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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Virginia has gotten guidance from the federal government on how to spend the $1.65 billion that dropped into the state bank account last week, but the aid is not likely to stop the bleeding from state and local government budgets. The state is responsible for ensuring that the money is spent only on specific purposes, such as expenses for medical care, public health and a range of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By CAROL VAUGHN, Eastern Shore Post
Industry officials said this week they are taking steps to protect employees at the Eastern Shore’s two poultry processing plants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, a half dozen workers from the plants contacted the Post this week — saying they do not feel safe going to work after finding out coworkers tested positive for the virus. Some have taken time off or walked off the job.
By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Her 17-year-old son was despondent on the call, wondering how much longer he could avoid the coronavirus that made Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Virginia the scene of the nation’s worst known outbreak at a prison for youths. The teen was nervously awaiting the results of his second coronavirus test as resident after resident fell ill around him. The first — negative — came after a fever.
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press
Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday announced he will extend a ban on nonemergency surgeries for another week, even as a group representing more than 100 hospitals in the state asked him to allow the ban to expire on Friday. Northam imposed the ban last month in an effort to reserve capacity in the state’s healthcare system for coronavirus patients and personal protective equipment such as face masks for providers treating those patients.
By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam is reviewing what can be done about the May municipal elections after his effort to move them to November failed late Wednesday when the state Senate rejected his recommendation. Northam wanted to postpone the May 5 elections to Nov. 3, to coincide with the presidential and congressional contests, out of concern about people voting in person during the coronavirus pandemic. Most Democrats supported his proposal, but it gave Republicans and a few Democrats pause.
By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer
A Richmond Circuit Court judge last week extended the 7th District Republican Committee’s deadline for choosing a congressional nominee to July 28 – a move that could give the committee time to conduct an in-person convention as originally planned. Citing the COVID-19 pandemic and Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order barring most gatherings of more than 10 people, Judge Bradley Cavedo granted the committee’s request for a temporary injunction that permits it to bypass Virginia’s June 9 nominating deadline.
By COREY KILGANNON, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)
So, did Tiger Man enjoy “Tiger King?” “I was turned off by it,” said Antoine Yates, who became known as New York City’s Tiger Man long before the wild popularity of Netflix’s documentary mini-series. “It just shows how ignorant these so-called exotic animal lovers can be.” Mr. Yates also got momentarily famous for keeping a full-grown tiger, this one named Ming. But rather than the more rural settings favored by Joe Exotic and the show’s other big-cat enthusiasts, he kept Ming in his Harlem apartment, for more than two years.
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Local elections in Virginia scheduled for next month are scheduled to proceed for now after the state Senate rejected a proposal from Gov. Ralph Northam to move them to November. In one of its final actions during an unprecedented reconvened session, the Senate opted to pass Northam’s plan by for the day, effectively killing it and keeping the elections set for May 5.
By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday extended the state’s ban on nonessential surgeries and procedures until May 1. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association had asked the governor to allow the ban on nonessential surgeries and procedures to expire on Friday. CEO Sean Connaughton wrote in a letter to Northam that the hospitals have nearly 6,000 open beds and 2,200 unused ventilators.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, BRIDGET BALCH AND MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Gov. Ralph Northam has extended Virginia’s ban on elective surgeries while a projection model out of the University of Washington says the state reached its peak for the first wave of COVID-19 on Thursday. Northam’s decision, announced Thursday ahead of the ban’s scheduled expiration on Friday, defied a call from more than 100 hospitals in the state that say they can treat coronavirus-infected patients and others. The ban will now run until May 1.
By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Virginia hospitals say they’re ready to resume handling the elective care that Gov. Ralph Northam ordered them to stop in order to ensure there was enough beds and equipment to care for people with the coronavirus. So their state association is asking Northam to let his ban on non-emergency care expire on Friday.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A group that represents more than 100 hospitals in Virginia is asking Gov. Ralph Northam to let the ban on non-emergency surgeries and procedures expire on Friday. Sean Connaughton, the CEO of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, wrote to Northam on Thursday, saying the hospitals can treat both coronavirus patients and others.
By KARI PUGH, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)
Social media rumors accusing Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam of recently visiting the Outer Banks, despite stay-at-home orders in his home state and North Carolina, are absolutely false, according to his spokesperson. Press secretary Alena Yarmosky told InsideNoVa and OBX Today that Northam hasn’t traveled to his beach house since before Outer Banks leaders restricted access to the chain of barrier islands on March 20. No members of his family have visited since that order either, Yarmosky said.
