VaNews
July 29, 2020

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** University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies
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Top of the News


** Northam crashes Hampton Roads' parties to reverse surge in coronavirus cases ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Last call for late-night partying in Hampton Roads is midnight Thursday. Starting Friday, sales of alcohol will be cut off at 10 p.m. at all restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries, under Gov. Ralph Northam’s latest executive order aimed at stopping the surge of coronavirus cases in Virginia Beach and neighboring communities. Public gatherings and private parties — indoors and out — will be capped at 50 people.
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** Some Hampton Roads hospitals struggling with COVID-19 spike ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Hampton Roads’ hospitals and their associated medical practices are seeing a spike in cases of the new coronavirus as the disease continues to spread. Testing remains a challenge, as does finding enough N-95 masks and a medicine — remdesivir — that the hospitals say has been an effective treatment, executives told Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in a conference call Tuesday. Advertisement
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** Virginia Beach schools to start year with remote learning until coronavirus cases start to drop ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

All of Virginia Beach’s nearly 70,000 students will start school online this fall and continue virtually until key coronavirus health metrics start to improve under a plan approved in the early hours of Wednesday morning by the city’s school board. The decision to start remotely, which was recommended by Superintendent Aaron Spence last week, came after more than a month of rising coronavirus cases in the region.
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** Virginia apartment manager ends screening policy barring renters with minor convictions ([link removed])
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By JEFF SOUTH, Virginia Mercury

A company that manages about 1,700 of apartments in Northern Virginia has agreed to stop automatically rejecting any applicant with a criminal conviction no matter how old or minor — a policy that fair-housing advocates said discriminated against Black and Latino renters. As a result of a lawsuit filed by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Kay Management Co. agreed to screen applicants primarily for felony convictions within the past five years. Under the new policy, the company can look 10 or more years into an applicant’s past only for homicides or serious sex- or drug-related crimes.
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** How COVID-19 Spread, and Was Contained, at Two Nursing Homes ([link removed])
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By MEGAN PAULY AND MALLORY NOE-PAYNE, WCVE

Before the COVID-19 outbreak was over, almost every resident of a small nursing home in the Shenandoah Valley would contract the virus. The facility’s administrator would get it, so many staff would quit it would become a struggle to keep the facility functioning, and 22 people -- about a fifth of the residents -- would die. Meanwhile, at a nursing home just hours away in Richmond, COVID-19 patients would be kept to a single floor with dedicated staff, isolated from the rest of the population. Only 13 residents and four staff members would get the virus, and none would die.
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** More County Voters Seeking Absentee Forms ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The COVID-19 pandemic may have thrown a wrench into a number of plans for 2020, but it hasn’t stopped more than 1,000 registered voters in Rockingham County from requesting absentee ballots for the November election, according to Lisa Gooden. Gooden, director of elections for Rockingham County, said that as of Tuesday morning, the office has received 1,041 requests for absentee ballots by mail – nearly exceeding the total number of mail-in ballots from the 2016 presidential election, which was 1,262.
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** In former Confederate capital, a push to honor the enslaved ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

For more than 150 years, Virginia’s capital city greeted visitors with a landscape steeped in Confederate heritage and dotted with its relics, including a collection of enormous statues to rebel fighters. Tucked away, or in many cases buried, was evidence of Richmond’s pivotal role in the lucrative domestic slave trade. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were jailed, bought and sold in the city, and shipped across the South in the decades preceding the Civil War.
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual One Year Out: Historic Look at Gubernatorial Fundraising ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Candidates who have announced or who are pondering a run for Governor next year raised more than $3 million dollars in the first half of the year. How does that compare with the previous five election cycles? This visual looks at the inflation-adjusted numbers for each candidate and includes a thumbnail narrative about each race.
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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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** Northam announces new coronavirus restrictions in Hampton Roads ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES AND JESSICA NOLTE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A 10 p.m. alcohol sales cutoff, a mandatory midnight closing of restaurants and limits on the number of people gathering are among the restrictions Gov. Ralph Northam is implementing in Hampton Roads as a result of a spike in coronavirus cases. Northam announced Tuesday that the region — which has seen a 672% increase in its seven-day moving average of cases since June 9 — will move into a hybrid phase because people still aren’t complying with his guidelines.
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** Northam announces new COVID restrictions in Hampton Roads ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Amid a rising number of new COVID-19 cases in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday announced new public restrictions aimed at curbing a dramatic surge in the Hampton Roads area. While the rest of the state will remain under Phase Three guidelines, private and public gatherings in the state’s eastern region will be limited to 50 people, compared with the current statewide limit of 250.
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** Virginia governor adds restrictions in Hampton Roads region after surge in coronavirus cases ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced new restrictions Tuesday on restaurants and gatherings in the Hampton Roads area because of a rise in coronavirus cases. Northam (D) said restaurants will be limited to 50 percent capacity for indoor dining, will have to stop serving alcohol after 10 p.m. and will have to close at midnight. In addition, gatherings of more than 50 people will be prohibited.
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** Northam imposes new rules for Hampton Roads as top federal official questions regional approach ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

