VaNews
September 3, 2020
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Top of the News


** Virginia Democrats advance bills allowing prisoners to shorten sentences with good behavior ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Some Virginia inmates could see their sentences cut nearly in half under legislation aimed at rewarding good behavior and participation in prison rehabilitation programs. Bills advanced by Democrats in the House and Senate would dramatically expand the state’s existing earned sentence credit program, which currently caps sentence reductions tied to good behavior at 15 percent.
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** In bipartisan vote, Senate panel approves bill to make parole board decisions public ([link removed])
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By DEAN MIRSHAHI, WRIC-TV

A Virginia Senate panel narrowly approved a measure Wednesday that would make the individual votes from each member of the state’s Parole Board available for public record, legislation pushed by Republicans after a report from the state’s watchdog agency found the board violated state law and its own procedures during the parole process of a man convicted of killing a Richmond police officer in 1979.
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** Lawsuit seeks to kick Kanye West off the ballot in Virginia ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA AND PETER JAMISON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Two voters who say they were tricked into supporting Kanye West's campaign for president are suing to try to get him kicked off the ballot in Virginia, seeking immediate court intervention as deadlines for printing and mailing absentee ballots are fast approaching. In a suit filed Tuesday in Richmond Circuit Court, Matthan Wilson and Bryan Wright, both Suffolk residents, said signature-gatherers for West misled them into pledging to serve as electors for the rapper and entrepreneur.
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** Virginia attorney general plans to run for reelection ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is running for reelection, forgoing a gubernatorial bid he’d previously announced. Herring, a Democrat, declined to comment through a spokesman. But he called several elected officials Wednesday and told him of his plans to run for a third term.
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** Ballad seeks to counter spread of misinformation about COVID-19 deaths ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Twitter post shared by President Donald Trump that falsely claimed that 94% of Americans who died from COVID-19 actually died from something else is hampering efforts to control the disease in one of Virginia’s hot spots. Ballad Health officials, who have been battling widespread community transmission of the coronavirus in Virginia’s coalfields and Tennessee’s Tri-Cities, attempted Wednesday to stop the harm of misinformation.
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** Virginia ABC surpasses $1 billion in sales again ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority announced Wednesday retails sales of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2020 — a nearly $120 million increase from the previous year and the second year in a row the liquor monopoly surpassed $1 billion in sales. As the agency adapted to the pandemic, the switch to online ordering helped bolster its sales, with an average of 419 orders coming through per day at the end of July.
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** Man fired for refusing to remove ‘Trump 2020’ hat at Newport News Shipbuilding ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Dave Sunderland said he had been wearing Donald Trump hats to work at Newport News Shipbuilding every day for nearly four years. He wore them — most recently one that said “Trump 2020″ — from his car to his work site inside the gates, and sometimes for a short safety meeting at the start of his shift. Not anymore.
The Full Report
44 articles, 23 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Lobbyist Entertainment: A Primer ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

In Virginia, lobbyists can provide free meals and entertainment to legislative and executive officials. Once a year, lobbyists are required to disclose entertainment expenses. This visual explains why, in practice, most lobbyist disclosures do not name the official(s) entertained. Links list the 2019-20 disclosures, including spending by client and how often legislators were listed.
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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 10:30 a.m.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** House Courts Committee advances automatic expungement bill in General Assembly ([link removed])
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By BRANDON JARVIS, Henrico Citizen

By a 13-8 vote, the Courts Committee of the Virginia House of Delegates advanced a bill Wednesday that would implement a system of automatic expungement from a person’s record for certain criminal convictions, deferred dispositions, acquittals, and offenses that have been nolle prossed (or dismissed). The crime commission had voted on Monday to recommend passing the bill. House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria), the sponsors of HB 5146, introduced the proposal to the committee by explaining that there is a stigma attached to people who have criminal records. The current system of expungement is a pick-and-choose process, she said, and has no systematic way of expunging records.
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** Senate Finance Committee Votes Down School Nurse Mandate ([link removed])
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By IAN M. STEWART, WCVE-FM