By YASMINE JUMAA, WCVE
The Eviction Lab at Princeton University released a report on Monday, rating states’ housing policies during the pandemic. Virginia, which has 2.6 million renters, was among the lowest-ranking states. . . The state legislature did, however, pass new housing protections during its one-day veto session — including capped late-rent fees and some measures delaying evictions for renters and homeowners experiencing a loss of income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By NICK IANNELLI, WTOP
Virginia lawmakers approved most of Gov. Ralph Northam’s amendments to a bill that would decriminalize marijuana possession in the state. Lawmakers accepted 15 of Northam’s 17 amendments to the legislation Wednesday during a reconvened session. The marijuana legislation now heads back to Northam, who has the option to veto it or sign it into law.
By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Hampton Roads will see a more than $145 million coronavirus economic hit just from state budget cuts to the area’s schools and colleges, a Daily Press review of state budget amendments passed Wednesday suggests. The cuts eliminated funds for the state’s share of 2% pay increases for teachers next year and the year after as well as increased funding for college financial aid.
By VICTORIA CHAMBERLIN, WAMU
The Virginia General Assembly passed two more gun violence prevention bills after Governor Ralph Northam sent them back for amendments. Earlier this month, Northam signed several bills into law requiring universal background checks, a 30-day waiting period between handgun purchases and more severe punishment for allowing a child access to loaded and unsecured firearms. The governor proposed amendments to two bills that were sent back to the General Assembly.
By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE
If you’re in a pinch, small loans from payday or internet lenders may seem like a good option. But advocates for low-income workers in Virginia say lenders often end up charging three or four times the cost of the original loan. A new law passed by the General Assembly on Wednesday seeks to tighten the rules.
By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Expanded COVID-19 testing for state prison inmates in at-risk facilities such as the Deerfield Correctional Center, which began last week, is boosting the number of known cases behind bars. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the number of inmates who tested positive for the virus rose from 174 to 260, largely as a result of an increase at Deerfield, which rose from 1 to 52 cases.
By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury
It took three weeks for Virginia to receive its first shipment of personal protective equipment from Northfield Medical Manufacturing after signing a roughly $27 million contract with the Norfolk-based company on March 31. The lengthy lead time was just one of the unusual features of the procurement agreement, said Virginia’s Secretary of Finance, Aubrey Layne. Operating amid a chaotic global supply chain, it took state officials weeks to parse through a list of more than 100 potential vendors.
By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury
A utility regulator is recommending that the State Corporation Commission approve a proposal by Dominion Energy to offer a renewable energy package opposed by a host of environmental and business groups — but only if Dominion can sign up at least 15,000 customers in six months. The report released Tuesday is only a recommendation by Hearing Examiner Mary Beth Adams, but it provides an indication of how the commission, which has decision-making power, may approach the case’s key points.
By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
The meltdown began with two untoasted slices of butter bread, followed closely by globs of Hellman’s mayonnaise lathered evilly on. Then came the undrained tuna, straight from the can, that was tucked into a wet bed by two slices of medium cheddar. A minute into Sen. Mark Warner’s tuna melt demo on Instagram on Sunday night, which became an internet sensation, the audience thinks it couldn’t get worse.
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press
Another 84,387 out-of-work Virginians applied for unemployment benefits last week, among 4.4 million nationwide, as job cuts escalated across a crippled economy, the government said Thursday. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak, including nearly half a million people across Virginia who have sought unemployment benefits since March 15. About one in six American workers have now lost their jobs since mid-March, by far the worst string of layoffs on record.
By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A Honeywell plant in Chesterfield County, which shuttered Saturday after some employees tested positive for COVID-19, reopened Thursday with limited staff, the company said. Bob Frashure, the president of Teamsters Local 101 that represents hourly workers at the Honeywell facility on Woods Edge Road, said six employees who are members of the union tested positive for the coronavirus.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
The nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund and the Fairfax County NAACP announced Thursday they have launched a partnership to provide funding to minority-owned small businesses in Northern Virginia that have been hurt economically by the COVID-19 crisis. The Virginia 30 Day Fund was founded two weeks ago by Pete Snyder, a technology entrepreneur and CEO of investment company Disruptor Capital, and his wife, Burson.
By JONATHAN SPIERS, Richmond BizSense
Tom Lappas isn’t the only Richmond-area newsman who’s had to say the three words most newspaper publishers try to avoid. Around the time that Lappas, founder of the nearly 20-year-old Henrico Citizen newspaper, announced in late March that it was suspending its twice-monthly print version indefinitely, John Reinhold was likewise making the call to “stop the presses” for RVA Magazine – and not because the 15-year-old culture and politics pub had a late-breaking story or an error to fix.
By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE
Some Richmond-area museums are expected to institute more furloughs and pay cuts this weekend, as doors remain closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Saturday, the Science Museum of Virginia will force full-time, salaried staff to take one unpaid day off per pay period, every two weeks. That’s the equivalent of a 10% pay cut. The museum already furloughed most of its part-time employees.
