VaNews
June 15, 2020

Today's Sponsor:


** Michael Flanary & Associate
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Yesterday was Flag Day and the 245th birthday of the United States Army. Happy Birthday, U.S. Army.

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Top of the News


** Bob Good defeats Rep. Denver Riggleman in Republican convention for 5th District ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Rep. Denver Riggleman, a first-term Republican from Nelson County, whose libertarian views and decision to officiate a same-sex marriage set in motion an intra-party challenge, lost his bid for renomination on Saturday. Bob Good, a former Campbell County supervisor and Liberty University employee, defeated Riggleman, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed, with 58% of the vote. Good has described himself as a “bright red Biblical and constitutional conservative.”
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** VMI black alumni speak out about racism, demand changes amid swell of racial justice protests ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Black alumni of Virginia Military Institute are speaking out against racism at their alma mater, asking the state-funded military school to acknowledge that racism exists among the ranks and to make changes, starting with the removal of the statue of Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson that sits in front of the barracks.
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** Almost all major police shootings in Virginia since 2016 were ruled justified. But state’s data has big gaps. ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

Of the 91 police shootings that caused a death or serious injury reported in Virginia since a law passed in 2016 making those reports mandatory, only one has been ruled unjustified, according to Virginia State Police data. That shooting happened in February 2018 when two Lynchburg police officers fired into a home at 1:30 a.m., striking the startled and unarmed homeowner, Walker Sigler, when he tried to shut the door after seeing people with guns on his porch.
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** In Richmond, police fire pepper spray at protesters in standoff near city police headquarters ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Police in Richmond used what appeared to be pepper spray on demonstrators twice late Sunday after hundreds protested an incident Saturday evening in which a city police vehicle hit several people while driving through a group. At least one person was thought to have been taken into custody. Sunday’s incident began shortly before 10 p.m. outside the Richmond police headquarters on Grace Street.
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** VPAP Visual Confederate Monuments in Virginia ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

This interactive map shows the location of all major Confederate monuments across Virginia. The details include the year each monument was erected and indicate which ones have been removed or have removal pending.
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** College crackdown: Masks in, parties out ([link removed])
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By NICK ANDERSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Students who move into Virginia Tech’s residence halls for the fall term are on notice: They must wear face masks indoors except in their own bedrooms or bathrooms or when eating a meal. They also must follow a regimen of “physical distancing” from people and other measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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** Apology after black man’s 911 call led to his arrest in Va. ([link removed])
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By SPENCER S. HSU, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Virginia sheriff has apologized to a black pastor who was arrested this month after calling 911 for help when a white family allegedly threatened and assaulted him after trying to dump a refrigerator on his property. Shenandoah County Sheriff Timothy Carter said in a statement Friday that he apologized to Pastor Leon K. McCray Sr. of Woodstock, Va., and that prosecutors dropped a charge against McCray for brandishing a licensed handgun in self-defense.
The Full Report
66 articles, 25 publications

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** FROM VPAP
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** From VPAP Maps, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

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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** Plaintiffs in Albemarle mask lawsuit seek emergency injunction ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

An emergency injunction is being sought in an Albemarle County lawsuit targeting Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order requiring most people to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces. The lawsuit was filed on June 1 on behalf of WINA radio host Rob Schilling and Tobey Bouch, owner of Tobey’s Pawn Shop in Albemarle and Charlottesville. The suit argues that Northam’s order contradicts a section of state code that makes it a felony to wear a mask except in certain circumstances.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Petition to recall State Sen. Louise Lucas following monument protest in Portsmouth ([link removed])
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By REGINA MOBLEY, WAVY

