NORTHAM NAMES FIRST DIVERSITY CHIEF FOR VIRGINIA STATE GOVERNMENT

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Monday named a former university official as Virginia’s first director of diversity, equity and inclusion, charged with improving practices throughout the staffing and activities of state government. Janice Underwood, who had been in charge of diversity initiatives at Old Dominion University, was selected

JANICE UNDERWOOD, ODU OFFICIAL, IS THE STATE'S FIRST DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY

Janice Underwood, Old Dominion University’s diversity director, was tapped Monday to play a similar role on a large scale as Virginia’s first-ever director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Gov. Ralph Northam announced the hire at a news conference, seven months after the blackface scandal that rocked his administration

NORTHAM NAMES ODU’S JANICE UNDERWOOD AS VIRGINIA’S FIRST DIVERSITY OFFICER

In his latest move aimed at addressing racial disparities, Virginia’s governor has selected an Old Dominion University administrator as the state’s first diversity officer. Janice Underwood, currently the director for diversity initiatives in the institutional equity and diversity office at ODU, starts next week.

GOVERNOR TOURS LOCAL AMAZON DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Gov. Ralph Northam toured the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Frederick County on Monday afternoon to celebrate the facility’s contributions to the economy and the creation of 1,500 jobs. Northam was joined by state Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Upperville, and local officials and business leaders for a VIP tour of the 1.06-million-square-foot facility

VA. LAWMAKER IS SEEKING TO END REQUIREMENT TO IDENTIFY RACE ON MARRIAGE APPLICATIONS

At least one member of the Virginia General Assembly is promising to try to strike from state law a requirement that people applying for a marriage license identify their race. If the proposal by state Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, becomes law, it will not be the first time in recent history that state lawmakers have gotten rid of the requirement. They did so in 2003 in a bill sponsored by one of Levine’s predecessors in the same House district, Marian Van Landingham, D-Alexandria. But in 2005, lawmakers reinstated the race question

VA. SPEAKER SAYS HOUSE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO REIMBURSE LAW FIRM THAT FILED REDISTRICTING CHALLENGE

Attorneys for Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, say he and the institution he leads shouldn’t have to pay a roughly $800,000 legal bill tied to the racial gerrymandering suit House Republicans spent years fighting. Perkins Coie, a Democratic-aligned law firm that filed the suit in late 2014 on behalf of a group of African American voters, is seeking to recover almost $4.6 million from the state to cover its legal work and expenses related to the case.

NO-FAULT DIVORCE LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL, JUDGE RULES

Once again, a Fairfax County judge has extended rights available under the Virginia Code to a same-sex couple who otherwise would be barred from benefits conferred by state statutes. Circuit Judge Stephen C. Shannon ruled that the two women had standing to seek divorce under terms of Virginia’s no-fault divorce statute

BREWERY CITED FOR LEAKS INTO ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY CREEK

Leaks in the pipes of a Rockbridge County brewery allowed an “odorous, foamy and discolored flow” into nearby Mill Creek, state regulators say. Devils Backbone Outpost Brewery agreed to pay a fine of $30,712.50 and fix the problems as part of a consent order recently reached with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

AFTER HOURS OF TALK, DANVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION TABLES GAMING MACHINE ISSUE

After hours of discussion from city staff, attorneys, business owners and residents, the Danville Planning Commission on Monday tabled 11 applications for special use permits from store owners hoping to operate skilled gaming machines. Citing insufficient information, a unanimous commission voted 6-0 on each application to postpone the matter indefinitely.

NORFOLK SOUTHERN FURLOUGHS HUNDREDS OF WORKERS AS IT AIMS TO REACH A REVENUE BENCHMARK

Norfolk Southern furloughed nearly 300 employees in Roanoke and Pennsylvania this week. A spokesman for the company confirmed that 130 people were furloughed at its Roanoke properties. In Pennsylvania, Norfolk Southern furloughed 100 at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona and 55 at its Conway Locomotive Shop in Conway, where workers maintain and fix the company’s cars.

‘THOSE DARK DAYS ARE GONE’: METRO RIDERS CELEBRATE THE END OF THE SUMMER-LONG SHUTDOWN

Four-year-old Arshiya Naoaj was up early Monday, her dad said, excited to get back to the morning routine she’d missed all summer: riding Metro. ... “It’s really exciting. We’re glad those dark days are gone.” The “dark days” to which he refers are those of the summer-long shutdown of six Blue and Yellow line stations south of Reagan Nation Airport.

TRUCKING GIANT TESTING AUTONOMOUS BIG RIGS AROUND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA HIGHWAYS

Daimler Trucks has begun testing highly autonomous big rigs on public highways in Southwest Virginia, the industry giant announced Monday. The news comes after regulators approved Daimler’s acquisition of Torc Robotics, the Blacksburg company that has been developing self-driving technology for over a decade.

ROADSIDE EXHAUST SNIFFERS CAUGHT ALMOST 900 VEHICLES IN NORTHERN VA. LAST YEAR

Little green boxes placed on roadsides around Northern Virginia to automatically sample passing vehicles’ exhaust generated just under 900 air quality violations last year, which are mailed to the offending vehicle’s owner along with a photo and instructions to make repairs or face a fine.

