VISUALIZATION: THE GRAYING OF VIRGINIA

People are living longer. Birth Rates are declining. By 2040, nearly one in five Virginians will be 65 or older. See the impact on your city or county.

AHEAD OF GUN MEETING, VIRGINIA AG WEIGHS IN ON MILITIAS

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says heavily armed private militias could be in violation of state law if they mimic police functions like crowd control. Herring’s advisory opinion comes just days before lawmakers discuss gun laws at a Capitol meeting in what’s expected to be a contentious atmosphere.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: AGAINST THE LAW FOR MILITIA MEMBERS TO ASSUME ROLE OF POLICE

People dressed in fatigues, carrying military-style assault weapons, walking around telling people they are there to keep the peace are likely breaking Virginia law, Attorney General Mark Herring wrote in a formal advisory opinion.

VIRGINIA CRIME COMMISSION MEETS TO DISCUSS GUN VIOLENCE LEGISLATION

The Virginia State Crime Commission will meet this week to review dozens of proposals aimed at reducing gun violence, but it won’t deliver a report to the General Assembly until after the election. The crime commission will spend Monday and Tuesday listening to legislators present their bills and to comments from the public. The commission will make recommendations for the legislature to consider when it returns to Richmond Nov. 18, two weeks after the election for all 140 seats in the General Assembly.

2 MINUTES TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: PUBLIC HEARING ON GUN BILLS THIS WEEK IN RICHMOND

Vincent Smith has been reading up on mass shootings in preparation for his trip to Richmond Tuesday. He only has two minutes to present his case to the Virginia State Crime Commission, so he wants to make sure he gets across his point — that government employees should be allowed to bring concealed handguns to work if they have a permit — quickly and effectively.

CRIME COMMISSION TO HOLD HEARINGS ON GUN VIOLENCE, BUT VIRGINIA ELECTIONS LIKELY TO SETTLE ISSUE

If anything is to result from this week’s Virginia State Crime Commission hearings on gun violence, it won’t happen soon. The panel, meeting at the Pocahontas Building in Richmond, will hear presentations Monday from state and national experts. On Tuesday afternoon, it will hear from interest groups, the public, and from legislators who submitted bills for consideration during the July 9 special session that GOP leaders halted after 90 minutes without taking any votes.

VIRGINIA’S CRIME COMMISSION KICKS OFF HEARINGS ON MASS SHOOTINGS

Virginia’s Crime Commission will devote two days this week to mass shootings and other gun violence, issues vexing a state where 32 died in a university massacre a dozen years ago, where another 12 were cut down at a municipal complex in May and where an average of three more were lost to less sensational shootings every day in between.

HERE’S ONE VIEWPOINT ON VIRGINIA’S GUN DEBATE — FROM BEHIND BARS

Marlon BaCote can easily guess some of the answers he’d get if he surveyed his fellow Virginia prisoners about what they would need in order to put down a gun and live a better life. “I don’t know where to go when I get out.” “I don’t have skills for jobs.” “When I get out, I go back to a neighborhood where everybody else has a gun, so I wouldn’t feel safe not having one.”

LINGERING CHARLOTTESVILLE ANGER COULD HURT A MCAULIFFE BID TO RETURN AS VIRGINIA GOVERNOR

Only one Virginia governor has served in the office twice. Until recently, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe seemed well-positioned to become the second person to do so. But a return bid to Richmond by McAuliffe, 62, may be hampered by residual anger over his handling of the August 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, riots and budding resentment about his new book chronicling the events, Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism.

25TH SENATE DISTRICT CANDIDATE CHALLENGES INCUMBENT TO DEBATES

An Independent candidate for the 25th Senate District is challenging the Democratic incumbent to a series of debates. Elliott Harding’s campaign announced Friday, August 16, that their candidate wants to debate Senator Creigh Deeds a total of six times across the district. Debate locations would include the areas of Charlottesville, Nelson County, and Rockbridge County.

