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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
A day after one of the nation’s largest school systems announced its proposal for fall learning, teachers within Fairfax County Public Schools rose in revolt and refused to teach in-person, as the plan demands, until officials revise their strategy. Fairfax Superintendent Scott Brabrand had announced a hybrid learning program — one of the first concrete strategies released by schools nationwide — in an email to parents Wednesday.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Hundreds of new laws Virginia lawmakers approved this spring will go into effect Wednesday, reflecting the liberal and progressive agenda of the General Assembly’s new majority. Democrats, who now control the legislature and the executive mansion for the first time in more than two decades, used their newfound power to instill sweeping reforms on gun control, voting rights and LGBTQ rights, among other things.
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Democratic leaders of the General Assembly are pledging to pass laws later this summer that address issues of police misconduct raised by recent protests across the state and country. Top members of the state Senate on Friday unveiled a list of legislative priorities for overhauling a law enforcement and judicial system that they said has mistreated African Americans, and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) announced plans for public hearings to formulate proposals for lawmaking.
By ROBERT SORRELL, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
A Marion, Virginia, man faces federal charges after authorities said he lied to them about a burning cross found at a Black resident’s property. James Brown, 40, was arrested Friday and charged with lying to federal agents about his involvement in the cross burning on the front lawn of a neighbor. He also has been charged with criminal interference with fair housing based upon the victim’s race, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
The City of Charlottesville plans to ask the Virginia Supreme Court to end a Circuit Court injunction protecting the city’s two Confederate statues. Officials said Friday in a news release that the injunction restricts the City’s ability to discuss and enact next steps regarding the statues. A new state law that goes into effect July 1 gives localities the authority to remove, relocate or alter their war monuments after following a public process.
By ALEXA DOIRON & JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)
William & Mary did not include its only virologist in discussions regarding reopening the college following closure of in-person classes due to the coronavirus. Kurt Williamson, a virologist in W&M’s Biology department, penned an open letter to college President Katherine Rowe. In it he expressed his “serious concern” regarding the potential reopening of the school to in-person instruction.
By JOHN RAMSEY AND SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Late-night clashes between police and protesters led to more than three dozen arrests in Richmond this week, including 15 Thursday night when protesters apparently picketed outside the home of the city’s top prosecutor. On Friday, the ACLU of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the city, the police department and Virginia State Police alleging the agencies’ use of tear gas and other force overnight Monday violated organizers’ constitutional rights to free speech, assembly and protest.
The Full Report
40 articles, 21 publications
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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.
By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Virginia Senate Democrats said Friday that they are unified behind a long list of police and criminal justice reform proposals they hope to see the General Assembly pass during a special session this summer. The measures include bans on “no-knock” warrants and the use of chokeholds and strangleholds by police; a ban on the hiring of officers who were fired or resigned during a use-of-force investigation; the cancellation of supplemental funding for police agencies with disproportionate use of force incidents in their jurisdiction; and more.
By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Virginia state delegates, led by Democratic Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, want to hear from the public about what kind of criminal justice reform they’d like to see. Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, announced Friday morning that a group of about 40 delegates who serve on the House courts of justice and public safety committees will hold three public hearings in July and August. Dates have not been finalized yet. Senate Democrats have been holding their own virtual listening sessions with the press and public around the state.
By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Virginia Democrats have announced plans to begin examining criminal justice reform proposals to take up later this summer. House and Senate Democrats are creating special committees to vet the measures ahead of an anticipated August special session. The House will combine its Courts of Justice and Public Safety committees, while the Senate will merge its Judiciary and Rehabilitation and Social Services committees.
Associated Press
Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn is announcing three public hearings on criminal justice matters ahead of a special session set for later this summer. Filler-Corn, a Democrat, announced the special hearings Friday, saying they would take place in July and August.
By GABBY BIRENBAUM, The Hill
Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s gubernatorial campaign announced Friday it has raised $275,000 in her first week as a candidate for next year's Democratic primary. The haul puts McClellan in a strong position for what's likely to be a crowded Democratic field with potential candidates like former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, state Attorney General Mark Herring and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
Virginia Mercury
In an order Friday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission imposed conditions that must be met before a contentious natural gas expansion project can proceed. Virginia Natural Gas has been seeking approval to expand its pipeline and compressor station infrastructure in Northern and Central Virginia, primarily to supply a natural gas-fired power plant proposed by C4GT, though that project remains stalled amid “market uncertainties,” the developers say, in the regional PJM power grid’s capacity market.
By KAYLYNN STEPHENS, WAVY
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) on Friday urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop the transfer of individuals in ICE custody during the coronavirus pandemic. This includes transfers that recently resulted in a spike of more than 50 COVID-19 cases at the ICE detention facility in Farmville, Va.
By ROBERT SORRELL, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
A Virginia man has been arrested after authorities said he called an Abingdon office to threaten to kill U.S. Senator Mark Warner. Dylan Stephen Jayne, 37, of Virginia Beach, was arrested Thursday on a federal criminal complaint and charged with one count of transmitting a threat via interstate commerce by leaving a voicemail message and threatening to kill Warner.