LAROCK DISCUSSES ROUTE 9 PROJECT WITH OFFICIALS

Clarke County probably will have no choice but to grin and bear traffic congestion resulting from a highway reconstruction project in Loudoun County, an area lawmaker believes. Construction is expected to start in February, but it has not been decided whether the stretch of Va. 9 (Charles Town Pike) in Hillsboro in Loudoun County will close entirely during construction or if one lane will be kept open.

UVA HEALTH SYSTEM SUES THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS, SEIZING PAYCHECKS AND PUTTING LIENS ON HOMES

Heather Waldron and John Hawley are losing their four-bedroom house in the hills above Blacksburg, Va. A teenage daughter, one of their five children, sold her clothes for spending money. They worried about paying the electric bill. Financial disaster, they say, contributed to their divorce, finalized in April. Their money problems began when the University of Virginia Health System pursued the couple with a lawsuit and a lien on their home to recoup $164,000 in charges for Waldron’s emergency surgery in 2017.

NEW SURVEY SHOWS HEAVY PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLL FOR VIRGINIA’S FIRST RESPONDERS

A first-of-its-kind mental health survey of police, firefighters and 911 call dispatchers in Virginia finds that they experience suicidal thoughts at a rate of more than double the general population and that nearly a quarter suffer from work-related depression.

VIRGINIA’S TOXIC MILITARY LEGACY

Over 100 wells on and near military bases in Virginia exceeded federal safety guidelines for contamination by toxic, firefighting chemicals used widely in Navy and Air Force training, according to military documents. The chemicals are found in a foam used by military and civilian firefighters to train and douse high-octane fires for more than 50 years. The foam is still being used, even as the military says it is phasing it out.

NASA WALLOPS ‘FIGHTS MOTHER NATURE’ TO RESTORE ERODING SHORELINE AND KEEP ROCKETS FLYING

Sitting right inside “hurricane alley,” NASA Wallops Flight Facility is in a never-ending struggle to keep the Atlantic at bay while powerful waves encroach inexorably on its launch pads. Those pads were built by Virginia taxpayers, most recently to boost commercial cargo runs to the International Space Station. But Wallops also hosts important Naval infrastructure, and integration facilities for Northrop Grumman’s Antares rockets and Cygnus spacecraft.

VUU'S LEADER HAS BACKED THE COLISEUM REDEVELOPMENT PLAN; SOME ON COUNCIL WANT HIM TO HELP VET IT

Should a public figure who has advocated for the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum redevelopment proposal be a sitting member of the citizen commission tasked with vetting the plans? A majority of members of the Richmond City Council are willing to consider the possibility.

HOPEWELL GETS $1.5M GRANT FOR YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS

The governor’s office said Monday that Hopewell will get more state-grant dollars that will help pay for the planned conversion of the school year from traditional to year-round. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, whose administration has backed efforts to bring more balanced calendars to public schools, announced the grant Monday afternoon.

HOPEWELL GETS STATE FUNDING TO TAKE SCHOOL SYSTEM YEAR-ROUND

Hopewell City Public Schools has cleared its final hurdle to go year-round. The state on Monday announced that Hopewell would receive a $1.5 million grant the system needed to move all five city schools to a year-round schedule. The School Board approved the plan earlier this year.

GOOCHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION BALKS AT INNSBROOK AFTER HOURS MOVE FROM HENRICO

A plan to move a summer concert series from a Henrico office park to Goochland is meeting resistance. Members of the Goochland County Planning Commission last week recommended denying a conditional use permit for EventMakers-USA Inc., which is pondering a relocation of its Innsbrook After Hours series to West Creek.

VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS OPPOSE RAISING MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE

Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera has said he’d like to keep working past retirement age and wants to help others like him who’d prefer to stay on the job after they turn 65. But the majority of the city’s police officers, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters think the mandatory retirement age for their departments should stay at 65, according to results of a recent city survey.

ACLU SENDS 2ND LETTER PROTESTING ROADSIDE PANHANDLING BAN

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia has doubled down in its opposition to the city’s ban on roadside panhandling. In a letter mailed Friday to Winchester Mayor David Smith and members of City Council, state ACLU Executive Director Claire G. Gastañaga claims Winchester has two panhandling-related ordinances that “may not withstand a legal challenge under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

USE OF BODY CAMERAS COMES WITH GROWING PAINS

The cameras officers wear while patrolling the streets are one of the most visual signs that law enforcement is evolving into the 21st century. Digital technologies are valuable tools that help attorneys, juries and the public better understand what happens when officers interact with the public.

FUNDING SHIFTS COULD HURT STATE, NATION

Virginia would lose $77 million under President Trump’s plan to pull border wall funding from military coffers. Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine are protesting that move, and rightly so.

WHY WE NEED THINKERS-IN-RESIDENCE

Local governments in this part of the state need a new position: Thinker-in-Residence. OK, we don’t mean that literally, at least in the sense of a paid position. There’s a lot to be said, though, for the notion that local governments should be educating themselves about all the trends lurking just around the corner that will reshape the world in the years to come — for better or for worse.