VaNews
November 6, 2020

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Top of the News


** VPAP Visual One State, Two Elections ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

This year, Virginia held what amounted to two distinct presidential elections. One took place on Election Day, with President Trump the clear victor, claiming 61% of the traditionally cast ballots. The other played out during the six weeks leading up to Nov. 3, as early and absentee voters overwhelmingly backed Joe Biden, giving him nearly 65% of those votes. The maps illustrate the stark outcomes of the two elections.
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** Virginia elections officials say social media posts led to unfounded fears, confusion about ballot counting ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, ANTONIO OLIVO AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Viral Twitter and Facebook posts have spread unfounded fears among some Virginians that their votes in Tuesday's presidential campaign were not counted, the state's election chief said Thursday. State elections officials and local registrars across Virginia have been fielding “tons” of phone calls from voters who have checked their personal voter history on the state Department of Elections website and found no record that they participated in Tuesday’s election, State Elections Commissioner Christopher E. Piper said.
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** Richmond area voters watch, wait and worry ([link removed])
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By JESS NOCERA, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Two days after the presidential election, the gun counter at Green Top Sporting Goods in Hanover County was crowded with customers stocking up on weapons or ammo, which have been in short supply in recent months. If Joe Biden becomes president, some worry they’ll be even harder to find.
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** Northam signs several bills, sends Va. budget back to legislators with redistricting amendment ([link removed])
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By PATRICIA SULLIVAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed two criminal justice-related bills into law on Thursday and sent the budget and a coronavirus relief measure back to the General Assembly. Ahead of a midnight deadline, Northam offered 10 amendments to the two-year, $135 billion state budget, under a deal that broke an impasse between the House and Senate during a special legislative session that concluded last month.
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** Tri-Cities leaders urge public’s help in COVID battle ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

A group of 20 Tri-Cities area business, education and faith leaders issued a joint statement Thursday urging the public to do more to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 cases are spiking in record numbers across the region and Ballad Health has treated more than 900 COVID patients in recent weeks. As a consequence, health system officials said this week they are trying to hire additional nurses and realign resources to meet the demands.
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** UVa will test students for COVID before holiday break ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

University of Virginia students living on and off Grounds will get a final COVID-19 test before they leave school to return home for the holidays and those who test positive will be asked to quarantine before leaving, officials announced Thursday. Faculty, staff and employees will be given a chance to use a free self-test kit to check their condition prior to the holiday break.
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** Friday Read During WWII, a Virginia Beach soldier stole a painting from a French chateau. 74 years later, he returned it. ([link removed])
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By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

John Waller has lived a notable life in Virginia Beach. The architect designed City Hall, several school buildings and dozens of homes. But now, deep in his golden years, Waller’s story centers around secrets, regrets and second chances. The 96-year-old World War II veteran takes center stage in a new, one-hour documentary airing at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 on WHRO. “The Silent Soldier and the Portrait,” produced by Waller’s daughter, Garland, delves into two secrets he kept since his war days.
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** FROM VPAP
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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.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** Northam proposes spending $1 million to investigate VMI as revised budget nears completion ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene Monday, when it’ll take up the governor’s suggested changes to the two-year budget and a handful of other bills. In a letter to lawmakers, Gov. Ralph Northam said he is proposing spending $1 million to fund an independent investigation into the culture and policies at the Virginia Military Institute following allegations of racism that have received national attention.
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** Northam adds $1 million to budget for VMI probe ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam is proposing to budget $1 million for an investigation of alleged systemic racism at Virginia Military Institute, while cutting money for two transportation priorities of legislators in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore. On Thursday, Northam submitted a short list of proposed changes to the two-year state budget that the General Assembly amended and passed last month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and public unrest over racial and criminal justice issues.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Virginia could join popular vote push as some states pledge to do away with electoral college ([link removed])
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By JACKIE DEFUSCO, WRIC-TV

All eyes are on the Electoral College this week as former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump race—slowly—towards the 270-vote finish line. Meanwhile, a group of states is trying to do away with the centuries-old structure and switch to a popular vote system ahead of future presidential races. The question is will Virginia join them? . . . In the near future, Virginia’s General Assembly is expected to reconsider joining the coalition that could change how presidents are chosen.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Woman who ran against former Va. House speaker enters plea in alleged 'revenge porn' case ([link removed])
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By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A Chesterfield businesswoman who was defeated in last year's state elections by then-Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox has accepted a plea deal in which she acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to find her guilty of disseminating nude photos of a woman to harass her.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Debunking social media claims, Virginia officials say it’ll take time for online voter info to update ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

