VaNews
November 7, 2020
* Read Online ([link removed])
* 10 Most Clicked ([link removed])
* Refer a Friend ([link removed])

Top of the News


** In Virginia’s Vote For Biden, Democrats See Blue Wave Wobble While Republicans Spy Hope ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By DANIELLA CHESLOW, DCist

Joe Biden swept Virginia on Tuesday with a comfortable nine-point margin, exceeding the performance of Democratic contenders before him. Despite that win, some Democrats in Virginia now worry that narrow congressional victories and a failed attempt to flip a House seat reveal the “blue wave” that gave their party power during the Trump era could possibly have stalled. Republicans, on the other hand, say they are seeing flickers of promise.
------------------------------------------------------------


** What happened in Virginia on Election Day? Laws making it easier to vote made counting harder. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The late-night texts from out-of-state friends and relatives watching cable news on Tuesday night were curious: Virginia? Shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. in the commonwealth and well into the night, President Donald Trump led former Vice President Joe Biden and, in Virginia’s Senate race, Republican challenger Daniel Gade appeared to hold an advantage over Sen. Mark Warner based on the numbers populating Virginia’s Department of Elections' ever-updating database.
------------------------------------------------------------


** From VPAP Early results from Virginia's 'Second' Election Day ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

The Virginia Public Access Project

Virginia localities are reporting a second round of election results consisting of mail ballots that were left uncounted on Tuesday or ballots that arrived in the mail by noon Friday. By Friday night, 80 localities had reported a total of 28,000 votes that were not included in results released on Election Day. These relatively small number of votes are not expected to change the outcome of any congressional races, but they could impact some local elections. The deadline for localities to finalize results is next Tuesday. This second round of results is happening because of a new Virginia law that extends the deadline for counting mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Two Virginia men arrested with guns outside Pennsylvania Convention Center, where mail-in ballots were being counted ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Two men from Virginia were arrested Thursday night in Philadelphia and charged with illegal possession of firearms outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where mail-in ballots were being counted. Philadelphia has been the site of protests for days as the fate of Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes and the presidential election hang in the balance. Philadelphia law enforcement identified the men as Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 42, both of Chesapeake. . . . During the summer, state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, posed for a group photo in front of the Hummer, in which LaMotta was also pictured, according to a photo posted on social media and confirmed by Chuck Smith, a Virginia Beach lawyer who is running for attorney general and has campaigned alongside Chase. Smith was in the photo, too.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Richmond mayor's decision to remove Confederate monuments may have vaulted him to another term ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

There was a moment in June when it seemed Mayor Levar Stoney had lost control of this city, as thousands of angry residents shouted him down on the steps of City Hall over a police tear-gassing of Black Lives Matter demonstrators. But this week Stoney claimed reelection to a second four-year term as mayor, fending off challengers on both the left and right after weathering some of the toughest criticism of his career. The results were not yet final as of Friday afternoon, pending a count of the last absentee votes, but they appeared decisive.
------------------------------------------------------------


** VHSL Members still questioning new 2020-21 rules ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By EMILY BROWN, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Virginia high school teams, after a prolonged break because of the pandemic, are one month away from the official start of sports. But as member schools and state officials weigh in on return plans — sometimes offering opinions on different ends of the spectrum — there are still plenty of details to work out....School officials and coaches voiced concerns about the ability to constantly clean apparatus for sports and to provide adequate space for distancing in smaller gyms, for example.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Dog walkers are returning to work, and it’s been a joyous — but cautious — reunion ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ASHLEY FETTERS, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

When dog walker Jessica Enfante showed up for her first day back on the job in June, she experienced the kind of sweet reunion with an on-the-job pal that millions of teleworkers could only dream of. She arrived at the door of her most curmudgeonly work friend — a poodle mix she refers to as “the Grumpus,” who retreats at the very sound of the word “walk” — and he bounded up to her, enthusiastically seeking some love pats on the rump.
The Full Report
30 articles, 18 publications
* Read Online ([link removed])
* 10 Most Clicked ([link removed])
* Refer a Friend ([link removed])


** FROM VPAP
------------------------------------------------------------


** From VPAP Maps, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

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
------------------------------------------------------------


** Governor signs Morrissey legislation taking most sentencing power from juries ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph S. Northam has signed legislation that would remove the practice of having juries impose a sentence for a suspect they just convicted. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Richmond, removes what had been a 244-year-old staple in Virginia's justice system that gave juries the power to pass sentence following a conviction. Under Morrissey's bill, juries would only be allowed to recommend sentences if the defendant requested it; otherwise, it would be up to the judge to decide the sentence.


