia appears to be deep in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic ...
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** Maryland, Virginia governors blast Trump over protests and lack of coronavirus testing ([link removed])
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By LUZ LAZO, ERIN COX AND HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The rise in Washington-area coronavirus cases continued Sunday as leaders slammed President Trump for encouraging protests against stay-at-home orders and contradicted the White House’s claims that sufficient tests exist to reopen the nation’s economy. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) described Trump’s comments defending protesters as unhelpful and nonsensical, while Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said the president’s claims that the country has enough tests for the virus are “delusional.”
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** COVID-19 testing, the key to lifting public restrictions, stalls in Virginia ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Testing for COVID-19 in Virginia has lagged in the past week, even as experts and state officials tie widespread testing to the possibility of lifting public restrictions during the pandemic. About 2,500 fewer Virginians were tested for COVID-19 this past week compared to the week prior, according to data published by the Virginia Department of Health.
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** Romero: Poultry Workers Worried About Conditions ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

With workers at multiple area poultry plants testing positive for COVID-19, City Councilman Sal Romero said he has been contacted by poultry plant workers concerned for their safety. Romero said he has received calls and messages for several weeks about the “lack of action” at plants in response to the pandemic. “I have seen some of the plants take action and take some additional precautions [and] I remain, obviously, concerned that as more cases we saw positive out of the plants, people are still working in very close proximity to each other,” Romero said. Proximity is just part of how food processing is designed, he said.
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** Virginia has paid out $328M in unemployment benefits, but some workers are still waiting for checks ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Paul Bombardier has been puzzling over his application for unemployment benefits for a week now. . . . Under the CARES Act passed by Congress last month, he and other self-employed and gig workers are newly eligible for Virginia’ unemployment insurance program, which was previously restricted to workers at traditional employers. But the application process — clunky in the best of times — still hasn’t caught up to the new rules, official guidance is hard to find and phone lines at the state employment commission are swamped.
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** Critics, including some in Northam’s party, question proposal to delay local elections ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Waiting for a last-minute decision whether to go ahead as scheduled with May’s local government elections is leaving voters, candidates and city officials dangling. At least one Democrat in the state Senate, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 21-19, said he’ll oppose Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposal to delay the May vote until November. The issue will come up at the General Assembly’s April 22 session to consider amendments to the state budget.
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** The art of skipping votes in Virginia's legislature ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

When a bill repealing the ban on same-sex marriage came up on the floor of the Virginia Senate for a vote, Sen. Lionell Spruill got up from his seat and left the chamber. After the vote, the Democrat from Chesapeake came back onto the floor. He left again before a vote on a bill banning the controversial practice of “conversion therapy,” which tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Full Report
78 articles, 24 publications

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** FROM VPAP
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** From VPAP Maps, 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 confirmed and probable 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 and hospital utilization data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Updated each morning shortly after 9:00 a.m.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** 'Not there yet:' Northam outlines future plans for reopening the state ([link removed])
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By HOLLY PRESTIDGE AND JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday that Virginia is planning ahead for when the state will be able to reopen, but the commonwealth is “not there yet.” The reason Northam said at his regularly scheduled Friday COVID-19 briefing — a day after dozens of demonstrators gathered at Capitol Square and protested his Wednesday announcement that he was extending the closure of recreational businesses — is because positive tests are still on the rise.
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** Northam eases restrictions on nurse practitioners, other providers in response to COVID-19 pandemic ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that he will temporarily ease regulations requiring nurse practitioners to work under the supervision of a physician, among other restrictions on medical providers being lifted in response to the pandemic. His new executive order allows nurse practitioners with at least two years of clinical experience to practice without a collaborative agreement with a physician, which requires periodic chart review and “appropriate input” in emergencies and complex clinical cases, according to the Medical Society of Virginia.
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** Survey indicates few Va. police agencies have issued citations for violating governor's assembly ban ([link removed])
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By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