A proposal from Sen. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) to get nurses into every public school building in Virginia was voted down in the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers told the senator that, despite being a worthy cause, now’s not the right time to shift funding around to pay for it. Committee Chair Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) said the mandate would require more money from the state, which is currently dealing with budget shortfalls from COVID-19.
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** Lawmakers struggle to balance shielding businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits, keeping workers safe ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

It’s a short bill filled with lawyerly jargon. But it’s one that could have a major impact on future coronavirus-related lawsuits in Virginia. At its pandemic-response special session, the General Assembly has taken up legislation to give businesses and all other property owners broad immunity from being sued by workers, customers or visitors claiming they were infected with COVID-19 due to lax social distancing protocols.
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** Proposals to ease utility bill burdens during pandemic facing uphill road ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

Proposals to address rising numbers of unpaid utility bills during a time of mass unemployment have faced uphill battles during the special session of the General Assembly convened in part to address the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the two weeks since the session began, the House of Delegates has yet to take up either of two measures dealing with utility bills.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Herring will seek third term as AG and will not run for governor ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR AND ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring will seek a third four-year term, forgoing a run for governor in 2021. Herring revealed his decision in a series of calls with influential Virginia Democrats on Wednesday. That included Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, who also is also running for attorney general, and House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, who has said she was considering a run.
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** Mark Herring to run again for Virginia attorney general, skipping governor’s race ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Attorney General Mark R. Herring will seek a third term as Virginia's top lawyer next year, abandoning plans to run for governor in a crowded Democratic primary, according to five people with knowledge of his decision. Herring, 58, called several Democrats on Wednesday to spread word of his choice, the five with direct knowledge of the calls said. Herring’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Democratic lawyer sues to keep Kanye West off Virginia's ballot ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A prominent lawyer for Democrats has sued Virginia elections officials in an effort to keep rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West off of Virginia’s presidential ballot in November. Marc Elias, who was general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, filed suit in Richmond Circuit Court against the three members of the State Board of Elections and the Department of Elections.
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** Two of Kanye West’s electors sue to have him thrown off Virginia’s presidential ballot ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

With the help of a high-profile Democratic law firm, Virginia voters who claim they were tricked into signing campaign paperwork supporting Kanye West have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the rapper from appearing on Virginia’s presidential ballot. The suit, filed Tuesday in Richmond Circuit Court, asks the court to order election officials to either decertify West’s candidacy or delay printing ballots until the fraud allegations can be sorted out.
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** Pence to speak at VMI next week ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Vice President Mike Pence will head to Lexington on Sept. 10 to speak at Virginia Military Institute, according to the White House. No further details have yet been announced.
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** Warner gets earful from Fredericksburg-area veterans about the VA ([link removed])
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By CATHY JETT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Aug. 26, 2019, is etched in Christopher McBride’s memory. That’s the date of his fifth suicide attempt, when he reached the Veterans Administration’s suicide hotline and finally got the help he was seeking. “From that day forward, I was inundated with phone calls, appointments and doctors who made me feel the somebody cared,” he said during a veterans roundtable U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D–Va., held Wednesday in Fredericksburg.
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** Cline, Amherst GOP pushing to retake House, Virginia in upcoming election ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN FAULCONER, Amherst New Era Progress

A few days after the Republican National Convention concluded, a group of about 50 people in Madison Heights rode the excitement in cheering support for reelecting President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-6th District, and electing Daniel Gade to the U.S. Senate. Cline, the freshman congressman seeking a second term, joined the Amherst County Republicans in celebrating the grand opening of a new headquarters at 4133 South Amherst Highway. Gade, an Iraq war veteran challenging U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was not in attendance but his wife, Wendy, attended and spoke.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Roanoke to get test track for truck, motorcycle licensing ([link removed])
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By JEFF STURGEON, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

