VaNews
June 12, 2020

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Top of the News


** In just three months, Virginians file equivalent of five years' worth of unemployment claims ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

If you’ve found yourself out of work in Virginia, having trouble getting through to an unemployment office and waiting weeks to find out if you qualify and will get paid three months into the coronavirus pandemic, there’s at least one sizeable reason. “Sheer volume," said William Walton, the Virginia Employment Commission’s director of unemployment insurance, on Thursday.
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** Virginia students told to expect different college life ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia students should expect a far different college experience when universities reopen to in-person classes in the fall, state officials said Thursday. Gov. Ralph Northam outlined statewide guidelines Thursday that higher education institutions will have to follow to reopen. He said each institution will have to submit a comprehensive plan for how they will conduct operations amid the coronoavirus pandemic.
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** Protests Enter New Stage With Voter Registration Drives ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE

All last week, Jovanni Armstead joined Richmond’s protests. She was mad about police violence and gentrification in her neighborhood. “And people are asking, ‘What next?’” Armstead said. “And I said, ‘What next -- we have to make sure people are registered to vote.’” So she and a few friends took an online class and set up a table facing a statue of Robert E. Lee on Friday.
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** Va. House speaker promises action on police reform during upcoming special session ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

A top Virginia Democrat is promising quick action on police reform when the General Assembly reconvenes this summer for a special legislative session. “We have seen and we have heard aggressive change is needed now, and we see this all over the commonwealth and the country,” House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, said Thursday. “As the speaker and certainly as an elected official and leader, it’s our job to listen, but also I feel strongly it’s our job to act quickly.”
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** Northam says he does not support defunding or dismantling police departments ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday he does not support defunding or dismantling the police, but said there is room to reform how police funding is used.
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** Confederate statues: A renewed battle in America’s enduring Civil War ([link removed])
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By MARC FISHER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

One hundred fifty-five years after the end of the Civil War, a sculpture of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, was toppled in the Virginia city that American secessionists called their capital. In Alabama, a statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s most honored general, was knocked over in front of a Montgomery high school that bears his name.
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** Group files zoning request to fly 112-foot tall Confederate battle flag in Chester ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

As protestors continue to demand the removal of Confederate monuments in Richmond and across the country, the Chesterfield Planning Commission next Tuesday will consider a rezoning request from a Sandston-based group that wants to erect a Confederate battle flag near Interstate 95 in Chester.
The Full Report
70 articles, 32 publications

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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Without DMV, Voter Registrations Lag ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Voter registration, which historically peaks in a presidential election year, is one more casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. In Virginia, the bulk of voter registrations come through the Department of Motor Vehicles, which has just begun to reopen by appointment. Two charts show how statewide registrations for the year are running about 40,000 below the pace set in 2016.
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** From VPAP Maps, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Our COVID-19 dashboard makes it easy to track the latest available data for tests performed, infections, deaths and hospital capacity. There's a filter for each city and county, plus an exclusive per-capita ZIP Code map. Updated each morning around 10:00 am.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** Citing dangers to protesters, Northam urges them to stop pulling down monuments ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

At least three Confederate statues have been taken down by protesters in Virginia since demonstrations began in late May, and with at least one person getting severely injured in the process, Gov. Ralph Northam urged protesters to be safe and let the local governments handle the monuments’ removal instead.
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** Phase Three timeline is coming Tuesday, Northam says ([link removed])
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By KATE ANDREWS, Va Business Magazine

Gov. Ralph Northam said that he will provide information at Tuesday’s news conference about when the state could enter Phase Three of his “Forward Virginia” reopening plan, although he noted Thursday that the state will spend a minimum of two weeks in Phase Two, which started for most localities June 5.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Lawmakers will consider police reform legislation when they meet in August to address the budget ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The topic of the General Assembly’s next meeting was supposed to be about how to amend the state’s two-year budget, given all of the revenue losses because of the coronavirus pandemic. But after nearly two weeks of protesters demanding police departments change certain policies, at least some lawmakers want to also talk about criminal justice reform in August when they convene for a special session.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Pence Tweets, Then Deletes, Photo Of Maskless Visit To Crowded Northern Virginia Campaign HQ ([link removed])
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By ALLY SCHWEITZER, DCist

