VaNews
July 2, 2020

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** Confederate Stonewall Jackson statue removed in Richmond ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Richmond’s grand statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson came down Wednesday in a sudden thunderstorm and a burst of mayoral muscle, becoming the latest Confederate monument toppled amid a national reckoning on racism and injustice. Hundreds gathered to watch crews dismantle the statue, one of five honoring Confederate icons on Monument Avenue in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy.
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** ‘I’ve been wanting to see this all my life.’ Celebration in Richmond as Confederate memorials come down. ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

David Randolph grew up impoverished in Charlotte County just a mile from the plantation where his great grandparents were enslaved. Today he and his son work together as doctors — both radiation oncologists — at Johnston-Willis Medical Center in Chesterfield. And that’s where he was when he got a call from a friend early Wednesday afternoon letting him know that crews in Richmond were about to take down a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. He didn’t hesitate.
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** Anti-eviction protest ends with arrests, window smashed at downtown Richmond courthouse ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

As onlookers cheered the removal of a Confederate statue from Richmond’s Monument Avenue on Wednesday, hundreds rallied downtown to protest a wave of eviction cases backlogged during a court-issued moratorium that expired Sunday. Demonstrators outraged by the prospect of people ending up homeless as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on marched from the John Marshall Courts Building to the Executive Mansion and back chanting, “Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a right!” and “Eviction is violence.”
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** Phased in: Bowling, skating and swimming return in Virginia, but no sliding down water slides or sitting at bars ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW KORFHAGE, LISA VERNON SPARKS, PETER COUTU AND KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The neon lights glowed inside Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, the bowling balls at Pinboy’s were scrubbed clean and the roller skating rink at Sk8 Dojo was just days away from welcoming back fans of the four wheels. Is that a smile I sense behind your mask? As Virginia’s phased approach to reopening the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic entered its third stage on Wednesday, it offered one of the first opportunities in more than three months for people to be entertained.
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** Virginia sports crisis: 'I probably would not play sports this fall,' epidemiologist says ([link removed])
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By PATRICK HITE, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

For those holding out hope that the high school sports season will start on time in the fall, you may not want to hear what Charlotte Baker has to say. Baker is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Virginia Tech. She's been closely studying COVID-19 and its effects, and she isn't optimistic about the fall sports season in Virginia high schools. "In general, I probably would not play sports this fall," she said. "Simply because we're not sure what this disease is going to do."
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** Walmart Labs leases large block of space in Northern Virginia ([link removed])
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By DANIEL J. SERNOVITZ, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Walmart Labs plans to establish a new technology center in a freshly renovated office building near the Herndon Metro Station, according to two sources familiar with the deal, further bolstering the region's status as a tech hub. The retail giant's technology arm has leased all of 2245 Monroe St., a roughly 162,300 square-foot building owned by an affiliate of Barings Real Estate, according to the sources, who were not authorized to comment on the lease.
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** Public Weighs In on Greenway Toll Increase: ‘NO!" ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

The State Corporation Commission held a remote public hearing on the Dulles Greenway’s proposal to increase tolls each year for the next five years on Tuesday, and heard from elected officials, business leaders and residents that they should deny the toll increase. “The proposal to increase tolls yet again—over 30 percent over 5 years in the middle of a pandemic that has caused record unemployment claims in Loudoun and around the Commonwealth—is so egregious and such an insult to the residents of Loudoun County—that it is truly as if TRIP II is taunting us,” said Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles).
The Full Report
61 articles, 28 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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** Richmond man who claims innocence in a 1996 murder is granted conditional pardon ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A Richmond man convicted of a 1996 murder that happened when he was 16 years old, and which he has always maintained he did not commit, was granted a conditional pardon Wednesday by Gov. Ralph Northam. Rojai Fentress, 40, was sentenced to 53 years for the drug-related murder that happened after parole was abolished in Virginia.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth files defamation suit against man organizing effort to recall her ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