The images have been broadcast across the country. Protesters in Portsmouth Wednesday night spray-painted much of the Confederate monument and toppled a statue. When the statue fell, it landed on a man causing serious injuries. Questions have been raised about why the Portsmouth Police Department failed to stop the vandalism. Before nightfall — and the protest that resulted in the injury — Sen. Louise Lucas arrived on the scene where she set ground rules for protesters. The scene was captured on camera and posted to Facebook.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Bob Good defeats Rep. Denver Riggleman for GOP nomination, Democratic candidates label Good 'extremist' ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Bob Good focused his campaign on how insufficiently conservative Rep. Denver Riggleman was for Republicans in central Virginia. That message motivated his supporters to line up to vote for him at a drive-thru convention on Saturday to win the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District. He defeated Riggleman, whom President Donald Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr. had endorsed, with 58% of the vote.
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** G.O.P. Congressman Is Ousted From Right After Officiating at Same-Sex Wedding ([link removed])
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By CATIE EDMONDSON, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)

Representative Denver Riggleman, a freshman Republican from Virginia, lost a bitterly contested primary race decided in an unusual drive-through state convention, weighed down by outrage among party activists that he officiated at a same-sex wedding. In a result announced early Sunday, Bob Good, a former athletics official at Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University who describes himself as a “biblical conservative,” ousted Mr. Riggleman, a distillery owner and former Air Force intelligence officer with a libertarian streak. Mr. Good captured 58 percent of the vote in a convention held Saturday that was decided by roughly 2,400 party delegates, according to party officials.
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** Riggleman ousted in Virginia GOP convention ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Freshman Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), who drew criticism from within his party for presiding over a same-sex wedding, lost the GOP nomination to challenger Bob Good, a former Liberty University fundraiser who describes himself as a “biblical conservative.” The defeat of Riggleman puts the central Virginia seat potentially within reach for Democrats in the general election for the first time in more than a decade, analysts say.
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** GOP congressman who officiated gay wedding loses primary ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A freshman Virginia GOP congressman who angered social conservatives in his district when he officiated a gay wedding lost his party’s nomination. U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman lost a GOP convention Saturday that was done via drive-thru because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was defeated by Bob Good, a former official in the athletics department at Liberty University.
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** Incumbent McEachin faces off against newcomer in 4th Congressional District Democratic primary ([link removed])
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By GORDON RAGO, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The coronavirus pandemic and the nightly protests raging across the country in the wake of the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Those issues have dominated the campaign trail in recent months as prospective voters prepare to head to the polls later this month for the 4th Congressional District Democratic primary, according to the candidates. U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin, 58, an attorney prior to his election, will face off June 23 against first-time candidate for office Cazel Levine, a 56-year-old technology consultant and former federal employee who worked for the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Land Management.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** School reopening guidance lays out framework, leaving details to districts ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A 136-page document released Wednesday by the Virginia Department of Education provides a glimpse of the challenges school districts need to address to provide an adequate education in the 2020–21 school year. While the state has provided a framework, it’s up to school districts to create individual plans based on their varying needs. Or, as Salem Superintendent Alan Seibert put it earlier this week: “Once we know the edges of the box, we can figure out how to arrange the box.”
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** Virginia PPE purchases larger, costlier than first estimated ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Virginia is on track to spend far more on buying masks, gloves, gowns and face shields than state officials had expected when they stepped into the global scramble for personal protective equipment. But the state is getting more PPE, too. So far, the state’s orders exceed $44 million under a contract with a small Norfolk company that was originally expected to cost $27 million, according to a Daily Press review of invoices obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.


** CONGRESS
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** Warner likes parks and conservation bill's chances ([link removed])
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By CLINT SCHEMMER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

With a little luck, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and like-minded colleagues will soon make conservation history by moving a bill across the finish line. The U.S. Senate is ready to consider the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill championed by Warner to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and halve the $12 billion backlog of maintenance projects at national parks across the country. Senators voted 80–17 last Monday to take up the legislation, which is expected to happen this week.
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** 'Violent bigotry': Nancy Pelosi moves to beat Virginia in toppling Robert E. Lee's Capitol statue ([link removed])
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By STEPHEN DINAN, Washington Times