HUGO NOW BACKS ‘RED FLAG’ GUN BILL

Virginia Del. Tim Hugo this week expressed support for a “red flag” gun bill that would remove guns from some people considered a risk to themselves or others, an apparent shift for the Fairfax Republican who faces a tough reelection challenge in November. Hugo is chair of the House GOP caucus, which joined Senate Republicans last month to shut down a special legislative session on gun control that had been convened by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) after the mass shooting in Virginia Beach in May.

IN BID TO UNSEAT SPANBERGER, RAMIREZ STRESSES FAITH, HUMAN-RIGHTS EXPERIENCE

In a campaign swing through Culpeper, Tina Ramirez gave Republicans a taste of what’s to come as she aims to oust first-term Democrat Abigail Spanberger from her 7th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

MORE THAN 1 IN 4 VA. STUDENTS ARE FALLING BEHIND IN READING

More than one in four public school students in Virginia aren’t reading on grade level by the end of third grade as results on the critical state test continue to slide. Scores on the third-grade reading Standards of Learning test in the state fell for the third straight year,

VIRGINIA FINANCE CHIEF SAYS RECESSION LIKELY: ‘WE JUST NEED TO BE PREPARED’

Virginia’s top financial officer is sounding the alarm about an imminent recession — a situation he says the state has been monitoring. The least we should expect is a significant slowing of growth, said Aubrey Layne, Virginia’s secretary of finance, but a recession in the next 12 to 18 months is “more likely than not.”

IN JAMES CITY COUNTY, A WATER CRISIS BY 2.83 MILLION (GALLON) CUTS

JAMES CITY COUNTY -- From Sandy Bay Bridge, a stone’s throw from Jamestown, an eye cast in any direction lands inevitably upon water.....And yet the county, more than any other place in Virginia, is preparing for water shortfalls. Facing new restrictions from the state Department of Environmental Quality, James City has found itself squeezing every drop as it plans for a future where water is neither as cheap nor as readily available as it has been for decades.

WHEN PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA BECOME COMBATIVE, THERE’S OFTEN NOWHERE TO GO BUT A STATE PSYCH WARD

Cindy Piccirilli was out of options. The Chesapeake assisted living facility where her spouse, 57-year-old Catherine Wright, had been living for nearly three months could no longer handle her violent outbursts and aggressive demeanor.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: TOURISM COUNCIL IS A PUBLIC BODY

The Tourism Council is a public body, subject to the Freedom of Information Act and open meetings laws, according to an Attorney General legal opinion published Friday afternoon. The legal opinion would appear to lay to rest the debate that swirled around the Tourism Council’s public-body status, and whether it would be legally required to hold open meetings and fulfill information requests from the public.

A YEAR AFTER CREATION, TOURISM COUNCIL STILL DOESN'T HAVE BENCHMARKS TO TRACK ITS SUCCESS

More than a year after its creation, the Tourism Council still doesn’t have the benchmark study officials have called critical to measuring the success of its tourism marketing venture. Formally created when Senate Bill 942, the law that established the body, went into effect July 2018, the Tourism Council is intended to boost the region’s tourism industry

SCC, UTILITY SPAR OVER RATE INCREASE

State regulators and Roanoke Gas Co. remain at odds over a rate increase proposed by the company. The State Corporation Commission is considering a base rate increase that would boost the company’s annual operating revenue by $10.5 million.

A GLIMPSE OF A BETTER LIFE: AN APARTMENT AND A HEAD START TO YOUNG MEN COMING OUT OF JUVENILE PRISON

Two days after moving into his first apartment, Jaquazzi Worthen cinched up a necktie, slipped into a suit provided by a local foundation and — with more than a little trepidation — was knocking on a restaurant manager’s door to ask about a possible job as a dishwasher. He got the job that day. It’s not an easy one — usually a 10-hour shift, ending at 2 a.m, scrubbing the elaborate cheese- and chocolate-encrusted settings at a fondue restaurant near the Oceanfront.