By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Coronavirus is keeping people stuck at home and stressed out. But for some local garden centers, all of that pent up tension is turning into increased sales. Many customers are embracing gardening for the first time, nursery and hardware store workers said. “It’s something you can do at home,” said Ariana Tejada, general manager of London Bridge Greenhouses & Nursery in Virginia Beach. "And it’s relaxing.”
By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Metro’s post-pandemic recovery plan includes a gradual, phased-in return to full service that could vary based on the health of specific parts of the region, board members were told Thursday. While the Washington region’s elected leaders have not indicated when they might begin lifting stay-at-home restrictions and other orders, Metro said it is working on a plan that would take into account infection rates, projections and predictions of when the novel coronavirus will peak and how long infections might last
By JORDAN PASCALE, WAMU
Government agencies are learning to transition public meetings from in-person to online during the pandemic. Metro was able to pull off a virtual board of directors meeting without a hitch two weeks ago, but it struggled to get its live stream working for today’s meeting, confusing several online attendees.
By CODY MELLO-KLEIN, Alexandria Times
City council unanimously approved the design plan for the Potomac Yard Metro station’s much-discussed southern entrance during Saturday’s public hearing, which was held remotely via Zoom. Throughout the Metro station’s design process, the southern entrance has been a controversial topic. ... following Amazon’s HQ2 announcement, state funding brought the entrance back.
By WILFORD KALE, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)
William & Mary’s Board of Visitors and the administration announced Thursday they intend to reverse the the 3% increase in tuition and fees for the 2020-21 school year that was approved in November, returning to the current level. During a virtual executive committee meeting of the board, W&M President Katherine A. Rowe said the rollback in tuition and mandatory fees will be presented formally to the full board at its May 12 meeting...
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
An assisted living community in Chesterfield County now has seven deaths from COVID-19 among 23 residents who have tested positive for the disease. Spring Arbor Senior Living at Salisbury said Thursday that five residents had died from the disease from April 10 to Sunday, when the last resident tested positive.
By STAFF REPORT, Prince William Times
Birmingham Green nursing home announced today that 10 residents and nine staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, April 22. Birmingham Green is a regional long-term care facility that is supported by public funding and houses low-income seniors and adults with disabilities.
Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Richfield Living issued a news release to announce that one of its staff members has tested positive for COVID-19 and that it has quarantined 12 residents who had been cared for by the worker. Four coworkers at the Salem facility also have been asked to self-quarantine. “At this point, no residents on Richfield’s campus have tested positive although we do have two residents who were admitted to the hospital with non-COVID conditions weeks ago and during their hospitalization they contracted COVID ...
By STEPHEN FALESKI, Smithfield Times (Paywall)
An outbreak of COVID-19 at a long-term care facility in Windsor may be part of the reason Isle of Wight County saw a sudden spike in confirmed cases, which nearly tripled from 31 on Monday, April 13, to 86 as of this Monday. Consulate Health Care of Windsor, a 114-bed facility, notified residents and their family members of the outbreak on April 2 ...
By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Virginia’s nursing homes were understaffed before the coronavirus pandemic and are now desperate for help. To entice staff to work long hours protecting some of those highest at risk, they are offering raises and other perks. And concerned about what might happen, Gov. Ralph Northam has repeatedly called for more medical workers to step up and help care for patients stricken with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
By JACKIE NUNNERY, Rappahannock Record (Paywall)
The Virginia Department of Corrections is reporting that 47 inmates and one staff member have contracted COVID-19 at the Haynesville Correctional Center. Three Rivers Health District director Dr. Richard Williams, MD, MPH, confirmed the outbreak. “We’ve tested everybody in the infected building,” he said, but emphasized that even with testing, “you’re just seeing a point in time.”
By ROGER WATSON, Farmville Herald (Paywall)
COVID-19 cases went up by double digits from Wednesday to Thursday in Prince Edward County rising from 19 to 29, according to information from the Virginia Department of Health. Four of the cases were likely the four positive cases at the Piedmont Regional Jail. Superintendent Jim Davis said Wednesday four inmates had been diagnosed as positive.
By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
The high fever was among the worst of Monique Cornett’s COVID-19 symptoms, and when her temperature hit 107 degrees, it seemed like her whole body was on fire. “It felt like someone was taking a blowtorch to the bottom of my feet and I could feel the fever inching up my body,” she said. “It happened like that every time.”
By PETER DUJARDIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Fraudsters are eager to get their hands on people’s stimulus payments now being sent out to Americans, Virginia’s top federal prosecutors say. This week, the U.S. Treasury Department has begun sending out some 80 million paper checks and debit cards to Americans who don’t have banking information filed with the IRS. (Most taxpayers have gotten their stimulus checks directly deposited electronically in recent weeks).
