VaNews
July 9, 2020

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Top of the News


** School reopening plans become political flash point ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

The debate over whether schools should reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic with in-person learning offered five days a week has become a political flash point in Virginia. The same day that President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal aid to state and local schools that don’t bring their students back in the fall, Virginia Republicans on Wednesday blasted Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam for not doing enough to ensure in-class instruction is available during the entire work week.
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** Health officials: Relaxed approach to precautions may be to blame for COVID-19 increase in Hampton Roads ([link removed])
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By JESSICA NOLTE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The rate for people testing positive for the coronavirus has been increasing in much of South Hampton Roads over the past two weeks. Health officials say the spike may be the result of a relaxed approach to public health precautions. “Now as we’re beginning to open up, we’re seeing behavior that may put people more at risk of transmission in our area,” said Dr. Demetria Lindsay, health director for Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
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** With eviction ban lifted, local judges look to delay hearings ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Two local judges are doing what they can to postpone evictions hearings in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and confusing guidance from the state. A ban on evictions that was instituted by the Virginia Supreme Court in March expired on June 29, putting thousands of families in the state at risk of eviction.
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** Virginia won’t release data on COVID-19 outbreaks at chicken plants ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

Virginia is refusing to release information on COVID-19 outbreaks at poultry processing plants on the grounds of privacy concerns, despite a June decision to provide such data for long-term care facilities. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Mercury in June after Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration began releasing facility-specific data for nursing homes, the Virginia Department of Health said it would not provide the same information for poultry processing plants “in order to ensure that VDH is able to preserve the anonymity of individuals whose medical records have been examined during the investigation of COVID-19.”
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** Lawsuit seeks to halt removal of Richmond's Confederate statues ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON AND JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

As Confederate monuments come down in Richmond, an anonymous person is seeking to block Mayor Levar Stoney from removing the statues. An unnamed party filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Richmond Circuit Court, claiming Stoney violated state law in ordering the immediate removal of the statues beginning last week.
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** Courthouse’s Confederate statue enters Giles County drug case ([link removed])
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By MIKE GANGLOFF, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

How can a Black defendant get a fair trial in the shadow of a Confederate monument? That was part of an argument made this week in a drug case in Giles County, in a courthouse where a statue of a Confederate soldier has stood guard outside for 111 years.
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** Toothache at privately run prison in Virginia leads to legal ache in federal court ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Conrad Burke had a temporary filling placed in a back tooth in January 2018, while being held at the Sussex I State Prison. Before it could be replaced with a permanent one, he was transferred to the Lawrenceville Correctional Center. In April 2018, after arriving at Lawrenceville, the state's only privately-run prison, the temporary filling fell out. He sought help but was told in writing that the prison did not have a dentist - as was required under its contract with the state of Virginia.
The Full Report
56 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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** Republicans push for full in-person school; Northam says they're 'playing politics' ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia Republicans on Wednesday called for students to return to school buildings five days a week this fall, citing new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. GOP lawmakers said during a virtual news conference that Gov. Ralph Northam should prioritize in-person learning for all students in the state, wading into a debate over when and how to return students to school buildings that shuttered in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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** Fairfax County schools reject Trump administration criticism of reopening plan ([link removed])
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By DICK ULIANO, WTOP

A Virginia school system is defending its plan for the fall, rejecting criticism by the Department of Education that Fairfax County parents are being given a “false paradigm” in the choice of either two days a week of in-classroom learning or five days a week of distance learning. “They must fully open, and they must be fully operational,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said.
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** Local officials respond to Trump's comments on next school year ([link removed])
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By JOSETTE KEELOR AND BRAD FAUBER, Northern Virginia Daily

