VaNews
July 21, 2020
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** State unemployment trust fund is projected to end the year $750 million in the red ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The state trust fund that pays for jobless benefits is expected to have a $750 million deficit by the end of December amid a huge influx of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a presentation Monday from the Virginia Employment Commission. That’s a dramatic decline from the $1.45 billion balance that the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund had on Jan. 1, VEC Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess told state lawmakers during a virtual meeting of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation on Monday.
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** Virginia unemployment agency getting outside PR help ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

A Virginia state agency that has faced criticism for its handling of an unprecedented flood of claims for unemployment benefits has hired a well-connected lobbying and communications firm to help with public relations, according to a purchase order. The Virginia Employment Commission will pay Capital Results for services including press releases, reporter briefings and social media campaigns, according to a report obtained through the state’s procurement website. The cost is listed at $124,000.
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** Pandemic and Intra-Party Fights Complicate Virginia Redistricting ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE

Virginia’s once-a-decade redistricting process is up in the air due to Census Bureau delays caused by the pandemic. At the same time, lingering differences among Democratic lawmakers over a proposed constitutional amendment related to redistricting could further muddy the waters ahead of next year’s map-drawing.
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** VPAP Visual Gubernatorial Candidates' Source of Funds ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

VPAP organized the 2021 gubernatorial candidates by the percentage of money raised from seven types of campaign donors, ranging from those who gave $100 or less to businesses that lobby the General Assembly. There's also an option to view each category by dollar amount. The amounts are for the first six months of 2020. Included are those who have announced and those who are said they are considering a run.
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** Data shows big racial disparities in mortgage loans and homeownership ([link removed])
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By JEFF SOUTH, Virginia Mercury

Spring Cambric knows what she will be thankful for this Thanksgiving: the home she is buying with help from Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity. The single mother of four plans to move into her two-story, iron-gray house in Northside Richmond this fall. “I love it because it will be ours — something that my children can know that we put in hard work to have,” said Cambric, who enlisted in the Navy at 16, spent more than 18 years in the military and now works as a human resources assistant at Fort Lee.
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** Richmond prosecutor clears police in several complaints related to civil unrest ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin has cleared city police officers of any criminal wrongdoing in several complaints related to the recent civil unrest, including one in which a marked SUV was driven through protesters blocking its way. Missing from the complaints, five of which were detailed in a report the prosecutor’s office released by email around 3:15 p.m. Monday, is the June 1 incident in which officers tear-gassed a crowd of protesters at the foot of the Robert E. Lee monument 20 minutes ahead of curfew.
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** City Council passes resolution limiting police weapon purchases ([link removed])
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By NOLAN STOUT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Charlottesville has taken the first steps toward limiting the type of weaponry that its police department uses, although several residents think the measure isn’t enough. The City Council approved a resolution to prohibit the Charlottesville Police Department from acquiring weapons from the military and taking military or “warrior” training during its virtual meeting on Monday.
The Full Report
41 articles, 23 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.
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** VPAP Visual Without DMV, Voter Registration Contines to Lag ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Voter registration in Virginia, which historically peaks every four years during a presidential election year, continues to be another victim of the pandemic. The nearly 14,000 new registrations in June lagged behind totals from the same month in each of the last three years. The bulk of new registrations come through the Department of Motor Vehicles, which is gradually reopening by appointment only.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** Judge denies preliminary injunction in challenge to state COVID-19 rules ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid for a preliminary injunction and set an Aug. 27 trial date in a suit alleging that Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 executive orders violate the rights of a Loudoun County businessman. Jon Tigges, the owner of Zion Springs, a vineyard and wedding venue, filed suit last month in federal court alleging that the restrictions violate equal treatment of the laws by discriminating in categories and that Northam exceeded his emergency powers.
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** Northam Signs Heirship Bill On McGaheysville Farm ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Basketball legend Ralph Sampson’s grandparents, George and Josephine Blakey, bought their farm in McGaheysville for $6,000 to $7,000 roughly 80 years ago, according to Sampson. On that land they raised their children, agriculture products and mixed their lives with the soil. Eventually, though, the farm had to be cut up between George and Josephine’s descendants — no easy task when they had nine sons and three daughters.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** 11 commonwealth’s attorneys form group to back criminal justice reform ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Eleven commonwealth’s attorneys who collectively represent more than 40 percent of the state’s population formed an advocacy group this month to back criminal justice reform proposals, dubbing themselves Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice. The group has endorsed a range of proposals lawmakers will take up during a special legislative session scheduled to begin on Aug. 18, including a ban on no-knock warrants, increased police accountability and an end to mandatory minimum sentences.
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** Virginia Senate Democrats will not consider police union accountability during special session ([link removed])
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By TYLER ARNOLD, Center Square