It appears very few law enforcement agencies in Virginia have issued summonses to residents for violating the governor’s COVID-19 order banning gatherings of more than 10 people, with most agencies issuing verbal warnings for residents to separate or disperse, a Virginia police organization has found.
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** Northam defends gun control bills after Trump’s critique ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is defending recently signed gun-control legislation after President Donald Trump accused the state of “trying to take your guns away.” Northam did not directly engage Trump when asked about the president’s critique Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” But Northam defended the legislation itself.
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** Governor signs Southwest Virginia-inspired law regarding online pregnancy hoax ([link removed])
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By ROBERT SORRELL, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Less than two years after a Southwest Virginia woman faked a pregnancy and scammed a California couple who were planning to adopt, the governor has signed legislation closing a related legal loophole. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed Senate Bill 1003, which was introduced by Sen. Ben Chafin at the request of Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp. The new law will take effect July 1 and will close a loophole that allows an individual to maliciously use an internet-capable device to perpetrate costly and potentially devastating fraud on unsuspecting victims.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Social distancing brings big changes to upcoming elections ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The coronavirus pandemic has upended plans for U.S. elections this spring, including those in Virginia, Maryland and the District, where leaders are scrambling to give voters new ways to cast ballots while avoiding crowded polling places....Candidates are campaigning in uncharted territory, swapping time-tested techniques such as door knocking for virtual meetings conducted in self-isolation. “They say local politics is a contact sport, so we’re doing it differently now, both out of concern for the voters and concern for ourselves,” said David L. Meyer, mayor of Fairfax City, who is vying for a second term in an election that is scheduled for May but could be pushed back to November.
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** Virginia sued over witness requirement for absentee ballots ([link removed])
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By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday asked a federal court to block Virginia election officials from requiring that absentee voters find a witness to watch them sign their ballots, citing the social distancing guidelines prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Virginia reduces jail population by 17% amid coronavirus ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Virginia has reduced its jail population by 17% in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday. Northam said that the jail population in the state was 24,000 on April 7, down 17% from March 1. Virginia has also seen a 67% decline in the number of new commitments for misdemeanors across the state. Northam said the reduction was achieved through various steps...
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** 25 residents — an eighth of the population — at youth prison in Chesterfield have COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Twenty-five residents of the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County have tested positive for COVID-19, the Department of Juvenile Justice said late Friday, ending more than 48 hours of silence after advocates said there was an outbreak among those held at the facility.
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** Requests for food stamps soar in Hampton Roads, Virginia ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The spread of coronavirus has left thousands of people out of work in the state and needing extra help to pay for groceries. Applications for food stamps, more formally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, increased by at least two-fold in most southeast Virginia cities...


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** 'We are in terrible need of help': Unemployed workers face delays in receiving benefits ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

When the coronavirus pandemic forced John Clary to close his Henrico County hair salon nearly a month ago, he did what tens of thousands of other Virginians did: He applied for unemployment insurance benefits in an effort to help keep him and his family afloat during the crisis. "I would say our income here is 95 percent gone," said Clary, who has run the Studio in the Garden salon with his husband and business partner Dan Chapman for more than 10 years.
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** 'Putting our lives on the line every day': Richmond-area grocery store workers worry about the pandemic ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Amid the sobering news about the coronavirus in recent weeks, Vannessa Wilcox got so overwhelmed during her job at a Kroger store in Short Pump recently that she went outside and started to cry during a break. Wilcox, 54, a cancer survivor who is diabetic, said the fear of contracting COVID-19 herself drove her to tears.
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** SBA Paycheck Protection Program loaned nearly $9B to Va. businesses ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Before the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief fund ran out Thursday morning, Virginia banks processed more than 40,000 applications totaling nearly $9 billion, the Virginia Bankers Association announced Friday evening. Small businesses that received the forgivable loans are allowed to use the funds to meet payroll costs and pay mortgage interest, rent and/or utilities payments, but many applications didn’t gain SBA approval before funding ran out.
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** Altria Boss Resigns after Juul Deal Sours ([link removed])
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By JENNIFER MALONEY, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Howard Willard, the chief executive of Altria Group Inc., has stepped down from the Marlboro maker after two rocky years on the job that resulted in big losses on an investment in Juul Labs Inc. Mr. Willard, who made a $12.8 billion investment the in e-cigarette startup in 2018, had temporarily stepped aside in March as CEO after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
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** Altria's CEO retires; names William F Gifford Jr. as chief executive and Dominion Energy's CEO as its chairman ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. has reorganized its top management as the company looks to build a presence in alternative nicotine products and battles a backlash over its costly venture into the electronic cigarette market. The Henrico County-based parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA has named a new CEO and a new chief financial officer, and it has separated the roles of board chairman and CEO.
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** Fabric stores across Hampton Roads seeing crowds like almost never before ([link removed])
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By JAMESETTA M. WALKER AND AMY POULTER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The line starts forming around 8 a.m. at Fabric Hut on East Little Creek Road in Norfolk, owner Douglas Jarvis said. That’s two hours before the store’s opening. Jarvis said he wasn’t sure what would become of his business when Gov. Ralph Northam issued stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus pandemic.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVa tentatively reschedules graduation for October ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Last month, when the University of Virginia announced the end of regular, in-person classes for the rest of the school year, one change hit many students particularly hard: the loss of Final Exercises on the Lawn. At the time, UVa officials said that while May graduation ceremonies could not go forward “as currently planned,” they were exploring options. On Friday, UVa announced — tentatively — that Class of 2020 graduations will take place Oct. 9-11 ...
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** William & Mary moves spring commencement to fall break weekend ([link removed])
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By WILFORD KALE, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