Vice President Mike Pence is getting flak on Twitter after he tweeted, then deleted, a picture of Trump 2020 campaign staffers seemingly violating public health orders in Virginia. President Donald Trump’s No. 2 posted an image Wednesday evening of the packed Trump reelection campaign headquarters in Arlington. The photo showed dozens of staffers standing close to each other indoors and none apparently wearing face masks.
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** The Republican congressman who could get booted for officiating a gay wedding ([link removed])
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By ALLY MUTNICK, Politico

A small universe of Republican Party activists will drive through the parking lot of a central Virginia church on Saturday to decide the fate of Rep. Denver Riggleman. A one-term congressman with a libertarian streak, Riggleman has found himself locked in a fierce intraparty battle after he enraged local officials in his district by officiating a same-sex marriage last year.
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** GOP congressman at risk of losing seat over gay marriage ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Freshman Virginia GOP congressman Denver Riggleman has a conservative voting record and the strong backing of President Donald Trump but is still in danger of losing his seat this weekend in a Republican nominating contest. The reason: he officiated a gay marriage, sparking a fierce backlash among some of his socially conservative constituents who questioned Riggleman’s adherence to the party’s values.
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** Absentee ballots up for June primary ([link removed])
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By YASMINE JUMAA, WCVE

Virginia’s June Primary is less than two weeks away, and the state’s Department of Elections is urging voters to request absentee ballots in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Data from the elections department shows that it’s received 136,386 more absentee ballot requests this year than it did in 2016. Commissioner Chris Piper says special elections that were held in some localities last month helped the department come up with a game plan to process absentee ballots it has received before June 23.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** State revenues down 20% in May, but total COVID-19 budget hit within projections ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia’s tax revenues were down more than 20% last month compared with May 2019, a figure state officials touted as slightly better than expected given COVID-19’s impact on the economy.
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** Commissioner: Protesters ‘heroes’ just like first responders ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Like so many Virginians, Dr. M. Norman Oliver has kept a vigilant watch over the protests against racial injustice both in Virginia and across the nation. But as the state health commissioner, Oliver also has looked at it through the lens of a health professional and the head of Virginia’s main authority on the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Many times, protests, especially such as those early ones, do not necessarily lend themselves to following spread-prevention protocols.
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** Suit seeking more execution transparency in Virginia tossed out by federal judge ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A federal lawsuit filed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other media organizations aimed at allowing official and media witnesses to view Virginia’s entire execution procedures was tossed out Wednesday by a federal judge.
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** Juvenile Judge sworn in ([link removed])
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Northern Neck News

There’s no telling how common it is, but circuit court judge Mike McKenney thinks Northumberland High School might be the only one in Virginia with two graduates serving as judges in the same circuit at the same time. McKenney graduated from Northumberland and, when Marcel Jones, Class of 1996, was sworn in as a juvenile court judge on May 15, that made two of them.
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** Many laid-off workers still not getting benefits; VEC cites massive surge in filings ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Marcia Finsterwald, a pet sitter and dog walker who lives in Henrico County, said she saw about 75% of her income disappear when the coronavirus pandemic hit Virginia. “I either take care of pets or walk pets when people are at work during the day, or when they are out of town,” Finsterwald said, adding that she has been doing the job for about 10 years.
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** Virginia Supreme Court overrules added registration requirements for Franklin County homeschoolers ([link removed])
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By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Parents of home-schooled students in Franklin County will no longer have to submit their children’s birth certificates and proof of residency to the school system. That news came Thursday, after the Virginia Supreme Court reversed a circuit court judge’s prior ruling on the issue.