STATE AGENCIES SUE RUCKERSVILLE MAN OVER 'ILLEGAL, DO-IT-YOURSELF LANDFILL'

A Greene County man and an independent candidate for sheriff could face fines of up to $97,500 a day after three state agencies claimed in a lawsuit that he has been illegally operating a landfill. Kenneth Collier, who operates a salvage yard in Ruckersville, has for decades stored debris, waste and salvage materials on his 42-acre property, according to the suit

REP. LURIA, COALITION CLIMATE CHANGE TASK FORCE RELEASE PRINCIPLES FOR US CLIMATE POLICY

The New Democrat Coalition (NDC) Climate Change Task Force released policy principles to combat climate change with the seriousness and urgency it demands. The Co-Chair of the coalition is Virginia Representative Elaine Luria. The principals addressed by the task force seeks to address the climate challenge and to embrace the notion that through its powerful economy, the U.S. can be best positioned to be the global leader

COULD A PUBLIC OPTION HEALTH PLAN HURT RURAL HOSPITALS IN VIRGINIA?

As many as 10 rural hospitals in Virginia could close if the federal government starts offering a public option health plan — the kind of public option that’s now being talked about on the campaign trail by former Vice President Joe Biden and others. That’s the conclusion of the Partnership for America’s Health Future. Lauren Crawford Shaver is the executive director of the partnership, and she says the lower reimbursement rates from the government plan would put a squeeze on rural hospitals.

BLACKJEWEL REPAID LOANS FROM FORMER CEO AHEAD OF BANKRUPTCY

Blackjewel LLC took more than $52.8 million in loans from its former chairman and chief executive, most of which the business repaid, in the six months before the coal-mining company’s sudden bankruptcy, which has left workers unpaid and the future of some of its mines uncertain.

JACK EVANS THREATENED METRO OFFICIALS’ JOBS IN AN EFFORT TO CONCEAL ETHICS VIOLATION, DOCUMENTS SHOW

Former Metro board chairman Jack Evans threatened the jobs of the agency’s top lawyer and board secretary in an effort to keep secret that the panel’s ethics committee had found he committed a violation, according to confidential agency documents.

DULLES BOOSTS NUMBERS, CREDITS A FOCUS ON BASICS

In May, more than 200 people gathered at a glittering reception to toast United Airlines’ launch of nonstop service between Dulles International and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airports. A month later, Portugal’s ambassador to the United States, Domingos Fezas Vital, and other luminaries gathered at the international concourse at Dulles to celebrate the inauguration of nonstop service to Lisbon via TAP Air Portugal.

VA. TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS PIN HOPES ON REVENUE BOOSTS, SILVER LINE

Diminishing fuel-tax returns of about 45 percent have hampered Virginia’s infrastructure-funding efforts, but higher tax rates approved by the General Assembly this year will boost those efforts, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine told the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce at an Aug. 7 panel discussion.

NAACP BRANCH FILES FEDERAL SUIT AGAINST HANOVER COUNTY OVER TWO CONFEDERATE SCHOOL NAMES

After failing last year to persuade the Hanover County School Board to change the name of two schools commemorating Confederate leaders, the county’s NAACP branch filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging the notion that the names are harmless.

IN VIRGINIA, LEGACY AND MODERNITY MEET IN SUIT

A local chapter of the NAACP has filed a federal lawsuit against Hanover County and its school board over two schools that commemorate Confederate leaders, making a novel legal argument that says the names should be changed on constitutional grounds. The suit argues that Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School violate the rights of African American students by forcing them “to champion a legacy of segregation and oppression in order to participate in school activities.”

WITH HURRICANE CAMILLE IN MIND, NELSON COUNTY WORRIES ABOUT POTENTIAL STEEP PRICE FOR PIPELINE

Roberts Mountain looms above the Oak Hill Baptist Church Cemetery here where so many victims of Hurricane Camille lie, 50 years after torrential rains brought a flood of mud, boulders and trees out of the mountain hollows along Davis Creek. Standing at the cemetery’s edge, Jim Bolton points to a slight dip in the mountain crest where the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is planned to reach the top of Roberts Mountain from the north and then follow its ridgeline east toward U.S. 29 near Woods Mill, another scene of Camille’s destructive power a half-century ago where Davis and Muddy creeks met.