An outdoor facility will be constructed in the Roanoke Valley for Virginia licensing officials to test the skills of would-be commercial truck drivers and motorcyclists. It will be a new location for the Department of Motor Vehicles, with a paved and marked test area for trucks, a test area for motorcycles and a 1,200-square-foot office with parking, project officials said.
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** Virginia Eastern Box Turtle Census Project launched to save a species ([link removed])
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By GEORGE NOLEFF, WFXR

Virginia is home to a creature that can live for more than 100 years in the wild, the eastern box turtle, but the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources thinks box turtle numbers may be declining. Now, there is an effort underway to get a better count of the turtles to save them, and to help them thrive. The DWR and the Virginia Herpetological Society have launched the Eastern Box Turtle Census Project.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Va. reports 8% unemployment rate for July ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Virginia’s unemployment rate was 2.5% lower than the national average for the month of July, according to statistics released by the Virginia Employment Commission on Wednesday. For the month of July, the U.S. reported a 10.5% unemployment rate while Virginia reported an 8% unemployment rate, a 0.2% improvement from the month of June.
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** Northern Virginia unemployment rate drops again, but still three times 2019's level ([link removed])
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Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Three times as many Northern Virginia residents were unemployed this July than in July 2019, but the region's unemployment rate continued to fall from its pandemic high in the spring. The Virginia Employment Commission reported on Wednesday that its surveys found about 122,800 residents in the region reporting they were unemployed and seeking work in July. That was down from about 127,600 in June but up from the 41,700 who were unemployed in July 2019.
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** Loudoun approves Amazon's latest data center pitch. But the same area is 'not open for business' for future proposals. ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL NEIBAUER, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

There was, for a fleeting moment, a slight possibility that Loudoun County might reject Amazon.com Inc.'s pitch for yet another data center. But, of course, it did not. On Tuesday, the county board unanimously approved the 244,636-square-foot project, slated for a narrow parcel known as the “Rollins Property” on the south side of Route 50 near South Riding.
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** Ballad says Lee County hospital to open next summer ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Ballad Health announced Wednesday it has restarted work on Lee County’s hospital and plans to welcome patients by July 1, 2021. Lee County residents have been trying for seven years to reopen the hospital and were finally on track for that to happen this year when the pandemic intervened.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines resume Dulles service ([link removed])
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By JEFF CLABAUGH, WTOP

German carrier Lufthansa has resumed service from Dulles International Airport after a five-month hiatus, with five weekly flights from Washington to Frankfurt. Austrian Airlines, owned by Lufthansa Group, resumed its service from Dulles to Vienna in July.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** JMU students begin leaving campus with an uncertain future ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

By the time James Madison University freshman Dillan Lane, 18, returns home to Long Beach, Calif., he will have spent more time driving across than the country to the school than taking classes in-person. “ Crazy,” Lane said with a shake of his head. It took him three days to drive to Harrisonburg and he said he expects the trip back to take the same amount of time.
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** Virginia Tech cancels winter-abroad programs ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia Tech has canceled all study abroad programs scheduled for its winter 2020-21 session. The university made the decision now “in hopes of minimizing the financial and academic impacts on students and on programs currently in the planning process,” according to a statement.
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** University of Virginia students, workers stage a ‘die in’ to protest in-person classes ([link removed])
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WVIR - TV29