** CONGRESS
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** Renaming of Fort Lee, A.P. Hill included in defense spending bill ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Count Virginia’s two senators as being on board with a Senate committee proposal to change the names of military installations currently named for Confederate leaders — including Fort Lee. Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine announced their support of an amendment to the $740 billion defense spending authorization bill that gives the 10 bases across the South three years to come up with new monikers.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Virginia: More than 800,000 have filed unemployment claims ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Virginians have filed almost as many claims for unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic as they have in the last five years, state officials announced Thursday. Officials with the Virginia Employment Commission said during a media call that more than 800,000 people filed initial claims in the last 12 weeks.
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** 396K+ Virginians remain unemployed during pandemic ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Nearly 400,000 Virginians are still unemployed following the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, though the number of initial jobless claims across the commonwealth continues to decrease.
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** Does Amazon still need its HQ2 office space in a post-Covid world? Former employees weigh in ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

During the roughly five years James Thomson worked for Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) in Seattle, he could only remember working from home once, and that was because he was sick. "It's not that someone said we couldn't do it. It's that we had a lot of meetings," said Thomson, a former business head at the company who left in 2013. People who worked for Amazon say the company is really big on in-person meetings.
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** Coffee roasting company to build Suffolk distribution center ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA Inc. (MZB-USA) announced Thursday it will build a 355,933-square-foot distribution center in Suffolk to support its headquarters and main coffee roasting operations in Portsmouth. The distribution center will be located in the Virginia Port Logistics Park, which is located approximately 30 miles from the Port of Virginia.
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** Pandemic drives 2 Roanoke transportation companies to suspend operations ([link removed])
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By CASEY FABRIS, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Two companies providing taxi and airport transportation plan to suspend operations next week. Yellow Cab Services of Roanoke Inc. and Roanoke Airport Transportation Services will halt operations June 19. The decision is a response to negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, said William Roberts, president and co-owner of both companies.
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** Waynesboro City Council moves to help small businesses affected by coronavirus ([link removed])
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By BOB STUART, News Virginian

Waynesboro City Council is moving toward assistance for small businesses severely impacted by the loss of revenue from the coronavirus. The council introduced an ordinance Monday that would set up a small business relief grant fund. Final approval of the ordinance is expected on June 22.
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** FerraTex to buy Henry County facility for $1.95M ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

FerraTex Solutions LLC will purchase the former Compton Woods Products facility in Bowles Industrial Park in Henry County for $1.95 millon, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. FerraTex, which specializes in services and liners for cured-in-place pipes (a method of repairing existing pipelines), will renovate and expand the facility, adding 15 jobs.
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** $250,000 in grants to be offered exclusively to small businesses in Martinsville ([link removed])
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By BILL WYATT, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Small businesses within the city limits of Martinsville will be offered COVID-19 relief money from the city. City Manager Leon Towarnicki told City Council Tuesday night the city had received $1,095,288 last week in federal money and has until the end of the year to spend it.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Metro Is Just Now Adding More Buses After Ridership Outpaced Demand For Months ([link removed])
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By JORDAN PASCALE, WAMU

This past weekend Metro added 136 more daily bus trips spread across a dozen heavily-traveled routes to help keep up with ridership demand. Metro officials said they haven’t been able to assign enough operators until recently, when the transit agency implemented a mandatory “pick” process. The “pick” process allows more senior operators their choice of work assignments before others. It can also take months to draft new schedules, which contributed to the delay.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** To repoen, Va. colleges must submit comprehensive plans ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia colleges are set to resume in-person classes, but will need to submit comprehensive public health plans in order to reopen. Gov. Ralph Northam announced new guidance for colleges on Thursday, unveiling the steps they must take in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they bring students back to campus.
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** Colleges to submit reopening plans for fall under new guidelines from Northam ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Campus life at colleges across the state will look different in fall, under new guidelines from Gov. Ralph Northam on how they could re-open their campuses. No more dining hall buffets. Regular health screenings. Face coverings recommended in close quarters.
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** VCU moving large classes online as part of reopening plan ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Classes with 50 or more students at Virginia Commonwealth University will be taught online this fall, the university announced Thursday.
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** Shenandoah University removes Harry F. Byrd Jr.'s name from business school ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Shenandoah University’s business school will no longer be named for Harry F. Byrd Jr. The university announced Wednesday that its governing board voted unanimously to remove the name of the former U.S. senator effective immediately. Like his father, Byrd Jr. supported Massive Resistance and opposed the desegregation of public schools.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in Virginia down to 8.9% from April high of 22% ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Thursday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 52,647 — an increase of 470 from the 52,177 reported Wednesday.
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** Northern Virginia gyms ready to reopen for Phase Two ([link removed])
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By MIKE MURILLO, WTOP