Virginia Senate Democrats discussed several policing reforms they intend to pass during the upcoming special session during a news conference Monday with the Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice, but one issue is absent from the agenda: restricting the power of police unions. The General Assembly passed legislation to lift its statewide ban on public sector collective bargaining, which Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law earlier this year. Under the new law, local governments can permit collective bargaining for public sector unions, which would give the unions sole authority to represent workers in a given working unit in contract negotiations.
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** Favola Tries to Honor John Lewis, But Mistakenly Posts Photo of Elijah Cummings ([link removed])
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ArlNow

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) are not the only ones to have mistakenly posted photos of the late Elijah Cummings while trying to honor John Lewis, who died on Friday. Local state Sen. Barbara Favola (D) posted a photo on Facebook over the weekend that she said was Lewis, the civil rights leader and Georgia congressman, at her house four years ago.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** State lawmakers urge Virginia Employment Commission to modernize; commissioner defends agency ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

Virginia lawmakers are urging the Virginia Employment Commission to review and modernize its processes as more Virginians seek unemployment benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to VEC Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess, 43 legislators asked the agency to conduct a thorough review of its systems and underscored the "urgent need" for the commission to establish a more robust online platform. VEC said in an email to lawmakers last week that the commission has received 10,000 cases in the past month from legislative offices alone.
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** Mountain Valley, DEQ negotiate over environmental fines ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Mountain Valley Pipeline has agreed to pay $8,000 of the $86,000 demanded by Virginia regulators for the latest environmental violations caused by building the hotly disputed natural gas pipeline. Whether it owes any more — and how much more — is still under negotiation.
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** 50th anniversary of Virginia Scenic Rivers Act marks decades of activism for the Rivanna and James ([link removed])
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By LEAH SMALL, Charlottesville Tomorrow

As Virginia commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Virginia Scenic Rivers Act, Betty McGehee remembers decades of environmental advocacy work by her mother, Minnie Lee McGehee, who was dedicated to protecting the Rivanna River and promoting recreation on the waterway. Spurred by news of the General Assembly’s passage of the Virginia Scenic Rivers Act in 1970, which established an ongoing program to identify and promote preservation of the state’s most visually outstanding waterways, Minnie Lee McGehee led grassroots efforts to designate the Rivanna as the state’s first scenic river. She gathered support from Albemarle residents, county officials and a state House representative.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** For rural counties, a new chance to gain from Virginia’s solar energy rush ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The day after the General Assembly said localities could, Surry County nailed down a revenue-sharing deal for a solar farm that would take up roughly a square mile of open land. It is a kind of deal that could help rural Virginia feel less like it’s giving up land for power plants that fuel big-ticket data centers in the state’s most prosperous communities.
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** Rosie’s Gaming Emporium opens gaming parlors ([link removed])
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By EMILY HOLTER, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

With a little more than 100 days to prepare and plan, Rosie’s Gaming Emporium reopened its doors July 1. Since then, it’s been back in business offering up its historic horse racing gaming technology to hundreds in facilities across the state. With strict guidelines and a safety plan in place, Rosie’s does not look the same as it did just a year ago. But General Manager Stephanie Wisneski said the company is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure its patrons are as safe as possible.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Metro service to significantly increase in August ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Metro will ramp up transit service in August, operating at about 70 percent capacity to address an expected increase in ridership driven by the return of federal workers to offices and the possible reopening of District schools. Metro, which has been operating at historic lows because of the coronavirus pandemic, will add more cars to service Aug. 16, and Metrobus will expand its routes Aug. 23. The increase was previously scheduled as part of Metro’s phased recovery plan, but it is being driven by businesses that have resumed operation and the federal government’s push to get its workforce back into offices.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** William & Mary raises more than $1 billion in fundraising campaign ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The College of William & Mary has completed its largest fundraising campaign, raising more than its $1 billion goal. The university announced Tuesday that the campaign, formally called “For the Bold,” brought in $1.04 billion, which has funded student scholarships, faculty positions and capital projects, among other things. The campaign started in 2011 and launched publicly in 2015.
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** Building name changes just the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ say some JMU activists ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET MANLEY, Harrisonburg Citizen