The College of William and Mary’s 2020 commencement, originally scheduled for May 16-17, will now be held on fall break weekend, Oct. 9-11. According to a communique posted on the school’s website Friday from W&M President Katherine A. Rowe and Ginger Ambler, commencement committee chair and vice president for student affairs, the new dates will allow students and their families to “enjoy all the pomp and circumstances this ancient university has to offer.”
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** Virginia Tech sued by three more former cadets over blood pinning punishments ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia Tech is being sued by three more former cadets over how the university disciplined them in a blood pinning ritual last fall. The lawsuits, filed in federal court this week, allege university officials “created fake emails, withheld documents, and misled accused students about the basic facts of their case.”
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** Va. Tech gears up to produce PPE for Carilion ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Although the Roanoke and New River Valley health districts are seeing fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases than health districts in Northern, Eastern and Central Virginia, the Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic health care system has asked Virginia Tech to help it stockpile personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of a surge in cases. Seventy-five Tech faculty, students and staff are working on 10 different projects designing, producing and testing PPE and ventilation equipment ...


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Nearly 500 new coronavirus cases reported in Virginia ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Nearly 500 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the state’s total case count above 8,500. The numbers released Sunday by the state health department show an increase in the death toll from 258 to 277. The number of new cases increased from 8,053 to 8,537.
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** Fredericksburg-area health officials say 'worst is probably still ahead of us' ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As some state and federal officials discuss how soon communities can get back to business, health experts in the Fredericksburg area remind people that actual numbers of COVID-19 patients may be five times higher than confirmed cases—and “the worst is probably still ahead of us,” says Dr. Mike McDermott, president and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare.
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** Unknowns make Fluvanna virus outbreak a scary situation ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Ellen Hess has never been as scared as she was the day that COVID-19 took her breath away. “I’ve been in a bad motorcycle accident, I’ve had three children, a major head injury, a dissected carotid artery, but I have never been as scared as that day that I could not breathe and thought for sure I was going to die,” Hess said from her bedroom in her Fluvanna County home. “I am not a dramatic person. I’m trained as a nurse. But I was scared.”
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** Health officials change format in reporting COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Rappahannock Area Health District has reported five deaths from COVID-19 in Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. But Mary Washington Hospital has confirmed five deaths from the novel coronavirus, and local county officials—who have gotten daily updates from the local health district—have said there have been three deaths at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. Which is accurate, five deaths or eight deaths?
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** Virginia extends COVID-19 testing to new nursing home residents ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

This weekend, anyone in Tennessee who wants a COVID-19 test can get a test; the same cannot be said in Virginia, where the tests are reserved mostly for the very ill and those who care for them. Gov. Ralph Northam has talked since the epidemic reached Virginia about the lack of test kits and components. But as more testing has come online through commercial labs and state universities, and with the state’s lab gaining supplies, Virginia has kept a narrow framework for whom to test.
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** 81 Residents, 12 Staff Members Test Positive For COVID-19 At Harrisonburg Facility ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In a statement sent to local media Saturday, Accordius Health announced that 81 residents tested positive for COVID-19 at its 97-bed Harrisonburg facility. Those residents, the release stated, are receiving treatment at a "regional hospital" or at the facility, located on South Avenue.
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** Harrisonburg Has Highest COVID-19 Rate In State ([link removed])
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Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The City of Harrisonburg has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, according to Virginia Department of Health data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. The city has 214 cases for a rate of 403.65 cases per 100,000 residents, almost double the next highest locality. The locality with the second highest rate is Fluvanna County with 64 cases, putting it at 234.69 cases per 100,000 people.
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** From COVID-19 ground zero, Dr. Jim Wright of Canterbury offers vision for dementia patients ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Long before the onslaught of COVID-19 overwhelmed Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, Dr. Jim Wright had been looking for land outside of Richmond where he could pioneer a different way of caring for the elderly, particularly those with dementia. Wright, 56, is medical director at the skilled nursing facility in western Henrico County, which through Thursday had recorded 49 deaths from the disease and 128 residents infected
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** How nursing homes in Hampton Roads are adapting to the coronavirus ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As the coronavirus swept across the country earlier this year, it became clear nursing homes and assisted-living facilities needed to change their procedures to protect their residents. How did such facilities in Hampton Roads respond? Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach now has an isolation area for any new residents coming in, and 20 to 25 staff members, including nurses, housekeepers and others, dedicated solely to that unit.
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** A Henrico nursing home's outbreak was among nation’s deadliest, and experts say others are just as vulnerable ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