Virginia elections officials say voters shouldn’t be alarmed if the state’s election website doesn’t immediately show their ballot was counted, noting it usually takes several days for that information to appear. The Virginia Department of Elections released the statement in response to viral, false social media theories circulating under the hashtag #WheresMyVote. Many people are spreading claims that because election websites don’t already reflect that they voted this year, their votes aren’t being counted.
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** Virginia election officials assure that all in-person ballots were counted, after concerns circulate on social media ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Voters who cast their ballots on Election Day won’t see their voting records updated until next week, but can rest assured their votes were counted when the slip was run through the ballot scanner, the Virginia Department of Elections said Thursday. The department sought to dispel concerns circulating on social media by voters who said that their votes weren’t reflected on their state’s online portal that tracks in-person and absentee ballots.
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** 'Do not be alarmed': State election department responds to post about votes not showing up ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

The state Department of Elections responded Thursday to a viral social media post hinting that some Election Day votes are not being counted in Virginia by reminding citizens that a record of their vote is not done simultaneously with the drop of their ballot. "That data is not communicated to the Department of Elections automatically on Election Day," DOE wrote on its Facebook and Twitter accounts Thursday.
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** How a computer issue kept 15,000 Henrico votes from getting counted on Election Day ([link removed])
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By MELISSA HIPOLIT, WTVR-TV

Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA 7th) suddenly catapulted into the lead on Wednesday by roughly 5,000 votes, after trailing Republican challenger Nick Freitas for all of Election Day. For many Freitas fans, the news was hard to swallow, with some wondering: how is this possible?
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** No, ballots weren’t burned in Virginia Beach, officials say again after Eric Trump circulates misleading video ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

At 5 p.m. on Election Day, the city of Virginia Beach had a message for the public: No one has been burning up your vote. A concerned citizen had shared a video with the city “that ostensibly shows someone burning ballots,” officials wrote in a news release.
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** Trump First Republican to Lose Virginia City Where Liberty University is Located Since 1948 ([link removed])
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By SEREN MORRIS, Newsweek

President Donald Trump has lost Lynchburg City, Virginia, home to Liberty University—a private evangelical Christian university whose former president was a staunch Trump supporter—making him the first Republican to do so since 1948. The city, which was once described as sitting at "the heart of pro-Trump evangelical Christianity," by the New York Times, has a long history of voting Republican, until now.
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** Dozens are gathering at Court Square until all votes are counted ([link removed])
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By CALVIN PYNN, Harrisonburg Citizen

With ballots still being counted in several swing states and the race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden still too close to call, a small group took to the streets on Thursday to demand that all votes be counted – including in Harrisonburg. About a dozen demonstrators stood outside the courthouse with signs calling for every vote to be counted, as numerous mail-in ballots have still not been processed and President Trump calling on elections officials to stop counting ballots. While turnout on Court Square was light on Thursday, members of the local chapter of Hold the Line, a nonpartisan coalition formed earlier this year to promote free and fair elections, have been showing up every day since last week. They don’t plan to stop until every ballot has been counted.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Bon Secours’ bigger hospital plan for Suffolk ‘premature,' state report says ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Bon Secours Mercy Health may not be allowed to build the bigger hospital it envisions for Northern Suffolk, despite having rallied large community support. The Virginia Department of Health staff that reviewed the Catholic hospital system’s expanded plan for the Harbour View campus is not endorsing it, saying there isn’t a need for more patient beds in western Hampton Roads, nor for extra neonatal services.
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** Data Suggest Record-Setting Year for Virginia Gun Sales ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE-FM

Virginia recorded a record number of background checks for gun purchases this year, according to data collected by Virginia State Police. Gun sellers requested over 650,000 background checks through the end of October, up 83% over the same period in 2019 and the highest number since the state began collecting records in 1989.
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** Hampton Roads site developments, 757 recovery plan net GO Virginia grants ([link removed])
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By TARA BOZICK, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Hampton Roads was awarded Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grants to advance three development sites, help maritime and manufacturing workforce development projects and fund a framework to recover from the pandemic, the governor announced Nov. 2. The Hampton Roads Economic Development Sites Readiness Program was awarded $1,122,240 to help get three sites infrastructure-ready, which is one tier below shovel-ready, according to the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.


