July 17, 2020

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Top of the News

More than 10,000 Virginians complained about unemployment system in just a month

By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

State lawmakers have been inundated with calls from constituents having problems reaching the Virginia Employment Commission or submitting unemployment claims, and they’re asking the state agency to step it up. Forty-three Democratic lawmakers signed on to a letter Thursday saying the way the agency is currently run isn’t sustainable and penalizes workers who are out of a job, and they should work together to pass legislation addressing the problem.


Southern Towers tenants protest evictions

By CODY MELLO-KLEIN, Alexandria Times

Protesters gathered outside of the Alexandria City Courthouse on Wednesday to protest a wave of eviction notices being filed by the landlord of the Southern Towers apartment complex. Tenants at Southern Towers, 4901 Seminary Road, have been engaged in a rent strike since April. The tenants, many of whom were laid off from their service industry jobs because of the pandemic, have continued to call for a rent freeze and for landlord Bell Partners to negotiate a rent plan with tenants for during and after the pandemic.


Galax in 'Red Zone' for virus

By BRIAN FUNK, Galax Gazette

Galax is usually known for its green hills and its prime location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the COVID-19 pandemic has painted the city a harsh shade of red in recent weeks. As local cases of coronavirus continue to rise, health officials are placing Galax in a “red zone” of the nation’s hotspots. A recent internal memo from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) ranks Galax as ninth on a list of 10 places described as “areas of concern,” meaning that a locality’s “disease burden is high and still growing.”


Transporting students to class emerging as 'biggest constraint' for Pittsylvania County Schools

By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

Linda Echols has driven school buses for Pittsylvania schools for 48 years. As the school division prepares to reopen next month with limited in-person instruction, the 75-year-old is concerned about her own safety while on the job. "I have to pray and do it," she said. "Somebody’s got to do it.” Even more than her own safety though, she is concerned about her students.


What went wrong at the Virginia nursing home with the most coronavirus cases

By RACHEL CHASON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The line of nursing home employees waiting to report for duty formed around 6:45 a.m. one day in early May, stretching from the reception desk to the sidewalk. But there was no one to take their temperatures, as required by federal regulations to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. “I can’t do this,” said one exasperated employee at Annandale Healthcare Center, leaving the line and heading into the facility.


VPAP Visual Pandemic Hits Legislative Fundraising

The Virginia Public Access Project

The General Assembly adjourned in March, just as COVID-19 began to put the breaks on the economy -- and along with it political fundraising. Mid-year disclosures show the 140 legislators raised a total of $1.8 million in the first half of the year, down by more than half from the same period two years ago. The decline was particularly steep for Republicans, who lost their grip on power after the November 2019 elections.


Virginia’s coast saw two to five times more nuisance floods in 2019 than the national average

By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

With sea level rise continuing to accelerate along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Virginia coastal communities in 2019 saw two to five times more nuisance flooding than the national average, a federal report released this week shows. “Evidence of a rapid increase in sea level rise-related flooding started to emerge about two decades ago, and it is now very clear,” the report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says. “This type of coastal flooding will continue to grow in extent, frequency and depth as sea levels continue to rise over the coming years and decades.”

The Full Report
61 articles, 30 publications

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FROM VPAP

VPAP Visual Money Raised in June by Congressional Candidates

The Virginia Public Access Project

VPAP has the latest campaign finance totals for candidates running in Virginia's 11 congressional districts in November. The reports for most candidates show activity during June, but the time period varies depending on the staggered dates of nominating conventions. This interactive chart shows money raised and cash on hand.


From VPAP Maps, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia

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

Northam: Virginia agencies to conduct surprise inspections of businesses

By DREW HANSEN, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday the state will increase enforcement of public health and safety restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic in businesses as it sees an uptick in cases, primarily in the Hampton Roads area. The governor said state agencies will conduct unannounced inspections to ensure businesses are following mandates on face coverings and social distancing, as well as a prohibition on bar seating.