In late March, staff at Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Henrico turned to Genetworx, a private diagnostic lab in nearby Glen Allen, to begin testing residents for COVID-19 — the disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. The Henrico County Health Department urged them to be cautious. In a March 25 letter to Dr. Jim Wright, medical director of the long-term care facility, Henrico Health District Director Dr. Danny Avula pointed out that the company hadn’t yet been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to run tests for COVID-19.
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** Help available for those who have lost employer-provided insurance ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

If you’ve lost your job and employer-provided health care coverage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill Botts wants to help you understand your options. Botts is a local certified enrollment navigator for the Affordable Care Act. Normally, the people he helps sign up for health coverage through the ACA Marketplace must enroll between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that narrow window is now wide open.
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** There’s a spike of new coronavirus cases in Isle of Wight -- but where? ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

With a rash of new cases last week, Isle of Wight County now has the highest rate of confirmed coronaviros infections in Hampton Roads. But good luck getting any firm answers on exactly where in the county the spike is occurring. Isle of Wight had 69 cases as of Friday — nearly triple the 24 it had a week earlier, according to Virginia Department of Health numbers.
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** Safe isolation can prove tragic for people pursuing recovery ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

As millions settled into staying home to protect one another over the past month, Mary-Ellen Viglis kept her focus on a health crisis that had been brewing for years within her 19-year-old son, Demetrios James Viglis. His life, it seemed, had always been in danger. He moved into his mother’s Henrico County apartment in February. He was fresh off stints in rehab for substance abuse and mental health in Florida and Colorado ...
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** Outbreak causes rise in need for mental health services in Fredericksburg area ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Cathleen Pessolano, executive director of Mental Health America of Fredericksburg, works the agency’s help line every morning. She said she’s taken calls from “essential personnel”—health care workers and first responders— who have driven to the store to buy groceries and suddenly find themselves so crippled with anxiety that they cannot get out of their cars.
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** Private schools for disabled students are closed too ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Claire Anderson’s parents worried that she didn’t understand what the coronavirus is or why she couldn’t go to school. She is an 18-year-old student at the Peninsula School at The Faison Center in Newport News, a private day school for students with disabilities. Claire has autism, is classified as nonverbal and has severe anxiety. When Gov. Ralph Northam closed schools on March 13, he also closed private schools ...
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** Private day schools in Virginia continue to educate students. Some aren't getting paid. ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Jamari Holt wakes up every morning and gets ready for school. His routine — up around 5:30 a.m. and ready for the bus by 6:40 — hasn’t wavered. His school, the Sarah Dooley Center for Autism at St. Joseph’s Villa in Henrico County, is closed, though, along with thousands of others in Virginia because of the coronavirus pandemic. The services Jamari, 15, normally gets at the private day school are instead being attempted at home, through videoconference calls...
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** Home birth or bust: Twice as many women are looking to midwives as pandemic limits birthing options ([link removed])
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By ALEXA DOIRON, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

Giving birth can be scary for a woman at any time, but now the coronavirus pandemic is creating even more fear and causing more women than ever to choose home births. Jeni Rector, a midwife with the Village Midwife in Newport News, said the number of women coming to her for services has nearly doubled since the coronavirus outbreak. In a typical month, Rector said she would see anywhere from two to six women. Now she’s attending to 10 or more.
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** Visitors, patients required to wear masks at UVa starting Monday ([link removed])
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By RUTH SERVEN SMITH, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Starting Monday, all patients and visitors the University of Virginia Medical Center and Health System facilities will be required to wear masks at all times. Patients and authorized visitors are encouraged to bring their own masks, according to the health system; if they do not have one, they will be provided with a surgical mask.
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** LewisGale employees test positive for COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By RALPH BERRIER JR., Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A “handful” of employees at LewisGale Medical Center in Salem have tested positive for COVID-19, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday. The hospital learned late last week that some employees tested positive for the virus after being exposed to one of two patients who had the disease ...
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** Some public safety agencies won’t say if workers have coronavirus ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, RACHEL WEINER AND PETER HERMANN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