** CONGRESS
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** Centrist House Democrats lash out at liberal colleagues, blame far-left views for costing the party seats ([link removed])
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By RACHAEL BADE AND ERICA WERNER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

An angry dispute erupted among House Democrats on Thursday, with centrist members blasting their liberal colleagues during a private conference call for pushing far-left views that cost the party seats in Tuesday’s election that they had worked hard to win two years ago. The bitter exchange, which lasted more than three hours as members sniped back and forth over tactics and ideology, reflected the extent to which the 2020 campaign exposed simmering tensions in the party even as its presidential nominee, Joe Biden, stands on the brink of achieving their biggest goal of the year — ousting President Trump. ...“We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again. . . . We lost good members because of that,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who narrowly leads in her reelection bid, said heatedly. “If we are classifying Tuesday as a success . . . we will get f---ing torn apart in 2022.”
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** Audio: Spanberger criticizes Democrats' strategy in caucus call ([link removed])
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Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) criticized her party's strategy during a Democratic caucus call, saying the election "was a failure" for House Democrats.
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** Wexton says she'll continue to focus on pandemic aid, gun violence prevention ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Jennifer Wexton and her campaign team checked off being re-elected to a second term late Tuesday night. Now she says she’ll continue her focus on COVID-19 relief and supporting gun violence legislation. “It may be a while before every vote is counted, but Virginians and Americans across the country have made clear that the true power in our nation belongs to ‘We the People,’” Wexton said late Tuesday.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Jobless benefit claims fell 16.2% in Virginia ([link removed])
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By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of the accelerating pandemic. Eight months after the pandemic flattened the economy, weekly jobless claims still point to a stream of layoffs. Before the virus struck in March, the weekly figure had remained below 300,000 for more than five straight years. In Virginia, initial jobless claims fell 16.2%, or a decrease of 2,002 claimants, from the previous week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.
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** Huntington Ingalls earnings rise, COVID cases fall ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

A stepped-up COVID-19 testing program launched by Newport News Shipbuilding’s parent company this summer has helped Huntington Ingalls Industries cut the number of employees in quarantine by two-thirds, president and CEO Mike Petters said. Speaking after Thursday’s report of a sharp growth in third-quarter profit, Petters told Wall Street analysts that’s helped the company’s shipyards recover from the big hits in attendance seen in April and May, as cases soared.
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** Photos: Work resumes on the Mountain Valley Pipeline ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As work gears up on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, construction crews in Roanoke and Franklin counties are confronting some of the steepest mountain slopes along its 303-mile path. In early October — before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allowed work to resume — Roanoke County sent a letter to the commission expressing concerns about Mountain Valley’s “continuing inability to manage erosion and sediment impacts for the project.”


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Restored Waterloo Bridge truss flies back into place ([link removed])
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By DON DEL ROSSO, Fauquier Now

Waiting patiently and sometimes in awe Thursday morning, they watched the resetting of the Waterloo Bridge’s iron truss that spans the Rappahannock River and connects Fauquier and Culpeper counties. The Virginia Department of Transportation shut the 142-old bridge near Orlean for safety reasons in January 2014.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** William & Mary reinstates all eliminated sports ([link removed])
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By MARTY O'BRIEN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

William & Mary completed a reversal on Thursday of the course it took in September by announcing it will allow four men’s varsity teams slated for elimination after this academic year to compete in Division I through at least the 2021-22 school year. W&M President Katherine A. Rowe said that in the meantime, the school will deliberately review gender equity in athletics as it tackles budget deficits. Those issues prompted the school to announce the elimination of seven teams.
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** W&M reinstates men’s teams through 2022 ([link removed])
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By JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