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s call to oust from the Capitol collection Robert E. Lee and 10 other statues she says are tainted by the Confederacy is the latest in a long line of attempts to blackball the South’s most storied general. Lee has survived every attempt, but it looks like he may finally have met his match. Virginia, which put Lee in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall collection as one of the two works allotted to each state, is now speeding to get him out through legislation establishing a commission to find a replacement.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Central Va. CEOs ‘unhappy’ with pace of reopening ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Although a majority of Central Virginia CEOs have an improved outlook for sales, capital spending and employment for the next six months, they’re unhappy with the pace of reopening, according to a follow-up 2020 CEO Economic Outlook Survey released Friday by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEO).
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** Gun sales in Virginia are through the roof, first driven by politics, then the pandemic and now the protests ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Robert Marcus has owned Bob’s Gun Shop in downtown Norfolk for three decades. He’s seen firearm sales tick up plenty of times over the years, like when there’s an election coming or there’s some type of social unrest dominating the headlines. But he’s never seen them skyrocket like they have in recent months. “It’s incredible,” Marcus said. “There are a lot of extraneous things going on now that have caused guns to become very desirable.”
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** Virginia gun sales skyrocket in first five months of 2020 ([link removed])
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Associated Press

FBI statistics show that criminal background check requests submitted for gun sales in Virginia during the first five months of this year are up 77% over the same period last year. Robert Marcus, the owner of Bob’s Gun Shop in downtown Norfolk, said he’s seen gun sales jump many times during the three decades he’s owned the store, but never like this.
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** Protests spur local businesses to back social justice ([link removed])
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By JOHANNA ALONSO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Over the past week and a half, corporations across the nation have announced plans to donate to social justice organizations in light of the unrest caused by killing of George Floyd. But while major corporations are making massive donations, many Richmond-area small businesses are doing their part to contribute to the movement locally.
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** Area farmers see chicken sales spike as the pandemic drives people toward self-sustainability ([link removed])
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By SARAH HONOSKY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

In a wood and wire coop, pecking through the grass and airing their tiny, feathered wings, are the unexpected victors of the last several months. Since the coronavirus pandemic seized the country, stifling the economy and forcing countless Americans into isolation, its presence has rendered some resources invaluable. Things like toilet paper, Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer flew off the shelves, and for a few weeks, some grocery store stocks ran scarce. But the pandemic had another Midas touch effect: turning the backyard chicken into living gold.
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** Creating digital Colonial Williamsburg content during pandemic took plenty of trial and error, staff says ([link removed])
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By ALISON JOHNSON, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Ask Stacy Hernandez to describe her role at Colonial Williamsburg, and the teacher development coordinator and trainer responds with a laugh and a return question: “My normal job, or my job now?” Back in mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic transformed work at CW virtually overnight. Hernandez and her colleagues across the living history and art museums had to make a hard pivot to the online world, often as rookies on the technology they needed to use.
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** Generator Supercenter signs lease in Ashburn, its first Va. location ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Houston-based national generator franchise Generator Supercenter announced Friday it has signed the lease for a 6,000-square-foot space at the Ashburn Crossing business park in Loudoun County, its first location in Virginia. The company plans to eventually have six locations in the commonwealth.
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** Medical-Supply Firm Sues Bank Over Broken Coronavirus Deal ([link removed])
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By BRODY MULLINS, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

A politically connected medical supply company alleged that the improper actions of its bank caused it to lose a $600 million order for coronavirus supplies, ruined its business, triggered death threats to its founders and ruined their reputation. In a suit filed Friday in a Virginia federal court, Blue Flame Medical LLC contends that as it was waiting for a down payment from the state of California, an official at Chain Bridge Bank told California’s treasurer that the company might be “fraudulent.”