Virginia's new COVID-19 workplace regulations approved without input from businesses

By TYLER ARNOLD, Center Square

Business advocates criticized the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry on Wednesday after its Health Codes Board voted to adopt sweeping regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19 without considering many of the concerns from business associations. ...Nicole Riley, the Virginia state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said very few of the business community’s objections were even considered by the board.


Northam resists extending moratorium on evictions

By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Like thousands of Virginians, 55-year-old Danny Saad got laid off in March, when people began testing positive for the coronavirus in the state and businesses began closing. He’d been working at Nordstrom, but suddenly was out of a job while having to care for his parents, who live with him in an apartment complex in Fairfax County. His adult son and daughter, who also live with him, lost their jobs or had their hours cut.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Flooded by calls, legislators press employment commission

By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia recently extended its unemployment benefits while it continues to grapple with problems brought on by the high volume of people filing insurance claims resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. A group of state legislators sent a letter to the Virginia Employment Commission on Thursday in response to thousands of complaints about the extensive wait time it takes for people to receive their unemployment insurance money or various other problems people are encountering when filing a claim that sometimes leads to them not receiving money.


State lawmakers call for VEC reform as agency struggles with massive unemployment claims

By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

More than 40 Virginia state legislators have urged the Virginia Employment Commission to “modernize and streamline” its processes as the agency continues to deal with an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance claims because of the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, signed by 34 members of the House of Delegates and nine senators — all of them Democrats — was addressed to VEC Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess.


Virginia lawmakers weigh in with unemployment concerns

By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Dozens of Democratic Virginia lawmakers called for reforms at the state agency tasked with handling unemployment benefits, saying in a letter Thursday that they were concerned about its ability to “adequately address” the high volume of claims because of the COVID-19 crisis. Republicans lawmakers, who were not invited to sign the letter, also have been raising concerns about the Virginia Employment Commission and the complaints that they say have been pouring in from struggling constituents.


Low-key efforts waged to remove statue of segregationist Harry F. Byrd Sr. from Capitol Square

By GEORGE COPELAND JR. AND JEREMY M. LAZARUS, Richmond Free Press

In the midst of widespread efforts to remove Confederate memorials, a similar change may be on the way for Richmond’s Capitol Square. Calls have come to remove from Capitol grounds the statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., a former U.S. senator, Virginia governor and arch-segregationist who helped lead Virginia’s infamous “Massive Resistance” campaign to thwart the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision outlawing segregated schools as unconstitutional.

STATE ELECTIONS

Carroll Foy raises most among announced candidates for governor, but McAuliffe tops all declared candidates combined

By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Fundraising in Virginia’s gubernatorial race has taken off as the 2021 contest looms. Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy of Prince William led the Democrats who have formally announced their intent to run with $810,790 raised from January through June. She was followed by Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond, who raised $490,374.


Forest business owner announces primary challenge to Republican Del. Kathy Byron

By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A Bedford County Republican activist announced he plans to challenge Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford, in a primary contest next year. Isaiah “Izzy” Knight, 33, who leans libertarian, announced his candidacy on Friday before a group of supporters in Forest.

FEDERAL ELECTIONS

In November, Cline Facing Two Challengers

By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Lexington Republican and incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Cline is up for reelection this year and will be facing two challengers — a Lexington Democrat, Nicholas Betts, and a Roanoke independent, Aaron Luciani. The race for the 6th District, which includes Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, is one of many on the ballot for November’s election.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Courts plan for post-pandemic operations

By PETER VIETH, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Subscription required for some articles)

Virginia court officials are taking initial, deliberate steps towards resuming jury trials and returning to some semblance of normal operation, even while the judicial emergency now extends to Aug. 9 and some courts have had to close their doors for disinfection in response to COVID-19 cases. Local courts are submitting plans for restarting jury trials to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which will use three-justice panels to consider the proposals.


With pre-certification from Virginia Lottery, Danville casino project advances

By JOHN CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

The Virginia Lottery has pre-certified the proposal for a casino in Danville, meaning that city officials can move forward in getting a casino referendum on the ballot in November. The next step is for Danville City Council to consider a resolution during its Aug. 4 meeting to pursue putting the question on the ballot.