William & Mary President President Katherine A. Rowe announced Thursday the college would reinstate the remaining varsity sports programs that were cut in September. Men’s gymnastics, swimming and indoor and outdoor track & field are reinstated through the 2021-2022 academic year. “As part of that reset, Rowe said, W&M men’s athletics teams slated for reclassification will continue as Division I sports through at least 2021-22, in order to take a phased approach that allows for a gender equity review paired with exploration of alternative solutions leading to a long-term financial plan,” according to the statement from Tribe Athletics.
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** William & Mary will continue sports it planned to cut ([link removed])
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By JOHN O'CONNOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Upon further review, there will be further review of sports cuts at the College of William & Mary. The school announced Thursday that men's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's swimming and men's gymnastics - all designated for elimination at the conclusion of this academic year - will remain W&M sports through at least 2021-22 "in order to take a phased approach that allows for a gender equity review paired with exploration of alternative solutions leading to a long-term financial plan."
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** Eastern Virginia Medical School receives $15 million gift to establish Neurohealth institute ([link removed])
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By KAYLYNN STEPHENS, WAVY-TV

Eastern Virginia Medical School announced a new institute focused on studying the healthcare needs of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, movement disorders, and patients in need of palliative care. The institute makes it the first of its kind in Hampton Roads and was made possible by a $15 million gift from long-time Virginia Beach resident Lawrence J. Goldrich and his wife, Janice T. Goldrich.
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** Lynchburg judge unseals documents in Falwell defamation suit ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Court documents detailing key provisions in Jerry Falwell Jr.’s employment contract with Liberty University have been unsealed in the defamation suit brought by the disgraced evangelical leader against his former employer. Falwell, who resigned as president of Liberty in August amid a series of scandals, has alleged the school damaged his reputation by repeating what he claims are lies about his participation in an extramarital affair involving his wife and a former business partner.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia COVID-19 cases rise by 1,366 from Wednesday ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Thursday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 187,202 — an increase of 1,366 from the 185,836 reported Wednesday. The 187,202 cases consist of 172,418 confirmed cases and 14,784 probable cases. There are 3,688 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,426 confirmed and 262 probable. That’s an increase of 11 from the 3,677 reported Wednesday.
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** A rising tide of Washington-area schools delay plans for in-person learning ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

As cases of the coronavirus surge nationally and in the D.C. region, some Washington-area school systems are pressing pause on plans to return children to classrooms. Arlington Public Schools in Northern Virginia, which enrolls 26,000, this week delayed returning lower-schoolers to buildings until 2021. Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland, which serves roughly 85,000, followed suit Wednesday, pushing back a scheduled return for elementary students until February. D.C. Public Schools also nixed its plan to bring some students into classrooms Nov. 9.
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** Public health official asks for help in reaching out to those exposed to COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

With cases of COVID-19 rising rapidly in Southwest Virginia, it could become more difficult to reach people quickly to let them know they have been exposed to the virus. Dr. Cynthia Morrow, director of the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts, is asking people who receive positive test results to help out by thinking about who they might have been near and then reaching out to those people.
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** Another COVID-19 outbreak at regional jail ([link removed])
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By RACHEL NEEDHAM, Rappahannock News (Metered Paywall)

As of this morning,(Thursday) 29 inmates at the Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren Regional Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, marking a second outbreak at the facility since the beginning of the pandemic. “Most of the positives we have are asymptomatic,” said Superintendent Russell W. Gilkison.
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** Colleges doing well, community spread up ([link removed])
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By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)

Community spread is still on the rise locally, but the county’s colleges are seeing very encouraging trends in coronavirus mitigation. As of Monday afternoon, Nov. 2, both Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College were down to just one active reported case of Covid-19 each.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Six Confederate statues to stay in place ([link removed])
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By MIKE ALLEN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Referendums held across Virginia on Election Day over the issue of relocating Confederate statutes from municipal or county properties resulted in a definitive answer at the end of the day Tuesday: no. Six separate referendums received overwhelming voter support to keep the memorials where they currently stand. In Franklin County, a majority of voters insisted the statue of a Confederate soldier that stands in front of the courthouse in Rocky Mount stays put, judging by a vote tally that was mostly complete Tuesday night.
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** Voters say no to statue move ([link removed])
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By ALEX BRIDGES, Northern Virginia Daily

Supporters of a drive to relocate the Confederate memorial in Front Royal say they plan to continue their mission to educate the community about the Civil War and racism, despite losing at the polls Tuesday. Voters across Warren County, which includes Front Royal, voted down a ballot referendum that asked them if the Board of Supervisors should relocate the Confederate monument from the Warren County Courthouse lawn.
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** Voters support keeping Confederate statue where it is ([link removed])
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By ROGER WATSON, Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch

