VaNews
November 5, 2020

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** Access Point Public Affairs
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Top of the News


** Early votes in Henrico and Spotsylvania push Spanberger to victory in 7th ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Early voting in Henrico and Spotsylvania counties carried Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, to victory on Wednesday night in a hard-fought battle with Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, in the 7th Congressional District. Spanberger, defending the seat she first won two years ago, declared victory after picking up an additional 4,100 early votes that had not been reported in Henrico and 2,300 votes in Spotsylvania.
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** Democrat Elaine Luria holds on to US House seat in Virginia ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN AND BEN FINLEY, Associated Press

Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria has held on to her seat in a Virginia congressional district that includes suburban and rural areas and the world’s largest naval base. The former U.S. Navy commander defeated Republican Scott Taylor in Tuesday’s election. Taylor is a former Navy SEAL who represented the district for one term before Luria defeated him in 2018.
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** Republican Bob Good felt ‘burden’ to keep 5th District red for ‘true conservativism’ ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When Republican Bob Good launched his congressional campaign in central Virginia last fall, he argued the 5th District needed a more conservative congressman than it currently had — and he was the “bright red Biblical and constitutional conservative” who would best represent those values. Two months after Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Nelson, officiated a same-sex marriage, Good announced his intention to unseat Riggleman, who he said was out of touch with the conservative principles of the Republicans in the district.
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** Biden, Warner wins show Democrats still dominate in Virginia ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The apparently comfortable margins of victory for both former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) in Virginia on Tuesday extended an 11-year record of dominance for Democrats in statewide races and cemented the commonwealth's status as reliably blue. But at the local and regional level, a different dynamic holds — as evidenced by Republican strength in three close congressional contests driven by rural and military voters energized by support for President Trump.
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** Voter approval kicks new redistricting process into gear ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Political redistricting ahead of Virginia’s 2021 elections will kick off soon under a transformed process, which voters approved this week through a constitutional amendment meant to curb gerrymandering. Virginians overwhelmingly backed the amendment, which is poised to end the legislature’s sweeping control over legislative and congressional districts.
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** Local health director calls for high school sports to halt in light of rapid rise in COVID cases ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A public health official said Wednesday it’s not safe for high school students to play contacts sports because COVID-19 cases are increasing so rapidly that it puts children at risk. Dr. Cynthia Morrow, director of the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts, said during a press briefing that all local schools are in the red zone, the highest risk assigned by the government’s school metrics, and that the region has substantial transmission of the virus with the rate continuing to increase.
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** After years of racial division in Portsmouth, Black candidates sweep council races ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Tuesday was transformative for Portsmouth, a majority-Black city with a majority-white City Council and a reputation for racial discord. In what was an American election day without precedent, voters here changed course by choosing four Black council candidates, including a new mayor, and kicking out the only white incumbent running for office. Two other white council members didn’t seek re-election.
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** FROM VPAP
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** From VPAP Complete Election Results ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

VPAP provides a complete list of results -- so far -- from Tuesday's election, including the presidential race, congressional elections, ballot initiatives and all races for local office. Results presented in charts and maps.
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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.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Wiley wins special election for 29th District House of Delegates seat ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

City Council member Bill Wiley, a Republican, won a special election for the 29th District seat in the House of Delegates on Tuesday night. Unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections indicate Wiley received 28,186 votes, or 64.12% of the vote, to Democratic opponent Irina Khanin’s 15,715 votes, or 35.75%. .
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** Bristol approved casinos by the highest margin in Virginia's referendums ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Bristol voters rolled out the red carpet Tuesday for Hard Rock International, giving its planned casino complex the widest margin of victory of four approved across Virginia. Voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth all approved referendums Tuesday to allow a single casino to operate in each city amid projections of substantial tax revenues, jobs and tourism aimed at sparking economic rejuvenation in struggling communities.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Chesterfield County hadn’t backed a Democrat for president since 1948. Biden changed that. ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Virginia came out of Election Day looking a little bluer and a little more polarized. Joe Biden continued Democrats’ winning streak in the suburbs, carrying six cities and counties won by President Donald Trump in 2016, according to preliminary results that began to come into focus Wednesday.
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** Gade concedes to Warner in U.S. Senate race ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

GOP challenger Daniel Gade, who sought to topple Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., on Wednesday morning conceded the race. "I will never stop fighting for our country and for the Constitution which sustains it, but this race is over," Gade tweeted. "I concede and call on all of my supporters to recognize state and federal results with peace and unity."
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** Spanberger declares victory over Freitas in Virginia as more absentee ballots are tallied ([link removed])
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By MEAGAN FLYNN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

