GOVERNOR VISITS DANVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR LISTENING TOUR

Technical education and jobs in technical fields carry a stigma even though they can offer high-paying jobs and fulfilling careers. That is a challenge educators and workforce leaders face. “There are a ton of jobs that we don’t need a four-year college education for,” Gov. Ralph Northam said during a visit Wednesday morning at Danville Community College, where he listened to input on workforce development from leaders in the Dan River Region and beyond.

SOARING PHARMACEUTICAL PRICES CAPTURE A GENERAL ASSEMBLY PANEL’S ATTENTION

Three bits of news for the legislator-members of the Joint Commission on Health Care could turn some serious General Assembly attention to the price of drugs next year.

NRA DONATES $200K TO VA. HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER

The National Rifle Association made a $200,000 donation this week to Virginia House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, an unusually large investment in state politics for the Fairfax County-based gun rights organization. Prior to Tuesday’s six-figure donation, the NRA had made just $13,500 in direct donations to Virginia GOP groups in 2019, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

NRA MAKES LARGEST-EVER VIRGINIA DONATION TO TOP REPUBLICAN

This was the summer the General Assembly was slated to hold a special session to debate measures to rein in gun violence — a session that lasted 90 minutes before it adjourned until after Election Day. Now, right after the unofficial end of summer with Labor Day, the National Rifle Association has made its largest-ever contribution to a Virginia political fund. The NRA gave $200,000 to House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert’s Majority Leader PAC this week.

BYNUM-COLEMAN RELEASES FIRST AD, INCLUDES ERROR ABOUT SPEAKER'S EDUCATION RECORD

Sheila Bynum-Coleman, a real estate agent challenging House Speaker Kirk Cox in the 66th House District, went on the offensive with her first TV ad that began airing Wednesday. The 30-second ad, titled “Kirk Cox Sold Out,” seeks to portray Cox as closely aligned with lobbies that oppose the Affordable Care Act, environmental protections and teacher raises.

THE HOUSE AND SENATE RACES MOST LIKELY TO DECIDE CONTROL OF VIRGINIA’S STATEHOUSE

All 140 seats in the Virginia House and Senate are up for reelection this year. But control of both closely divided chambers will come down to just a relative handful of elections in the state’s populous suburbs. With campaigns kicking into gear with the passing of Labor Day weekend, here’s a look at some of the races expected to be most competitive. The following guide is based on interviews with Democratic and Republican strategists as well as candidate fundraising and past election results compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.

RURAL DEMOCRATS SEE COOPERATION AS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

It’s late on a Saturday morning, the unofficial last weekend of summer, and the heat and humidity are already on the rise. While November may seem a long way off, political candidates are well aware that there are now less than 10 weeks until Election Day. And so, Brent Finnegan and Kellen Squire are putting leather to pavement in a residential neighborhood just off of Reservoir Street in Harrisonburg

WARNER TOUTS LARGE SUCCESS OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS DURING TAZEWELL VISIT

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, hit on a lot of subjects in a short time during his stop in Tazewell. “I can remember coming down Main Street and you could roll a bowling ball down the street and not hit anything,” he said after riding what he called the tiniest portion of the Back of the Dragon to arrive at the group’s headquarters. “Now all the storefronts are full.

VIRGINIA TO RECEIVE $20.4 MILLION FROM TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO FIGHT OPIOID ADDICTION

Virginia will receive $20.4 million from the administration of President Donald Trump to help fight an opioid addiction crisis that doesn’t appear to be abating in the state despite expanded access to overdose-reversing drugs.

TRUMP’S BORDER WALL FUNDING PLAN HITS MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN HAMPTON ROADS

About $77 million will be diverted from four military construction projects in Hampton Roads to help pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall, Virginia’s two senators said Wednesday. A cyber operations facility at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton will lose $10 million and face possible startup delays. Another $18.5 million will be siphoned away from a project to replace a hazardous materials warehouse at Naval Station Norfolk.