By MIKE GANGLOFF, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
The Interfaith Food Pantry on Thursday received the largest donation in its three-decade history. A tractor-trailer pulled in at midday with a gift from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — 35,566 pounds of non-perishable food, driven across the country from the church’s Utah headquarters.
By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
When schools closed in March, Dylan Brown wasn’t worried about graduation. The high school senior was pretty sure Louisa County High School would make something happen. “We’re so blessed,” said Justin Brown, his dad. “We knew Louisa was going to come through for us.”
By SARA GREGORY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
When Tae Brown’s parents are at work, it’s the Granby High sophomore’s job to watch his two younger siblings. The family has one computer at home, so the three take turns using it for school work. At night when their parents get home, dad Tony, a longshoreman, says he and his wife muster whatever energy they have left after a long day to go over the work each child has done.
By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE
Progressive organizer Allan-Charles Chipman started planning his run for the 6th District Richmond City Council seat back in March. Then, the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now he’s not sure he can gather the 125 voter signatures he’ll need to actually appear on the ballot. “As a candidate, I kind of have a hard choice,” Chipman said. “I should not have to choose between exercising my constitutional right to run, versus complying with the law and not endangering my community.”
By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer
On a typical sun-splashed spring evening at The Boathouse’s Brandermill location, the outdoor dining area is prime real estate: customers enjoying entrees, cocktails and each other’s company, music playing in the background, as they drink in a scenic view of the Swift Creek Reservoir. It’s strangely quiet and empty these days. The restaurant reopened for takeout and delivery orders April 10 ...
By TRICIA JOHNSON, Fluvanna Review
Ellen Hess, the wife of Fluvanna County Sheriff Eric Hess, is battling Covid-19 at home. The experience leaves her concerned for her community, and gives the sheriff a personal understanding of the seriousness of this pandemic. Eric Hess to date has remained well; he has no symptoms ...
By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Despite the quarantine that’s shut down much of American life this spring, the tax man still wants his money. Bills for real estate and personal property taxes — for most people, that’s car tax — are arriving in mailboxes all over Hampton Roads, and most of those bills include a payment deadline of June 5. That date on your bill is still technically the due date, and city officials have said they really want people to pay by that date if they can. Many cities are facing down multi-million dollar revenue drops from the coronavirus shutdowns that will only get worse as the quarantine drags on.
By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Tinesha Allen is recovering from COVID-19 and hopes her experience can help others fight and overcome the physically incapacitating virus. For 11 days, the Griffis–Widewater District supervisor endured some of the worst the coronavirus had to offer, remaining in self-isolation and fighting the virus on her own.
By TERRY BEIGIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
The University of Virginia Health System notified Greene County on April 14 that it’s severing the contract to provide emergency response services in the county effective Oct. 14. On Monday, Greene County Administrator Mark Taylor said he received a letter giving the required 180 days’ notice that Medic 5 would no longer staff the ambulances full time.
By STAFF REPORT, Highland Recorder (Subscription required)
In response to the spread of COVID-19, Highland Telephone Cooperative has established free Wi-Fi connections throughout its service area. “HTC recognizes the importance of internet access through this public health crisis and wants to ensure that connections are made available,” said HTC general manager Chad Kimble. ... HTC technicians installed free Wi-Fi connections at the Mustoe, Mill Gap, Blue Grass, and Hightown remote offices.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
In the United States, we talk about the need to conduct free and fair elections. But they also need to be safe — especially during this time of a global coronavirus pandemic. The public health crisis poses unforeseen challenges to this year’s elections.
By RYAN BROWN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
As we all work together to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is doing all that it can to help Virginians experience the outdoors responsibly. As the state’s wildlife management agency, and largest landowner thanks to our network of publicly accessible Wildlife Management Areas, DGIF is dedicated to helping Virginians connect to fish and wildlife.
Brown is executive director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
By JENNIFER MCCLELLAN AND RIP SULLIVAN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a historic law: the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). The biggest step forward in environmental and energy policy in Virginia history, the VCEA passed with bipartisan majorities. This law makes Virginia one of the top five states in combating climate change, and one of just a handful committed to achieving 100% clean energy by 2045.
Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, represents the 9th District in the Virginia Senate. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, represents the 48th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.
By ROBERT BRADSHAW JR., published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
During a recent press conference, President Donald J. Trump stated that business interruption insurance — which generally covers direct physical damage to commercial property caused by disasters such as fires — should be used for business claims associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because of the enormity of the costs associated with such a large-scale event, virus claims have been specifically excluded from business policies ...
Robert N. Bradshaw Jr., MAM, is president and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia
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