It started with a scolding — and a vow to crack down on businesses that weren’t following the state’s safety orders. Now, with cases rising throughout many parts of Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that he was implementing new restrictions in Hampton Roads, a region he cited for one of the most troubling increases in caseloads.
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** Governor limits gatherings, alcohol sales in Hampton Roads ([link removed])
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By BEN FINLEY, Associated Press

As coronavirus cases continue to surge on Virginia’s coast, the state will enact bans in the region on alcohol sales after 10 p.m. and gatherings of more than 50 people, Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference, the Democratic governor cited a rise in infections among young people in the Hampton Roads region as well as alcohol use. Northam, who is a physician, said the virus spreads when “too many people are selfish.”
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** Lt. Gov. Fairfax files appeal after $400M libel suit against CBS tossed ([link removed])
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By WILL VITKA, WTOP

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has filed an appeal to the 4th Circuit Court in Richmond after his $400 million libel suit against CBS was thrown out in February. Fairfax “continues to hold CBS accountable for recklessly airing and refusing to correct false, fabricated and politically motivated sexual assault allegations,” a July 28 statement from Fairfax spokeswoman Lauren Burke said.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** After decades of fighting for police reform, Black Caucus confident change is finally coming ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Efforts to reform the criminal justice system in Virginia are nothing new to Hampton state Sen. Mamie Locke. The Democrat, caucus chairwoman and political science professor has been in office since 2004, and in that time, she’s seen lawmakers try to reform the criminal justice system time and time again.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Richard Traczyk seeking GOP nomination for 29th District House of Delegates seat ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Richard Traczyk, a former Warren County Board of Supervisors chairman, has announced that he is seeking the Republican nomination to run for the 29th District House of Delegates seat recently vacated by Chris Collins. Earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam set a special election for Nov. 3 to fill the seat, which Collins vacated on June 28 after he was appointed a 26th Judicial District-General District Court judge.
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** Fairfax NAACP president Sean Perryman exploring run for lieutenant governor ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Another Northern Virginian is considering running for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2021. Sean Perryman, president of the Fairfax County NAACP, announced Monday he is forming an exploratory committee to consider a campaign for the Democratic nomination. Perryman, 34, was elected president of the NAACP last summer. Since 2018, he has worked as the first director of social impact and diversity and inclusion policy at the Internet Association.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Virginia to send $644.6 million in federal aid to local governments in second round of relief ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

With Congress preparing to debate relaxing restrictions on emergency aid to state and local governments, Gov. Ralph Northam is sending almost $645 million in federal funds to localities to help them weather the coronavirus crisis and its economic repercussions. The money is the second half of the $1.3 billion in federal aid under the CARES Act that Virginia is allocating for local governments to use under current rules that limit spending to expenses directly related to combating the spread of COVID-19.
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** Virginia seeks to end surprise medical bills ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia is trying again to halt the surprise medical bills patients receive when are they are unknowingly treated by providers outside their insurers’ networks. The State Corporation Commission will take comments on the proposed regulations until Sept. 1, with the aim to have them become effective Jan. 1.
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** Opposition voices prevalent at DEQ hearing ([link removed])
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By JIM RIDOLPHI, Mechanicsville Local

More than 40 speakers urged the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to deny the issuance of a Wetlands permit for a 217-acre site that recently was approved for a Wegmans’ Distribution Center. The Hanover County Board of Supervisors approved the project in May, but the project still requires a DEQ permit to proceed. Jaime Robb, permit manager for DEQ’s Piedmont Division, said the agency rarely denies applications although some require adjustments during the process.
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** Damage from unauthorized access prompts state to close Cape Charles nature preserve ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Fears over spreading the coronavirus indoors are leading many this summer to spend more time outside enjoying the southeastern Virginia greenery. But it’s apparently been too much for the Cape Charles Natural Area Preserve to handle. The 29-acre preserve is closing for repairs following impacts from unauthorized access, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation announced.


