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The Virginia Public Access Project
Results from municipal elections -- the first held in Virginia during the coronavirus pandemic -- show that voting by mail was the preference of many residents who participated. VPAP has published a chart showing absentee votes as a percentage of all ballots cast in each of the 115 localities that held elections on Tuesday. For cities, the high was 76 percent in Fredericksburg.
By MATT JONES, JOSH REYES AND LISA VERNON SPARKS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Nearly every voter who showed up to vote Tuesday morning at Bethel High School in Hampton was wearing a mask, including Tom Taylor. He considered voting absentee but assumed not many people would show up to vote in a municipal election in an epidemic, so keeping six feet away from everyone wouldn’t be a problem. Taylor was right. Turnout was fairly light at the school, which had one of the highest vote counts in the 2016 and 2018 municipal elections.
By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury
Alongside an interminable back and forth concerning elephant rides at a roadside zoo, it was one of the stranger subplots of this year’s legislative session: A freshman Republican lawmaker proposed a bill to remove a statue of Harry Byrd Sr. from Capitol Square. He said he only did it because he wanted Democrats to think twice about their own bills addressing Confederate statues, apparently reasoning that the opposing party would bristle at the prospect of felling a statue of a fellow Democrat, a former Virginia governor and U.S. senator who is now best known for his role leading Virginia’s “Massive Resistance” campaign against integration of public schools.
By DANIEL LIPPMAN, SARAH OWERMOHLE, ZACHARY BRENNAN AND ADAM CANCRYN, Politico
The Trump administration’s effort to rapidly launch a U.S. manufacturer for drugs to treat coronavirus patients hinges on a new company whose chief executive is best known for a failed anti-allergy injector and for raising the prices of a powerful opioid antidote. The administration on Tuesday announced a four-year, $354 million contract with Phlow, which aims to produce both drug ingredients and generic medicines in the United States. The Richmond, Virginia, company will make drugs such as sedatives for coronavirus patients on ventilators.
By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Fewer than 1% of the people living in the Roanoke Valley have been tested for COVID-19, making it difficult to know how much disease exists in the community as businesses begin to reopen. What Dr. Molly O’Dell does know is that cases reported to the Roanoke and Alleghany Health Districts continue to rise.
By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
President Trump took a swipe at Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam at a White House event with farmers on Tuesday, suggesting the “crazy” Democrat’s support for gun control had put the state’s potatoes at risk. “We’re going after Virginia, with your crazy governor,” Trump said. “We’re going after Virginia. They want to take your Second Amendment away. You know that, right? You’ll have nobody guarding your potatoes.”
By JON BURKETT, WTVR
A Caroline County family discovered nearly one million dollars in cash after running over bags filled with bills while on a Saturday afternoon drive. Emily Schantz said that she was driving in the car with her family when she noticed the car in front of them swerving around an object in the road.
The Full Report
52 articles, 23 publications
Read Online10 Most Clicked
The Virginia Public Access Project
Data from the Virginia Department of Health includes a timeline of when COVID-19 cases were confirmed, a statewide map showing the number of cases and deaths by locality and per-capital cases by ZIP Code. VPAP has added daily hospital utilization numbers from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Updated each morning before 11:00 am.
By BRIAN KELLEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
A new Roanoke College Poll finds Virginians’ job approval for Gov. Ralph Northam has soared 19 points to 59% since February, as more than half of respondents think Virginia is headed in the right direction. Northam was viewed favorably by 46% of those polled, the highest since he’s been in office, up from 27% in February. The percentage who view the governor unfavorably dropped slightly from February, to 31%.
By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee
The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night urging Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to rescind requirements regarding the mandated closure of some businesses and to allow "'non-essential' and retail businesses to open under specific COVID-19 health practices.”
By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Virginia potatoes are just fine. At least that’s what Gov. Ralph Northam had to say Tuesday after getting word of President Donald Trump’s criticism of the state’s second amendment rights legislation. The president took the jab at the state’s new gun control laws while hosting an event for farmers and discussing a food relief initiative, according to a tweet by CBS News White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
The Supreme Court of Virginia has declined to hear an appeal to a ruling against Gold’s Gym’s bid to reopen its facilities. Clerk Douglas B. Robelen said in a filing Tuesday that the court has denied a petition asking for a review of a Culpeper County Circuit Court judge’s April ruling against the gym’s effort. Gold’s Gym is represented in the case by Sens. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, and Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, is suing a former Virginia congresswoman over comments she made last year on John Fredericks’ radio show...In the complaint, Morrissey says comments Comstock made on the show hosted by the conservative radio host were defamatory. “Inexplicably, the defendant, without any prompting whatsoever, stated that [Morrissey] was ‘a predator when he was in the House of Delegates [and] we had to warn the girls to stay away from him,’ ” the complaint says.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Virginia is committing $58 million in federal emergency aid to expand contact tracing of people who test positive for COVID-19 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
By YASMINE JUMAA, WCVE
Hundreds of evictions are on the docket this week as some Virginia courts begin hearing non-emergency cases for the first time since a judicial emergency halted proceedings in March.. But advocates are concerned that a lack of instruction to courts and tenants will lead to wrongful evictions.