Despite concerns expressed Tuesday by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Dr. Colin Greene, health director for the Lord Fairfax Health District, said Virginia's plans for reopening schools have not changed in recent days. "I'm not aware of any pressure from the government to open," Greene said. "Other than what's on the news, I haven't had any input from the federal government at all."
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** Virginia has eliminated backlog of more than 2,000 rape kits, attorney general says ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia has tested 2,665 rape kits that had been sitting in storage, eliminating the backlog of untested kits that had grown for years. Attorney General Mark Herring announced the milestone more than five years in the making at a news conference Wednesday in Richmond, saying the elimination of the backlog was one step in showing the state takes every case of sexual violence seriously and treats survivors with respect and compassion.
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** Virginia attorney general announces end to 'backlog' of rape kit testing ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said Wednesday that 2,665 physical evidence recovery kits collected from victims in old sexual assault investigations have been tested and that there will be no “backlog” of such tests in the state moving forward. “Virginia’s backlog of untested rape kits has been eliminated and it’s never coming back,” Herring said at a news conference.
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** Virginia eliminates backlog of 2,665 untested rape kits ([link removed])
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By TOM JACKMAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia has eliminated a backlog of 2,665 untested rape kits that had sat on shelves in local police departments for years, state Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced Wednesday. Herring (D) said a law that requires police to submit their kits to the state crime lab within 60 days should prevent such a backlog from occurring again, and victims can now track the progress of testing on their kits.
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** Virginia eliminates huge backlog of untested rape kits ([link removed])
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By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Virginia has eliminated a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, becoming only the seventh state in the country to do so, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said Wednesday. Herring said the project to test rape kits — some decades old — began in 2015. Since then, 2,665 rape kits have been tested, 851 new DNA profiles have been uploaded into a national DNA database and 354 “hits” have been sent to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
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** Va. is first Southern state to join Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that Virginia is the first Southern state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a collaborative among Northeast and mid-Atlantic states intended to combat climate change and reduce power sector greenhouse gas emissions through a “cap-and-invest” program. “As the southernmost state to join RGGI, Virginia is sending a powerful signal that our commonwealth is committed to fighting climate change and securing a clean energy future,” Northam said in a statement.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Senate panel OKs language explaining disputed redistricting amendment to voters ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

The General Assembly debate over Virginia’s redistricting reform amendment featured sharp disagreements over the most basic facts. To supporters, it was a bipartisan, achievable step toward ending gerrymandering after a decade of good-government advocacy. To opponents, it was a travesty that would enshrine gerrymandering in the state Constitution and potentially make things worse.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Police begin training on 'implicit bias' as Va. prepares for ban on handheld cellphones by drivers ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Law enforcement officers in Virginia soon will have an opportunity to learn how to check their own “implicit bias” in stopping motorists to enforce an impending state ban on holding a cellphone or other communications device while driving. The new law for hands-free cellphone use while driving will take effect on Jan. 1, but the first of two training programs will roll out at the end of the week to address the concerns of Black state lawmakers about the potential for racial profiling of drivers in enforcement of the new law.
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** Ahead of 2021 ban on holding cell phones while driving, police and public to get education ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation banning the use of handheld mobile devices, but it won’t go into effect until next year to give time to train law enforcement and educate the public. Northam signed the bills Wednesday during a virtual ceremony, where he was joined by the legislators who sponsored the bills as well as people who have been advocating for addressing the problem of distracted driving. “This is going to save lives,” said Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the legislation.
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** Despite Federal Protections, Local Courts to Hear Evictions ([link removed])
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By YASMINE JUMAA, WCVE

Evictions have resumed in Virginia — with 9,383 eviction hearings scheduled statewide through the end of July. However, some properties are still technically protected under a federal moratorium put in place under the CARES Act. The moratorium covers residents of subsidized and public housing and properties with federally-backed loans. Through July 25, landlords of these properties are prohibited from charging tenants late fees, or taking any eviction actions against them for nonpayment of rent.
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** At Virginia schools, coronavirus pandemic halted more than just in-person learning ([link removed])
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By MICHELLE MURILLO, WTOP

When it comes to making the decision to return to class in the fall, Virginia’s top educator said that there is more to consider than just the benefits of in-person learning. While learning is the major component, there are other vital services schools deliver, such as the free and reduced lunches a half-million kids in the state rely on.