** CONGRESS
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** Kaine and Warner criticize Republicans' plan for coronavirus relief ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia’s U.S. senators are pushing back on Republicans’ proposal for the latest round of coronavirus relief funding. Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner say the HEALS Act, unveiled Monday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., falls short of what’s needed to respond to COVID-19’s continued spread and its economic fallout.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Virginia to provide grants of up to $10,000 for small businesses affected by COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia is planning to give $70 million in grants to small businesses and nonprofit organizations around the state whose operations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Ralph Northam announced the funding Monday through a program called Rebuild VA, an economic recovery fund aimed at providing grants to small businesses that may not have had access to money from previous federal government coronavirus relief programs.
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** Amazon sues developer for alleged racketeering and fraud over Virginia ([link removed])
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By SEBASTIAN MOSS, Data Centre Dynamics

Amazon has sued real estate firm Northstar Commercial Partners for an alleged “significant fraud and kickback scheme" involving the sale of land for Amazon Web Services data centers in Virginia. The CEO of the Denver-based company was raided in April by the FBI in what is thought to be a related investigation. Soon after, multiple senior executives left the company, including chief operating officer Tim Lorman and chief financial officer Brent Gray.
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** Mountain Valley to receive new permit to cross Blue Ridge Parkway ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Mountain Valley Pipeline will be granted a new permit to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway, the first in a string of federal approvals needed before the natural gas pipeline can be completed. In a letter filed Tuesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Park Service said it intended to issue a right of way permit for the pipeline to pass under the parkway atop Bent Mountain in Roanoke County.
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** What happens to land acquired for canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline? ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

The bitterly fought Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been canceled, but the two major utilities behind it, Virginia-based Dominion Energy and North Carolina-based Duke Energy, still have not decided what to do about the land they gained control over for the project, in some cases through eminent domain. “There are a number of important issues that will need to be addressed in the coming months as we wind down the project,” said Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby in an email. “As part of that process, we will be evaluating the best path forward for resolving existing easement agreements with ACP landowners.”
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** Newport News shipyard returning to three-shift schedule ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Newport News Shipbuilding will go back to a three-shift schedule next month -- but with changes it expects will maintain the coronavirus control measures its May move to a two-shift operation was intended to put in place. The new schedule will start Aug. 16.
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** Altria expands sales of heated-cigarette as revenue slides ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW PERRONE, Associated Press

Marlboro-maker Altria said Tuesday that cigarette sales continued to decline in its last quarter as the company pushed to expand sales of an alternative heated-tobacco product. The Richmond, Virginia-based company reported second-quarter profit of $1.94 billion, or $1.04 per share, down 2.8% from the same period last year. Adjusted for one-time costs, the company would have earned $1.09 per share, better than the average Wall Street estimate of $1.06, according to Zacks Investment Research.
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** Altria plans wider rollout of IQOS device ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. is planning a wider rollout of the IQOS device, an alternative to conventional cigarettes, even as the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have slowed a long-term decline in cigarette smoking. Henrico County-based Altria, the parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, is planning a larger rollout of IQOS, a device that heats tobacco instead of burning it.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Regional Transportation Leaders Weigh COVID-19 Impacts ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

State and regional transportation leaders are looking at a changing world in commuting brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as people who were sent home to telework wonder whether they should ever go back into the office. “People have realized teleworking is much more advantageous than we might have believed before,” said Loudoun County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large), who also chairs the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, during a virtual Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce PolicyMaker Series breakfast.
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** Northern Virginia’s 1st self-driving shuttle starts testing on Fairfax Co. streets ([link removed])
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By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

The first electric autonomous shuttle to run on public streets in Northern Virginia is being programmed and tested in the Mosaic District of Fairfax County. The Relay vehicle will carry a dozen passengers — riding for free — on a loop between the Dunn Loring Metro station to the popular shopping and living community in Merrifield, just outside the Capital Beltway.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** No college football would mean a $70 million hit to the Blacksburg economy ([link removed])
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By MIKE BARBER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