Lunenburg County voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to keep the Confederate soldier monument where it is on the courthouse lawn. The referendum on the Lunenburg County ballot asked if the monument honoring the memory of Lunenburg soldiers and women during the Civil War should remain on the Lunenburg County courthouse property. The voters said yes it should by a vote of 4,149 (71.19%) to 1,683 (28.81%)
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** Confederate statue to move ([link removed])
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By SUSAN KYTE, South Boston News & Record

Mecklenburg County’s monument to the Confederate soldier at the courthouse square in Boydton will be moved from the spot it has occupied for more than 112 years. The Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors voted 6-3 Monday to remove the statue, which was erected by the L.A. Armistead Camp, Confederate Veterans, and dedicated on Aug. 7, 1908.
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** Seagrass Meadows Restored Off Eastern Shore ([link removed])
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By SANDY HAUSMAN, WVTF

Virginia is celebrating a 20 year experiment off the Eastern Shore – the restoration of vast seagrass meadows where marine animals live. It’s the largest project of its kind in the world, offering benefits on many fronts.
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** Autumn’s first frost is falling later, with wide-ranging consequences for farmers ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

Halloween has come and gone. The clocks have been set back. Every evening darkness falls just a little bit earlier. But for much of Virginia, the first frost still remains elusive. . . . The implications of the shifts in the freezing season go beyond a few more days to enjoy warm weather, say scientists and policymakers. Perhaps most affected are farmers, whose livelihood is intimately tied to fluctuations in both short-term weather and long-term climate.


** LOCAL
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** Rejected Plea Deal Part of Tug-of-War Between Arlington Courts, Prosecutor ([link removed])
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By JO DEVOE, ArlNow

The Arlington County Circuit Court rejected a plea bargain that would place a Maryland man on two years of probation for allegedly bringing 50 pounds of marijuana and 400 cartridges of hashish oil into the county. . . . This rejected bargain is part of a larger theater taking place across the nation, as some prosecutors are changing their approach to drug crimes and judges are fighting back. The tug-of-war reached Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who signed a law last month that would require judges to dismiss charges when both the prosecution and defense agree to a bargain or deal.
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** Fairfax families sue over changes to Thomas Jefferson High’s admissions ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

More than a dozen families are suing Fairfax County Public Schools in a bid to reverse changes officials made this fall to the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the county’s flagship STEM magnet school. Thomas Jefferson, known as TJ, is often ranked the No. 1 public high school in the nation but has struggled for decades to admit Black and Hispanic students, accepting just a handful each year. Following nationwide protests over George Floyd’s killing this summer, Fairfax Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced he would enact aggressive changes to the TJ admissions system to fashion a more diverse student body.
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** Lawsuit challenges admissions changes at elite public school ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press

More than a dozen middle schoolers and their families have filed a lawsuit seeking to block changes in the admissions process at an elite public high school in northern Virginia that has been ranked as the best in the nation. Fairfax County Public Schools, frustrated by a decades-long failure to attract Black and Hispanic students to the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, said last month it is eliminating a standardized test that had been a huge factor in determining who is admitted into the highly competitive school.
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** Fairfax County police chief to step down in February ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. plans to step down in February, capping a nearly eight-year stint that brought major reforms to Virginia’s largest police department during an era of change in policing. Department officials said Roessler had been planning the move for over a year, but it comes amid criticism over his leadership and complaints that morale is low among rank-and-file officers. All four of the department’s unions issued no confidence votes in Roessler over the summer and called for his resignation.
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** Despite rising COVID-19 cases, school board sticks with plan to launch hybrid instruction Nov. 10 ([link removed])
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By JILL PALERMO, Prince William Times

Prince William County schools are moving forward with a plan to bring pre-K and kindergarten students back into school buildings for in-person learning starting Tuesday, Nov. 10, despite current health metrics that show the county to have the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in Northern Virginia. During a school board meeting Wednesday night, Superintendent Steven Walts told the school board the local health district’s COVID-19 metrics place the school division in the “highest risk” category in one “core” and one “secondary” indicator in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metric for assessing the risk of re-opening schools.
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** Petersburg schools to remain closed until at least February ([link removed])
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By JEFF MILBY, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Schools in Petersburg will remain closed for the forseeable future, and students will continue to learn virtually and remotely, the Petersburg School Board has decided. Petersburg City Public Schools will continue to instruct students on a fully virtual basis until February 5, 2021, the Petersburg School Board decided in its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
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** Public weighs in on gold mining in Buckingham ([link removed])
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By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)