Students and workers at the University of Virginia are pushing back against the university’s decision to start in-person classes on Sept. 8. The demonstrators showed their concerns through the lens of the worst possible outcome. At a die-in, staged by the United Campus Workers of Virginia, a university workers union, and a few Democratic student groups, participants shared this message: this is what will happen around the community.
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** UVa to offer testing to asymptomatic employees ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The University of Virginia will provide COVID-19 testing for its asymptomatic employees, officials said this week. According to a news release, voluntary asymptomatic testing will be offered on a limited, first-come, first-served basis and is not mandatory.
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** UMW will continue with plans for in-person opening ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The University of Mary Washington plans to begin in-person learning later this month, President Troy Paino announced in a video released Tuesday. “Limited” in-person classes will begin Sept. 14 and students will be able to move into residence halls beginning Sept. 10.
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** Liberty University to launch COVID-19 dashboard ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Liberty University students and the larger Lynchburg community will have to wait at least another two weeks before the school begins publishing official coronavirus figures on its website. Liberty plans to roll out a data dashboard — an increasingly popular digital tool used by large colleges and universities to disclose the number of COVID-19 cases among students and employees — by “mid-September,” according to Keith Anderson, the executive director of the school’s student health and wellness initiatives.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia reports 927 new coronavirus cases, 29 deaths Wednesday ([link removed])
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By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported 927 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the state’s tally to 122,542. At least 2,641 Virginians have died from the virus as of Wednesday morning, an increase of 29 from Tuesday. Five new deaths were reported in Portsmouth.
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** 83 Virginians have shared positive tests through COVIDWISE app ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As of Wednesday, 472,513 Virginians and counting have downloaded COVIDWISE, a phone app that can push out a notification if they come in close contact with someone who later tests positive for the coronavirus. “That’s about 16,000 people a day, or 700 an hour. So if you downloaded the app, I say thank you,” Gov. Ralph Northam said during a news briefing Tuesday.
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** A Norfolk city worker died from coronavirus ([link removed])
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By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

For months, Norfolk utility workers privately have complained city leaders have put their health at risk by ignoring safety rules and failing to inform staff when one of their colleagues tests positive for the coronavirus. One of those workers, 64-year-old driver Larry Wilson, died Monday after 42 days in the hospital. His wife, Easter Wilson, said in an interview that he had complained about riding in close quarters with colleagues and not being told when someone was sick.
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** Henrico-based research firm to start COVID-19 vaccine trials this month with local volunteers ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A Henrico County-based research company is preparing to conduct tests on a potential COVID-19 vaccine that will involve thousands of volunteers in central Virginia. Clinical Research Partners is looking for at least 3,000 people over the age of 18 to participate in a clinical trial of the vaccine, to test its safety and whether it builds immunity to the disease.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Attorneys, witnesses say RPD used excessive force in protest arrests ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT AND REED WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Video footage of Richmond police arresting 11 people Tuesday evening amid a protest outside the Richmond City Justice Center has legal and law enforcement experts questioning whether the alleged crimes — impeding the flow of traffic, obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct — necessitated the level of force used by officers. One protester was shoved from his bike to the pavement by a responding Richmond police officer, stunning witnesses who looked on.


** LOCAL
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** Fairfax County Park Authority Seeks $112 Million in Bond Referendum ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

This year’s general election ballot will include a $112 million bond referendum requested by the Fairfax County Park Authority. Roughly $100 million of the bonds will be used to help finance land acquisition to finance parks, new park development, and the ownership of natural and cultural resources. The remaining $12 million funds the county’s share for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority‘s capital projects.
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** Loudoun County changes 911 procedures after delayed response to drowning ([link removed])
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By DAN MORSE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Northern Virginia county announced significant changes to its 911 operations this week following the mishandled 36-minute emergency response to a drowning teenager over the summer in a creek near the Potomac River. “When someone calls 911, I want them to get help as fast as possible,” Loudoun County Fire Chief Keith Johnson said Wednesday, discussing the training and procedural changes he is making at his 911 center.
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** Loudoun Supervisors Launch Effort to Ban Guns at County Facilities ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