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Hundreds vocalize support for defunding local police during block party ([link removed])
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By SEVY VAN DER WERF, Cavalier Daily

More than 200 protesters gathered in the John Paul Jones Arena parking lot Saturday evening for a block party and noise demonstration to call on the local community to divert funds from police to social work services, such as mental health and emergency medical services. Currently, the 2020 city budget allocates 9.54 percent of its funds to the Charlottesville Police Department. The block party was organized by rising second-year College student Zyahna Bryant and co-organized by Radford University student Trinity Hughes.
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** JMU students march to end systemic racism, remove confederates’ names from buildings ([link removed])
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By SUKAINAH ABID-KONS, Harrisonburg Citizen

In leading a protest march Friday that was both silent and loud, JMU students — joined by university employees and community members — called on the university to step up its response to systemic racism, starting with removing the names of confederate leaders from three of its buildings. “It’s an uphill battle, but we’re ready to fight it,” JMU student Julian Denizard told the crowd of more than 300 participants.
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** JMU and Harrisonburg PD ‘rethink’ policing in community ([link removed])
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By ISABELA GLADSTON, The Breeze

The name “George Floyd” has garnered a deeper meaning for what it’s like to be a black American in today's society. For some, his name is reminiscent of just another racially charged act of police brutality that was caught on camera. For others, his name could symbolize a turning point for systemic racism in the U.S. In the wake of the national conversation about police violence, Harrisonburg and JMU campus police chiefs, students and professors discussed ways to rethink policing in Harrisonburg and how to rebuild community trust with the police.
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** Students React to Admission of Incoming Freshman with Ties to White Supremacist Orginization ([link removed])
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By LAURA SCUDDER, Fourth Estate

University Life Vice President Rose Pascarell and Dean of Admissions Amy Takayama-Perez released a statement regarding the admission of incoming freshman Andrew Brewer on Friday. It stated that they understand students’ concerns but “do not anticipate having any more specific comment on this situation.” Mason has not publicly rescinded Brewer’s admission. The statement comes after students started a petition to rescind Brewer’s admission in light of information about his attempts to join Patriot Front, a white supremecist hate group formed in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017.
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** CNU students protest George Floyd death, lie face-down for 8 minutes, 46 seconds ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Justin Wilson lay face-down, hands behind his back on the Great Lawn at Christopher Newport University shrieking the phase several times, “Say his name, George Floyd." Dozens others with Wilson sprawled out along the lawn, either lying face-down or kneeling, also alternating chants: "Black Lives Matter,'' “Say her name, Breonna Taylor,” “I can’t breathe,” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
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** College announces preliminary adapted fall 2020 schedule ([link removed])
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By ETHAN BROWN, Flat Hat

The College of William and Mary announced Friday, June 12 that it will offer a combination of in-person, online and hybrid classes for the fall 2020 semester as part of the university’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a community notice sent to staff, faculty and students, College President Katherine Rowe issued several alterations to the semester’s original schedule. The semester will now begin Wednesday, August 19, a week earlier than anticipated, and students will move out before Thanksgiving.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** As Northern Virginia Eases Into Phase Two, Some Restaurants And Customers Are Ready. Others Aren’t. ([link removed])
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By MATT BLITZ, DCist

Bob and Edith’s Diner on Arlington’s Columbia Pike has been serving up pancakes, eggs, meatloaf, and fried chicken since 1969. Yet, these past few months — when they had to shut down for sit-down business in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic — are nothing like the small business has seen in their more than fifty years in operation. “It’s unprecedented,” says General Manager Teddy Encubahre, standing outside of the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon, “We didn’t know what to do or how to handle it.”
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** 'We're in another world': Coronavirus lays bare digital divide in rural Virginia ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