** CONGRESS
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** Tim Kaine mulls tax idea to help everyone get access to the internet ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

At the corner of 16th and Ridley Court in the heart of southeast Newport News, Sen. Tim Kaine heard some unexpected news about one of the deepest digital divides in Virginia — and floated an idea for fixing it. Unlike the lack of wires or wireless towers that isolate hundreds of thousands in the countryside, many in Newport News simply can’t afford the devices — laptops, tablets or even wireless phones — they need to access the internet.
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** Kaine visits Caroline to help with food distribution ([link removed])
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By DAWN HAUN, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Angela Stanley of Spotsylvania County waited in her car for her turn at the popup food pantry in Caroline County on Wednesday and was surprised to see U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine among those handing out food. Stanley has been laid off from her job as a school bus driver since schools closed because of the spread of the coronavirus.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Virginia's Native American tribes remain split on Washington Redskins name ([link removed])
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By LANE KIZZIAH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Chief Kenneth Branham of the Monacan Indian Nation has been hoping to get the name changed for years. His tribe, along with others, have gotten in touch with the Washington Redskins, but they’ve always gotten the same response: “We got the usual, 'Nice talking to you, but no, we’re not changing it,'" he said.
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** Amazon to stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Amazon will stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise after the football team said it would undergo a review of its name, which is considered a racial slur. The Seattle-based online shopping giant informed sellers Wednesday morning that it would be pulling Redskins merchandise from its online marketplace. Other major retailers, including Walmart, have also stopped selling the team's merchandise.
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** Loudoun Board of Supervisors votes to send letter requesting name change for Ashburn-based Washington Redskins ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 6-3 Tuesday night to endorse a name change for the Ashburn-based Washington Redskins, with the board’s three Republicans opposing the measure. At Tuesday’s business meeting, Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) and Vice Chairman Koran Saines (D-Sterling) recommended the board send a letter encouraging Washington owner Dan Snyder to rename the NFL team.
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** A list of PPP loans is available, but there might be some mistakes ([link removed])
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By ALEXA DOIRON & JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

A list of small businesses that received Payroll Protection Program loans was made public Monday, but for some businesses, including in Williamsburg, the information is incorrect and causing confusion. The program, commonly known as PPP, was designed as a loan to provide small businesses with funds to maintain workers on their payroll, according to the Small Business Association. The loans will be forgiven if all the employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities.
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** What a year of lost minor league baseball means for DC region’s teams ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN WARNER, WTOP

The 2020 season was supposed to be a celebration for the Fredericksburg Nationals. After 35 years, the team had moved from Woodbridge, Virginia. They built a new ballpark, but unlike in “Field of Dreams,” no one came. The minor league baseball season was canceled. “We’ve been trying to build a new ballpark for more than a decade, and we’ve built a new ballpark,” said Seth Silber, whose family has owned the P-Nats, now FredNats, since 1990. “It is beyond a dream for our family. We just need to be a little bit more patient to have affiliated baseball played on our field.”
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** Bausch + Lomb to expand, create 79 jobs in Lynchburg ([link removed])
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By KATE ANDREWS, Va Business Magazine

Bausch + Lomb plans to invest more than $35 million to expand its contact lens products manufacturing facility in Lynchburg, creating 79 jobs over the next five years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The new plant, which will be on 13.1 acres across from its existing facility on Graves Mill Road, will be the main point of U.S. distribution for Bausch + Lomb’s medical device products, the governor’s office said in a news release.
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** Black Out Expo important opportunity for Waynesboro's Black business owners to come together ([link removed])
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By PATRICK HITE, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

As Shaun Waters looked around the pavilion at Waynesboro's Constitution Park Tuesday night, he said he hadn't been aware of many of the Black-owned businesses that had set up booths. Waters was there representing his own business — Luxury Chariots, a luxury cab and limousine service — at the Black Out Expo. The event was held as a way to bring Black-owned businesses, organizations, and community organizers together.
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** It wasn't just environmentalism that sank the Atlantic Coast Pipeline ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

The news seemed to come out of nowhere. On a hot Sunday afternoon, Union Hill pastor Paul M. Wilson was sitting on his porch eating seafood when he got a call that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the 600-mile natural gas conduit that he and thousands of others in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina had been fighting for six years, was dead. At first he couldn’t believe it.
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** Going green: Richmond developer launching hemp CBD facility in South Boston ([link removed])
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By MIKE PLATANIA, Richmond BizSense