State Sen. Louise Lucas filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a Virginia Beach attorney who is trying to have her ousted from office. Tim Anderson launched the effort after a protest during which Portsmouth’s Confederate monument was heavily damaged and a demonstrator was seriously injured. WAVY-TV reported that Anderson accused Lucas of inciting a riot, a felony, and of telling police to stand down while people defaced the monument.
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** Va. Minority Business Commission starts Wednesday ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

With the initiation of a swath of bills passed during the most recent Virginia General Assembly session, the bill that creates the Minority Business Commission went into effective Wednesday, July 1. The Minority Business Commission will provide policy input and operational guidance to the General Assembly with a goal of addressing challenges facing minority business owners. Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature on the budget bill funded and authorized the creation of the commission.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe raises $1.7M for potential comeback bid ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe raised $1.7 million in political cash over the past two months, the strongest sign yet that the Democrat intends to seek the state’s top political office in 2021. McAuliffe, 63, served four years as Virginia’s chief executive, leaving office in January 2018. He could not have run for reelection at that time because the state prohibits its governors from serving back-to-back terms.
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** Jennifer Carroll Foy wants to be Virginia's first female governor ([link removed])
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By BROOKE NICHOLSON, RVA Magazine

Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy knew she wanted to play a part in social change since high school. Now this candidate for Virginia Governor and chief sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment is ramping up her campaign, despite the challenges this year has brought. Even in the middle of a pandemic, election season doesn’t wait for anything; and although the coronavirus has put a damper on just about everything in life, the run for electing the next Governor is on.
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** Chase: Governor should declare martial law in Richmond ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

...GOP state Sen. Amanda F. Chase said Wednesday she wants Gov. Ralph S. Northam to declare martial law in the city of Richmond in the wake of weeks of unrest in the city following the death of a Texas African American man at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. “The Democrats and their allies in the media have fallen over themselves hailing the anarchists destroying our country as ‘heroes,’” Chase said.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Norfolk wedding photographer sues Virginia, says new law forces him to promote LGBT couples ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A Norfolk wedding photographer is suing Virginia, arguing a new anti-discrimination law that took effect Wednesday violates his First Amendment rights. The photographer, Chris Herring, believes the Virginia Values Act forces him to promote same-sex marriage against his religious beliefs.
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** Virginia wedding photographer sues over pro-LGBT state law ([link removed])
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By ALEX SWOYER, Washington Times

A Virginia wedding photographer filed a lawsuit in federal court this week to stop a state law from going into effect that would require him to promote same-sex weddings on his website, saying it violates his First Amendment rights. Chris Herring, the owner of Chris Herring Photography, filed his 53-page complaint in Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday ahead of the Virginia Values Act going into effect later this week.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Virginia 30 Day Fund reaches milestone ([link removed])
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CBS 19

A nonprofit helping small businesses across Virginia that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has now helped its 500th company. The Virginia 30 Day Fund announced on Wednesday that it has provided financial assistance to 500 small businesses across the Commonwealth. The fund was co-founded in April by Charlottesville-resident Pete Snyder, and it has raised more than $3 million in that time.
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** Indivior's ex-CEO pleads guilty to U.S opioid marketing charge ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The CEO of a Chesterfield County-based drug company who resigned this week has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the company’s sales of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. Shaun Thaxter, who served for 10 years as the top executive for pharmaceutical firm Indivior PLC pleaded guilty in federal court in Abingdon on Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** After Multitude of Issues, Silver Line Phase Two Almost Done ([link removed])
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By CATHERINE DOUGLAS MORAN, Reston Now

After a variety of issues and delays, Silver Line’s Phase Two is now aiming for completion in spring 2021. Updates on the second phase of the Silver Line were briefly mentioned due to time constraints during the Transportation Committee yesterday. Phase Two will connect six new stations to the Wiehle-Reston East, bringing Metro riders out to Ashburn.
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** Runaway pigs wreak havoc on Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania, Caroline ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK AND CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Southbound Interstate 95 lanes were disrupted Wednesday afternoon in Spotsylvania and Caroline counties by loose pigs that wandered into traffic. It’s not clear how the runaway pigs made it onto the interstate, or if they all made it through the ordeal safely, but two areas were cleared at 1:40 p.m., according to Kelly Hannon, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Virginia Tech seeks refund for $60,000-plus worth of recalled COVID-19 antibody tests ([link removed])
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By MIKE NIZIOLEK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia Tech is seeking a refund for more than $60,000 worth of COVID-19 antibody tests it purchased from Chembio Diagnostic Systems in late April. The Food and Drug Administration recalled the test on June 16 “due to performance concerns with the accuracy of the test,” according to a release put out by the agency.
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** William & Mary students frustrated with portion of budget spent on James Monroe’s Highland ([link removed])
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By ALEXA DOIRON & JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