For many student activists at James Madison University, changing the names of three buildings once named for Confederate officers represented progress toward a more inclusive campus, after their hard work lobbying the administration for years finally paid off. Many of them say, however, that renaming the buildings is only the tip of the iceberg of what they’d like to see happen.
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** ODU English professor named poet laureate of Virginia ([link removed])
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WAVY

A professor of English at Old Dominion University has been named poet laureate of Virginia. Luisa Igloria, who has written nearly 20 collections of poetry, described it as a “unique position for service and engagement through poetry.
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** PHCC board takes up possible renaming of college, plans to handle the pandemic ([link removed])
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By HOLLY KOZELSKY, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As the new school year is set to begin at Patrick Henry Community College, the institution faces two sets of challenges: possibly renaming itself and/or its facilities and following new precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans for both were discussed Monday during a quarterly meeting of PHCC’s board, which was conducted via Zoom.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** 945 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday in Virginia ([link removed])
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By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported 945 coronavirus cases Monday, bringing the state’s tally to 78,375. Of the total cases, 75,415 are confirmed and 2,960 are probable, meaning those patients are symptomatic and have a known exposure to the illness.
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** Danville records third COVID-19 death as cases continue to climb ([link removed])
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By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee

The Virginia Department of Health reported on Monday the third death due to the coronavirus in Danville, the latest sign of the locality struggling to prevent the spread of the infectious respiratory disease. As of Saturday, there were 373 total cases in the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, a figure that included 101 new cases in just one week.
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** Upward trend in Lynchburg COVID-19 numbers 'concerning' for health workers ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Coronavirus infection numbers aren’t letting up in and around Lynchburg, and area health care workers are expressing concern for hospital demand with flu season on the horizon. Centra Health officials said Monday its ICU saw a record high of 20 COVID-19 patients at the beginning of July, and numbers have remained high since then.
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** Few test positive for virus at five community screenings in Fredericksburg area ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The vast majority of people coming to free community events for COVID-19 tests in the Fredericksburg area have not had the virus. Only four of the 277 people tested Thursday at Spotswood Baptist Church got positive results, according to the Rappahannock Area Health District, which conducted the event with National Guard officials and other community agencies and volunteers.
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** CDC's COVID-19 survey in Manassas identifies challenges in Hispanic community ([link removed])
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By JARED FORETEK, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Initial findings from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that began June 22 show significant challenges in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the Manassas area’s Hispanic community. The study included interviews with residents of three Manassas and Manassas Park-area zip codes: 20109, 20110 and 20111. It was instigated by findings in June that the area had a 31% positivity rate and though Hispanic people make up about 27% of the Prince William Health District, they represent 41% of the total cases and 61% of hospitalizations.
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** SVHEC latest workplace to be disrupted by virus ([link removed])
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South Boston News & Record

The Southern Virginia Higher Education has joined other county workplaces in shutting down in recent days due to possible exposure to the coronavirus. The higher education center learned from an employee on Tuesday, July 14 that the person had “had prolonged contact with someone who has recently tested positive for COVID-19” — information that prompted SVHEC executive director Betty Adams to close the facility for the remainder of the week.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Virginia attorney general asks judge to dissolve injunction blocking removal of Robert E. Lee statue ([link removed])
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By ABIGAIL CONSTANTINO, WTOP