Library sets Jan. 1 deadline for completing work on Wilder papers

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Library of Virginia has set a deadline of Jan. 1 for what it calls a “herculean effort” to process and make public the collected papers from the administration of Gov. Doug Wilder, who was inaugurated 30 years ago. Wilder, the first African American elected governor in the United States, publicly accused the state library of racism in a letter early this month from his assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University because of the long delay in making his gubernatorial papers available for public research.

ECONOMY/BUSINESS

Queen of Va. drops suit against Charlottesville prosecutor

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A legal battle in Charlottesville over the legality of electronic skill games ended without going to court because of a new state law that allows the gaming devices to operate legally until next July 1. Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment said it has pulled the lawsuit it filed last year against Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania, who had said the games were illegal gambling devices prohibited by state law.


Horse racing set to return to Colonial Downs at the end of July

By EMILY HOLTER, Tidewater Review

When Colonial Downs closed its doors six years ago, many thought it was the end of historic thoroughbred horse racing in the state. It wasn’t. Opening the track once again, Colonial Downs Group welcomed thousands from across both county and state lines last year promising many more seasons to come. But, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many feared Colonial Downs would have to close its doors once again. According to the group, it has no intention of canceling the 2020 season.


Peninsula-area localities offering help to COVID-hit businesses fearing eviction

By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Peninsula-area localities worried that small businesses struggling to cope with the coronavirus are offering help with paying rent and mortgage bills. Gloucester County is offering to grants of up to $2,500 a month for past due rent and mortgage bills, among other purposes. Hampton’s City Council authorized forgivable loans of up to $10,000, which can be used for rent, mortgage payments — or even payroll expenses that other grant programs do not usually cover.


From dream job to nightmare

By WILL HOBSON AND LIZ CLARKE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A few months after Emily Applegate started working for the Washington Redskins in 2014, she settled into a daily routine: She would meet a female co-worker in the bathroom during their lunch breaks, she said, to commiserate and cry about the frequent sexual harassment and verbal abuse they endured. They cried about the former chief operating officer’s expletive-laced tirades, Applegate said, when she recalled him calling her “f---ing stupid” and then requesting she wear a tight dress for a meeting with clients, “so the men in the room have something to look at.”

HIGHER EDUCATION

Four Virginia college presidents rank in top 100 of highest-paid in U.S.

By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan and Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao are two of the highest-paid public college presidents in the U.S. That’s according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, which released its annual rankings of public college president salaries on Friday. William & Mary President Katherine Rowe and Virginia Tech President Tim Sands also placed in the top 100, which looked at how much presidents earned in 2019.


UVa to require a negative COVID-19 test before students can return

By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

All University of Virginia students will have to submit documentation of a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days before returning to Charlottesville for the start of classes next month, the school said Thursday. The mandatory testing is one of several public health measures UVa announced as it seeks to bring students back for fall classes.


VCU committee recommends removal of Confederacy-affiliated chapel, building names, memorabilia

By HANNAH EASON, Commonwealth Times

VCU’s Committee on Commemoration and Memorials is recommending the removal or de-commemoration of 14 plaques, building names, portraits and other memorabilia associated with the Confederacy and the Civil War. The recommendations are open for public comment until July 24 at 5 p.m. . . . VCU announced it would audit Confederate names and symbols after the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.


William & Mary Board of Visitors discuss fall semester amid COVID-19, finances, renaming of campus features

By ALEX PERRY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Further details about COVID-19 testing, classes and other concerns about upcoming semester at the College of William & Mary were discussed during the Board of Visitors Executive Committee Meeting that was held electronically Wednesday. The board also discussed the working group that was established in June to develop principles on the naming and renaming of buildings, spaces and structures at W&M.

CORONAVIRUS

Virginia’s goal is to stay under a 10% positivity rate for COVID-19. Norfolk is at 17% in latest case numbers.