By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A man who allegedly left a voicemail threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in a Social Security dispute was arrested in Virginia Beach on Thursday, federal authorities said. According to an affidavit from a special agent with the U.S. Capitol Police, on Sept. 2, Dylan Stephen Jayne, 37, of Virginia Beach, called Warner’s office in Abingdon and left a voicemail threatening to kill him “by someone else” if Warner did not do as instructed.
By NICK CONIGLIARO, WFXR
Phase 3 of Virginia’s reopening plan starts on July 1, but with the restrictions set forth a lot of different venues still can’t open their doors. Sporting events, concert venues, stadiums like the Richmond Raceway in Henrico all still really can’t start bringing people in with the current 1,000 person limit. So, they created a task force of nearly 200 entertainment groups to put together a plan to get people safely in their seats.
By SANDY HAUSMAN, WVTF
Experts estimate nearly a quarter of a million Virginians are close to losing their homes, and thousands could be evicted in the midst of a pandemic without financial help. “People who are renting, an awful lot of them were already in really over their heads just because there’s not enough affordable housing,” says Phil Storey, an attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
By ELIZABETH BELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Small Chesterfield County businesses that have been hurt by COVID-19 can begin applying next week for a grant of up to $10,000. This is the second round of the $5 million Back in Business program, which was created by the county in partnership with the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce.
By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
A North Carolina-based lumber company has acquired the assets of the W.T. Jones & Sons Inc. pine sawmill in Caroline County with plans to upgrade the facility. Ashton Lewis Holding Co. expects to invest about $11 million at the sawmill in the Ruther Glen area of the county to establish a new specialty southern yellow pine operation, state officials announced on Friday.
By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
The nonprofit corporation that owns the public television and radio stations in Richmond, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg has laid off about 15% of its workforce. VPM, which stands for Virginia’s home for Public Media, eliminated the 17 positions this week at its offices in Chesterfield County as well as in its Charlottesville and Harrisonburg offices, said Benae Mosby, the public broadcasting company’s director of marketing and communications
By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The number of coronavirus tests given in Virginia is ramping back up and the percentage of positive tests is continuing to go down. More than 13,000 tests were performed over the past 24 hours, according to data released by the Virginia Department of Health on Friday. In total, 603,870 tests have been given.
By ANTONIO OLIVO, RACHEL CHASON AND KYLE SWENSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
In coming days, more Washingtonians will be chatting over a meal inside restaurants, huffing through a workout in a neighborhood gym or settling into a barber’s chair for an overdue haircut. Along for the ride in many instances will be the novel coronavirus. The District, Maryland and Virginia are not yet seeing the spikes underway in some southern and western states that reopened faster, and with fewer restrictions, than states on the East Coast. But as Virginia prepares to enter a Stage 3 reopening on July 1, with Maryland and D.C. likely to follow soon after, experts say there is little doubt that some kind of surge will happen soon.
By HOLLY PRESTIDGE, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
The Virginia Department of Health reported Friday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 60,570 — an increase of 624 from the 59,946 reported Thursday. The 60,570 cases consist of 57,977 confirmed cases and 2,593 probable cases.
By BRIAN FUNK, Galax Gazette
The number of local COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the Twin Counties, and according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Galax now has the second-highest rate of coronavirus infection in the state, just behind Richmond. On June 16, VDH confirmed a total 447 coronavirus cases in our area, and 17 deaths due to the respiratory virus so far.
By SEAN GORMAN AND ELIZABETH BELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday night, police moved into the circle of the Lee monument, which has been the base of racial protests in Richmond over the past several weeks. A protester threw an object at the police, and was shouted down by other protesters. Shortly after, the police released several rounds of chemical irritants into the crowd. The police officially declared an unlawful assembly at 10:17 p.m.
By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
In the early morning hours Wednesday, members of the Virginia Department of General Services combed through the grassy area around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue and confiscated the tents, books and a broken basketball hoop that had been left there for the past week. But crews let a large forest green sign on the western corner of the grounds remain undisturbed. It reads “Welcome to Beautiful Marcus-David Peters Circle, Liberated by the People MMXX.”
By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A Smyth County man was arrested Friday and charged with lying to federal agents about his involvement in the burning of a cross on the front lawn of an African American woman’s home and criminal interference with fair housing based upon the victim’s race. James Brown, 40, of Marion was charged in connection with the June 14 incident in Marion, a town in Smyth County in Southwest Virginia.
By JESSICA NOLTE, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
“This is hate, not heritage” read a sign sitting at the bottom of the tarp-covered Confederate monument in front of the old Warwick County Courthouse in the Denbigh area of Newport News. About 50 demonstrators gathered Friday evening near the monument to call for its swift removal after the Newport News City Council met Tuesday and discussed moving the monument in October.