A new student petition has surfaced at William & Mary protesting the funding of a plantation formerly owned by James Monroe, fifth president of the United States.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia enters third phase of pandemic recovery, while Maryland’s Six Flags reopens ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, EMILY DAVIES, DAN ROSENZWEIG-ZIFF AND DANA HEDGPETH, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia entered a more expansive phase of reopening Wednesday, while amusement park enthusiasts streamed into Six Flags America in Maryland for the first time since March — an early kickoff to the Fourth of July weekend amid frayed nerves over a recent resurgence of coronavirus infections in the country. Under Phase 3 of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan for reviving the pandemic-stifled economy, groups of as many as 250 people are allowed to gather. Restaurants and other nonessential businesses can operate at full capacity with physical distancing measures in place while swimming pools and gyms can function at 75 percent capacity with restrictions in place.
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** 'I think people are excited': More businesses reopen under Phase 3 guidelines ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN AND ELIZABETH BELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

As Willia Watson headed into Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in South Richmond on Wednesday morning, she was excited to be able to gamble for the first time since mid-March when the business had to shut down over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve had good luck here,” Watson said. Still, the 70-year-old Richmond resident came to the Midlothian Turnpike gaming emporium on the first day of its reopening wearing nursing gloves and a face mask.
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** Health officials have fielded more than 3,000 complaints related to Virginia’s mask order ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

A little more than a month after Gov. Ralph Northam implemented a statewide mask mandate, the Virginia Department of Health has fielded more than 3,000 complaints related to the order. Follow-up, though, has been almost universally limited to “outreach and assistance,” according to VDH and more than a dozen local health districts that fall under the department’s jurisdiction.
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** Fewer than 500 new coronavirus cases reported Wednesday in Virginia ([link removed])
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By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Fewer than 500 new coronavirus cases were reported overnight in Virginia, according to data released Wednesday morning by the Virginia Department of Health. The state’s tally is now 63,203, adding 416 cases. Of the total cases, 60,528 are confirmed and 2,675 are probable, meaning they’re symptomatic and have a known exposure to the illness.
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** Camp closes due to coronavirus as the disease infects younger people in the Roanoke Valley ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

COVID-19 is becoming a young person’s disease this month, as cases shift generations. The YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge closed summer camp in Botetourt County until after the July 4 holiday once a staffer tested positive. “Upon learning of this, we immediately executed our COVID response protocol and contacted the Virginia Department of Health,” President and CEO Mark Johnson said in a statement.
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** Travel, failing to follow guidelines blamed for COVID rise in NE Tenn., SW Va. ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Visits to hot spots and failing to follow health guidelines are blamed for sharp increases of COVID-19 cases across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. A total of 369 new cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed in the 10 counties of Northeast Tennessee during the two-week period from June 17 to July 1, a 43.7% increase in total cases since the pandemic began, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.
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** COVID-19 death toll underreported, study finds ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