The Buckingham Planning Commission is looking for direction from the Board of Supervisors on how the county will proceed with permitting or prohibiting gold drilling that could lead to the establishment of a gold mine. In September, a joint work session between the commission and the board revealed Canadian-based company Aston Bay Holdings had been performing exploratory core sampling along a potential gold vein in Buckingham. The company operated under the county’s radar for years until officials discovered what was happening.
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** Possible cyberattack shut down Norfolk schools ([link removed])
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By SARA GREGORY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A possible cyberattack prompted Norfolk Public Schools' cancellation of classes Monday, officials said this week. After noticing “unusual activity” Friday, district officials took their networks offline as a precaution, the chief information and instructional technology officer said. Norfolk had been warned by Microsoft of the potential for cyberattacks targeting local school systems.
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** Hampton schools faced 65 classrooms without teachers before changing reopening plan ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

After lunch Wednesday, a student in Amber Collins’ kindergarten class at Hunter B. Andrews School made an announcement: She needed to throw up. Collins quickly sent her to the bathroom, but another girl immediately turned around and told Collins, “She has COVID!” Collins tried to explain that didn’t necessarily mean COVID-19. “The child was still scared,” Collins said. “She didn’t deserve to be in a situation that would make her that scared.”
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** Sales tax referendum passes in Gloucester ([link removed])
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By TYLER BASS, Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal

With more than 60 percent of the vote, Gloucester residents approved a local referendum that will allow the county to impose a 1 percent sales tax to pay for capital needs in the school division. The vote will allow the county to increase its sales tax from 5.3 percent to no more than 6.3 percent.
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** Stafford supervisors send library concerns to board of trustees ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Stafford County supervisors plan to keep the pressure on the Central Rappahannock Regional Library system by formally bringing several issues of concern to the library’s board of trustees next month. “I believe we need to update the bylaws, we need to definitely update the 1993 agreement. I would like to restructure the way they present their reports, and I would also like the board to authorize moving forward with a climate survey,” Supervisor Meg Bohmke told fellow supervisors on Wednesday.
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** King George School Board makes last-minute decision to delay in-person learning ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Early elementary students in King George County were to have returned to school buildings for in-person learning four days a week starting this week, but the School Board decided Monday to delay this option until January. Families angry about the last-minute decision have planned a protest at the next School Board meeting on Monday, and are circulating petitions attempting to gather support for recalling the three members who voted for the delay.
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** Charlottesville schools aiming for January in-person start ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Preschoolers through sixth-graders in Charlottesville could be back in the classroom by mid-January after schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins adopted an advisory committee’s recommendation for restarting in-person classes. Atkins discussed her formal recommendation with School Board members Thursday.
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** Albemarle removes ordinance that waived state FOIA deadlines ([link removed])
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By JESSIE HIGGINS, Charlottesville Tomorrow

Albemarle County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to repeal an ordinance that exempted it from meeting the state’s Freedom of Information Act deadlines. The board first passed the deadline waiver in March “given the uncertainty of what we would be facing” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg Kamptner, the county’s attorney said at Wednesday’s board meeting.
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** Supervisors nix FOIA extension, deny homestay exception ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Albemarle County will no longer delay responses to Freedom of Information Act requests. The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted to remove language about FOIA response deadlines from the continuity of government ordinance the county passed in response to COVID-19. The move comes after Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring last month issued an opinion that said localities may not modify or indefinitely extend FOIA deadlines.
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** Franklin Co. schools move to all-virtual learning for November ([link removed])
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By MIKE ALLEN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Staffing shortages caused by pandemic precautions have once again led Franklin County high and middle schools to shift to all-virtual learning, but this time the classrooms will stay empty through the end of the month. The schedule change starts Friday and affects Franklin County High School, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and the Gereau Center.
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** Henry County Public Schools will go all virtual until mid-January ([link removed])
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By KIM BARTO MEEKS, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Less than a month after county schools reopened for in-person classes, the Henry County School Board voted Thursday morning to return to all-virtual learning starting Monday and continuing through Jan. 19. Schools Superintendent Sandy Strayer made the recommendation based on anticipated spikes of COVID-19 in the community in November and December in part because of spread from holiday gatherings.
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** Staunton FOIA requests increase to three times the average amount ([link removed])
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By SIMONE MCKENNY, WHSV