No football this fall could cost the Blacksburg area more than $70 million, according to the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. About $20 million of that comes directly from local businesses such as hotels, restaurants, shops, grocery stores and gasoline stations, which all see a boost on weekends when Virginia Tech plays home games at Lane Stadium.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** 922 new coronavirus cases reported in Virginia on Tuesday ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported 922 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the state’s tally to 86,994. At least 2,095 Virginians have died from the virus as of Tuesday morning, up 13 from Monday. Of all the new cases in Virginia, 32% come from Hampton Roads.
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** Potential COVID-19 exposure closes part of Courts Building in Richmond ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Richmond General District Court has closed some offices and courtrooms on the second floor of the John Marshall Courts Building downtown after a potential COVID-19 exposure. The closure extends a week through Aug. 4 and affects the criminal and traffic division located on one side of the second floor of the courthouse, 400 N. Ninth St., according to Tuesday’s order signed by Chief Judge David M. Hicks.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Family of George Floyd visits Richmond to see unveiling of high-tech memorial ([link removed])
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Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The creators of a high-tech memorial to George Floyd wanted to unveil it in a place that had deep meaning for the cause of fighting racial inequity, so they chose the grandest totem in the former capital of the Confederacy: the statue of Robert E. Lee on this city's Monument Avenue. Floyd’s family traveled to Richmond to be present for Tuesday’s unveiling of a holographic portrait of the man whose death in May at the hands of Minneapolis police touched off protests around the world.
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** 'We love what y’all are doing': George Floyd brothers speak in Richmond at hologram debut ([link removed])
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By JOHANNA ALONSO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

On Tuesday night at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue, holographic fireflies flew together to create a large image of George Floyd’s face alongside his name, projected onto the monument to the Confederate general. It was the first stop on the George Floyd Hologram Memorial Project’s weeklong tour through the South, an initiative launched by the George Floyd Foundation and the petition website Change.org.
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** Chincoteague Island holds virtual pony auction as it adapts to historic pandemic ([link removed])
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By JASON FRALEY, WTOP

Vacationing on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, has become an annual tradition for folks in the DMV. However, this week marks the first cancellation of its pony activities since World War II. “This would have been the 95th year,” Denise Bowden of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company told WTOP. “The last time that the pony swim and the carnival and everything got canceled was back in 1942 and 1943 during World War II. … I have no other way to put it except that it feels just as weird as everything else has this year.”


** LOCAL
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** Fight over Arlington gun ordinance ([link removed])
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By SCOTT MCCAFFREY, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Critics of a proposal to ban legally carried weapons from Arlington government facilities and during special events in the community offered their protests, but most were of the belief that the fix, as it were, was in. “I’ve lived in Arlington long enough to know that this train has left the station,” county resident Jared Hendler said at a July 22 County Board meeting in advance of planned gun-restriction legislation being acted on in September.
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** Fairfax Co. teachers union requests virtual working option for all staff ([link removed])
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By KEN DUFFY, WTOP

Public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, will begin all classes virtually in September, but the county’s teachers union is trying to get the system to address issues for other support staffers like bus drivers, secretaries and custodians, who feel they’ve been left out of the discussions and undervalued. The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers is recommending that those staffers should also have the option of working virtually, suggesting they could be used to assist class instruction, along with the social and emotional health of students.
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** New Fairfax County Law Enforcement Data Platform Released in Quest for Transparency ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk has released a new website that serves as a one-stop-shop for all previous and future law enforcement data public by Fairfax County. Lusk, who is also the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisor’s Public Safety Committee, said the project was launched in response to residents’ requests for clear and detailed data from the Fairfax County Police Department.
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** Falls Church Council member Dan Sze dies ([link removed])
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By COLLEEN KELLEHER, WTOP

Falls Church Council member Daniel “Dan” X. Sze died after a battle with esophageal cancer. “The news of Dan’s passing has hit me hard,” said David Tarter, mayor of the Northern Virginia city, in a news release.
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** Stoney announces multimillion-dollar proposal to commemorate Shockoe Bottom slave trade ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Mayor Levar Stoney on Tuesday announced he would propose a budget amendment to the Richmond City Council that, over a five-year period, would have the city invest between $25 million and $50 million to commemorate the complete story of slavery in Shockoe Bottom. An immediate investment of $3.5 million to build a Shockoe memorial park that will include a slave history museum is part of the proposal.
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** Diversity Richmond food drive provides groceries to Latino community hit hard during pandemic ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The food drive for members of the Latino community was supposed to get underway at Diversity Richmond around 9 a.m. on Tuesday. But cars of people waiting for a chance to pick up a week’s worth of groceries were lined up along Sherwood Avenue before then.
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** Internal Audit Investigates Alleged Teacher Harassment in Chesterfield ([link removed])
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By IAN M. STEWART, WCVE