Looking to reignite his hometown’s local economy after watching it deflate in the last few decades, a Richmond real estate developer is getting into the hemp business. Rick Gregory and his development firm Lynx Ventures are preparing to open a hemp-based cannabinoid processing facility in South Boston, Virginia.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Board of Visitors briefed on “herculean” JMU reopening plans ([link removed])
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By BRICE ESTES, The Breeze

Doubling down on its determination to host in-person classes, the JMU Board of Visitors discussed Tuesday how life as a Duke on campus will change this fall in addition to its unanimous decision to rename three buildings honoring Confederate leaders. President Alger said the university submitted its plan for resuming on-campus operations to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) on Monday.
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** Hampton golfers' futures in limbo after COVID-19 leads program to be cut ([link removed])
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By ADAM ZIELONKA, Washington Times

Lauren Artis was a two-sport athlete growing up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, excelling in golf and swimming into her teenage years at Elizabeth Seton High School. Two Historically Black College and University (HCBU) programs offered her golf scholarships. But when she got a feeling for the campus at Hampton University and met the coach, Artis knew where she wanted to be.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Lynchburg, local hospital see surge in COVID-19 patients ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

With COVID-19 cases in and around Lynchburg on the rise, Centra Health is keeping precautionary policies intact and urging locals to stay vigilant in following health recommendations. Centra’s CEO, Dr. Andy Mueller, said at a news conference Wednesday that Lynchburg General Hospital is seeing its highest volume of COVID-19 patients yet — and now, many of them are people who have done their best to stay at home.
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** COVID-19 stats trending up again; Town of Shenandoah shows spike ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

After a spike in Virginia around Memorial Day, the numbers related to tracking the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside in early June. However, since that time, the pandemic has proven to be mostly a see-saw ride, with numbers going up for two or three days, and then falling for two or three days. Overall, the numbers have generally subsided from where they were in May, but COVID-19 has shown no signs of going away.
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** Primary care doctors in Virginia want more resources from state as demand for testing grows ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

Dr. Sterling Ransone is a family physician in Deltaville and current member of Virginia’s testing task force, a workgroup assembled in late April to boost the state’s once-sluggish COVID-19 test rates. Twice now, in teleconferences, he’s heard what he described as “proclamations” from state officials on the number of days Virginia has gone without reported shortages of personal protective equipment. “Quite honestly, that really concerns me,” Ransone said.
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** The Pandemic Has Left Poultry Workers Vulnerable To The Coronavirus. Virginia Plans To Help ([link removed])
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By JULIE DEPENBROCK, DCist

Thousands of poultry workers in the Delmarva peninsula have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent months revealing problematic working conditions that some are hopeful will be resolved through mandatory workplace protocols put in place by state governments. Virginia is poised to create the first pandemic workplace safety mandates in the country, but workers say they need protocols in place to protect them now.
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** Virginia COVID-19 cases increase 635 since Tuesday ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Wednesday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 67,375 — an increase of 635 from the 66,740 reported Tuesday.
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** Man Vandalizes Alexandria Coffee Shop After Refusing to Wear Mask ([link removed])
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By DREW WILDER, NBC4

A Virginia community is showing support for a coffee shop after a man who refused to wear a mask vandalized the place. The man walked into Abyssinia Market and Coffee House in Old Town Alexandria Sunday morning right past a sign requiring customers wear a face mask. But he refused to wear one.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** ‘Miss Confederacy’ statue removed as workers rid Richmond of Confederate icons ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Workers used a crane to pluck a bronze female figure known as the South's "Vindicatrix" from the remains of this city's Jefferson Davis monument on Wednesday afternoon, after taking down the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument earlier in the day. The statues are the latest to fall in the former capital of the Confederacy in the week since Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) ordered the removal of city-owned monuments to the so-called Lost Cause.
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** Crews remove Confederate statue from Libby Hill Park and bronze pieces from Jefferson Davis monument ([link removed])
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By ALI SULLIVAN AND ELIZABETH BELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Richmond continued to remove some of the city’s most prominent and divisive Confederate symbols on Wednesday. Altogether, five statues, two cannons, two plaques and two other bronze pieces have been removed from monuments in the former capital of the Confederacy since July 1.
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** Loudoun’s Confederate Statue to Come Down ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