They make close-quarter arrests in a time of social distancing. They rush those sickened with the coronavirus to the hospital. They are responsible for guarding inmates in jails with covid-19 outbreaks. Police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers are on the front lines of the pandemic. Many public safety agencies, including police and fire departments in the District, have announced when their members become ill. But others have taken the opposite stance ...
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** Through doorways and windows, hospital chaplains tend to coronavirus patients ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

James Hoy was recently asked to offer a blessing of the hands. As head of chaplaincy services at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, he’s versed in the ritual. Hospital staff gather around, asking a higher power to use them to bring comfort and healing to the sick. Some clergy, depending on tradition, even dab oil on their outstretched palms. This time that prayer went differently — without touching the health care workers’ hands ...
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** Lawsuit Over Release of Immigrant Detainees in Virginia Moves Forward ([link removed])
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By WHITTNEY EVANS, WCVE

A hearing is scheduled for next Friday in a federal lawsuit demanding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement release prisoners from two immigration detention centers in Virginia. Immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit last week against ICE on behalf of nine inmates detained at Farmville Detention Center and Caroline Detention Facility. All nine are at least 60 years old or have underlying health conditions putting them at higher risk of death if they contract COVID-19.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Jerry Givens, executioner turned death-penalty critic, dies of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By BEN FINLEY, Associated Press

Jerry Givens, who served as Virginia’s chief executioner for 17 years before going to prison and becoming a prominent voice against capital punishment, has died. He was 67. Terence Travers, a son, said Givens died Monday in Henrico, which is outside of Richmond. Travers did not provide a cause of death but said his father had pneumonia and had tested positive for the coronavirus.


** LOCAL
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** Failed tech, missed warnings: How Fairfax schools’ online learning flopped ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

As schools across America, shut down by the novel coronavirus, scrambled to kick-start online learning, one of the largest and best-ranking school systems in the nation took its time. Fairfax County Public Schools, in Northern Virginia, waited four weeks, including a week of spring break, before launching virtual school for its 189,000 students.
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** Robots deliver restaurant food in Fairfax City ([link removed])
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By JEFF CLABAUGH, WTOP

Fairfax City, Virginia, has partnered with Starship Technologies to allow restaurants to use its sidewalk drones for contactless deliveries in a limited area during the coronavirus outbreak. . . . Starship’s fleet of 20 autonomous on-demand robots delivery daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. in an area bordered by Roberts Road to the east, Chestnut Set to the West, GMU to the south and Fairfax Boulevard to the north.
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** All EDA criminal charges dropped, could be brought back ([link removed])
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By JOSH GULLY, Northern Virginia Daily

All criminal charges handed up by the special grand jury investigating the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority have been dropped, according to Special Prosecutor Michael Parker. Parker stated via email that “these are dismissals without prejudice,” which “means the same charges, and more charges if appropriate, can be brought at any time in the future."
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** In effort to help small businesses, Leesburg delays some tax deadlines ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Loudoun Times

The Town of Leesburg is looking to ease the hardships on local businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic by delaying certain tax deadlines. Leesburg Town Council during its April 14 meeting approved delaying the due date for payment of quarterly transient occupancy taxes and meals and beverage taxes collected by hotels, restaurants and grocery stores for January, February and March by 30 days. Council's action further allows businesses an additional 60 days to pay with no penalty.
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** Richmond and Henrico officials at odds over housing strategies for homeless ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A month ago, Shahid Bettis was living out of a blue-and-white tent in an encampment by Richmond’s cold weather shelter. Authorities pledged something better for the 80-odd unsheltered people there when they razed the camp, citing the pandemic.
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** In Chesapeake, some jailed inmates can’t get a new bond hearing despite coronavirus pandemic ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Earlier this month, a Chesapeake public defender asked the court to consider letting a man facing a drug charge out on bond because of the coronavirus pandemic. As COVID-19 spread, hundreds of thousands had been infected worldwide and thousands had died, attorney Erik Mussoni wrote in his request. The local jail “has never confronted a global health pandemic like this one.”
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** Virginia Supreme Court rejects petition to prevent move of Fredericksburg slave auction block ([link removed])
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By CATHY JETT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Virginia’s Supreme Court has rejected a petition to prohibit moving Fredericksburg’s controversial slave auction while a lower court’s decision is being appealed. E.D. Cole Building LLC, which owns the building across the street from the auction block, petitioned the Supreme Court after Fredericksburg Circuit Judge Sarah Deneke upheld the City Council’s vote to relocate the weathered stone to the Fredericksburg Area Museum.
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** Proposed Budget Increases Community Funds, Shifts Away From Some Groups ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Harrisonburg’s proposed budget has pulled or reduced economic support for nearly a dozen local nonprofit groups while increased or begun support for 14 nonprofit groups. One of the groups that lost all of its contribution from the city in the proposed budget is the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic.
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** Dayton Announces Death Of Councilman Fletchall ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