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors has launched an internal audit of both the school district and of the Chesterfield Education Association, the teacher’s union. The investigation stems from allegations that teachers are bullying each other online for being opposed to a strictly virtual fall reopening. At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Chair Leslie Haley told school Superintendent Merv Daugherty she was concerned about reports of teachers being bullied for opposition to virtual reopening.
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** Henrico supervisors at odds over civilian review board in first discussion of Nelson's proposal ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Nearly half of the respondents to a county survey say they support the idea of a civilian review board for the Henrico Division of Police, but members of the Board of Supervisors were at odds over the idea Tuesday. While county officials said they are waiting for the Virginia General Assembly to take up potential police reforms in a special session next month, Supervisor Tyrone Nelson urged the board in Tuesday’s meeting to begin discussing the proposal, which he made nearly two months ago.
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** Colonial Heights School Board gives families a choice on reopening options ([link removed])
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By JESS NOCERA, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Colonial Heights Public Schools students will have the opportunity to head back into the classroom for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year. During an in-person meeting Tuesday, the Colonial Heights School Board unanimously voted to allow families the choice between virtual learning and a five-day return to the classroom.
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** Portsmouth City Council OKs moving downtown Confederate monument ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

City Council members voted unanimously on Tuesday to OK the removal of Portsmouth’s damaged Confederate monument from Olde Towne. A resolution passed by the Council gives City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton the authority to move the granite obelisk and its four statues as soon as the city sees fit.
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** Norfolk drops longtime security firm after years of problems with guards ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN EDWARDS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The private security company that’s guarded Norfolk’s libraries, tourist attractions, and City Hall for the better part of two decades has lost its bid for another five-year contract, after a Virginian-Pilot investigation exposed failures that plagued its guards for years. For years, the city paid Norfolk-based Top Guard Inc. $2.5 million a year to protect three dozen city properties, including Scope, City Hall, Nauticus, the USS Wisconsin, Community Services Board offices and library branches.
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** W-JCC Schools to start first nine weeks with remote learning ([link removed])
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By ABIGAIL ADCOX, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Williamsburg-James City County schools announced Tuesday morning that school will be online-only for at least the first nine weeks of the new school year. “I know many of you are disappointed by these announcements; we are as well. We remain committed to providing the rigorous education that all our students need and deserve,” Superintendent Olwen Herron wrote in an email to families.
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** Hampton superintendent recommends all students start year online ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Superintendent Jeffery Smith said Tuesday that he is recommending Hampton schools start the fall semester virtually. In a message to parents, Smith wrote that all students would attend classes online for at least the first nine weeks, until Nov. 2, unless health conditions change. His recommendation will go before the School Board Aug. 5 for a final vote.
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** Stafford students to start school virtually ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS-CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Stafford County School Board has followed other area school divisions in approving a virtual start to the 2020–21 school year for all students. The board on Tuesday approved Superintendent Scott Kizner’s recommendation that all students receive virtual instruction instead of having the choice of a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction.
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** Page Schools change weekly schedule and will require health screenings ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

The Page County School Board unanimously approved its proposed guidelines and procedures for the upcoming school year on Monday night, with two significant changes — an adjustment to the weekly schedule for in-person instruction, and the implementation of health screenings at all schools. Page County Public Schools’ original proposal for the 2020-21 school year called for students to be broken into two groups, A and B, alternating in-person instruction on Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. Wednesday was reserved as a “deep cleaning” day, with remote instruction taking place three days a week.
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** Committee to promote Bristol casino project ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

A committee has been formed to build support for the proposed Hard Rock Bristol Hotel and Casino, which appears on the ballot this fall. In the coming months, the committee will engage with residents to answer questions and provide information about the project, and work with business and civic leaders and organizations, according to a written statement.
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** Dharma Pharmaceuticals approved to open medical marijuana shop in Abingdon ([link removed])
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By JOE TENNIS, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

The Washington County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved Dharma Pharmaceuticals’ request to operate a new retail space for medical marijuana in Abingdon. Several people spoke both for and against the project, set to locate near the crossroads of U.S. 11 (Lee Highway) and state Route 677 (Watauga Road).
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** Pound council wrestles over alleged crimes, more ([link removed])
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By JEFF LESTER, Coalfield Progress

The worst-kept secret in town was the dominant topic of town council’s July 21 meeting. That, and new Mayor Stacey Carson’s working relationship with a few members of council. Those two matters were intertwined from the meeting’s commencement, as Carson questioned the purpose for a planned closed-door discussion. What was not discussed until near the meeting’s end — and only then was referenced indirectly with no names mentioned — was the town-wide rumor regarding the recent departure of an employee who has been accused of crimes.