A joint Virginia Commonwealth University and Yale University study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the COVID-19 death counts reported to the U.S. public underestimate the true death toll of the pandemic in the country. “There are several potential reasons for this under-count,” lead author Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of VCU’s Center on Society and Health, said in a statement.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Stonewall Jackson removed from Richmond’s Monument Avenue ([link removed])
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By DENISE LAVOIE AND ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Work crews wielding a giant crane, harnesses and power tools wrested an imposing statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its concrete pedestal along Richmond, Virginia’s famed Monument Avenue on Wednesday, just hours after the mayor ordered the removal of all Confederate statues from city land. Mayor Levar Stoney’s decree came weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of the most prominent and imposing statue along the avenue: that of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which sits on state land. The removal of the Lee statue has been stalled pending the resolution of several lawsuits.
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** Richmond removes statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson from Monument Avenue ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Cast in bronze astride a horse, the statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had towered over Monument Avenue for a century. No longer. To cheers, a crew of workers dispatched by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Wednesday hoisted the 6-ton statue from its pedestal. More than 1,000 people at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Arthur Ashe Boulevard waited for hours, braving lightning and a downpour to witness the historic moment.
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** Richmond Removes Stonewall Jackson Statue From Monument Avenue ([link removed])
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By AIMEE ORTIZ, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)

One hundred fifty-five years after Robert E. Lee surrendered, the former capital of the Confederacy is re-examining the painful legacy that it publicly memorialized on Monument Avenue. The former capital, Richmond, Va., took down a statue of the Confederate general Stonewall Jackson on Wednesday after Mayor Levar Stoney used emergency powers to order its immediate removal, along with other Confederate statues on city property.
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** 'A lot of positive happiness': Removal of Stonewall Jackson statue culminates a historic day in Richmond. ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PHILLIPS, LANE KIZZIAH AND JOHANNA ALONSO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

At the midway point of a year defined by the unbelievable, came a scene nothing short of incredible. After a day of anticipation, the skies opened and thunder roared as workers removed a 12,000-pound statue of Stonewall Jackson from its pedestal on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
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** As Richmond’s Confederate statues come down, Charlottesville’s remain standing ([link removed])
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By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

Despite the fact Confederate monuments in Virginia’s capital of Richmond have started to come down after Wednesday’s emergency order by Mayor Levar Stoney, Charlottesville’s statues, which in part led to the new law allowing localities to remove Confederate monuments, are still in place. . . . Even though Charlottesville’s city council voted to remove the statues in 2017, it hasn’t happened, despite the Unite the Right white nationalist rally, in which counter protester Heather Heyer was killed.
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** They may sit on public land, but not all Confederate monuments are publicly owned ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

The statue came down quietly, in the early hours of a Tuesday morning in June. The scene was decidedly anticlimactic. There were no cheering crowds. No charges of disorderly conduct or arrests. Instead, police and passersby simply stood and watched as a crew lifted down from its pedestal the bronze figure of the Confederate soldier known as “Appomattox” that for 131 years had sat near the heart of the city of Alexandria.
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** Time capsule at base of Norfolk’s Confederate monument unearthed ([link removed])
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By DENISE M. WATSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Norfolk workers on Tuesday unearthed a metal time capsule that had been buried on Feb. 22, 1899 at the base of the recently removed “Johnny Reb” Confederate monument. The box, green and black with age, was not opened. City spokeswoman Lori Crouch said it will be placed in a Sargeant Memorial Collection vault at the Slover Library for the time being.
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** More than 30 gather for protest at Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse ([link removed])
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By ALEX PERRY, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

More than 30 protesters peacefully gathered in demonstration Wednesday evening at the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse on Monticello Avenue. Protesters began standing on the sidewalk near the intersection of Monticello Avenue and Courthouse Street at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. They held signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “no justice, no peace.”
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** Fredericksburg protesters confront police over use of tear gas in early demonstrations ([link removed])
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By KEITH EPPS, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

It’s been a month since the Black Lives Matters protesters were tear-gassed in Fredericksburg and on the Falmouth Bridge during a couple of their early marches. Their eyes have long stopped burning, but it was clear Wednesday that the painful memories of those encounters are still as fresh as ever. “Those were the scariest days of my life,” protest leader Eddie Banks said in front of a large group outside the Fredericksburg Police Department.
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** Officials fear for separate Marion protests' safety ([link removed])
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By JASMINE DENT FRANKS, Smyth County News & Messenger