By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia reported 904 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 74,431. Thursday’s numbers were the seventh straight day of more than 800 positive tests, as Virginia’s cases have started to trend back upward, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.


Emporia tops Virginia in COVID mortality rate

By MARK MATHEWS, Independent-Messenger

According to the Virginia Department of Health’s July 16 report, COVID-19 is responsible for 50 deaths in the Crater Health District. The City of Emporia accounts for nearly a third of that total. The VDH reported 15 COVID-19 related deaths in the City of Emporia. The number is staggering for a municipality with a population of nearly 5,000 citizens. By percentage, it is the worst in the commonwealth.


74% of Farmville ICE detainees positive for COVID

By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)

After testing all the detainees of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Immigration Centers of America (ICA) Farmville Detention Center, 74% have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 71 test results pending. ICE Public Affairs Specialist Kate Pote said Tuesday, July 14, ICA Farmville offered testing to all of its detainees from Wednesday, July 1, to Friday, July 3. 359 of the center’s 360 inmates were tested.


Nearly 40 percent of Virginia’s child care centers closed during pandemic

By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

Laura Efford, a preschool teacher in Albemarle County, is anxiously awaiting September, when her Bright Stars classroom (an early childhood education program based in some local elementary schools) is scheduled to reopen. “A lot of what we do in preschool is learning through play,” she said. “Building with blocks and all that stuff.” But she’s having a hard time visualizing what her classroom will look like come fall under the state’s Phase III guidelines for child care providers, which lay out a series of rigorous health recommendations for reopening.


Virginia drops criminal charges against pastor who held 16-person church service

By CALEB PARKE, Fox News

Criminal charges against a Virginia pastor who held a Palm Sunday service in violation of coronavirus lockdown orders were dropped on Friday. He faced a $2,500 fine and possible jail time. Pastor Kevin Wilson, of Chincoteague Island's Lighthouse Fellowship Church, had his charges dropped by the general district court of Accomack County, Va. . . . With the support of the Justice Department and Vice President Mike Pence, Wilson is suing Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, alleging discrimination against the church and violations of his religious freedom.

VIRGINIA OTHER

Controversial Richmond judge no longer presiding over Lee statue case

By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The Richmond Circuit Court judge who has blocked Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to take down the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue is no longer the judge in the case. Judge Bradley B. Cavedo on Thursday recused himself from the legal challenge filed by William Gregory, a descendant of the people who signed over the land the statue stands on to the state, according to online court records. A reassignment order shows that Judge William R. Marchant will now preside over the case.


Plaintiffs move to dismiss 1 lawsuit over Lee statue removal

Associated Press

A court hearing in a lawsuit over Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was canceled at the last minute Thursday after the plaintiffs moved to drop the case, Attorney Gen. Mark Herring’s office said. The development came in a lawsuit filed by several property owners along Richmond’s famed Monument Avenue, where the Lee statue is situated on a parcel of state-owned land.


Fund grows to help pay for Confederate statues’ removal

By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Free Press

When city officials decided to promptly remove the Confederate statues along Monument Avenue and other parts of the city, everything was in place for the action except the money to pay for it... A corps of civic-minded volunteers has emerged and is trying to raise the needed money privately to give to the City of Richmond to directly pay the costs of moving the large statues.


Caroline officials hear calls to remove Confederate statue

By TAFT COGHILL JR., Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Before Lydell Fortune presented a petition to the Caroline County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night, he stood before the six representatives and explained why he and more than 1,200 others signed the request to have the Confederate monument on the courthouse lawn in Bowling Green removed. Fortune said he wasn’t speaking as a member of the county’s branch of the NAACP, Caroline’s representative on the Germanna Community College board or a trustee at St. John Baptist Church in Woodford. “I stand before you this evening as what the world sees me as—a Black man,” Fortune said.