According to a press release from the Town Of Dayton, a second town councilman in less than two weeks has died. The email announced that Zack Fletchall died after “a brief illness.” His family released the cause of death, saying he died from complications related to leukemia, which had been discovered and diagnosed just several days before. Fletchall’s death comes less than 14 days after fellow councilman L. Todd Collier died on April 7.
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** Roanoke County government to lay off nearly 300 part-time workers ([link removed])
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By ALISON GRAHAM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Roanoke County announced Friday it would lay off 287 part-time employees starting April 24. The move affects 232 part-time employees in parks and recreation, 50 in public libraries and five from other departments, according to a news release. Most of the employees work at the Green Ridge Recreation Center, Brambleton Center and six libraries that have been closed since March 23.
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** COVID-19 reduces crime, police calls for service ([link removed])
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By EVAN GOODENOW, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Crime hasn’t taken a holiday, but arrests and calls for service are down at local police departments, with the coronavirus pandemic closing schools, shuttering many businesses and confining people to their homes. Arrests dropped after schools closed on March 16 and a ban on public gatherings of 10 or more people took effect on March 24.
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** Lynchburg sees dramatic decline in crime amid pandemic ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY AND RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Crime in the Hill City has plummeted by more than a third and jail bookings have started to decline as the coronavirus pandemic clears city streets, closes businesses and upends much of daily life. According to records provided by the Lynchburg Police Department, violent crime in March dropped by about 40% over February, though there has been an uptick in the number of domestic violence- related calls.
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** Staunton terminates 64 part-time employees due to COVID-19 pandemic ([link removed])
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By MONIQUE CALELLO, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

The city of Staunton announced a personnel action involving the firing of 64 part-time employees as a result of the operational disruptions and substantial revenue reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release. The city claimed that operational disruptions from coronavirus forced their hand, in the current fiscal year, a hiring freeze, a freeze of non-essential operating and capital improvement expenditures and the suspension and/or reduction of certain city programs and services.
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** Dozens of inmates released from city, county jails in recent weeks ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

About 50 inmates have been released in recent weeks from Danville and Pittsylvania County jails amid growing concern locally and nationally of coronavirus outbreaks behind bars. As of Thursday, a total of 22 inmates from both the Danville City Jail and the Danville Adult Detention Center either have been furloughed — they will return to finish their sentence at a later date — or had the remainder of their sentences suspended.

Today's Sponsor:


** The Nature Conservancy in Virginia
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Across the lands and waters on which all life depends, we’re working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Learn more: nature.org/virginia ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** Four questions for 4-20 Day ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Today is April 20, but ideally you already know that. For those of you hip to pop culture, it’s better known as 4-20, which in some circles is considered code for marijuana. If you aren’t up on all this, well, you just learned something already. Now it’s time to learn some more. The most recent General Assembly session decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana ...
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** Bolster safety with carbon monoxide detector mandate ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Prompted by a scare at her son’s day care, a Virginia Beach woman launched a campaign for Virginia lawmakers to require carbon monoxide detectors in all state-licensed day cares and educational facilities. She’s right. There’s no good argument against what Nikki James Zellner is advocating.
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** Will the virus save 'electronic skill games'? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The pandemic will be bad, perhaps fatal, for some businesses. For one business sector, though, the pandemic may bring an unexpected reprieve from extinction, perhaps even a guarantee of expanded profits for as far as the eye can see. That business sector involves the so-called “electronic skill games” that have proliferated at some restaurants, convenience stores and truck stops — and which critics consider little more than slot machines.
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** Will the General Assembly really vote to throw out ballots already cast? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The General Assembly reconvenes on Wednesday in a session like none other. The House of Delegates will meet under a tent on the Capitol grounds, with everyone masked. The state Senate will gather in a spacious conference room at the Science Museum of Virginia where senators can keep their six-foot distance. Virginia has no provision for a teleconferencing session to meet the legislature’s constitutional mandate ...
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** Division of responsibility complicates virus response ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Constitutional scholar Edward Corwin told a story about a doctor, an engineer and a politician, all engaged in a debate over the ancient roots of their callings. Which ran deepest? The doctor contended that the removal of the rib from Adam’s side was obviously a surgical operation; while the engineer pointed out that before Adam had even appeared on the scene the world itself had to be created out of chaos, and this was clearly an engineering challenge. “Very true,” said the politician. “But who do you think created chaos?”