** STATE ELECTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Two charged with carrying weapons near Philadelphia vote-counting site amid election tensions ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By MAURA EWING, RACHEL WEINER, CRAIG TIMBERG AND MARK BERMAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Prosecutors in Philadelphia charged two Virginia men with weapons violations after police arrested them while they carried guns near the convention center, where votes from the presidential election have been counted this week amid dueling demonstrations outside. Police said the FBI received a tip Thursday about an armed group traveling from Virginia to Philadelphia, one of the cities where the ongoing vote-counting has spurred sometimes tense protests. Police found the car associated with the tip, and then the men, on Thursday night.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Biden's wins in Chesterfield, Virginia Beach extend Democrats' dominance in population centers ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Joe Biden's victories this week in Chesterfield County and Virginia Beach illustrate how Democrats' dominance in the state's population centers has fueled the party's winning streak in state elections that dates to 2009. Biden swept all 10 of the state's cities and counties with populations of 200,000 or more: the Northern Virginia counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun and Arlington; the city of Richmond and Chesterfield and Henrico counties; and the Hampton Roads cities of Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Cameron Webb Says 2020 Polarization Led to His Defeat ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE-FM

In the runup to Election Day, Virginia Democrats saw Cameron Webb as their best hope of picking up a House seat. It would be tough: President Trump won the district by 11 points in 2016. So the 37 year-old University of Virginia doctor and academic tried to position himself as a bridge-building moderate in the sprawling central Virginia district.
------------------------------------------------------------


** ‘Stop the Steal’ rallies expected in Richmond as President Trump’s path to victory narrows ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JACKIE DEFUSCO, WRIC-TV

As President Donald Trump’s path to victory appears to shrink, at least two rallies are expected over the weekend in Greater Richmond. “Stop the Steal” protests are popping up across the country in response to President Donald Trump’s claims–without evidence–that illegal ballots are contributing to former Vice President Joe Biden’s late comeback in some swing states.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Shrimp caught off Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach draws crowd ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The text alert went out Wednesday morning, a welcome interruption in the thick of election overload. “SHRIMP TODAY,” typed in all caps. “MARCIA B is bringing in a big load of Shrimp!” . . . Capt. Kurt Ward, a charter fishing boat captain and owner of Commonwealth Seafood, is one of only a few Virginia Beach fishermen with a permit to catch shrimp in a designated area 3 miles off the coast and sell them from the dock or to restaurants.
------------------------------------------------------------


** State Supreme Court hears oyster case ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JIMMY LAROUE, Suffolk News Herald

The Virginia Supreme Court has heard the appeal in a lawsuit filed by local oystermen against the city of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District. The court heard arguments from their respective attorneys Nov. 4, with a decision in the case holding the potential for far-reaching, precedent-setting implications as it merges environmental case law and case law about inverse condemnation — the taking of private property for a public purpose without justly compensating its owner.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
------------------------------------------------------------


** Virginia governor seeks $1M to probe racism claims at VMI ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By DENISE LAVOIE AND ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Gov. Ralph Northam has signed two key criminal justice reform bills into law and proposed changes to the state budget, including adding $1 million to investigate the culture at the Virginia Military Institute after a newspaper article described allegations of persistent racism. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene Monday to consider Northam’s proposed budget revisions and other amendments to legislation approved during a recent special legislative session that focused on fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as police and criminal justice reforms.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Here’s how much it cost W&M to avoid a Title IX lawsuit ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

After William & Mary cut seven varsity sports teams in September, the women’s teams threatened a Title IX lawsuit. In response, the college reinstated the women’s gymnastics, volleyball and swim teams and agreed to pay the clients’ costs and attorney fees by Nov. 19. To the tune of $124,866.90.


** CORONAVIRUS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Virginia COVID-19 cases increase by 1,568 from Thursday ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Friday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 188,770 — an increase of 1,568 from the 187,202 reported the day before. The new total consists of 173,645 confirmed cases and 15,125 probable cases. There have been 3,682 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,432 confirmed and 250 probable; that’s a decrease of six from the 3,688 deaths reported Thursday.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Coronavirus caseload marches upward in D.C. region, surpassing a record set in May ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By TIM RICHARDSON AND OVETTA WIGGINS, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Washington region reported a surge of new coronavirus infections Friday, notching the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. Virginia, Maryland and D.C. added 3,219 new infections, surpassing a daily record that has stood since May 1, when 3,120 cases were reported. Leaders across the region say they are making preparations for a continued increase this winter amid a record-setting national spike in cases.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Area hospitals say they are prepared for potential new flood of covid-19 patients ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By LOLA FADULU, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