As Northern Virginia enters Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan on Friday, gyms in the region are preparing to open their doors once again. “We’re excited to be able to get people back in the gym,” said Justin Case, owner of Underground Athlete in Fairfax County.
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** Social Distancing A Concern For Teachers, Especially In Special Education ([link removed])
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By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE

The state’s guidelines for reopening schools apply to private day schools, specialized schools for Virginia students with disabilities, as well as public schools. The guidelines allow in-person instruction for these students during phase one and two. “We have significant concerns that many of our students with disabilities were not able to access all of their services during the closure,” said James Lane, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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** Carriage Hill death toll climbs to six residents ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A total of six residents at Carriage Hill Health & Rehab Center have died from COVID-19, and family members and others responsible for patients there have vastly different views of how the facility has dealt with the deadly outbreak.
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** Virus claims eight at Windsor facility ([link removed])
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By STEPHEN FALESKI, Smithfield Times (Paywall)

Of the 70 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by the Virginia Department of Health within Windsor’s ZIP code, 63 of those are residents of Consulate Health Care, a 114-bed long-term care facility located along Courthouse Highway. Eight of them have died. That’s according to data the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released at the end of May in accordance with a new rule that requires nursing homes to report their COVID-19 case totals to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
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** Davis believes Buckingham cases are still on the rise ([link removed])
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By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)

Buckingham, Cumberland, Prince Edward, Lunenburg and Charlotte counties all saw a rise in coronavirus cases over the past week, with Buckingham County seeing the largest jump in cases.
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** Mental health treatment has been a coronavirus casualty ([link removed])
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By JULIA RAIMONDI AND RILEY BLAKE, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism

Austin Sweigart was discharged from inpatient treatment at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center’s psychiatric ward in mid-March, days before the statewide stay-at-home order took effect. Sweigart, a 29-year-old event planner and gay rights activist in Richmond, has since struggled to find follow-up treatment, as therapists have limited hours and acceptance of new patients in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Sweigart, who uses they and them pronouns, has had to go to an urgent care facility for medication they normally get from their mental health care provider. The pandemic has made getting mental health treatment “nearly impossible,” they said.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** With Virginia’s effort to remove Lee statue on hold, protesters topple Confederate figures ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Protesters impatient with legal efforts to remove Confederate statues took matters into their own hands this week, toppling this city's iconic figure of Jefferson Davis and a statue in Portsmouth that caused a serious injury when it fell on a man's head.
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** Jefferson Davis on Monument Avenue becomes third statue toppled in Richmond since Saturday ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