** COLUMNISTS
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** Williams: The coronavirus is a "call to action" in America's treatment of its communities of color. ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The disparate impact of COVID-19 among minorities has exposed the pre-existing condition of U.S. racism. In Richmond, where the percentage of black and white residents is nearly equal, 62% of those who’ve tested positive for coronavirus are African American — almost three times the number of white people (23%) who’ve tested positive. All eight people who have died of COVID-19 in Richmond are black.
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** Schapiro: Kaine wins by losing war powers fight with Trump ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

In separating himself from one president and standing firm against another, Tim Kaine — after several tries over nearly a decade — is tantalizingly close to rewriting the rules under which the United States goes to war. The Democratic senator from Virginia is unlikely to prevail. But he could win by losing. Kaine’s legislation — bipartisan at a time when national policy often isn’t — would require congressional authorization for a president to commit American forces to combat ...


** OP-ED
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** Northam, five legislators: Why we’re taking a budgetary ‘timeout’ in Virginia ([link removed])
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By RALPH S. NORTHAM, EILEEN R. FILLER-CORN, RICHARD L. SASLAW, LUKE E. TORIAN, JANET D. HOWELL AND EMMETT W. HANGER JR., published in Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The coronavirus has brought challenges that society has not faced in generations. It is upending our lives, our health and our economy, leaving only one practical option: Fix the health crisis first, then fix the economic crisis. But Virginia’s constitution requires the governor and lawmakers to act now. Virginia must make multiyear financial decisions in the next few weeks, even as the global pandemic makes long-term planning impossible. Today’s new fiscal reality is drastically different from what was certain just a few weeks ago. That is why Virginia is pursuing a budgetary “timeout.”

Northam is governor of Virginia.Filler-Corn represents Fairfax and is speaker of the House of Delegates. aslaw represents Fairfax and is majority leader in the Senate.
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** Sudhir: We have the infrastructure for a unified COVID-19 approach ([link removed])
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By AMITA SUDHIR, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

I am an emergency physician. As this pandemic has unfolded on the global and national scene, my phone has been inundated with texts from other emergency physician friends. They range from the mundane (how much personal protective equipment (PPE) does your hospital have?) to the terrified (I’m pregnant and don’t know if I should be working). And we trade ideas.

Amita Sudhir is an emergency physician in Charlottesville.
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** Perrigan: Legislators should back Northam's school construction proposal ([link removed])
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By KEITH PERRIGAN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Over the last several weeks our Commonwealth has dealt with a tremendous amount of troubling news. However, high poverty school divisions, and especially small and rural school divisions, got some much needed good news this weekend when Governor Northam proposed amendments to dedicate a portion of the Commonwealth’s casino revenues to school construction.

Perrigan is superintendent of Bristol Public Schools and president of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia.
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** Johnson: Let’s not allow the COVID-19 crisis to mark the end of in-person voting ([link removed])
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By JESSICA KIMPELL JOHNSON, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

COVID-19 has changed our practices. In big and small ways, from the loss of the familiar routines of work, to children no longer in the patterns of attending schools, to people no longer shaking hands to greet one another. We are also in the midst of re-evaluating one of the practices of democracy...

Jessica Kimpell Johnson is a political theorist with the University of Virginia’s Democracy Initiative
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** Head and McNamara: Northam should stop auditioning for VP ([link removed])
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By CHRIS HEAD AND JOE MCNAMARA, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

As the threat to human life and our economy became apparent with the novel coronavirus, we accepted that Governor Northam was in an unenviable position. We would like to commend him and his team for being front and center every week to update Virginians on this crisis. It is our belief that as doctor he is uniquely qualified to understand the effect this has on our healthcare system. His qualifications for helping us emerge from it economically are another matter altogether.