During her many years of being a teacher, after the students went home for the day, Cheryl Fulton stayed behind to do her work. That’s because she has no internet service where she lives in Axton, a small community in Henry County between Danville and Martinsville. “It feels like we’re in another world,” Fulton said.
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** Coronavirus updates in Virginia: 604 new cases reported Sunday ([link removed])
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By GARY A. HARKI, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported 604 cases of the coronavirus overnight. As of Sunday, there are 52,103 confirmed cases and 2,403 probable cases in the state.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Floyd’s cousin implores marchers to be a force for change ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Thousands of people gathered in Richmond on Saturday for Virginia’s “5000 Man March,” a demonstration against racism that included a speech by the cousin of George Floyd, the black man whose death at the hands of police has prompted weeks of protests around the world.
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** Protesters target police brutality ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN AND ALI SULLIVAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Protesters remained in a standoff with Richmond police officers past midnight Monday after police sprayed the crowd with chemical agents and took a woman into custody. The woman was among hundreds of people who had massed at the department's headquarters building on West Grace Street earlier to protest police brutality, locally and across the country. Virginia State Police officers showed up to reenforce city police around midnight.
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** Police vehicle strikes protesters in Richmond ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, JOHANNA ALONSO, ALI ROCKETT AND LILY BETTS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A Richmond police SUV drove up on a curb, through a crowd, striking multiple people who were blocking the vehicle’s path during a protest at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue on Saturday night. Two Richmond Times-Dispatch reporters witnessed the incident, which occurred at about 9:30 p.m. on the 16th straight night of protests in the city sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. No one appeared to be seriously injured.
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** Mayor calls on prosecutor to investigate after Richmond officer drives through crowd at Lee statue ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The day after a Richmond police SUV drove through a crowd of protesters at the intersection of North Allen and Monument avenues, Mayor Levar Stoney said on Twitter that he has asked the commonwealth's attorney to investigate the incident and the police department to place the officer involved on administrative leave. In a tweet on Sunday, Stoney said that he asked Colette McEachin, the city's top prosecutor, to "expedite this review, along with several other cases from the past week."
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** Activists protest for police reform in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach ([link removed])
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By GARY A. HARKI AND ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Three marches on Saturday had different participants and locations but the same message. Stop police brutality. Black lives matter. In Portsmouth they were mostly men, many pastors dressed up for the occasion. They stopped at the city’s headless and paint splattered Confederate monument, forever changed by the Black Lives Matter movement. At Maury High School in Ghent, they were high school kids and young people, led by a teenage girl who wanted to wake up a quiet and affluent area of the city.
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** Hundreds march in Virginia Beach to free former ODU student sentenced to 10 years for car crash ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Hundreds of people marched Sunday morning around Mount Trashmore, arguing that a former Old Dominion University student sentenced to 10 years in prison for a car crash should be set free. The protesters also stopped traffic for almost nine minutes on S. Independence Boulevard in honor of George Floyd, a black man who died last month after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about that amount of time.
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** Marchers in North Stafford declare 'time's up' on racism, police brutality ([link removed])
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By HAILEY BULLIS, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Dozens of protesters marched in North Stafford Sunday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and to declare that “time’s up” on racism and police brutality. The marchers lined the sidewalks as they made their way from the Virginia Department of Transportation commuter lot to the parking lot in front of Target in Stafford Marketplace.
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** Downtown Fredericksburg event aims to bring unity through music ([link removed])
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By CATHY JETT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As protesters marched in downtown Fredericksburg Saturday afternoon, people began arriving at Market Square for a Black Lives Matter event aimed at bringing people together through the power of music. BLM Unity in the Community opened with a performance by the Young Expressions Dance Team and Majorette Team, followed by the Ashleigh Chevalier Band.
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** 'Let's make this the final fight': Participants in Berryville rally call for racial justice ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Several hundred people attended a unity rally in Berryville on Saturday in support of racial justice. Organized by a small group of area residents, the rally brought people together to peacefully vent their anger about recent incidents of police brutality, including the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.


** LOCAL
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** Gun owners protest proposed ban on firearms in Alexandria parks, city buildings ([link removed])
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By IAN DUNCAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

With handguns holstered at many hips and a few rifles in hand, about 200 people assembled Saturday in the square in front of Alexandria City Hall to oppose a proposed ban on firearms in municipal buildings and parks.
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** In Fairfax, police face renewed scrutiny ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Just weeks after the killing of George Floyd touched off national protests, an incident played out on a Fairfax County street with disturbing parallels, right down to the words the black victim uttered at the hands of a white police officer: “I can’t breathe!” A Fairfax County police officer is seen on body-camera footage June 5 firing a Taser at a disoriented man without apparent provocation, before pinning him to the ground with a knee to his neck, as a Minneapolis officer did in the encounter with Floyd.
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** Young Republicans Launch Recall Effort Against Randall ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