First-term Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger declared victory early Wednesday evening over Republican challenger and state Del. Nick Freitas, after a burst of absentee-vote tallies gave her the lead. Spanberger was trailing Freitas when in-person voting results were reported Tuesday night for the 7th Congressional District, which is anchored in the suburbs of Richmond. But she led by several thousand votes after Spotsylvania County reported its final absentee ballots and Henrico County had tallied additional absentee ballots as well.
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** Spotsylvania votes help Spanberger claim win in 7th District congressional race ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Absentee ballots and early votes in Spotsylvania County helped tip Virginia’s 7th District congressional race in favor of incumbent Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger on Wednesday. The central absentee precinct was the last in the district to report its unofficial results about 4:30 p.m., more than 22 hours after polls closed on Tuesday. Spanberger, who trailed Republican challenger state Del. Nick Freitas of Culpeper early Wednesday by 712 votes, claimed victory about an hour after the Virginia Department of Elections posted the results on its website showing her with a 5,134-vote advantage.
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** Spanberger declares victory in 7th District Congressional race ([link removed])
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By SCOTT BASS, Chesterfield Observer

Democratic U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger has declared victory in the 7th House District race after a late surge in absentee ballots was reported from Spotsylvania County and a shift in the early vote count in Henrico gave her a 5,134-vote lead over her Republican challenger, Nick Freitas. After most recently trailing Freitas by 1,353 votes, Spanberger now has 227,540 votes Freitas’ 222,406, leading the race by 1.14 percentage points, according to the State Board of Elections.
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** Elaine Luria beats Scott Taylor again in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria won re-election in Virginia’s 2nd District, the Associated Press declared late Wednesday morning. With all of the district’s 183 precincts reporting, she had reached 50.94% of the vote, with 174,873 total. Republican challenger Scott Taylor was at 46.49%, or 159,568 votes, and independent David Bruce Foster had over 8,500 votes.
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** Good beats Webb in the 5th; Luria tops Taylor in the 2nd ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Bob Good, a former Campbell County supervisor and ex-Liberty University employee, held the 5th District congressional seat for the GOP on Tuesday, topping Democrat Cameron Webb. In the 2nd District, based in Virginia Beach, Rep. Elaine Luria the Democratic incumbent, won a second term, beating Republican Scott Taylor in a rematch of their 2018 contest in which she ousted the GOP incumbent.
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** McEachin cruises in 4th, but Benjamin won't concede ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, cruised to re-election in the 4th Congressional District with a 21 percentage-point win on the strength of early voting by Democrats in Richmond and Henrico County. Republican challenger Leon Benjamin refused to concede, despite trailing by 80,000 votes after early voting and absentee ballots turned a narrow McEachin lead on election night into a blowout the next morning.
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** GOP challenger won't concede 4th, makes claim of election fraud 'in the dead of the night' ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Rev. Leon Benjamin is not ready to throw in the towel on the Fourth Congressional District race despite the latest results showing him being handily defeated by Democratic incumbent Donald McEachin. Benjamin, a Richmond pastor and the latest Republican trying to unseat McEachin, sent a statement to The Progress-Index early Wednesday afternoon refusing to concede the race "until the final results are certified." The campaign claims it saw possible evidence of voter fraud in the overnight hours and will not surrender the race until that fraud is completed investigated,
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** ‘Protect the Results’ Rally Held in Courthouse ([link removed])
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ArlNow

Dozens gathered in front of Arlington County government headquarters in Courthouse for a rally calling for every vote from Tuesday’s election to be counted. The “Protect the Results” rally, which kicked off at 5 p.m., was organized and promoted by a variety of local Democratic and progressive groups. It was held as the 2020 presidential race hangs in the balance, still too close to call in a number of key states.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Federal agency asks for disposition plans for canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline ([link removed])
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By EMILY BROWN, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A federal agency has put the canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline on the clock, asking officials to file specific plans by the end of 2020 for disposition of the defunct project. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week asked ACP to file a plan within 60 days on intentions for the project’s facilities and the areas for which the pipeline was set.
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** Power deal secures likely approval for massive Loudoun data center campus ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL NEIBAUER, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

One of the largest planned data center campuses in Loudoun County has earned the support of a key county official after the parties negotiated a deal over the manner in which power will be delivered to the server farm. Amazon Web Services has proposed 1.75 million square feet of data centers for 100 acres on the north side of Route 50, immediately south of Dulles International Airport.
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** Final permit granted for wind farm in Botetourt County ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Giant turbines could soon be spinning atop a Botetourt County mountain, marking the state’s first use of onshore wind energy. A permit for the long-delayed wind farm was recently approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, according to Apex Clean Energy, which plans to build up to 22 turbines as tall as 680 feet on a remote ridgeline.
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** Billionaire betting on the Pamunkeys: Jon Yarbrough thinks he can bring casinos to Virginia ([link removed])
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By JOANNE KIMBERLIN AND LEE TOLLIVER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Tennessee billionaire bankrolling a Virginia tribe's casino dreams rarely gives interviews. Sitting down with Virginian-Pilot reporters at a public relations firm in Richmond, Jon Yarbrough says he's nervous. Not about his next business adventure – trying to build a casino in a state long opposed to such things – but about talking to the newspaper. He says he's simply shy. Always has been.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** JMU announces removal of spring break, students petition for reconsideration ([link removed])
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By EDA TERCAN, The Breeze