Head represents parts of Botetourt, Roanoke County and Roanoke in the the House of Delegates. McNamara represents Salem, Craig County and parts of Roanoke County and Montgomery County. Both are Republicans.
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** Gibson: Virus will spur growth in voting by mail ([link removed])
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By BOB GIBSON, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

If necessity is the mother of invention, then the COVID-19 pandemic may be the unwanted parent of a host of changes in personal behavior, voting habits and political organization. Politics changed greatly during the Great Depression decade of the 1930s as Americans dealt with the misery of economic desperation. The role of government, which matters more in a crisis, changed and greatly expanded. Change spurred by the pandemic’s misery could be as dramatic.

Gibson is communications director and senior researcher at the University of Virginia’s Cooper Center for Public Service. The opinions expressed here are his own
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** Peckman: The pipeline should be stopped ([link removed])
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By BOB PECKMAN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

In the February 17 Roanoke Times, Chris Hurst described his legislation to control future pipelines. But we have two messes to deal with now. I am speaking in detail only about the MVP, which is close enough for me to go out and personally observe, and is further along than the ACP. • MVP has demonstrated that they blatantly disregard the rules unless they get caught and are forced to comply.

Peckman has a PhD in Physics and is retired from ITT. He lives in Roanoke.
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** Lo: It's time for this country to confront racism against Asian Americans ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN LO, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

It was another Friday morning in self-quarantine. I was out walking my dog to our neighborhood park in Church Hill, where he and I had taken to perching ourselves on a bench, a safe distance away from the early morning joggers and other dog owners. Right as I began to cross the street, an older white man shouted at me, “Stay away!” The man promptly demanded to know if I spoke any English.

Justin Lo is a lawyer in state government and the restaurant critic for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He is also a member of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board.
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** Morse: When leaders emerge from chaos, it’s best to follow ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

We do not know the disposition of Capt. Brett Crozier, the former commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. As of this writing, the outcome of a Navy investigation remains imminent, but undisclosed. But we do know that Crozier laid the basis for his April 2 relief when he wrote to his superiors about the coronavirus then loose upon his ship.

Gordon C. Morse began his writing career with the Daily Press editorial page in 1983, then moved across the water to write opinion for The Virginian-Pilot. He later joined the administration of Gerald L. Baliles as the governor's speechwriter
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** Homan: Our actions will shape coronavirus outcomes ([link removed])
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By RICHARD V. HOMAN, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

We have not yet seen the peak of COVID-19 cases here in Hampton Roads. Models now predict the first wave of the pandemic will peak around April 27. The number of infected patients may decrease through the summer, but we can anticipate further outbreaks next fall and winter.

Richard V. Homan, M.D., is president and provost of Eastern Virginia Medical School and dean of the School of Medicine.
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** Habr: Celebrate environmental progress in Virginia ([link removed])
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By LAURA WOOD HABR, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

During these unprecedented times, we’re finding out just how fragile we all are. COVID-19 is affecting us all, disrupting daily life and devastating our economy in Virginia, across the country and worldwide. In many ways, the public health crisis we face parallels the climate crisis.

Laura Wood Habr is co-owner of Croc’s 19th Street Bistro in Virginia Beach, founding member of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast and policy associate for the Virginia League of Conservation Voters during the 2020 General Assembly.
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** Cobb, Reagan, Taylor and Hunt: Virginia’s elections must adapt to a COVID-19 world ([link removed])
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By STEPHEN COBB, PAUL REAGAN, ASHLEY TAYLOR AND SARAH E. HUNT, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The right to vote is the bedrock of our democratic society, but without a functioning voting infrastructure, the right to vote is an abstract right with no practical impact. COVID-19 is but the latest in a long line of events, some natural, some manmade, to test our commitment to ensuring a strong voting infrastructure.

Stephen Cobb, Democrat, was a deputy attorney general; Paul Reagan, Democrat, was chief of staff to Gov. Terence McAuliffe; Ashley Taylor, Republican, was a deputy attorney general; Sarah Hunt, Republican, is CEO of Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy
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** Hager-Smith: 'We will resurrect our beloved community' ([link removed])
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By LESLIE HAGER-SMITH, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

I’m writing this on a dismal Easter Sunday. It was exactly one month ago that Virginia Tech abruptly announced it would extend spring break, move classes online, and cancel a dozen public events. A week later, graduation ceremonies were canceled. On March 23, the Governor declared that all public schools would be closed until the end of the school year. Then came the stay-at-home order that still governs us.

Hager-Smith is mayor of Blacksburg.
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