Potential Confederate monument referendum stirring debate in Floyd County

By ASHLEY SPINKS, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors will soon decide whether to put the status of the courthouse Confederate monument to a November referendum — as the county Electoral Board warns of potential voter intimidation while a majority recently spoke in favor of preserving the statue. Every parking spot was occupied at the county Administration building Tuesday morning and residents crowded into the lobby prior to the supervisors’ meeting.


Consultant to review Fredericksburg police's use of force during protests

By CATHY JETT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Police Executive Research Forum will conduct an independent review of Fredericksburg’s law enforcement practices and use of force and arrests during demonstrations between May 31 and June 2 in the city. Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved hiring the Washington-based organization after an extensive review by staff and Richmond attorney Cynthia E. Hudson to identify a qualified third-party reviewer. Hudson chairs Gov. Ralph Northam’s Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law and is a former Virginia chief deputy attorney general.


A teen led a Black Lives Matter protest in his small town. A cross was burned in his yard.

By MICHAEL E. MILLER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

It had been three weeks since the cross burning. Three weeks since Travon Brown's sense of triumph from leading a Black Lives Matter march was consumed by the fire in his front yard. In the threat-filled days that followed, the 17-year-old black high school student looked at the scorched earth and vowed to protest again.


Virginia inmates start Black Lives Matter chapter

By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Courtney Henson knows the spot outside Cup Foods on Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis where George Floyd's life ended under the knee of a police officer on May 25. Three decades ago Henson, then a teenager and now a resident of Virginia's River North Correctional Center, lived with his mother across the street from the store where Floyd allegedly passed a counterfeit $20 bill prompting a call to the police.


Protest aims to keep momentum

By RACHEL WARTIAN, Suffolk News Herald

Rising King’s Fork High School senior Cheyene Henry, age 17, led a demonstration in downtown Suffolk on Wednesday to keep the Black Lives Matter movement alive. The march started by the Courthouse Fountain Park by the Godwin Courthouse on Main Street. More than 20 protesters lined the street with signs that read “say their names,” “we are the blueprint,” and “Black Lives Matter.”

LOCAL

Fairfax County Officials Worried About Childcare Ahead of Schools Reopening

By CATHERINE DOUGLAS MORAN, Reston Now

Fairfax County officials want to address looming childcare challenges ahead of the upcoming school year. John Foust and Walter Alcorn, the supervisors for the Dranesville and Hunter Mill districts, presented a joint board matter yesterday to tackle the “unprecedented need” for childcare.


Targeted reductions in police budget recommended by Richmond City Council committee

By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

In its first public discussion around the popular protest rallying cry of “defund the police,” the Richmond City Council took a tentative step toward that end on Thursday. The council’s three-person finance committee recommended that the full council approve a resolution asking the Richmond Police Department to identify funding in its current budget for mental health, substance abuse and social service functions that could be reallocated to other departments.


Virginia Beach teachers group says it ‘cannot support’ in-person instruction this fall

By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The education association that represents some 1,400 teachers in Virginia Beach said on Thursday that it “cannot support the opening of schools to face-to-face instruction” due to rising coronavirus cases in the region. The push from the local teachers’ group comes two weeks before the Virginia Beach School Board will decide among three options for how best to plan for this fall: a return of five-days in-person classes, all remote learning, or a hybrid approach, where students might only come to school two days a week.


Stafford and Spotsylvania County schools prepare for August reopenings

By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

With the coronavirus pandemic still looming, one local school district plans to go virtual on opening day, while another plans to operate under a hybrid learning model, in which students learn partially through digital content. But, as the course of the pandemic remains unclear, last-minute changes could still alter school opening plans. Stafford County students are scheduled to begin their school year Aug. 31—two weeks later than originally scheduled.


W-JCC School Board backs purchase of more than 1,300 laptops for students

By DAVID MACAULAY, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Attempts to compromise Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools’ I.T. systems via cyberattacks, hacks, spam, or ransomware occur every day, Director for Technology Brian Landers told the School Board as it backed a contract for more than 1,300 new laptops on Tuesday. Landers requested School Board permission for the purchase of 310 replacement staff laptops, 1,025 replacement middle school student laptops, insurance and extended services for $808,297.