The Loudoun County Young Republicans have launched an effort to recall County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) over her participation in a rally against police violence and racial injustice in Leesburg Sunday, May 31. The rally, organized in the wake of the latest series of high-profile police killings of black people, including Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY, and most recently George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, drew more than a thousand people into downtown Leesburg. Although almost all wore masks, social distancing was impossible in the tightly-packed streets courthouse green.
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** PWCS Includes Furlough Clause in 2020-21 Employee Contracts ([link removed])
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By STACY SHAW, Bristow Beat

Prince William County Schools employees received their 2020-21 school year contract, Friday, which contained some new language many teachers found disconcerting. The new clause grants the school division the ability to furlough employees in the event of an epidemic or other crisis that would disrupt the school year or cause schools to close temporarily.
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** Activists form human Black Lives Matter letters on Virginia Beach Boardwalk ([link removed])
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By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

About 40 people laid down on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Saturday morning in support of a permanent tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement. “It’s sending out a powerful message,” said Cecelia Reid, an activist who has been chalking messages of unity and diversity on the Boardwalk since June 3. The human mural, formed around 7:30 a.m., spelled out the words “Black Lives” and “VA," with the word “Matter” chalked in between them.
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** The long, messy fight to move Portsmouth’s Confederate monument ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The push to get rid of Portsmouth’s downtown Confederate monument — which protesters ripped apart Wednesday night as police watched — is a years-long effort complicated deeply by the messy local politics, murky legal process and racial identity of this majority black Southern city.
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** As Virginia Beach prepares for sea level rise, officials avoid climate change and punt on carbon emissions ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In Virginia Beach, sea level rise is a real and existential threat. And city officials aren’t afraid to say so. For years, they have worked to develop complex — and expensive — initiatives they hope will safeguard the city from some of the most worrying flood projections. In all of their recent preparations, however, city staff have steered clear of what most experts say is causing the tides to creep higher and higher.

Today's Sponsor:


** Michael Flanary & Associate
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Yesterday was Flag Day and the 245th birthday of the United States Army. Happy Birthday, U.S. Army.


** EDITORIALS
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** Behold the value of open spaces ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The COVID-19 pandemic has given a new twist to that old saying about how we don’t know the value of something until it’s gone. Our open spaces in Hampton Roads aren’t gone, thank goodness, but it’s fair to say many of us didn’t fully appreciate their value until they were just about all we had.
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** COVID testing still confronts growing pains ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Feeling frustrated over COVID data and how to interpret it? No wonder. On Friday in this space, we commented on errors in federal COVID data relating to Virginia nursing home cases. Also last week, the Virginia Department of Health said it was dealing with two different datasets of backlogged tests, each of which accounted for 13,000 results — or a total of 26,000.
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** Northam's legacy ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

In 2017, Virginia had some interesting choices for their next governor. Democrats could have nominated the left-wing insurgent Tom Perriello. Republicans could have nominated Cory Stewart with all his neo-Confederate imagery. Instead, both parties nominated the most centrist and cautious candidates available — Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie — and even then general election voters picked what seemed the least interesting of the two.
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** Seize this opportunity to rethink policing ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

For communities across the country, demands to “defund the police” have sparked a constructive and overdue discussion about how best to achieve public safety by striking a balance between law enforcement and prevention initiatives. It is essentially a call to rethink and reinvent how law enforcement works — including the tasks that officers shoulder, the areas of police responsibility and what societal problems can be better addressed through other means and methods.
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** Richmond’s 2020 monument debate is fueled by demographic change ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

From the moment the Robert E. Lee statue was erected on Monument Avenue, it was “an object of public interest.” That was part of a front-page headline in the Richmond Dispatch on May 31, 1890, two days after the structure was unveiled. “From sunrise to sunset the seats on the grand-stand were occupied by ladies and gentlemen, who, sheltered from the rays of the sun by umbrellas and parasols, made a calm survey and close study of the statue,” the article said. “The general comment was favorable,” and the scene included “visitors and residents of Richmond.”