A change in a planned protest route and inflammatory comments on social media have the Marion Police Department concerned about the safety of those involved in two demonstrations scheduled Friday in downtown Marion. On June 21, local Black Lives Matter protest organizers announced that their second rally, which is also in support of the LGBTQ community, will be held Friday at the farmers market pavilion, with a march to follow.
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** Militia muster call sent out to Grayson citizens ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Galax Gazette

A meeting will be held July 4 for volunteers who wish to form a citizen militia in support of liberties and rights for Grayson County. Volunteers for the unorganized militia of Grayson County – defined in Virginia code State Statute 44-1 as “all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth… who are at least 16 years of age, and not more than 55 years of age” – have been called to muster at 1502 Vista Road in Independence on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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** One of America’s aircraft carriers is named for a segregationist. Some want to rename it. ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As a Mississippi senator, John C. Stennis signed the infamous “Southern Manifesto” decrying integration. He fought black equality in the Navy and, as a prosecutor, sought execution for three black men who’d been tortured into confessing. For several decades, his name has graced an aircraft carrier currently based in Norfolk — the only senator to have that honor.
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** Eating your catch? Stick with trout, avoid rockfish if you’re fishing Chesapeake Bay watershed ([link removed])
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By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

Almost half of all game fish in the Chesapeake Bay’s freshwater lakes, rivers and streams may be unsafe to eat, because of high levels of mercury, according to a recent study by the United States Geological Survey. The most contaminated fish caught and consumed by anglers, and often found on menus, were striped bass or rockfish, followed by walleye, largemouth bass and flathead catfish. Trout seemed to be safest.


** LOCAL
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** Alexandria police officer charged with assault on handcuffed man, city says ([link removed])
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By MARTIN WEIL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

An Alexandria, Va., police officer was arrested Tuesday evening and charged in connection with an incident earlier this year in which a man in handcuffs was forced to the ground and injured, city officials said. In addition, the city said three supervisors who allegedly failed to investigate the incident “promptly enough” had been disciplined.
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** Fairfax citizens’ group debates redirecting police funding ([link removed])
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By DICK ULIANO, WTOP

A citizens’ group devoted to battling racism in Fairfax County, Virginia, held a discussion about redirecting police funds to other agencies during an online forum Wednesday. As racial justice protests have erupted following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and sparked growing calls to “defund the police,” the Fairfax Communities of Trust Committee sponsored an online forum which, among other topics, featured a discussion about the idea of redirecting funds away from police agencies and toward other government programs.
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** Falls Church weighs changes to school names ([link removed])
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By ANDREA CAMBRON, WTOP

As calls grow to change the names of Virginia public schools in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality, the Falls Church City School Board met Tuesday to consider some changes of their own. Greg Anderson, the chair of the committee, said at the beginning of the work session, “I think we can all agree we’re in a unique moment in our nation’s history” as the board discussed public petitions calling for the renaming of George Mason High School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, in line with the system’s policy on equity and inclusion. Both men were Founding Fathers, but also owned slaves.
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** After Fatal Police Shooting in 2002, Richmond Rebuffed Investigations, Reform ([link removed])
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By WHITTNEY EVANS, WCVE

Decisions made about the future of the Richmond Police Department amid protests and civil unrest have left many people in the community scratching their heads. Mayor Levar Stoney asked former Police Chief William Smith to step down earlier this month, shortly after the department came under fire for violent, and some argue, unconstitutional treatment of protesters. Stoney himself called some of the officer’s actions “unwarranted.”
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** Black community leaders propose citizen oversight of county police ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

After leading more than 1,000 people down Iron Bridge Road in early June to protest police brutality, three Black community leaders are pushing for systemic change at the Chesterfield County Police Department. Amid national outrage and protest following the brutal police killing of George Floyd on May 25, county residents Michael Jackson, Shedrick McCall and Tavorise Marks met on June 5 with County Administrator Joe Casey and the chief of police and submitted a list of six policy proposals that would significantly increase citizen oversight of local police.
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** Virginia Beach firefighters attacked while trying to save motorcyclist’s life, officials say ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia Beach firefighters were “pushed and kicked” Monday night as they attempted to treat a man gravely injured in a motorcycle crash near the city’s Oceanfront, officials said. Some in the crowd who gathered at the scene then followed an ambulance to a hospital, where they “began to jump on, kick and hit multiple EMS vehicles” parked outside, according to a fire department daily briefing filed afterwards.
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** VBCPS plans for safe return for student-athletes, athletic department staff, and other school personnel ([link removed])
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By KAYLYNN STEPHENS, WAVY