City leaders promised last week to remove statues honoring the Confederacy from Monument Avenue. Someone took matters into their own hands late Wednesday. Shortly before 11 p.m., the statue depicting Confederate President Jefferson Davis was felled from its pedestal at Monument and Davis avenues. Police quickly swarmed the area. A tow company hauled the bronze statue onto a flatbed truck and whisked it away as onlookers cheered and chanted.
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** Newport News wraps Denbigh Confederate monument in tarp to prevent potential damage ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Since 1909, a statue of a Confederate soldier has stood in front of the Warwick County Courthouse in what’s now the Denbigh area of Newport News. The monument for the local war veterans Company H, 32nd Virginia Infantry unit stands in a park on a somewhat sleepy street, away from the eyes of anyone besides the people who live nearby and visitors to the handful of businesses and the city’s Denbigh municipal complex.
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** Portsmouth will build a fence around destroyed Confederate monument while deciding its fate ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Portsmouth will build a fence around the city’s destroyed Confederate monument while deciding its fate, City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton said during a virtual public meeting Thursday evening that drew nearly 700 Facebook viewers — at least three times the number of people who fit inside council chambers.
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** Norfolk will remove statue from Confederate monument “within 24 hours," mayor says ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Before the weekend, the city of Norfolk plans to start dismantling the downtown Confederate monument. Contractors will remove the bronze statue of a Confederate soldier that stands atop the 80-foot monument “within 24 hours,” weather permitting, Mayor Kenny Alexander announced at a press conference Thursday evening at the monument.
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** Man injured when Portsmouth Confederate statue fell on him is in stable condition ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Chris Green, who had been trying to get people out of the way when one of the four Confederate statues on the monument in Portsmouth fell on him Wednesday night, is in stable condition, according to state police.
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** What makes a protest turn violent? Police in riot gear can be a key factor, decades of research shows. ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The photos that came out of the Oceanfront on May 31 were shocking. Virginia Beach police officers dressed in riot gear, deploying tear gas on Atlantic Avenue while some protesters smashed local businesses. A few days later, a similar scene played out at Hampton’s Peninsula Town Center, with a line of officers wearing helmets and carrying shields before dispersing the chemical gas.
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** After Years of Debate, Confederate Symbols Disappear Quickly ([link removed])
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By SCOTT CALVERT AND VALERIE BAUERLEIN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

The debate about what to do with Confederate monuments and symbols has simmered for decades. Now, in several days, officials have decided to remove and protesters have toppled or defaced dozens of statues across the U.S., and entertainment and sports companies have entered the discussion. “It feels to me, with Confederate symbols, a bit like the gay marriage debate, where it seemed impossible, impossible, impossible, and then all of a sudden there was a huge shift in public opinion on it,” said Don Taylor, a professor of public policy at Duke University and director of its Social Science Research Institute.
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** Demonstration focuses on gentrification, evictions and the quality of black lives ([link removed])
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By WAYNE EPPS JR. AND ALI SULLIVAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

As Omari Al-Qadaffi, a local organizer, spoke to more than 100 people Thursday evening in Richmond, he implored that it’s not simply that “black lives matter.” It’s that the “quality of black lives” matters, too. That was the theme of the gathering in a parking lot near the Kroger on West Cary Street.
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** ODU protesters ‘March for Social Justice’ on Hampton Boulevard and campus ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

When Mufu Taiwo was young, his mother gave him what’s known in the black community as “the talk.” Explaining that black men in America have to be hypervigilant because society — and especially law enforcement — view and treat them differently, his mother said, “here’s how it is.”
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** Chalk art for justice is spreading down the Virginia Beach Boardwalk ([link removed])
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By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

“Love everyone.” “We all bleed the same.” “May our hearts be our eyes.” The messages go on and on. Written in pastel chalk along the south end of the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. Cecelia Reid started Chalk Walk 4 Justice after marching in an Oceanfront protest May 31 that turned violent.
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** Fredericksburg won't seek jail time for protesters who violated curfew ([link removed])
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By KEITH EPPS, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Black Lives Matter protesters won’t face any jail time if convicted of violating Fredericksburg’s hastily enacted curfew last week, but they’re still facing the possibility of substantial fines. Approximately 25 people were on the docket Thursday in Fredericksburg General District Court after being charged with curfew violations last week.
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** At protest, a spiritual, and spirited, call for change ([link removed])
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By JIMMY LAROUE, Suffolk News Herald

The largest of Suffolk’s protests to date brought more than 1,000 people downtown Wednesday as area pastors called for change in policing and policies. Ben Fitzgerald, pastor of Zion Community Church, and Bishop A.S. Hall Sr. of Balm Church, led the protest — pulsating with prayer, praise and passion for change — from the Godwin Courts Building on Main Street to the Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum and back.
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** Police investigating ‘beer throwing’ incident involving guest, protesters at Precarious Beer Hall ([link removed])
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By JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