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is asking a new judge to dissolve an injunction that blocks the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond. According to a brief filed Monday, William C. Gregory, of Virginia, who claims to be a descendant of the owner who agreed to transfer the land on which the statue is located, “lacks standing to block removal of the statue, and that even if he had standing it wouldn’t matter because the plan to remove the statue is lawful.”
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** ‘The News Has Moved On’: Fundraising For Richmond’s Monument Removal Stalls ([link removed])
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By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

After nearly three weeks, online fundraising efforts to reimburse Richmond for removing Confederate monuments have raised only $30,000. It's well short of the $1.8 million the city says it spent to take down nearly a dozen statues. The group called The Fund to Move the Monuments has two separate online fundraisers going, attracting donations from around 450 people. One Facebook fundraiser has currently raised about $15,600. A similar fundraiser on Go Fund Me has taken in about $14,600. Both were created by Shanon Harton, a local realtor who said he was looking for a way to help contribute to the removal of Confederate symbolism in the city.
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** Students organize first Black Lives Matter rally in King George ([link removed])
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By MIKE MORONES, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The call-and-response of “No justice, no peace,” and other chants that have become emblematic of the Black Lives Matter movement echoed across Cedell Brooks Jr. Park in King George County on Sunday. Nearly 75 people, some with umbrellas for shade, sat in the oppressive heat to attend the county’s first Black Lives Matter rally, which was organized by college students and residents Sydney Biondi and Grayson Bullock.
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** Grand jury indicts Fairfax County police officer in violent encounter with black man ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A grand jury indicted a white Fairfax County police officer Monday on three misdemeanor counts of assault and battery after he deployed a Taser and hit a black man without apparent provocation in June in an incident captured on video. Fairfax County police officer Tyler Timberlake had previously faced the same charges, but the counts were dropped by county prosecutors for procedural reasons last week.
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** Barges for baby oysters as Chesapeake Bay Foundation steps up restoration work ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Volunteers and Chesapeake Bay Foundation staff have loaded up two barges with recycled oyster shells and nine million larvae, preparing to step up oyster restoration efforts in the bay. It’s a unique approach to dealing with a kind of stress familiar to any gardener — the shock of transplanting.


** LOCAL
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** State Approves Purcellville’s Request to Sell Nutrient Credits ([link removed])
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By PATRICK SZABO, Loudoun Now

The Town of Purcellville is poised to bring in close to $2 million from its Aberdeen Property. Town Attorney Sally Hankins Tuesday night told the Town Council the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality had approved the town’s plan sell 77 nutrient credits on 94 acres of its 189-acre Aberdeen Property. Hankins said the credits are marketable at a rate anywhere between $18,000 and $25,000 a piece—allowing the town to generate upwards of $1.9 million from the initiative.
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** With Chesterfield divided over school reopening options, School Board votes for virtual learning ([link removed])
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By JESS NOCERA, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Dueling reopening rallies in Chesterfield — one seeking a five-day return to school, the other, remote learning — and a recommendation from the Chesterfield schools Superintendent for a virtual start set the table for debate at a marathon School Board meeting Monday night. The county School Board heard three COVID-19 presentations and opinions from nearly 30 community members before evaluating how best to prioritize learning while protecting students and staff; a choice that has pitted some parents against teachers as similar talks unfold across the country.
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** Henrico superintendent recommends virtual start for upcoming school year ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Henrico County Public Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell is recommending a fully virtual start to the school year, the system announced Monday. While officials earlier this summer said they were developing a part-time, hybrid reopening plan to limit transmission of COVID-19, the new plan calls for online-only instruction for the first nine weeks of school.
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** After ouster, former Richmond Police Chief due $85,000 in severance ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

What did it cost Richmond to secure the resignation of embattled former police Chief William Smith? $85,477 in severance pay, according to the city’s Department of Human Resources. Mayor Levar Stoney asked for Smith’s resignation last month, as his administration and the police department Smith led faced mounting criticism for its handling of protests that began in the city in late May.
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** Gardening Initiative Addresses Food Insecurity Amid Pandemic ([link removed])
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By ALAN RODRIGUEZ ESPINOZA, WCVE