With coronavirus infections again surging in the region, area hospitals say they are far better equipped to handle a flood of covid-19 patients than they were when the pandemic first exploded this spring. Hospital officials said they have more information on how to treat covid-19 patients, have sufficient personal protective equipment, and are taking steps to address staff burnout.
------------------------------------------------------------


** COVID cases double among inmates at Culpeper's Coffeewood prison ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

Reported COVID-19 positive cases jumped within days among inmates at Coffeewood Correctional Center in Culpeper County. There were 82 active cases as of Thursday among those incarcerated in the state prison run by Virginia Department of Corrections, compared to 40 cases on Monday. One Coffeewood prisoner was in the hospital with the novel coronavirus and 115 total inmates had tested positive for the infectious illness. Six employees of the Mitchells facility were also listed with active cases, one more than on Monday.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Bishop O’Connell High School Goes Fully Virtual After Two COVID-19 Cases Reported ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JO DEVOE, ArlNow

Bishop O’Connell High School went fully virtual on Friday, and will remain so until December, out of an abundance of caution after two positive cases came to administrators’ attention. The two cases were traced to what head of school Bill Crittenberger called “an off-campus gathering” with “quite a few young people” on Halloween (Oct. 31).


** VIRGINIA OTHER
------------------------------------------------------------


** Fairfax removes Civil War monuments in front of its courthouse ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Fairfax County on Thursday night removed a trio of Civil War markers in front of the county’s judicial complex, part of a broader effort in Virginia to turn a page on the state’s Confederate legacy. Under a new state law giving localities authority over the fate of war monuments and memorials in their communities, the county’s Board of Supervisors decided last month to donate a stone obelisk honoring John Quincy Marr — the first Confederate soldier to be killed in a land battle — to the Stuart Mosby Historical Society in Centreville.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Richmond police make arrests, seize weapons during Thursday night protest downtown ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The Richmond Police Department reported several arrests and the seizure of weapons during a protest downtown Thursday night. According to police, a few dozen protesters led by the group Black Lives Matter 757 assembled at Stuart Circle about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Richmond prosecutor reaffirms police shooting of Marcus-David Peters was justified ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

After reviewing anew the death of Marcus-David Peters, who in 2018 was fatally shot by a Richmond police officer while in a mental health crisis, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin reached the same conclusion as her predecessor: that the shooting was justified. Peters, a 24-year-old high school teacher and recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, was naked and unarmed during the encounter that occurred around 5:30 p.m., on May 14, 2018 along Interstate 95/64.


** LOCAL
------------------------------------------------------------


** APS Makes Decision Not to Participate in Winter Sports ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JO DEVOE, ArlNow

While many schools in Virginia will start their winter sports seasons next month, Arlington Public Schools will not follow suit. Some parents and a School Board member urged Superintendent Francisco Durán to reverse course on this decision during the School Board meeting held that night. They argued that other jurisdictions in Virginia — including neighboring Fairfax County — are gearing up to play sports, and that not participating harms students in the short- and long-term.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Loudoun Schools Face Deadline on CARES Act Spending ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Loudoun Now

Without an extension from the federal government, Loudoun County Public Schools may have to return $10 million in pandemic aid before the end of the year. The School Board was briefed Wednesday on the status of the $27.9 million in CARES Act emergency funding that the division has received through the state and county governments. There is a Dec. 30 deadline to spend that money or it must be returned. The exception is a $1 million allocation that came with a Sept. 30, 2021 deadline.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Democrat Tom Osina widens his lead over Republican Ian Lovejoy in Manassas City Council race ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JILL PALERMO, Prince William Times

Democrat Tom Osina widened his lead over Republican Ian Lovejoy in the Manassas City Council race Friday after provisional and absentee votes were tallied, according to unofficial results posted on the city's website. But a recount remains a possibility as the difference between the candidates' vote tallies remains less than 1% of the total ballots cast in the Nov. 3 contest.
------------------------------------------------------------


** After Norfolk voters OK a Pamunkey casino, Waterside operator renews threat to sue city ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The developer behind the revamp of Norfolk’s Waterside is once again threatening to sue the city over its casino deal with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe after Norfolk voters approved the tribe’s waterfront gambling resort. The city has called the threatened lawsuit baseless and said its offers to discuss the issue have been rejected.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Portsmouth school employees will return in person in 2 weeks. Some students will follow in January. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By SALEEN MARTIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