By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Parents claiming unemployment due to lack of child care will not be able to do so once the school year ends in June, Virginia Employment Commissioner Ellen Hess said Tuesday. As COVID-19 continues to rock the economy and everyday life, Virginia’s unemployment claims have skyrocketed, reaching nearly 400,000 approved claims.
By JOHN REID BLACKWELL AND MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A new Richmond-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company has received a $354 million federal contract to help build a strategic, national reserve of essential medications and to make active ingredients for more than a dozen medicines used to treat patients with COVID-19. And the ingredients will be made at a pharmaceutical plant in Petersburg, which could create about 350 jobs.
By JARED S. HOPKINS AND REBECCA BALLHAUS, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)
A new generic drugmaker said it was awarded $354 million in federal funding to make prescription drugs and their raw ingredients in the U.S., including some medicines used to treat patients infected with Covid-19. Privately held Phlow Corp., a Richmond, Va.-based company incorporated earlier this year, said the funding will support manufacture that began recently of more than a dozen generic prescription drugs in short supply that are used to treat Covid-19 patients.
By ALAN SUDERMAN AND LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press
A new Virginia-based company has won a massive federal contract aimed at beefing up the U.S. supply chain while manufacturing medicines needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it was awarding a contract worth up to $812 million to Richmond-based Phlow Corp., to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients, chemical compounds and generic drugs needed to soften or prevent drug shortages in the U.S.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
Tysons-based federal contractor Booz Allen Hamilton announced Tuesday it has won an $800 million, five-year contract from the U.S. General Services Administration to create artificial intelligence products for warfighting operations supporting the Department of Defense’s Joint Warfighter National Mission Initiative.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
Virginia Beach-based military-industrial contractor SJS Executives LLC announced Tuesday it has received a $125,000 grant from the Virginia Beach Development Authority that will be used toward workspace and workforce expansion, as part of its Economic Development Investment Program (EDIP). As part of its expansion, the company plans to make a total of $4 million in capital investments and add 49 jobs.
By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
The head of the Port of Virginia, who oversaw the resurgence of its operations in Hampton Roads and Richmond during his six-year tenure, is retiring next year. John F. Reinhart will step down as the chief executive officer and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, effective March 2021.
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
John Reinhart, the Virginia Port Authority’s CEO and executive director who has overseen an era of expansion, will retire in March 2021. Reinhart made the announcement at the authority’s Tuesday morning board meeting saying he was “very confident in the long-term future of The Port of Virginia,” according to a statement from the agency.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
The Port of Virginia announced Monday that the final group of stacking cranes needed to complete the $375 million crane addition portion of expansions at both the Norfolk International Terminals and Virginia International Gateway arrived May 14.
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
It’s been a roller coaster ride for a photo developing lab in Chesapeake. The Lifetouch facility owned by Shutterfly, a digital photo developing brand, specializes in school photos and had first announced in early February that it would close. Then it announced that it was closing even sooner because of the coronavirus.
By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)
The nonstop activity that typifies a Greater Washington airport on an average May day has come to a complete halt, transportation leaders said Tuesday. "It's literally a ghost town," said Jack Potter, CEO and president of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, during a virtual Greater Washington Board of Trade meeting. MWAA manages Reagan National and Dulles International airports.
By PETER DUJARDIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The Federal Aviation Administration has sharply cut back on the operating hours for the control tower at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, which is seeing drastically reduced air traffic as a result of the coronavirus. The airport’s control tower is now open only eight hours a day — from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, FENIT NIRAPPIL AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday that people who have been exposed to the novel coronavirus but show no symptoms can get tested at state-run sites, an expansion that follows complaints from local leaders that a lack of testing has made it more difficult to ease shutdown restrictions....Virginia has faced continued criticism for lagging most other states in per capita testing even as it begins to loosen restrictions. Like Hogan, Northam has set a goal of 10,000 tests per day. The state has been averaging just under 6,000 for about the past week.