Since April, Duron Chavis has been building raised garden beds free of charge through his resiliency gardens project. For years, Chavis has worked to increase access to healthy foods in Richmond's underserved neighborhoods, but he says the coronavirus pandemic makes his mission more urgent. “People are losing their jobs, so more people are on SNAP benefits. Some people are immunocompromised. They might have diabetes or some other chronic ailment that makes them more susceptible to catching [the coronavirus],” Chavis said.
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** Finding a new police chief will be a top priority for Virginia Beach’s new city manager ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Starting Monday, a new city manager will be in charge of the region’s largest city. Patrick Duhaney, 37, will join Virginia Beach at a time when the city needs unity, said Mayor Bobby Dyer. The resort city has been without a permanent city manager for 10 months after Dave Hansen resigned in August at the request of the majority of the City Council. Tom Leahy, who has been the acting city manager, plans to retire after 40 years with the city.
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** Newport News considering virtual, hybrid options for school ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Students could return to school either virtually or two days a week under a proposal presented Monday evening to the Newport News School Board. The board will decide Aug. 4. They are not considering bringing students back full-time. “We were well aware that we would not be able to accommodate 100% of our students reporting to our school buildings every day and continue to meet the safety guidelines necessary to keep staff and students,” Superintendent George Parker said.
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** Roanoke lays out plans for spending pandemic relief money ([link removed])
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By RALPH BERRIER JR., Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Roanoke is nearly ready to start doling out more than $7 million of aid to local businesses, nonprofits and families hurt by the pandemic. City Manager Bob Cowell briefed the Roanoke City Council on Monday about recommendations made by a 36-person task force that spent the past month prioritizing how to spend federal and local money that the city received to boost the economy and help people in need.


** EDITORIALS
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** Atlantic Coast Pipeline RIP ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

After winning a crucial 7–2 victory in the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline to run under the Appalachian Trail, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy pulled the plug earlier this month on their joint 604-mile project to transport natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina “due to ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty which threaten the economic viability of the project.”
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** Changing habits in how we move around the Richmond region ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

This past session, the General Assembly laid the groundwork for improvements in how the Richmond region funds its transportation needs. We wholeheartedly supported the creation of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority (CVTA). The new body will finance projects in Richmond, Ashland and the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland, Powhatan, New Kent and Charles City. The mechanisms to fund the CVTA include a 7.6-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase (in effect as of July 1) and a 0.7% regional sales tax increase (beginning Oct. 1).


** OP-ED
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** Kunzinger: Online learning a poor substitute to classroom instruction ([link removed])
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By BOB KUNZINGER, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Students and faculty now meet via Zoom, on Blackboard, online however they can, safe from the masked masses making their way through city streets and infectious locales. Kids in Kindergarten right through coeds on campuses all have settled into a new way of learning. But something essential is missing which completes a person's education, the element not addressed in lesson plans or recorded videos or discussion boards: The before and after of it all.

Bob Kunzinger is a professor of humanities at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach.
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** Herring and Hope: Reforming Virginia together ([link removed])
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By CHARNIELE HERRING AND PATRICK HOPE, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The horrifying murder of George Floyd sent shock waves throughout the country and around the world, reopening old yet never-healed wounds in the commonwealth. And now video footage is being investigated from 2019 of unacceptable conduct by a Virginia state trooper. The public outcry around these events, compounded by the higher rates for COVID-19 illness and deaths in communities of color, puts a glaring spotlight on systemic inequities in our society.

Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, represents the 46th District in the House of Delegates and is the House majority leader. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, represents the 47th District in the House of Delegates.
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** Vassar and Durrette: Vote Yes on redistricting amendment ([link removed])
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By BOBBY VASSAR AND WYATT DURRETTE, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The issue of fair electoral districts is profoundly important to both of us — one a Democrat, the other a Republican. This is why both of us have worked during the past decade to right the wrongs of Virginia’s outdated and discriminatory redistricting laws. We are campaign co-chairs of the recently launched Fair Maps Virginia ballot campaign, and we worked together to help draft the original version of the Virginia constitutional redistricting amendment now pending approval in November.

Democrat Bobby Vassar is a former subcommittee chief counsel for the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, and a former Virginia cabinet official and agency head. Republican Wyatt Durrette is a former state legislator and candidate for governor.


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