A video has been circulating on social media about a supposed incident at Precarious Beer Hall in Williamsburg involving Black Lives Matter protesters and a woman having a beer there.
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** Disproportionate Use of Force ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL LEE POPE, Alexandria Gazette Packet

When Terry Henderson arrived at the Brent Place Apartments on a sunny June day five years ago, he had no idea he was about to become the latest example of a black man being harassed and manhandled by a white police officer. Henderson, an inspector for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, was on his way to inspect two units that day at Brent Place, a government-subsidized apartment complex on the West End.
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** White nationalist’s lawyer wants out of rally violence case ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

A leading white nationalist told a judge on Thursday that his notoriety has made it difficult for him to raise money for his defense against a “financially crippling” lawsuit that names him as an organizer of a rally in Virginia that erupted into violence in 2017. Richard Spencer’s attorney has asked for the court’s permission to withdraw from representing him in the civil case.
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** Ex-DEA Official Pleads Guilty to Setting Up Fake Classified Program to Bilk Contractors ([link removed])
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By ARUNA VISWANATHA, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

A former spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud, admitting he had created a scheme involving a fake classified program through which he bilked private companies of $4.4 million. Garrison Courtney, the DEA’s public-affairs officer from 2005 to 2009, acknowledged in federal court in Virginia that he had approached defense and intelligence contractors based in Virginia and elsewhere claiming to be a covert officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and asked them to hire him to create a cover story masking his supposed CIA role.


** LOCAL
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** Council plans community police review board ([link removed])
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By MISSY SCHROTT, Alexandria Times

A new chapter in the civil rights movement has emerged across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25. In Alexandria, city leaders and some residents want structural changes to ensure something similar doesn’t happen in the Alexandria Police Department.
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** Hanover NAACP files notice of appeal in dismissed suit against school board for Confederate name changes ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Hanover chapter of the NAACP filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday in its case against the Hanover School Board aimed at changing the names of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School. The appeal follows a judge’s dismissal of the case in May. The judge ruled the statute of limitations for filing the lawsuit had expired.
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** Wagner, Kowalewitch will challenge incumbent Dyer in Virginia Beach mayoral race ([link removed])
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By JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, Princess Anne Independent News

Two people will challenge Mayor Bobby Dyer in this year’s mayoral election. Following City Councilmember Aaron Rouse’s recent announcement that he is ending his campaign for mayor, two candidates – businesspeople Jody Wagner and Richard “R.K.” Kowalewitch – filed paperwork on the Tuesday, June 9, deadline to challenge Dyer.
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** New Kent Board of Supervisors asks governor to allow Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, Colonial Downs to reopen ([link removed])
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By EMILY HOLTER, Tidewater Review

Following Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order entering the state into Phase II, the New Kent Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution at its Monday meeting asking the governor to reconsider his stance on casinos and historic horse racing tracks and allow Rosie’s Gaming Emporium and Colonial Downs to reopen.
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** Fauquier students add their voices to call for justice ([link removed])
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By LAWRENCE EMERSON, Fauquier Now

What started as a text last week between two rising high school freshman brought more than 200 teenagers to a peaceful Black Lives Matter march through Warrenton on Wednesday afternoon. “Should we have a student-led protest?” Juddy Jolicoeur, 14, asked in a text to her friend and classmate Lily Von Herbulis. Yes, they decided.
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** Charlottesville Removing Police from Schools ([link removed])
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By SANDY HAUSMAN, WVTF

As the nation debates how best to change law enforceent, the city of Charlottesville and its police force have announced plans to remove officers from city schools. Charlottesville’s police chief and its superintendent of schools had been talking about a change to the role of so-called School Resource Officers for months according to police spokesman Tyler Hawn.
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** Roanoke set to pass budget despite protesters' calls for delay ([link removed])
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By RALPH BERRIER JR., Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea said that he expects the city council to pass the long-delayed 2021 city budget on Monday, despite an effort by some supporters of the Black Lives Matters movement to stall approval until they voice their concerns about police funding.
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** Google-backed drones will drop library books so kids in Virginia can do their summer reading ([link removed])
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By RACHEL LERMAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Kelly Passek has thought up a way to get kids to read this summer: deliver library books by drone. Passek, a middle-school librarian, was one of the first customers of a drone delivery service launched in Christiansburg, Va., last year by Wing, a company owned by Google parent Alphabet. After seeing how quickly her household goods and meals were delivered, she petitioned the company to take on library books, too. The company said yes, and the first books fly out this week.
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** Cape Charles Beach Reopening Comes with $56K Price Tag ([link removed])
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By STEFANIE JACKSON, Eastern Shore Post