JMU announced Oct. 23 that the traditional week-long spring break will be replaced with three days of no classes throughout the spring semester. Originally, spring break was scheduled for March. 8-12. In place of that break, classes won’t be held on three scheduled break days — Feb. 17, March 12 and April 8. JMU spokesperson and director of communications Mary-Hope Vass said that the cancelation was done in order “to curb travel, as has been recommended by medical professionals.”


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia COVID-19 cases rise by 1,157 from Tuesday ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Wednesday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 185,836 — an increase of 1,157 from the 184,679 reported Tuesday. The 185,836 cases consist of 171,426 confirmed cases and 14,410 probable cases. There are 3,677 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,416 confirmed and 261 probable. That’s an increase of 11 from the 3,666 reported Tuesday.
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** Health Director: COVID-19 Metrics Show Stronger Action is Needed in Southwest Virginia ([link removed])
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By DAVID SEIDEL, WVTF

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke City Alleghany Health District just keeps growing. It hit 543 Wednesday morning, according to Dr. Cynthia Morrow. That's about 200 more than the week earlier.
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** Ballad to hire 350 new nurses to deal with rising COVID cases ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Ballad Health plans to hire an additional 350 nurses to meet increased patient needs as COVID-19 cases rage across the region. With a record average of more than 200 COVID-19 inpatients in its hospitals this week — including more than 40 in intensive care units — Ballad’s nursing staff is “stretched thin” eight months into the pandemic, system officials said Wednesday during their weekly news briefing.


** LOCAL
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** Manassas Park Mayor Jeanette Rishell wins reelection, city council gains 3 new members ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORTS, Prince William Times

Manassas Park Mayor Jeanette Rishell won a second term in Tuesday’s election, and voters elected three new members of the city council. With all four of the city’s precincts reporting, Rishell, a Democrat, beat her independent challenger Michael Carrera by about 400 votes. Rishell garnered 3,063 votes, or about 53% of the ballots cast, while Carrera collected 2,655 votes, or about 46%.
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** Stoney claims outright win in Richmond mayoral contest ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Incumbent Levar Stoney claimed an outright victory in Richmond’s mayoral race, securing four more years in the top post at City Hall. With about 105,000 votes counted, the returns show Stoney won six of the city’s nine voter districts, according to unofficial results released Wednesday evening. The win means Stoney will avoid a runoff with one of his challengers.
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** As more students prepare to return, School Board reconsiders role of health committee ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

Questions about a lack of transparency in the decision-making process and the School Board’s authority surfaced last week after two board members publicly challenged an appointed health committee’s recommendation to begin returning Chesterfield County middle and high school students to their buildings on Nov. 9. At the School Board’s Oct. 27 work session, Dot Heffron and Kathryn Haines, who represent the Clover Hill and Midlothian districts, respectively, both noted the recommendation appeared to be at odds with COVID-19 metrics developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Virginia Department of Health’s school health guidelines.
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** The loss of a longtime incumbent means Virginia Beach will have all-female school board ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In Virginia Beach, all school board members will soon be women. In the only surprise of the night, longtime board member and former chair Dan Edwards, currently the only man of the group, lost his seat to newcomer Jennifer Franklin, according to unofficial results last updated Wednesday afternoon.
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** Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools preparing for students’ return to classrooms by early next year ([link removed])
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By MAGGIE MORE, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Over the course of the coming weeks and months, all students attending Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools will return to in-person classes, beginning the transition to a blended in-person and remote learning format. The timeline for the return “could change at any time based on health information, the number of positive COVID-19 cases connected to an individual school, or guidance from the State or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” according to a news release from WJCC public schools.
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** COVID cases prompt two-week shutdown of Orange Elementary School ([link removed])
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By JEFF POOLE, Orange County Review

Orange Elementary School is stopping in-person learning for two weeks after two positive COVID-19 cases were announced this week. In his online blog, Orange County Schools Superintendent Cecil Snead reported Monday that, “We have learned of two positive cases of COVID-19 at Orange Elementary School. In cooperation with the Virginia Department of Health, the decision has been made to stop in-person learning beginning Wednesday, Nov. 4, at OES. Students will continue to receive instruction through the division’s online platform. In-person instruction for OES students will resume on Monday, Nov. 16.”
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** Giles High School to go completely remote until at least Nov. 16 ([link removed])
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By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Giles High School will begin a temporary shift to 100% virtual learning on Thursday. The measure is slated to remain in effect until at least Nov. 16, according to announcements Giles County Public Schools made online. GCPS said it made the decision after consulting with the local health department and due to additional positive COVID-19 cases at GHS, the school district said
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** Late ballots confirm early returns for Luray Council seats ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