VIRGINIA IS A ‘BELLWETHER’ ON GUN CONTROL. HERE’S HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED

When Congress passed the landmark background check legislation known as the Brady Bill back in 1993, two Virginia Republicans were among the 54 GOP lawmakers in the U.S. House who voted to send the bill to President Bill Clinton’s desk. They were: ex-Reps. Herbert Bateman and Frank Wolf. Four Virginia Democrats voted against it: ex-Reps. Owen Pickett, Norman Sisisky, Lewis Payne and Rick Boucher.

VCU PRESIDENT'S PRO-COLISEUM OP-ED GHOSTWRITTEN BY DEVELOPER

The Richmond Times-Dispatch published two columns endorsing a controversial downtown redevelopment project that was signed by local university presidents but written by the developer, Navy Hill District Corporation. VCU President Michael Rao signed his name to a January 6, 2019 Times-Dispatch opinion piece endorsing the Richmond Coliseum redevelopment deal that was drafted by Jeff Kelley, a NH District Corp spokesperson, emails show.

VCU PRESIDENT'S COLUMN ENDORSING NH DISTRICT CORP.'S COLISEUM PLAN WAS WRITTEN BY NH DISTRICT CORP.

An opinion column signed by Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in January that endorsed a development proposal by the private NH District Corp. was written by NH District Corp., according to public records.

ARLINGTON SCHOOL BOARD MAY BE ON COLLISION COURSE WITH VA. RETIREMENT SYSTEM

Leaving aside the harsh reality once put to music by John Mellencamp – “I fight authority; authority always wins” – Arlington School Board members could be gearing up to battle the state government’s powerful Virginia Retirement System (VRS) on a new ruling that impacts the way benefits are calculated for presidents of the Arlington Education Association. But for now, school leaders acknowledge there’s little they can do but go along.

EX-SUPERVISOR ALLOWED IMPROPER EXPENDITURES IN ADULT SERVICES PROGRAM IN ROANOKE, AUDIT FINDS

An audit of spending for adult services in programs administered by the Roanoke Department of Social Services found a former supervisor oversaw thousands of improper expenditures — including paying her own mother to care for clients for whom there were not records. The former adult services supervisor was not named in the report from Roanoke’s municipal auditor, or during a Wednesday meeting of the city’s audit committee. Municipal Auditor Drew Harmon said the woman died after leaving her job for health reasons in June 2017.

AFTER INSPECTORS SHUT DOWN GAMING MACHINES IN DANVILLE, NEARLY A DOZEN BUSINESSES FILE FOR SPECIAL PERMIT

Danville zoning inspectors have warned the owners of 30 different convenience stores their slot-like games may be running afoul of city law. Now some store owners are seeking special use permits to get their old machines running and to acquire new ones. Eleven businesses have applied for the special use permits, with more applying later this month. The city is charging each business a $360 application fee to cover the cost of legal advertising.

PEOPLE KEEP BUILDING AS WATER KEEPS RISING

Sea levels continue to rise, coastal storms become more severe, and people still build homes in areas that are flood-prone and at high-risk for storm damage. If that sounds like it doesn’t make sense, maybe that’s because it doesn’t.

THE DISCONNECT IN POLITICS, AND THE WORKFORCE

Here’s something every voter should know: There’s a massive disconnect between politics and policy. Campaigns are about show business. Governing is the real business, and often the two have nothing to do with one another. Remember whatever silly issues dominated the 2017 governor’s race? Probably not. Then again, you probably don’t hear about the issues that really take up the governor’s time.

ODU MOVES TO BECOME RESILIENCE LEADER

Rising sea levels and the recurrent flooding they cause pose an existential threat to the future of life as we know it in Hampton Roads. Homes, businesses, military bases and public infrastructure are all at risk as the water steadily encroaches on our communities. There are few areas in the United States more at risk from sea-level rise caused by global warming than Hampton Roads.

SCHAPIRO: DOING A JOB ON LABOR IS OLD-SCHOOL VA. POLITICS

Coming off Labor Day, the poster boy for corporate-cozy Virginia Republicans is a red-haired former Marine, Lyft driver and Democratic Socialist who represents in the state legislature a blue-trending outer suburb of Washington and wants to scrap the ban on making union membership a condition for a job.