Virginia Beach City Public Schools announced fall sports and student-athletes will be welcomed back to the fields and tracks on Monday, July 6. Virginia Beach City Public Schools has established a protocol to provide guidance and management regarding the safe return to play for student-athletes, families, athletic department staff, and other school personnel.
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** City of Norfolk resumes some in-person services Wednesday ([link removed])
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By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The City of Norfolk is slowly reopening its doors this week and next, including select recreation centers and libraries, according to a city news release. Wednesday marked the state’s entry into Phase 3 of reopening, and the city said several buildings will reopen to the public with restrictions.
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** Portsmouth Police Department announces new community advisory committee ([link removed])
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By JESSICA NOLTE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Portsmouth residents will soon be able to review police department policies, procedures and programs that affect the community as part of the department’s new community advisory committee. The Portsmouth Police Department announced Wednesday that it was accepting applications from residents and business owners/operators over the age of 18. Committee representatives will have “candid and open discussions” about police trends, the department said in a news release.
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** Newport News mulling a ban of open-carry firearms in city buildings ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Newport News City Council members have a draft of a new regulation that would ban the open carry of firearms in city buildings. A slew of gun bills will go in effect Wednesday, including one that would allow city and county governing bodies to ban guns in their buildings and other areas they own or control. Newport News Del. Cia Price pitched the bill in the General Assembly, and her father, Mayor McKinley Price, has taken it up in the city.
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** Onley mayor takes fellow council members to court ([link removed])
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By JASON MARKS, WAVY

Inside an Accomack County courtroom, a small-town mayor decided to take his colleagues to court. “I’m sorry to all my constituents that we have to go through this, but they left me no choice,” said Onley Mayor Matt Hart. In June, Hart was publicly reprimanded by his fellow council members. They say he created a hostile, abusive work environment.
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** Albemarle begins process to reconsider Confederate statue ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the county’s Confederate statue on August 6. On Wednesday, the board approved to schedule and advertise the August public hearing on its intent to “remove, relocate, contextualize or cover” a monument to Confederate soldiers at the Albemarle courthouse.
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** Charlottesville city facilities to remain in Phase Two restrictions as area opens up ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

While other areas of Virginia open a little wider under Phase Three of Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to ease public health restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Charlottesville city facilities will remain one step behind. City Manager Tarron Richardson on Wednesday decided to keep the Phase Two status quo for the city facilities, according to city spokesman Brian Wheeler.
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** Lynchburg police hold first listening session in wake of protests against inequality in law enforcement ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

As Lynchburg police attempt to grapple with calls for reform, department officials Wednesday held the first of six listening sessions to better understand the unease in the community. Held in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and in response to local protests demanding the end to racial inequities in law enforcement, police presented the event as an opportunity for Hill City residents to share their individual concerns.
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** City seeks input on renaming Jubal Early Drive ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The city is seeking public input on whether Jubal Early Drive should be renamed. A short survey is now available online at www.winchesterva.gov/jubal-early-drive-renaming. The deadline to respond to the survey is 8 a.m. July 13.
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** Additional Roanoke County students could go back to classroom, but school board still doesn't agree on plan ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Younger Roanoke County students may be able to social distance at a smaller distance, allowing for the possibility of more students returning to daily in-person learning, according to Superintendent Ken Nicely. Roanoke County School Board members still haven’t come to a consensus on a return to school plan.
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** Danville, Pittsylvania County courts proceeding with evictions ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

The attorneys at the Virginia Legal Aid Society in Danville have been “clearing their plates” for months in anticipation of the moratorium on evictions in Virginia coming to a close. As of Monday, Virginia courts can begin hearing eviction cases for the first time in several months.