Information requests using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in Staunton have increased to more than three times the usual amount. FOIA allows the public to request access to records from the government unless it’s covered under a handful of exemptions. For the first half of the year, from January 1 to June 30, FOIA requests to the city averaged around four per month. From July 1 to late October, requests are up to an average of 15 per month.
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** Voters say yes to sales tax ([link removed])
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By CRYSTAL VANDEGRIFT, Charlotte Gazette

In a close Election Day contest, Tuesday, Nov. 3, Charlotte County voters approved a 1% sales tax increase that county officials say will help fund much-needed school projects. Unofficial election results for the ballot referendum were 52.9% yes and 47.81% no. Absentee ballots may be accepted until noon Friday, Nov. 6.
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** Northam may re-impose restrictions on Southwest Va. ([link removed])
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By ALLEN WORRELL, Carroll News

With cases of COVID-19 rising ahead of other parts of the state, Governor Ralph Northam announced during his Oct. 28 press conference that he could reimpose restrictions in Southwest Virginia. Speaking during a press conference that day, Northam said the disease has begun to overwhelm Ballad Health’s hospitals. He said it was something he would continue to keep track of and that he may have to impose new restrictions.
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** With casino approval, plans to bring Rosie's to Danville nixed, thanks to state law ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

It has been a year since Danville voters decided to allow a pari-mutuel betting facility in the city. Colonial Downs Group, owner of Rosie's Gaming Emporiums, had planned to open an off-track betting location in Danville and campaigned for passage of the referendum that voters approved in November 2019. But now that voters have approved a Caesars Virginia location at the former Dan River Inc. site in Schoolfield, Rosie's plans for Danville are nixed, thanks to state law passed this year in the General Assembly.
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** Former Cape Charles Public Works Director Sues for FOIA Violations, Wrongful Termination ([link removed])
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By STEFANIE JACKSON, Eastern Shore Post

David Fauber, Northampton County supervisor and the former Cape Charles director of public works and utilities, sued the Town of Cape Charles in August for $500,000 in damages for violating the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, aka FOIA, and wrongful termination. Judge Revell Lewis III, of the Northampton County Circuit Court, issued an order Oct. 26 regarding the FOIA violations, but the wrongful termination issue remains unresolved.
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** Officials: Nov. 3 election drew record turnout ([link removed])
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By SARAH WADE AND LEIF GREISS, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Sullivan County; Bristol, Virginia and Washington County, Virginia, saw record-breaking voter turnout throughout the course of early and in-person voting for this election, election officials said. “We definitely hit an all-time new record,” Jason Booher, Sullivan County’s administrator of elections, said around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Today's Sponsor:


** Craft + Design Online, presented by the Visual Arts Center of Richmond
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Shop the work of over 120 artists at Craft + Design Online, a virtual craft show, November 20-29! [link removed]


** EDITORIALS
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** Five takeaways from the election in Virginia ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Here are five takeaways from this year’s election in Virginia: 1. Virginia is no longer a swing state. It’s a Democratic state with a strong Republican majority in rural areas. Virginia has now gone Democratic four presidential elections in a row.
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** People, not the president, are who matter most ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In Virginia Beach Thursday morning, one might be hard pressed to know that “The Fate of The Nation” and “The Future of the Republic” still hung in the balance. Navy aircraft took lazy turns in a bright blue sky, the sound of jet engines washing across the landscape in Pungo. On the Boardwalk, a smattering of mask-wearing walkers took advantage of the sunshine, moving past the installation of the large holiday light displays that are a seasonal Oceanfront tradition.
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** Effort to 'REV' up Virginia's workforce is a sound investment ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the way we live and work. Virginians have fought through furloughs, seen their hours reduced or completely lost their jobs. And the struggle disproportionately is being felt by workers without college degrees. In a recent statement, state Secretary of Education Atif Qarni said more than 70% of people recently filing for unemployment had some college or less.
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** An overdue shake-up could bring needed diversity to Thomas Jefferson High School ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

After decades of failed efforts to enroll more Black, Hispanic and low-income students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County school officials have decided to eliminate the admissions test that played a determining role in who got into the prestigious public school. Gone, too, is the $100 application fee, and other changes are being considered in a long-overdue shake-up aimed at bringing needed diversity to the school.


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