** OP-ED
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** Siddall and Gordon: What our economies need to recover from COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By JOHN SIDDALL AND GERALD GORDON, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Our once-vibrant communities are emerging from the COVID-19 quarantine battered and bruised. Nationwide, millions are out of a job. Nearly 1 in 7 Americans who want to work are jobless, a rate that hasn’t been seen since the 1930s. In Virginia, unemployment stands at about 10%, with nearly 700,000 Virginians filing for benefits. Those who haven’t been furloughed or fired have seen their hours and income reduced.

Siddall, founder of Siddall Communications of Richmond, and Gordon, a fellow in the Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, are principals of the Municipal Prosperity Group.
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** Pike: Tough work ([link removed])
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By BILL PIKE, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

I’m not sure graduate school courses for school superintendents and preachers prepared them for pandemics. But I suspect at this very moment, education and seminary professors quickly are developing content for such a course. Maybe the title of the class should be: Dealing With A Pandemic — How To Make No One Happy. For more than 30 years, I had the privilege of working in schools, and for the past nine years, I have worked in a church.

Pike is the director of operations at Trinity United Methodist Church and a former Tuckahoe District representative on the Henrico County School Board.
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** Balkrishnan: COVID in Virginia: The battle isn’t over yet ([link removed])
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By RAJESH BALKRISHNAN, published in Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Joe (name changed) was a 67-year-old retiree living near us whom we knew because his wife had worked for my partner. He succumbed to the COVID virus and his wife tested positive. Their son, who flew in for the funeral from out of state, also tested positive. This family has been living in isolation for the past three months and had to depend on us to give them a proper Easter dinner and other essential groceries.
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** Andrews: Peaceful protests honor George Floyd and MLK, not violence ([link removed])
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By ROBERT ANDREWS, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Our country was brought to its knees on May 25, 2020 when George Floyd was ignominiously killed by a police officer. The officer held him against the pavement with knee on neck for nearly ten minutes while three other officers stood and watched. The subsequent autopsy verified Mr. Floyd’s cause of death: mechanical asphyxiation. This was a sad day for America.

Andrews is a Salem resident. He is a 2015 graduate of Salem High School and graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Economics in 2019. He is a Legislative Aide to Del. Joe McNamara (VA-08) and Vice-Chair of the Salem Republican Committee.
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** Willingham: Confederate statue in Salem should go ([link removed])
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By ROB WILLINGHAM, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Three years ago, I wrote an opinion column for the Times, in which I argued that the Confederate monument in downtown Salem was no mere innocent reflection of history, but also an intentional assertion of white political and police power in the context of Jim Crow and the early 20th Century’s burgeoning mythology of the Lost Cause.

Willingham is Associate Professor and Chair of the History Department at Roanoke College.
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** Lee: The memorial we need in Craig County, and elsewhere ([link removed])
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By JULIA LEE, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Like many Americans, I’m outraged by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, Memorial Day. His death has moved me to honor the names of slaves I discovered when researching family history in New Castle, Virginia in 2019. As a descendant of a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, I’ve wondered how to share this information and unfortunately this heartbreaking moment in time seems appropriate.

Lee's grandparents grew up in Lexington. She facilitates writing workshops with homeless youth in Los Angeles and volunteers with a youth diversion program as an alternative to incarceration.
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** Shareef: Institutional and economic costs of the authoritarian impulse ([link removed])
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By REGINALD SHAREEF, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Public policy analysts always look for the perfect analogy to explain socioeconomic phenomenon. The threat from both President Trump and Communist China’s President Xi Jingping to use their country’s secret paramilitary agents — in Washington DC and Hong Kong respectively — to stop lawful democratic protests provides the perfect analogy to discuss these leader’s authoritarian impulse.

Shareef teaches Public Policy at Radford University.
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** Harrison: We must teach hard history ([link removed])
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By TODD HARRISON, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Last October, while teaching a unit on race/ethnicity, I asked my class of high school students to compile a list of iconic names from the Civil Rights Movement. To my astonishment, three names were all they could muster: Rosa, Martin, and Malcolm. I was not surprised nor upset; their inability to name a larger number was not their fault.