Today's Sponsor:


** University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies
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Explore advancing your career in government relations and advocacy with our online professional certificate program in Grassroots Lobbying & Advocacy ([link removed]) . Applications due August 15.


** EDITORIALS
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** Advice for Bill Carrico ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

To: Former state Sen. Bill Carrico We have some advice for your campaign for the Republican nomination for governor. A great opportunity has just presented itself, and you need to seize it. This isn’t an endorsement. We don’t do those. But you are from Southwest Virginia and whether you win or lose, it’s in the interest of everyone in these parts that voices from Southwest Virginia are taken seriously at the state level. So here goes.
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** Northern Neck needs essential broadband ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Broadband internet is essential. The struggle to make it universal is reminiscent of the effort to bring electricity to every home in the first half of the last century. The digital divide is a major impediment to those on the dark side of it. Tens of millions of Americans still don’t have high-speed internet access. The numbers are worse for low-income groups and for those living in rural areas.
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** Broadband access essential to rural communities ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia communities without reliable broadband Internet are at a distinct disadvantage and suffer in a number of ways. That’s not new. However, in the throes of a pandemic that shows no signs of being over soon, having access to reliable high-speed internet is more essential than ever for people’s jobs, education, health care and safety as well as for economic survival and future growth for the state’s rural areas.
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** As the fall draws closer, Virginia’s Community College System has a healthy mindset ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, students and families across Virginia continue to adapt to fall learning realities. In K-12 schools, some districts have decided on virtual schooling for the start of the 2020-21 academic year. In other localities, families can choose between continuing online schooling and returning to in-person classes. And the passionate debate over different solutions proves one thing: A lot is on the line.
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** VEC virtual job fair offers hope for getting Virginians back to work ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Since the start of 2020, more than 1 million unemployment claims have been filed by Virginians. According to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), that figure is greater than the entire claim load from mid-2014 through the end of 2019. The VEC has struggled to keep pace with the unprecedented demand. On a July 16 call with reporters, officials said 60,000 claims still were in limbo due to various issues.


** OP-ED
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** Davenport: Energy and Virginia's economic present and future ([link removed])
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By BEN DAVENPORT, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Uncertain economic times challenge us to look toward a brighter future. However, the economic future of southern and western Virginia will be much, much brighter with the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We need to finish this project NOW! Just over a year ago, the Commonwealth of Virginia regained its position as the best state in America for business according to CNBC.

Davenport is chairman of Davenport Energy in Chatham.
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** Lovelace: Pipeline cancellation puts spotlight on Northam and Herring inaction ([link removed])
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By STACY LOVELACE, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The years-long effort for environmental justice and resulting cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) not only put on full display the systemic injustices that permeate our regulatory system, but it also put a spotlight on the apathy of Gov. Northam and Attorney General Herring in the face of such glaring injustices. This apathy continues as Northam and Herring stand by while those in the path of the very similar Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) continue to suffer.

Lovelace is a co-founders of Virginia Pipeline Resisters. She is from Bedford.
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** Oakes: Remove Dominion’s James River power towers ([link removed])
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By JOY M. OAKES, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The June 17 editorial (“Argument against James River lines lacks power”) missed the mark in its discussion of Dominion Energy’s illegally approved massive transmission line across the historic James River at Jamestown. The National Parks Conservation Association appreciates the opportunity to share more information about our efforts to the protect the James.

Oakes serves as senior director in the Mid-Atlantic region for the National Parks Conservation Association in Washington, D.C.
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** Morel: Why Lee should remain a namesake of my university ([link removed])
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By LUCAS E. MOREL, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Robert E. Lee committed treason when he became general of the Army of Northern Virginia in support of Southern secession. Its goal was a separate nation devoted to white supremacy and black slavery. But with the Union victory, Lee submitted to federal authority and set an example of reconciliation for a defeated South. Lee’s post-war leadership of Washington College led the faculty to ask that his name be added to the school’s masthead.

Morel is the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics at Washington and Lee University and author of “Lincoln and the American Founding,” recently published by Southern Illinois University Press.


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