All employees in the Portsmouth school division will head back to their physical work locations in two weeks, and students will return in phases starting in January, the School Board decided this week. All employees will return on Nov. 23, following their normal operating schedules, the board voted Thursday.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Lynchburg-area school divisions announce 18 new positive cases of COVID-19 this week ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JAMEY CROSS, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

School divisions in the Lynchburg area announced 18 new positive cases of COVID-19 this week, bringing their collective total to 138 cases since their school year began. Nelson County Public Schools announced Friday a staff member at Nelson County High School tested positive for the virus.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Danville Public Schools to purchase more technology, sanitation equipment with second round of coronavirus relief funding ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee

Local school systems have until the end of the calendar year to make decisions on how to spend the second round of allocated coronavirus relief bill funding granted by Gov. Ralph Northam in early October. Danville Public Schools was the recipient of $954,608, and Pittsylvania County Schools received $1.43 million — figures that were based on student enrollment in the fall.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Stacey, Kurt Pomrenke plead guilty to new fraud charge ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

A former BVU Authority executive and her husband, a former judge, each pleaded guilty Friday to a single charge of conspiracy to defraud the federal government. Stacey Pomrenke, 48, and Kurt Pomrenke, 67, both of Abingdon, each entered plea agreements in U.S. District Court in Abingdon. The charge stems from Stacy Pomrenke entering a residential drug treatment program for federal inmates under false pretenses while serving what was originally a 34-month sentence at a federal facility in Alderson, West Virginia, according to the terms of the agreement.


** EDITORIALS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Roanoke made history but how? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Roanoke voters made history this week and we’ll never fully understand how. Well, we do know how in one way: For the first time, Roanoke elected a Black majority to city council. It’s hard to overemphasize how significant this is. Here’s a white-majority city in the South that elects council members at-large, which is usually seen as a method that puts minority candidates at a disadvantage, yet that clearly did not happen. There may be other places with that distinction but, if so, there won’t be many.


** COLUMNISTS
------------------------------------------------------------


** Schapiro: National politics intrude on Va.'s Never Never Land ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Like ice cream at the Clover Room, Madame Eva’s candy, Ukrops, the Tobacco Festival and Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, Chesterfield County going Republican for president was a constant. It just happened. Nearly everyone expected it. Few questioned why. This past Tuesday, Chesterfield — an Old South farm county-turned-white flight Richmond suburb-turned multihued, polylingual hotbed of come-here’s from other states and countries — tipped to Joe Biden over Donald Trump


** OP-ED
------------------------------------------------------------


** Chalk: Principles behind Virginia's new curriculum are self-destructive ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By CASEY CHALK, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

School districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia are substantively revising their social studies curriculums, prioritizing the history of discrimination and intolerance against racial minorities, particularly Black Americans and to a lesser degree indigenous persons. “Slavery shaped the fundamental beliefs of Americans about race and whiteness, and white supremacy was both a product and legacy of slavery,” notes Teaching Tolerance’s “Teaching Hard History,” a curriculum project of the Southern Poverty Law Center that many Virginia educators have embraced.

Chalk previously taught high-school history in Charlottesville and Fairfax County. He is a columnist for New Oxford Review and Crisis Magazine.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Graf: We need a new approach to the virus ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By JEFF GRAF, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It is time to consider the full impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having upon our State. When Gov. Northam first enacted the lockdown, I applauded his efforts. I believe that he acted in good faith and that he listened to sound epidemiological advice. At first the situation was grim. PPE was in short supply. Virus testing was not available. Fears of a virus spike led to the goal of flattening the curve to preserve precious hospital beds. He led us well.

Graf is retired and living in Blacksburg. Prior to his retirement, he was a lecturer at the Christian Leaders’ Training College in Papua New Guinea.


** Invite Friends to read VaNews
------------------------------------------------------------
Invite two friends to read VaNews and you'll receive VaViews, a weekly compilation of commentary from a variety of viewpoints.
b96c18c0-73d7-4f80-ba25-a96795413390.png
You don't have any referrals yet.
Share VaNews with a friend ([link removed])

Or use your personal referral link:
[link removed]

For questions email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
Participation in the VaNews Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the VPAP Terms and Conditions of Use ([link removed]) .
------------------------------------------------------------
Donate ([link removed]) Subscribe ([link removed]) Content Policy ([link removed]) Privacy ([link removed])

============================================================

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
Virginia Public Access Project . P.O. Box 1472 . Richmond, VA 23218 . USA