As coronavirus cases rise, Norfolk Festevents plans new outdoor events. The mayor says not so fast.

By AMY POULTER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

With coronavirus cases on the rise in Hampton Roads, Norfolk Festevents has postponed several of its signature events until next year. But even as the number of COVID-19 cases surges in Norfolk, that hasn’t seemed to deter the organization from tempting residents to a slew of new waterside events in place of the scrapped festivals.


Hampton to distribute 20,000 free masks and hand sanitizers

By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Hampton officials plan to distribute nearly 20,000 masks and hand sanitizers and other health information on Friday and Monday to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The effort stems from Gov. Ralph Northam’s health equity pilot program and a community outreach partnership among Hampton, state agencies and volunteers, city spokesman Robin McCormick said in an email.


Albemarle supervisors want to revert county to Phase Two of reopening guidelines

By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors wants to take the locality back to Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Late Wednesday night, the board expressed concerns about the increasing COVID-19 positivity rate for the last seven days, as well as University of Virginia students coming back to the area.


Lynchburg activists form 'alliance' as they press for police reform

By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Hill City activists pushing for police reform have joined efforts as they work to demand greater accountability for law enforcement in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice. In a news conference at Monument Terrace on Thursday, the new group — The Alliance on Policing Reform in Lynchburg — outlined a series of demands directed at police officials and city leaders.


Broadband authority announces phased countywide connection plan

By JEFF POOLE, Orange County Review

Acting on its pledge to deliver high-speed internet access to underserved areas, the Orange County Broadband Authority rolled out a progressive 36-month plan last week that would deliver service capability to 75 percent of county residents. The authority, which is comprised of the five county supervisors, agreed in principal to a three-phased plan that would cost approximately $10 million over the next three years.


Virginia judge backs Town Council in Onley mayor's 'hostile work environment' censure

delmarvanow

In the case of Onley Mayor Matthew Hart challenging his censure by his Town Council, Chief Judge Sam D. Eggleston ruled in favor of the council. He opined that the council maintained the right to address the perceived issues and acted within Virginia law.


Full broadband coverage possible

Northern Neck News

If Virginia puts up $3.9 million, Northumberland, Westmoreland, King George and Richmond County could have 100 percent broadband coverage within the next several years. The counties have signed onto a broadband project called the middle-mile initiative involving Dominion, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, and All Points Broadband.


Martinsville becoming involved in new-age utility projects

Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The city of Martinsville moved a step closer Tuesday night to becoming involved in two state-of-the-art utility projects that would reduce the cost of electricity to residents. “We remain enthusiastic about the projects,” GDS Associates Engineer and Consultant Garrett Cole told City Council. “The prices have been nailed down better than expected.” Martinsville would sell the former Lynwood Golf Club site on the DuPont Road to Sol Systems, a solar energy investor and developer with headquarters in Washington, D.C.


In debut of reopening proposal, Danville schools outline mix of in-person classes and virtual learning

By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee

The Danville School Board heard the first proposal of a school reopening plan during Thursday’s meeting, an overview that outlined a hybrid model that includes elements of in-person and virtual learning depending on grade level.


Bristol Virginia Schools unveil plans to reopen for 2020-21 school year

By LEIF GREISS, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Bristol Virginia School Superintendent Keith Perrigan showed off face coverings, temperature checking stations, personal protective equipment for nurses and other new items that will be used to minimize the spread of COVID-19 when students return to classrooms next month. During a news conference Thursday, Perrigan unveiled the school system’s plans to reopen for the 2020-21 school year.


Three Bristol Virginia police officers test positive for COVID-19

By ROBERT SORRELL, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Bristol Virginia City Hall and the city’s Police Department are closed today after three police officers tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. City Manager Randy Eads said one police officer was among the Bristol officers who went to Marion on July 3 to assist area law enforcement during two protests there.

 

EDITORIALS

Should Lynchburg be renamed?

Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

This has been a year of wonders, marvels and other strange doings, so perhaps this one shouldn’t surprise us: Jerry Falwell Jr. is now on the side of the name-changing crowd. Specifically, he thinks Lynchburg should change its name. In a statement posted on the Liberty University website, the school’s president said: “I personally support changing the name of the city of Lynchburg. It’s been an embarrassment to Liberty University ever since we started. That was one of the reasons Liberty’s original name was changed from Lynchburg Baptist College to Liberty Baptist College in 1976.”


Leave no trace of your park visit

Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

We've long touted the glories of Virginia’s beautiful state park system, urging readers to get out and enjoy the commonwealth’s numerous hiking trails, forests, lakes and rivers. Being outdoors has many physical and emotional benefits, not the least of which includes boosting one’s immune system and level of Vitamin D, both possible weapons in the fight against COVID-19. And since getting out in nature also increases energy levels and decreases anxiety, it’s the perfect antidote for the coronavirus blues. But apparently there can be too much of a good thing.


The many obstacles to opening schools

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Opening public schools this fall requires more than throwing wide the doors, ushering in the kids and ringing the bells. That may come as news to a particularly loud voice in the Oval Office, but every state and local official working on the problem knows it all too well. So even as everyone wants to see students return as scheduled, there needs to be a plan for doing so. One that ensures safety, protects everyone — students, teachers, administrators, staff and families — and inspires confidence.


Tuesday's violence proves we need the police

Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Tuesday was a terrible night for the city of Richmond. Six people were shot in at least four separate incidents. Two of those victims — a mother of seven and a 15-year-old boy — were killed. A 6-year-old and a 3-year-old also were shot but are expected to survive. A resident of the George Mason Square Apartments where the 15-year-old was killed told the RTD that she had watched the child grow up. When she heard gunfire, she initially did not “think it was anything serious” because the sound of gunshots is so common at the complex. That in itself is a tragedy.


Judge Cavedo

Richmond Free Press Editorial

Events and new information arising during the past few days give us grave concerns about the continued involvement of Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo in the legal cases regarding the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. Judge Cavedo has issued an indefinite injunction barring Gov. Ralph S. Northam from removing the state-owned statute of Confederate Robert E. Lee from Monument Avenue....Judge Cavedo’s comments from the bench show that he has too much of an emotional investment or attachment to the statues and cannot render an impartial decision.

OP-ED

Winberg: Pipeline’s demise won’t halt energy progress

By STEVEN WINBERG, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States made a remarkable economic turnaround. President Donald Trump’s innovation-driven “American Energy Dominance” agenda has and will continue to focus on creating opportunities for promoting economic growth, and on reforming and streamlining an outdated regulatory system that had held back our economy with needless bottlenecks and costly delays.

Steven Winberg is the U.S. Department of Energy assistant secretary for fossil energy


Hurd: Let's keep electoral votes — and no compact

By WILLIAM H. HURD, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

With another presidential election approaching, the chorus complaining about the Electoral College has begun again. This time, they have brought the so-called National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It is a bad idea. The idea is for states to pass parallel laws, instructing their electors to vote for whichever candidate wins the popular vote nationwide. The compact would take effect when states making up an electoral majority (270 votes) have adopted the plan. So far, states representing 196 electoral votes have enacted the proposal. But it has serious problems.

William H. Hurd is a former member of the Electoral College in Virginia (1992) and was the first solicitor general of Virginia. He is a partner at Troutman Pepper LLP, where his practice includes appellate law and election law

THE FRIDAY READ

The test of their lives

By LAURA MECKLER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

As usual, Eirik Nielsen is running late. It’s a Friday in March, the day that turns out to be his last inside Burton High School, and his carpool is waiting to go home. Traffic is brutal on the Bay Bridge heading out of San Francisco, where the city’s wealth boxes out teachers and strains the lives of his students, some of the poorest in the city. As the day ends, two freshmen stop him to turn in applications for next year’s Advanced Placement World History class. Of course, he’ll accept them. He accepts everyone who applies.

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