By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
A segment that aired on the Fox News program "Tucker Carlson Tonight" has drawn national attention to Fredericksburg and inflamed tensions between protesters and some city residents. On his program Thursday night, Carlson played a portion of a 911 call made from downtown Fredericksburg on June 13 by a woman reporting that she was trapped in her car by protesters, that she couldn't get out of the area and that the protesters were scaring her child.
By BRIAN FUNK, Galax Gazette
On June 19 in Hillsville, Tyler Jackson and nearly 50 others marched from the Carroll County Library to a gathering at the Carroll County Governmental Complex to protest police brutality and systemic racism in the country, and to raise awareness for the hurt within the Black community. It was the third march in our area in the past month, the first two held in Galax.
By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
As anti-racist protests in communities across Virginia and other states push to remove Confederate monuments from public spaces, a new petition is calling for local officials to relocate two monuments from outside the Washington County Courthouse in Abingdon to a nearby cemetery.
By MIKE MURILLO, WTOP
The termination process of an Alexandria police officer has begun after an investigation into his use of force was deemed unjustified. The police department said the decision to fire the officer comes after an investigation into the incident, which involved the officer, who is white, and a white man.
By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP
In the movies, “Remember the Titans” is the true-to-life story of attempts by African-American coach Herman Boone to integrate an Alexandria, Virginia, high school football team that went on to win the state championship. Though the Titans of T.C. Williams High were inclusive, Williams — the city school superintendent from the 1930s to 1963 — was a vocal segregationist.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Interim Richmond Police Chief William “Jody” Blackwell stepped down Friday afternoon. Hours later, at a news conference shortly before 9 p.m., Mayor Levar Stoney announced he had hand-picked a new police chief to take over the department under fire for its handling of Black Lives Matter protests that have gripped the city for the past four weeks. Stoney said he had hired Gerald Smith, deputy police chief in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, as the department’s new chief.
Associated Press
The interim police chief in Richmond, Virginia, has resigned after 11 days on the job, and a new chief has been named to fill his role. “I ask that you all keep up the good fight and I pray that I didn’t serve as a disappointment,” Interim Richmond Police Chief William Blackwell wrote in an email to officers announcing his resignation, news outlets reported.
By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A 33-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department is among three new candidates who filed to run for mayor by a deadline this week. George Banks, a Richmond native, said he has long considered entering politics after he retires, but felt compelled to run now amid the ongoing protests against racial injustice and police violence, despite having shot a man while on duty earlier in his career.
By JENNIFER RICE, WTVR
Minority students who attend Henrico County Public Schools are amplifying their voices and highlighting their encounters with racial discrimination through an anonymous Instagram page called Black at HCPS. The Instagram account made its debut June 19, 2020 with the following statement within an in-feed post.
By JESS NOCERA, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
As the pandemic rages on, the city of Petersburg’s financial health is taking a hit. With restaurants shuttered or struggling to get by on takeout, meals tax collections the city relies on are down. When it comes to personal property — car tax, water bills — and real estate taxes, “people are not paying these things as quickly as they normally would,” City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides said in an interview.
By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Newport News’ coronavirus pandemic cost-cutting will outpace shortfalls to tax and fee collections, according to projections presented to the City Council Tuesday. The current fiscal year ends June 30, and the city expects it will finish with a surplus of $2.3 million.
By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Albemarle students will return to school Sept. 8 after the School Board approved the 2020-21 calendar Friday. The three-week delay will give division staff and teachers more time to plan for the resumption of in-person schooling, officials said. Teachers would return to work Aug. 18. The calendar preserves all student breaks and ends the school year June 18.
By JOSH GULLY, Northern Virginia Daily
A petition to remove supervisors Tony Carter and Archie Fox from office has been dropped from Warren County Circuit Court. In October, the petition was filed against all supervisors in office at the time – including three former board members Linda Glavis, Dan Murray and Tom Sayre. The petition claimed their lacking oversight of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority resulted in alleged embezzlement.
By LEANNA SMITH, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)
Staunton City Council Thursday voted to name the Staunton City Council Chambers the Rita S. Wilson Council Chambers in honor of the former councilwoman and community leader who died in 2016. Vice Mayor Ophie Kier introduced the proposal during Thursday's council meeting —his last meeting before newly elected members are sworn in on July 1.
By ANNIE SCHROEDER, WSLS
A Bedford County man has spent most of his life driving a school bus, but has now handed over his keys. James Bryant Sr. said he has driven almost every route in Bedford County. He started working for the county in 1959.
By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Barely six months into her first term, Councilwoman Johana Hicks is dealing with an ethics complaint and was even told by a fellow council member to consider resigning. Hicks’ short but tumultuous council experience came to a head Tuesday night during a council meeting. The main question surrounding her: Have her politics been misunderstood or repudiated by other council members, or is she in over her head?
By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
To Virginia Democrats, politics is for the birds — seabirds, that is. At their virtual convention a week ago, Democrats went on record in support of efforts to protect these migratory birds, thousands of which flock annually to nesting grounds in coastal Virginia. That included a tiny island along the path of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel paved over as part of a $3.9 billion expansion.
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