County supervisors, after a debate that stretched past midnight Tuesday, voted to launch work to outlaw firearms at public facilities like the government center, community centers, libraries, and parks. The county was granted the authority to do so with the latest General Assembly session. At least three other Northern Virginia localities have already begun work implementing this new rule—Alexandria has already adopted an ordinance, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties are in the process.
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** Loudoun County supervisors advance local regulations on firearms ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors appears poised to support the prohibition of firearms in county buildings, public parks and recreational community centers. On Tuesday, the board voted 6-2-1 to direct county staff to develop an ordinance related to the prohibition and to return before the supervisors with recommendations.
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** Gray asks Richmond prosecutor to appoint special investigator to probe Stoney's handling of contract ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Councilwoman Kim Gray is continuing to press for an investigation into Mayor Levar Stoney's handling of a $1.8 million contract for the removal of the city's Confederate monuments. After Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin said last week that she would not look into the matter, citing donations her husband's state Senate campaign received from a business executive tied to the firm the city hired, Gray asked McEachin on Wednesday to appoint a special prosecutor.
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** Virginia Beach registrar expects November election to be busy ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Beach Council met Tuesday night at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Here are three takeaways from the meeting. The leader of the Virginia Beach elections office said she expects the November 2020 election will be the busiest the city has encountered. The city will begin offering absentee voting by mail and in person on Sept. 18, but Virginia Beach General Registrar Donna Patterson said she still expects many voters to choose to vote on Election Day. She said her office is preparing to mail out 40,000 ballots.
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** Amid pandemic, Culpeper County Board almost pulls funding for public schools ([link removed])
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By ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

The county almost took back $2.5 million in funding it previously allocated to Culpeper County Public Schools after an initial majority on the Board of Supervisors felt the money would be better spent helping parents with online learning at home amid the pandemic. Salem Supervisor Tom Underwood led the effort at Tuesday’s meeting as part of the agenda item seeking the board’s approval to make a quarterly appropriation of the operating budget October through December.
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** Group Files Appeal Over FOIA Ruling ([link removed])
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By PETE DELEA, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A local immigrant advocacy group appealed a court’s ruling that Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson didn’t violate the state’s Freedom of Information Act when he refused to release information about immigration detainers on inmates booked into the jail. Sophia Gregg, an attorney for the Legal Aid Justice Center, a state immigrant advocacy organization, and the University of Virginia School of Law’s Immigration Clinic filed a writ of mandamus on March 3 claiming Hutcheson violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act.


** EDITORIALS
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** Why is Southwest Virginia on track to have the state's highest rate of virus infections? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For generations, we Americans believed our oceans were sufficient protection against most of the world’s horrors. We were disabused of that notion on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Likewise, through much of the spring and summer, we in this part of Virginia felt that our relative isolation from the nation’s metropolitan hubs — something we usually find to our economic disadvantage — would prove to be an asset in dealing with the COVID-19 virus.
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** Without action, the future for farmers looks grim ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Most people probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about farms, even though they eagerly consume crops coaxed from the Virginia soil and animals raised throughout the commonwealth. They should, as should we all. Not only do Virginia farmers produce the food we eat, agriculture is a huge industry, accounting for $70 billion in annual revenue and more than 334,000 jobs.
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** Central Virginia Transportation Authority puts the Richmond region in a better place ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

When Virginians leave their homes to start a work day, take a trip or run a basic errand, one of the first decisions to make is how to get from place to place. For some, the preferred mode is a car. For others, it’s a bicycle. And in too many cases, some people have no choice. They have to drive, take public transit, walk or use two (or three) modes that take extra time.
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** A giant step forward for redistricting ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Now that Virginia stands at the cusp of adopting a bipartisan redistricting process — an anti-gerrymandering, pro-transparency reform that most of the state’s top Democrats embraced, lobbied and campaigned on for years — it is the state Democratic Party itself that is opposing it. That’s ironic and disappointing, but maybe not surprising: Last fall, for the first time in a generation, the party took control of both houses of the state legislature, meaning that it is now free to draw its own voting maps, choose its own voters and preserve its own power, just as Republicans who controlled Richmond tried to do for the past decade.


** OP-ED
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** Boysko and Tyler: Virginia is committed to investing in long overdue broadband infrastructure ([link removed])
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By JENNIFER BOYSKO AND ROSLYN TYLER, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed an inequity that is frighteningly prevalent in Virginia: the lack of broadband access. The commonwealth estimates there are roughly 500,000 Virginians who do not have access to internet infrastructure at their home or business. Worse, an estimated 200,000 students either don’t have access to the internet in their homes or their households can’t afford to take service.

Boysko, D-Fairfax, represents the 33rd District in the Virginia Senate, which includes parts of Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Tyler, D-Sussex, represents the 75th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.


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