Harrison has taught at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke for 29 years and has served as the Social Studies Department chair for the last eight years.
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** Dubois, Erlandson and Downs: Community colleges – Setting a path forward after the pandemic ([link removed])
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By GLENN DUBOIS, DAWN ERLANDSON AND TOM DOWNS, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Community colleges in Virginia and across the nation have responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, making contributions to enhance capabilities of emergency responders and health care professionals. Two-year public colleges have the unique capability to re-skill the workforce as the state and the nation prepare to return to productivity after the pandemic subsides.

Dubois is Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System. Erlandson is national Board Chair of the Association of Community College Trustees. Downs is a Washington, D.C. consultant, and founder of the Community and Technical College Consortium.
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** Carrico: Defund the police? ([link removed])
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By CHARLES W. “BILL” CARRICO, SR., published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

As Americans viewed the death of an individual in the custody of police officers, it sparked many emotions. I have watched as Americans have taken to the streets demanding justice for what many believe to be systemic social injustice by law enforcement across the country. As the police have been the focal point of protests, it has now become a battle cry to defund them. This is the worst possible response imaginable.

Carrico is a retired Virginia State Police Trooper. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2012, and in the Senate of Virginia from 2012-2020.
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** Sherman: Some thoughts the death of George Floyd brought to mind ([link removed])
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By THOMAS SHERMAN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia’s history has included slavery longer than it has been without slavery. 1619 is the generally accepted date when the first African people were enslaved in Virginia. Slavery increased in Virginia and the U.S. (about 4 million enslaved people in the U.S. in 1863) until the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863: a total of 244 years of constitutional, legally enforced, court authorized slavery in Virginia.

Sherman is a retired professor and frequent volunteer living in Blacksburg.
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** Morse: How will Virginia universities reopen safely? It’s anyone’s guess. ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia’s summer of discontent embraces many topics (lord knows), but, in this instance, we’re talking about state higher education and COVID-19. How much uncertainty can Virginia’s colleges and universities handle? How much ambiguity will students and parents stomach? What about the faculty and staff?

After writing editorials for The Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot in the 1980s, Gordon C. Morse wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then spent nearly three decades working on behalf of corporate and philanthropic organizations
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** Dyer: Defunding Beach police would imperil city ([link removed])
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By ROBERT M. "BOBBY" DYER, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Protests across the nation and beyond have rightfully called for the arrest and prosecution of the four officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “Defund the Police” has moved from a protest chant to so serious a policy proposal, it has been embraced by cities such as Minneapolis and New York. Defunding the police is the wrong strategy. In fact, police need increased funding.

Dyer is the mayor of Virginia Beach.
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** Bryan: What should be done with the statues? ([link removed])
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By CHARLES F. BRYAN JR., published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Images of the shocking death of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis have led to a violent reaction that has spanned the globe. Cities and towns throughout the United States and beyond have seen peaceful demonstrations turn into bloody confrontations between law enforcement officers and protesters.
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** Saslaw and Locke: How Virginia will tackle racial injustice ([link removed])
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By DICK SASLAW AND MAMIE E. LOCKE, published in Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The past few months — and the past few weeks in particular — have refocused our collective attention on the systemic racism that permeates our processes and structures. For starters, we are seeing once and for all how a chronic lack of access to quality, affordable health care means that the novel coronavirus — a virus that does not discriminate when it comes to who gets it — is disproportionately killing black individuals.

Dick Saslaw, a Democrat, is the Virginia Senate majority leader. Mamie E. Locke is chair of the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus.
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** Friedlander: Roanoke can do better with race issues ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

As within any healthy family, it is important to honestly share the good and the bad. I do not often opine in the public media except when given the opportunity to discuss some of the exciting things going on in Roanoke’s emerging presence in the health sciences and biomedical innovation enterprise.

Friedlander is Founding Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
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