By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Portsmouth residents will be able to get drive-thru testing for the coronavirus on Friday and Saturday. With the help of the Virginia National Guard, the Portsmouth Health Department will provide about 400 nasal swab tests, Gov. Ralph Northam said during a press conference Monday.
By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
As the number of cases involving Rappahannock Area Health District workers with COVID-19 continues to expand, offices in Fredericksburg and Stafford County have closed temporarily for deep cleaning.
By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News
On Sunday, another resident of Skyview Springs Rehab and Nursing Center died from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Luray nursing home has now had 17 residents die from the novel coronavirus since April 25. All 17 residents of the longterm care facility were confirmed to have COVID-19 and have died within the last 24 days.
ArlNow
Coronavirus is disproportionately sickening Arlington’s Hispanic community, while disproportionately killing the elderly. New demographic data from the Virginia Dept. of Health shows that 51% of COVID-19 cases in Arlington are among those identified as Hispanic or Latino, while according to the county only 15% of the population is Hispanic or Latino. That data only includes instances in which ethnicity was reported.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A child diagnosed with a rare inflammatory disease linked to COVID-19 has been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home, the Virginia Department of Health said Tuesday afternoon. The child was the first patient in Virginia to be diagnosed with what's called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a new illness found in children and teens weeks after contracting COVID-19. It can result in organ failure.
Associated Press
A child in northern Virginia is the first confirmed case in the state of a pediatric inflammatory illness associated with the new coronavirus. Health department officials on Tuesday confirmed the case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in the Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.
By JOHN ISMAY, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)
Maureen Elias expected her family’s final move with the military to come as a relief. She and her husband, Dustin, purchased a house in Oakton, Va., where the Army was transferring them from California for Dustin’s final assignment as he neared the end of his 20-year career. They expected to be on the East Coast by April 1, just in time to close on their dream home. But the novel coronavirus had other plans for the Elias family, as the Defense Department first paused all international travel for service members and their families, and then expanded that order to movements within the United States.
By MELISSA KORN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)
Jackson Merrick thought he’d nailed his Advanced Placement physics and U.S. government exams last Monday. He hand wrote his responses, snapped pictures of the pages and was notified that he had successfully uploaded them through the College Board’s online portal. At 11:32 that night, Mr. Merrick, a senior at the Potomac School in Virginia, received two emails that added unexpected tumult to the end of his high school career: “Unfortunately, there was an issue with your submission,” each started. “Don’t worry, you can take a makeup exam later in June.”
By LILLY PRICE, Capital Gazette
Water temperature in all major watersheds across the Chesapeake Bay was so hot in 2019 its effects led the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science to rank the bay’s overall health a C- or 44% in a new report card published Tuesday, its lowest score since 2011.
By ABIGAIL CONSTANTINO, WTOP
Below are the results of city and town elections in Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier counties, and the City of Fredericksburg in Virginia. By executive order, Gov. Ralph Northam had delayed local government elections from May 5 to May 19, early in the coronavirus crisis, and encouraged people to vote absentee or by mail, but those deadlines have now passed.
By ALEXA DOIRON, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)
Mayor Paul Freiling’s long stint as a member of the Williamsburg City Council came to an end Tuesday night, coming in last out of the four candidates vying for three seats. Newcomer Caleb T. Rogers, a recent William & Mary graduate, came in on top.
By ALEX PERRY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)
It was an unusual election for Williamsburg voters Tuesday, but volunteers said most of the voters seemed to enjoy casting their ballots from inside their cars. The City Council general election was previously scheduled for May 5, until Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order postponed elections by two weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Based on in-person voting Tuesday, Mayor Donnie Tuck held a large lead in his bid for a second term, apparently beating back a challenge from two candidates. Tuck received 6,141, or 57%, of in-person votes, followed by Chris Carter who had 3,635 votes, or 34%, and Richelle D. Wallace who earned 832 votes, or nearly 8%, according to unofficial in-person voting results from the Virginia Board of Elections.
By GORDON RAGO, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
One longtime Chesapeake councilman was in danger of losing his seat Tuesday night as retired NFL player and newcomer Don Carey was the top vote-getter so far in a crowded City Council race. Around 16,000 absentee ballots were received by the registrar’s office, a “significant” number of which were still being tallied as of around 9 p.m., according to the city’s Facebook page.
By CATHY JETT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Rene Rodriguez did a dry run Monday of the drive-thru voting lane laid out between orange traffic cones in the Dorothy Hart Community Center parking lot. As chairman of the Fredericksburg Electoral Board, he wanted to make sure that it would be wide enough for residents’ vehicles when they used it Tuesday while casting their votes for mayor and the two at-large seats on City Council.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
James Scanlon debated in recent days whether to go to the polls Tuesday. On one side was the public health risk and the potential for large crowds, an environment that could induce the spread of a virus that has killed nearly 800 people in Virginia who were 70 or older.