** EDITORIALS
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** Why doesn't Floyd have a monument to those who stayed loyal to the U.S.? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The Confederate statue outside the Floyd County Courthouse — like many others — has drawn a lot of attention recently. One event turned tense when a group holding a vigil in memory of George Floyd drew a small counter-demonstration that apparently supported the monument’s presence, along with hecklers who drove by and shouted from pickup trucks, and one Confederate flag-waving man who was arrested when he threatened to beat one of the men attending the vigil. If you look at that showdown through the long lens of history, you shouldn’t be surprised.
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** The small miracle of trustworthy elections ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A remarkable thing happened at the Newport News City Council chambers on Monday afternoon. Cleon Long, a candidate to represent the Central District on council, lost the May 19 election by 56 votes to incumbent Council member Pat Woodbury. Long filed for a recount and, following a hearing at the Circuit Court, that was carried out carefully and painstakingly at the council chambers.
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** Saving the city’s small businesses ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Small businesses—especially those that are based on providing in-person services to the public, such as bars, restaurants, gyms and beauty salons—have taken it on the chin since mid-March, when Virginia’s coronavirus lockdown began. Most of them had to either close down completely, or drastically change their method of operations in order to comply with Gov. Ralph Northam’s mandated social distancing orders.
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** Goodbye Confederate statues ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

On Wednesday, a host of new Virginia laws went into effect. One of those new measures gives localities the ability to keep or remove Confederate statues as they see fit. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney wasted no time in putting that law into action. Using what he calls his “emergency powers,” on Wednesday, cranes appeared on Monument Avenue to comply with the mayor’s order to take down the statues.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Williams: The fall of Stonewall Jackson is just a start ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

For more than a century, the larger-than-life bronze of Stonewall Jackson towered above one of our most prominent intersections, a symbol of Richmond’s immutability. “We place today on a high pedestal Virginia’s flawless knight,” Col. Robert E. Lee, grandson of the general, said at the Oct. 11, 1919, unveiling of the monument. But recently, seemingly all at once for a critical mass of folks, the flaws in this narrative became too hideous to ignore as Richmond reached a saturation point for Lost Cause propaganda.
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** Schapiro: 'One of those guys who could see around the corner' ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The first thing you noticed about Bill Royall, beyond the great head of silvery hair and the horn-rimmed glasses, was his voice. It was a cross between a whisper and a growl. It lent itself to his informed, sometimes gossipy asides that one would acknowledge — at least, in a crowded room — with an appreciative nod or muffled laughter.


** OP-ED
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** Adams: Elites don't understand Republican base ([link removed])
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By MELVIN ADAMS, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

I am often amused by the writings of self-proclaimed experts on Republican politics in Virginia. The latest I read was an article written by Sophia A Nelson and published in The Roanoke Times on June 28, 2020. According to the article, her stated Republican credentials are: “former Republican Congressional Committee counsel.” Like so many self-proclaimed experts, she spoke negatively about our party and my fellow Republicans, implying that we were uninformed and out of touch with reality.

Melvin Adams is the Chairman of the 5th Congressional District Republican Committee of Virginia. He lives in Bedford County.
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** Little: Northam should halt pipeline construction ([link removed])
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By EMILY LITTLE, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

As healthcare professionals concerned about the health of our patients, our communities, and our planet, let us be clear: building out fossil fuel infrastructure that is neither safe nor needed is a bad idea. Building it in the midst of a pandemic that is disproportionately harming racial and ethnic minority communities is an even worse idea.

Little is a Charlottesville-based mother, nurse, climate activist and a member of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action.
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** Ellenson: Newport News should disband police squad ([link removed])
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By JAMES ELLENSON, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

“As the attorney who has successfully raised the issue of selective prosecution in this case, I find your reporting skewed beyond recognition. The challenge of selective prosecution is that blacks are disproportionately subjected to prosecution in federal court. The picture of the two black males proudly displaying money and automatic weapons on the front page under your headline about drugs and violence was irresponsible. Along with your article, it missed the point.

James Ellenson is a civil rights and criminal defense attorney who has practiced in Newport News since 1981.
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