The results from more than half of the ballots cast in the Luray Council race were not reported by election officials until Wednesday morning. However, the final results mirror what the early returns showed on Tuesday night. Jason Pettit earned the most votes, with 1,690. Pettit, a local businessman and former county deputy, will begin his first four-year term in January.
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** With windfall expected from Danville casino, city eyes how to invest revenues ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

With Danville's approval of a Caesars Virginia casino resort at the former Dan River Inc. site in Schoolfield, the city is looking at the likelihood of tens of millions of dollars in added annual revenue. That means officials will begin examining needed projects, including revamping city schools and community redevelopment.
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** Winchester Democrats solidify control of City Council ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

City voters have confirmed that Winchester has become a stronghold for the Democratic Party. According to results posted at 2:04 a.m. Wednesday by the Winchester Voter Registrar’s Office, Democrats now hold a 6-3 majority on City Council. That widens the 5-4 majority they won in the 2018 election, which marked the first time in 38 years that Democrats outnumbered Republicans on the panel.

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** EDITORIALS
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** The big election takeaway: We're more polarized than ever ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The final results in the presidential race may still be uncertain, but this much is clear: The United States is more polarized today than we were before. That’s not an opinion. That’s just math. The election results showed one clear trend: The rural localities that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump four years ago voted even more strongly for him this time around. Meanwhile, the nation’s cities and suburbs that voted against him in 2016 did so by even wider margins in 2020.
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** Virginia voters decide unambiguously: No more rigged redistricting ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Actual vote-rigging — not the made-up variety conjured by President Trump — has been the norm in too many states for too long, having taken place once a decade under the anodyne-sounding rubric of congressional and legislative redistricting. On Tuesday, voters in Virginia said: Enough. They did so despite the blatant hypocrisy of both Democratic and Republican politicians in the state, who supported reform before they opposed it (in the case of the former) and opposed it before they supported it (in the case of the latter).
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** These 2 problems fixed, but ... ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Kudos to Gov. Ralph Northam for catching problems with a recent General Assembly bill and refusing to sign it into law until fixes were made. The bill’s intention was laudable: to discourage racial profiling by preventing police from pulling over motorists for certain, supposedly minor vehicular problems.
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** Thank you to the Virginians who kept our elections moving ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Across Virginia, several election results still were yet to be decided on Wednesday. In a year where the coronavirus has challenged our systems, our electoral process also has weathered the uncertainty of 2020. As votes keep being counted, we want to recognize the people who helped maintain — and expand — the key pillar of our democracy.
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** Virginians showed strong support for Amendments 1 and 2 ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginians showed their support for good government this election by overwhelmingly voting in favor of a constitutional amendment that will overhaul the state’s redistricting process. By a margin of 2 to 1, Virginia voters approved Amendment 1, which will bring transparency to the state’s long-opaque process for the drawing of legislative and congressional districts.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Voters say 'no' to Darwinian redistricting ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

In 1992, Gov. Doug Wilder — fighting a losing battle for new taxes to shore up Medicaid — summoned to his office several Black senators. Among them: first-term Democrat Louise Lucas of Portsmouth. Wilder pressed Lucas and the others to support his levy on hospitals, derided as a “sick tax.” Ever transactional, Wilder said some of the Black senators owed their seats to him.


** OP-ED
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** Limpert: More volume in pipeline means more risk ([link removed])
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By WILLIAM LIMPERT, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Two recent announcements portend even more risk for citizens along the unneeded and unjust Mountain Valley Pipeline. The MVP announced it may increase volume from 2 to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), and the EPA announced that it is eliminating pipeline leakage rules. More gas and more leaks is a recipe for disaster.

Limpert is a retired environmental regulator who formerly lived in Bath County along the route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. He now lives in Maryland.
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** Bellin: Elections affect minors so why not let minors vote? ([link removed])
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By GARRETT BELLIN, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The presidential election is on everyone’s mind. Everyone feels anxiety over the outcome. But most would agree that a democratic process is the fairest way to choose our leaders. After all, “consent of the governed” is one of our most cherished principles. Yet there are still groups that don’t get to participate.

Bellin is 17 years old and attends Jamestown High School in Williamsburg
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** Chao: DOT investments help keep Hampton Roads running ([link removed])
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By ELAINE CHAO, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

This administration knows that national security, economic security, public health and safety depend on the reliable and efficient functioning of infrastructure, which is the backbone of our nation. Our infrastructure is vital to ensuring America remains competitive throughout the world and to improving our country’s quality of life.

Chao is secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation


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