A monument that for many citizens has served as a stark reminder—and some say a celebration—of some of the darkest parts of American history will come down. The Loudoun County Board of supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to affirm that the ‘Silent Sentinel’ statue of a Confederate soldier that stands on the courthouse lawn belongs to the Loudoun Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and to allow them to remove the statue from public property.
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** Loudoun County's Confederate monument to be removed by Sept. 7 ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to return the Confederate statue in downtown Leesburg to the Loudoun Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). The board voted to affirm that the Confederate statue belongs to the UDC at Tuesday’s business meeting. UDC owns the monument located in front of the Loudoun County Courthouse on King Street. The vote was 9-0.
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** Newport News’ Lake Maury, named for Confederate officer, is now The Mariners’ Lake ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Before there was the Lion’s Bridge, before there was The Mariners’ Museum, before there was a Newport News shipyard, there was Water’s Creek. The body of water that runs by The Mariner’s Museum and Park used to be a salt marsh creek feeding into the James River before it was dammed to create a wildlife sanctuary.
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** Stafford NAACP calls for removal of Confederate flags, names in county ([link removed])
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By HAILEY BULLIS, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Stafford chapter of the NAACP is urging county supervisors to support remaining Jefferson Davis Highway and to remove other signs and symbols honoring the Confederacy. Dozens of people gathered at a rally organized by the NAACP branch Tuesday evening outside the Stafford County Courthouse and several then went inside to the Board of Supervisors meeting to call for changes.
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** Unsettling news for Chesapeake Bay health: Underwater grass acreage drops ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The underwater grasses that are the nurseries for the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crabs shrank dramatically last year, down 38% from the estimated total in 2018, the Chesapeake Bay Program said. It’s a signal that too much pollution is still reaching the Chesapeake; that a shrinking number of juvenile crabs will have less space to grow and that the bay’s hard-pressed striped bass, particularly juveniles, will have less area to forage for food.
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** Base installed for Jennie Dean statue in Manassas ([link removed])
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By JARED FORETEK, WTOP

As statues recognizing the Confederacy across Virginia are targeted for removal, the likeness of a Black woman is going up in Manassas. On Tuesday, the base of what will be the Jennie Dean Memorial statue was installed in Dean Park, adjacent to Jennie Dean Elementary School, as a memorial first envisioned over 20 years ago begins to take shape.


** LOCAL
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** Arlington County Names New Chief Race and Equity Officer ([link removed])
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ArlNow

Deputy County Manager Samia Byrd has been promoted to the new position of Chief Race and Equity Officer, Arlington County announced today. Byrd, a long-time county employee who previously worked in the Department of Community Planning, Housing and a Development, will oversee work “to inform the County’s development of its plan for addressing race and equity issues.”
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** Fairfax County Police Arrest Data Show Evidence of Racial Disparities ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

Recent arrest data released by the Fairfax County Police Department shows more evidence of disproportionate policing in the county. The data indicate that Black individuals make up roughly 39 percent of all arrests last year. Black residents account for 9.7 percent of the total population.
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** Prince William Schools Releases 3 Possible Plans for Returning to School ([link removed])
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By STACY SHAW, Bristow Beat

The Prince William County School Board agreed to Plan II, by which most students would attend school two days a week. Prince William County Schools had released three proposed plans for returning to school in September at the July 8, 2020 school board meeting.
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** Richmond Public Schools teachers worried about returning to school launch petition ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Richmond Public School teachers worried that reopening plans would endanger the lives of educators, staff and students are pressing the School Board for consideration as a decision looms about in-person instruction. A petition drafted by two teachers — who say the board isn’t ready for a vote — demands an equitable plan that would include hazard pay for custodians, lunch staff and others.
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** Schools explore reopening options with virtual community meetings ([link removed])
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By RICH GRISET, Chesterfield Observer