Fauquier Now
The citizen who started a still-pending lawsuit against the Warrenton Town Council almost three years ago will join that elected body July 1. William T. “Bill” Semple II defeated Ward 2 incumbent Alec Burnett in Tuesday’s municipal election.
By RALPH BERRIER JR., Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Salem City Council will have two new faces following Tuesday’s election. Newcomers Renée Turk and Jim Wallace were the top vote-getters in a five-person field for three seats. Incumbent councilman Bill Jones will serve a fourth term after winning the third spot.
By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
City voters, in the largest turnout in a decade, retained every incumbent on Tuesday‘s ballot in the city’s delayed general election. More than 16% of city voters cast ballots for the election, which included two seats each on the City Council and School Board. About two-thirds of votes were cast by absentee ballot in the weeks leading up to the election, and more than 600 came to the polls Tuesday.
ArlNow
More than 3,500 local residents are having trouble paying their rent during the pandemic, according to a survey of nonprofits conducted by Arlington County. The figure was included in a staff report for an item to be considered by the County Board later Tuesday.
By SCOTT GELMAN, WTOP
Fairfax County, Virginia, will begin to reopen its parks in time for Memorial Day weekend, officials announced Tuesday. On-site facilities and restrooms will be closed, and guests will be asked to maintain social distancing practices and avoid congregating in groups of more than 10 people, the city said in a news release.
By EMILY SIDES, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted 5-3 Tuesday to ask Gov. Ralph Northam to allow restaurants with existing outdoor seating to reopen starting this weekend with no more than 50% capacity. The measure was supported by supervisors Victor Angry, D-Neabsco; Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan; Pete Candland, R-Brentsville; Jeanine Lawson, R-Gainesville; and Yesli Vega, R-Coles.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Mayor Levar Stoney on Tuesday defended his request for a two-week exemption from the state’s Phase One reopening, saying his administration won’t ease COVID-19 restrictions until data indicates it’s safe to do so.
By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Virginia began “Phase 1” this weekend, and diners have been eating on patios, hairdressers and barbers have booked appointments and malls welcomed back shoppers. Newport News is adjusting some of its services as well, slowly beginning the process of loosening its epidemic restrictions.
By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee
After Pittsylvania County farmer Robert Mills made some brief comments about the state of American agriculture, the first response from President Donald Trump had nothing to do with agriculture. “I love his accent,” he said of Mills’ southern drawl. “I love that accent.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
At the turn of the 20th century, communities in Virginia and across the country had a battle on their hands. A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) document notes that in 1890, 65% of America lived in rural areas. Dating back to 1863, many city residents reaped the benefits of free mail delivery, while farm families traveled long distances to pick up their mail or paid private carriers.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
John Broderick took the helm at Old Dominion University in a time of crisis and is poised to leave amid another. The president of ODU, who has served in that role since 2008, announced on Monday that he would resign his post next summer. It will be a substantial loss for the school, the region and the commonwealth.
By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
As Virginians dip a toe into the waters of reopening, not everyone is eager to take the plunge — least of all those who have experienced the most anxiety from the coronavirus. “I can tell you one person who’s not going to flock to the beach,” said Del. Delores McQuinn, a Richmond Democrat who was laid low by COVID-19 in April.
By ROB SOLOMON, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Earlier this year, COVID-19 came to the New River Valley. Cases started in March and like the rest of the country, it appeared we might be overwhelmed with not enough ventilators, nurses and doctors, testing and proper protection.
Solomon is a board certified specialist in adult medicine training at Eisenhower Army Medical Center.
By HOBEY BAUHAN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, appreciation and longing grow for what we sometimes took for granted. Early on, before the virus hit the United States in a big way, the nightly news showed citizens in Italian cities cheering from windows and balconies for new heroes: health care professionals heading home after another long shift caring for COVID-19 patients.
Bauhan is president of the Virginia Poultry Federation.
By BARBARA BLAKE & THALER MCCORMICK, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Anita is a hairdresser in Norfolk with two young children whose salon shut down. Nikki, an in-home care assistant in Virginia Beach, is no longer needed because family members are home to care for their elderly parent. Pam, an assistant manager for a storage facility in Chesapeake, lives with her 3-year-old son in a hotel she can no longer afford after her hours were cut.
Blake is chief administrative officer of The Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University. McCormick is chief executive officer of ForKids, a nonprofit frontline service provider working to ending homelessness
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