A NUN, A DOCTOR AND A LAWYER — AND DEEP REGRET OVER THE NATION’S HANDLING OF OPIOIDS

Years before there was an opioid epidemic in America, Sister Beth Davies knew it was coming. In the late 1990s, patient after patient addicted to a new prescription painkiller called OxyContin began walking into the substance abuse clinic she ran in this worn Appalachian town. A local physician, Dr. Art Van Zee, sensed the gathering storm, too, as teenagers overdosed on the drug. His wife, Sue Ella Kobak, a lawyer, saw the danger signs in a growing wave of robberies and other crimes that all had links to OxyContin.

MENTAL-HEALTH EFFORT ADVANCES IN ARLINGTON

After 15 years of failed efforts, Arlington is close to starting a specialized court program to address mental illness in the criminal justice system. But advocates say they were shut out of a plan that is now moving too quickly and would help too few people.

AMID LATE AUDITS, HOPEWELL OFFICIALS FEAR FINANCIAL ISSUES OF THE PAST KEEP CITY FROM INVESTING IN ITS FUTURE

Alarmed by perpetually late audits of city ledgers — some years overdue — Hopewell city leaders are grappling with the fallout and grasping for an accounting of how the money flowing into city coffers has been spent. The costs of the work have grown, ballooning from an anticipated $125,000 to $815,000 for a 2015 audit, for example.

VIRGINIA BEACH COUNCIL MEMBERS PROPOSE BAN ON ELECTRIC SCOOTERS IN RESORT AREA

Fed up with errant electric scooters, several council members want to ban them from the heart of the resort area as soon as possible. "There’s certainly a place for them to coexist, but honestly, we have to do the right thing in terms of safety right now," said Vice Mayor Jim Wood

COUNTY OKS POSSIBLE FIX FOR PRECINCT CONUNDRUM

Over 200 county voters who were removed from the Goochland County voter rolls earlier this year are one big step closer to being reinstated, thanks to two measures approved by the county Board of Supervisors last week.

FIGHT OPIOIDS WITH ALL THE TOOLS AVAILABLE

Everyone hopes that concerted efforts will soon curb the epidemic of opioid abuse that is wrecking lives and killing people in Virginia and across the United States. In the meantime, let’s do what we can to reduce the death toll. That was the general idea when Virginia’s commissioner of health issued a standing order late in 2016 allowing licensed pharmacists to dispense naxolone to people who did not have a physician’s prescription.

TROUBLING QUESTIONS REMAIN ON STATE POLICE

As expected, much remains unexplained in a heavily redacted report on how well — or how badly — the Virginia State Police handled their jobs on Aug. 12, 2017, in Charlottesville.

A GOOD MEASURE OR NOT, SOLS HIGHLIGHT CONCERNS

More than two decades ago, Virginia politicians were clamoring for quantifiable ways to measure the success — or failure — of public schools. The concern among many members of the General Assembly was that there were deep problems in the state’s public school divisions, but they had no way to accurately gauge the extent of the problem.

ATTORNEY GENERAL SCORES A WIN FOR THE TROOPS

Virginians are a patriotic group. Like many Americans, they give willingly to charities that help injured and disadvantaged service members and veterans. Unfortunately, racketeers are taking advantage of that generosity.

BATTLE LINES IN HANOVER

Are battle lines again being drawn in Hanover County? On Friday, The Washington Post reported that a local chapter of the NAACP has filed a federal lawsuit against Hanover County and its school board over the names of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School. The suit argues that the Confederate names violate the rights of African American students by forcing them “to champion a legacy of segregation and oppression in order to participate in school activities.”

PENNY NANCE SEEMS SURPRISED BY HISTORY

Penny Nance is unhappy. You can read the full depth of her unhappiness in her article on The Federalist website: “My Son’s Freshman Orientation at Virginia Tech Was Full of Leftist Propaganda.” “Are taxpayers funding academic institutions to indoctrinate our kids?,” Nance asks in the opening line. Spoiler alert: Her answer is yes.

WANT SHORTER ELECTION LINES? VOLUNTEER TO BE AN ELECTIONS WORKER

Every business election day, the calls come in to the registrar’s office. The lines are too @#$#% long! Anna Cloeter, the voter registrar for Roanoke County, has a ready answer. “The best way to avoid lines in the future is to sign up to be an officer of election,” she tells the angry callers.