Through a series of virtual community meetings last week, Chesterfield County Public Schools provided parents a glimpse of how classes might be conducted amid the ongoing public health crisis this fall. While repeatedly stressing that the situation is evolving and that conditions could change if Gov. Ralph Northam issues additional guidance as part of his phased “Forward Virginia” plan to reopen the state, schools staff answered questions that parents submitted in real time via chat during the meetings, which were livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and the CCPS website.
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** During first full month of lockdown, Chesterfield’s sales tax revenue rose 4% ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

Sales tax collections plummeted in many parts of Virginia in April, as the economy foundered following the governor’s executive order that closed “nonessential” businesses to contain the spread of COVID-19. Chesterfield, however, saw increased economic activity during the initial phase of the pandemic. The county recently received a check from the state for $4,542,568, or its 1% share of all sales taxes collected from Chesterfield businesses during the month of April.
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** Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s $1 billion aquifer program lines up financing ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A billion-dollar plan to inject treated wastewater into the rapidly-shrinking aquifer where hundreds of thousands of Tidewater Virginians get their drinking water has lined up major parts of the money needed. The Virginia Resources Authority on Wednesday lent $100 million to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District for its SWIFT (Sustainable Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow) program and other projects.
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** Several flags burned, vandalized in Virginia Beach over July Fourth weekend ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Several Virginia Beach residents woke Sunday morning to find their American flags lying outside their homes in ruins. Some had been burned. Others torn. Aluminum poles that had held them lay nearby, bent and charred. A few smaller flags mounted on sticks were found stuffed in a storm drain.
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** A fix is coming for flood-prone way out of Poquoson ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

After two decades — and rising construction costs that threatened to once again slam on the brakes — work to flood-proof one of the two roads out of Poquoson could be set to start. Fixing Wythe Creek Road — State Route 172 — will mean scaling back part of what the small city had hoped to build, but the work will accomplish Poquoson’s top priority: lifting the portion of the road that crosses low-lying marshy land just outside the city line in Hampton, said City Manager Randy Wheeler.
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** Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court reopens 1 courtroom after COVID-19 closure ([link removed])
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By JESSICA NOLTE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court said Wednesday it was reopening one courtroom after an emergency closure when an employee tested positive for the coronavirus. The courtroom will be used to conduct in-custody criminal arraignments and bond hearings. All other court matters will be rescheduled after the clerk’s office reopens, said Laura Kosinski, chief deputy clerk.
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** Governor's push to remove Confederate names from schools may put pressure on Spotsylvania ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A pair of Spotsylvania County schools could soon join the list of Confederate symbols to be removed from public places as pressure grows amid racial and social justice outcries and protests. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam sent a letter to heads of school boards across the state on Monday saying “now is the time” to change Confederate-related school names.


** EDITORIALS
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** Changing base names serves military ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The time is right for renaming military bases named for Confederate leaders. Despite President Donald Trump’s opposition, the current spotlight on the nation’s pervasive racism has prompted many Americans, including members of Congress of both parties, to support the idea.
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** Protecting the coast is a vital economic responsibility for Virginia ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

When Virginians and out-of-state tourists drive to Virginia Beach for a summer getaway, they have their sights set on a world of leisure: miles of sandy beaches, picturesque bike rides along the boardwalk and oceanside staples, from fried shrimp baskets to boogie boards. The 400,000 residents in Virginia’s largest city pin their economic livelihoods on a diverse set of industries beyond the shore.
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** Richmond memories should be made with out-of-the-ordinary experiences ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

A year ago, The Diamond hosted a live event for the ages. For the first time since 1992, a minor league baseball all-star game was held in Richmond. The 2019 four-day affair included remarks from Mayor Levar Stoney at Brown’s Island, a country music jam at the Richmond Raceway, a home run derby featuring celebrities with regional ties and fireworks


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Contextualizing a corporate monument ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia’s corporate landscape is littered with monuments recontextualized by the economy and politics: spent coal mines, shuttered textile and furniture factories, the stressed fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay. Now it could happen to the monument that looms over all: Dominion Energy. The company is giving up on its Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a gas-transmission project that — because of stout opposition by greens — ran over budget and over schedule, generating public relations problems rather than profits.
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