Cape Charles Beach is open and welcoming visitors after a 10-week closure due to COVID-19, but while Northampton County’s only public beach is free to visitors, the reopening comes at a hefty price for the town. It will cost $56,000 to implement the 17 beach reopening requirements outlined in Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order 65, according to the Cape Charles Beach Re-Opening Plan dated June 5.


** EDITORIALS
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** Don’t forget Virginia's other epidemic ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

With health officials, the media and the public focused almost exclusively on the coronavirus pandemic, it’s easy to forget that there’s another public health crisis still raging in Virginia. It’s too early to tell what effect Gov. Ralph Northam’s coronavirus lockdown has had on fatal opioid overdoses in the commonwealth, although it’s far more likely that statewide isolation and the loss of jobs and income due to COVID-19 have made it worse instead of better.
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** Virus trends show Virginia on the right path ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Each day provides new evidence suggesting that Virginia has the upper hand in its fight against the coronavirus. Even as the commonwealth adds new cases, the per capita rate of infection declines and statistical modeling projects that will continue.
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** The KKK is a terrorist organization — period ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

On Oct. 31, 2017, a pickup truck drove through a bike path in New York City near the World Trade Center, killing eight people. The following day, The Times-Dispatch penned an editorial titled, “The grim truth about the New York terrorist attack.”
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** Voices, not violence ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Last week, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and City Council made it abundantly clear where they stand on the Monument Avenue statues: remove them. Once a new state law takes effect on July 1, localities across Virginia can decide whether to take down Confederate war memorials. But protesters in Richmond already have started the process with the unrepentant president of the failed Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.


** OP-ED
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** Warner: Quiet the storm brewing in health care ([link removed])
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By MARK WARNER, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Even before the coronavirus outbreak began, a storm was brewing in our health care system. Under the Trump administration, the number of uninsured Americans has steadily increased from the record lows seen following the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Thanks to the administration’s efforts to undermine the health care law, combined with political resistance to Medicaid expansion in many states, the uninsured rate climbed up and up.

Mark Warner represents Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
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** Lain: What made George Floyd’s death different? ([link removed])
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By CORINNA BARRETT LAIN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The video is hard to watch. Witnessing the slow suffocation of George Floyd, a black man, as he is being murdered by a white police officer feels obscene. And it is — but that’s the point. What was it about Floyd’s death that was different from all the others at the hands of police? Surely those of us born into “white privilege” know that police brutality against black and brown communities happens every day. Why was Floyd’s murder the match that ignited protests in all 50 states?

Corinna Barrett Lain is a legal historian and death penalty scholar at the University of Richmond.
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** Woodley: Replace Lee with a memorial of reconciliation ([link removed])
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By KEN WOODLEY, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

To those who persist in believing the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee had nothing to do with slavery and only was about history, I say, OK, then, it was. This history: Lee commanded the army that fought a war against the United States of America. If he had been successful, his victory would have perpetuated slavery.

Ken Woodley is author of “The Road to Healing: A Civil Rights Reparations Story in Prince Edward County, Virginia.”


** THE FRIDAY READ
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** Fredericksburg-based MIA recovery team continues search for missing Tarawa servicemen ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Justin LeHew is still bringing home missing servicemen from World War II. “It truly is semper fidelis in action, always faithful,” LeHew said. LeHew, chief operating officer of History Flight, a Fredericksburg-based MIA search and recovery organization, is leading recovery operations for those servicemen left behind during the Battle of Tarawa, fought nearly 77 years ago.
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