THE ART OF THE VOTE

Back in July, Virginia lawmakers came to Richmond for a special session called by Gov. Ralph Northam on gun safety proposals. In a heated election year, the state Capitol grounds were loaded with theatrics, from gun control advocates chanting into bullhorns, to gun rights enthusiasts with rifles across their chests. Inside, the scene was more subdued, but not without drama.

SCHAPIRO: FOR SPANBERGER, A LITTLE LUCK COULD GO A LONG WAY

A couple weekends ago, Abigail Spanberger appeared at a fundraiser in Richmond’s Westover Hills for Ghazala Hashmi, a Virginia Senate candidate whose district overlaps with hers and whose opponent in the Democratic primary was backed by Spanberger.

WOODY: COST OF NEW ARENA SHOULD BE A SHARED OBLIGATION

The population of the Richmond metropolitan area is estimated to be more than 1.3 million. Why, then, should the construction of a new coliseum, arena or whatever you choose to call it, fall on the backs of 226,000 of those people? That’s the way the proposal looks for the construction of a 17,500 seat arena in downtown Richmond.

GASTAÑAGA: MENTAL HEALTH — BALANCING PUBLIC SAFETY AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

The well-documented rise in the number of people being subjected to involuntary mental health commitments in Virginia in recent years is alarming. As a new statewide work group seeks to reform related laws, the interests of public safety and individual constitutional rights must be balanced.

Claire Guthrie Gastañaga is the executive director of ACLU of Virginia.

MCCORD: PRIVATE MILITIAS MUST STOP PRETENDING TO HAVE AUTHORITY THEY DON’T HAVE

On the day of the special session called by Gov. Ralph Northam to consider a suite of proposed gun safety laws in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Virginia Beach, hundreds of people gathered around the state Capitol to exercise their First Amendment rights to express their views for and against the proposals. Many of those on the “gun rights” side of the issue also exercised what they believe to be their Second Amendment rights by openly carrying firearms, as they are permitted to do under Virginia’s open-carry laws.

Mary B. McCord is legal director and a visiting professor of law at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.

MORSE: RUMORMONGERING EXACTS A COSTLY TOLL

Recent dust-ups over Amazon (that giant seller of everything, soon to be ensconced in Virginia) recalled the day, 34 years ago, when a man in a suit appeared at my door in the warren of offices that housed The Virginian-Pilot’s editorial staff....But this stuff never really stops and when it gets political, it’s even worse. The goal then becomes to render the company’s name an object of contempt and disdain, thus ending any need to argue based on facts, evidence, etc. It plays out in different ways, as two recent episodes involving Amazon attest.

Gordon C. Morse has woked in corporate communications on behalf of companies like PepsiCo, CSX, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Dominion Energy.

WITTMAN: DEMOCRACY WAS BORN AT JAMESTOWN

This month, Virginians from all stretches of the commonwealth gathered together to celebrate the beginning of American democracy. It was on July 29, 1619 that Gov. George Yeardley of Jamestown called for the first representative legislative assembly — unleashing a movement that has now become the most powerful democracy in the world.

Wittman has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 1st congressional district since 2008.

WARNER: A BIPARTISAN PROPOSAL TO BOOST RURAL AMERICA

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the rise of globalization and new technologies dramatically changed our nation’s economy. Small towns once home to thriving factories, plants, and mills saw entire industries disappear along with many jobs, and the families who relied on them to put food on the table. These losses were later compounded by the Great Recession, which hit rural areas particularly hard.

Warner is a U.S. senator from Virginia. He is a Democrat.

DOUGHTY: WHAT THE ROANOKE REGION IS DOING TO GROW TALENT

The Roanoke Times raised some important points about talent in our region, especially when it comes to attracting and retaining college graduates (editorials “Six troubling insights” Aug. 11 and “Two more problems” Aug. 12). Recognizing this need, the Roanoke Regional Partnership two years ago committed to adding to our growing economic development efforts with a program around talent attraction.

Doughty is executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership.