VaNews
November 10, 2020

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** Chris Marston
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Thanks to VaNews for making Virginia election coverage so easy to follow.
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Top of the News


** Va. lawmakers pass redistricting commission rules, end extraordinary session ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The General Assembly ended a special legislative session Monday evening some 12 weeks after it began, putting the finishing touches on the state budget and approving changes recommended by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to a handful of bills related to criminal justice and the novel coronavirus. Both the House of Delegates and the state Senate agreed to language in the two-year, $135 billion spending plan to set up a bipartisan commission on redistricting under a constitutional amendment approved last week by voters.
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** House lawmakers reject governor’s proposal on spending remaining CARES Act funding ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

How Virginia spends its remaining federal CARES Act funding was a point of contention between Gov. Ralph Northam and General Assembly lawmakers throughout an extensive special session focused on criminal justice reform and amending the state’s two-year budget. It’s one that wasn’t resolved by Monday afternoon, when the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates rejected a series of proposed amendments made by Northam to the new spending plan passed by both chambers late last month.
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** Assembly backs money for VMI investigation, but Norment warns against 'media lynching' of institute ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The General Assembly agreed on Monday to budget $1 million for an independent investigation of alleged racist practices at Virginia Military Institute, with the support of Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, one of the institute’s most powerful graduates in the legislature. However, Norment chastised Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring — all Democrats who faced racial or sexual scandals last year — for rushing to judgment based on media accounts of alleged mistreatment of Black students at VMI.
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** McAuliffe rules out seeking Biden Cabinet post, raising gubernatorial expectations ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe told a prominent Democratic legislator over the weekend that he will not pursue a Cabinet position under the upcoming Biden administration, further fueling speculation that he plans to seek a second term next year. McAuliffe (D), who made jobs creation the centerpiece of his four years in Richmond, has been mentioned as a potential commerce secretary under Joe Biden, the president-elect. Most recently, Politico reported Saturday that he was “in the mix” for the post.
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** Coronavirus spread hits record levels in Maryland, Virginia amid national spike ([link removed])
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By DANA HEDGPETH, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The coronavirus is spreading at record levels across Maryland and Virginia, with a rate of infection that has doubled in recent weeks amid a national spike that shows no signs of slowing. Maryland saw a record high number of infections on Monday for the third consecutive day, leaping past Virginia to record the highest rate of spread in the greater Washington region. Local leaders are considering additional restrictions to battle the rising caseloads, a trend that health experts say is unlikely to reverse ahead of the holiday season.
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** Four COVID-19 cases linked to Richmond Office of General Registrar; Stoney isolating ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Three employees of the Richmond office responsible for overseeing elections have tested positive for COVID-19, General Registrar J. Kirk Showalter said Monday. A fourth person — a staffer on Mayor Levar Stoney’s re-election campaign — also tested positive after interacting with an employee of the registrar’s office. Stoney said in a statement on Monday afternoon that he and others in the mayor’s office were in isolation while the Richmond City Health District worked to determine who had been exposed.
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** Then and Now: Politician to Professor ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL BELLU, The Breeze

88-year-old Pete Giesen is a part-time political science professor at JMU who’s served under nine governors in the Virginia House of Delegates for more than three decades. He served in a bygone era when politicians of opposing parties played basketball together. “Some years I passed as many as 10 bills or 12, sometimes one or two,” Giesen said. “People would say ‘How come you don’t pass many bills?’ Because I’m down there to kill the bad ones.”
The Full Report
26 articles, 17 publications
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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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** $60M directed to municipal utility relief ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

While some Virginians fear power and water shutoffs during the pandemic, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday that an additional $60 million in federal CARES Act funding will go toward municipal utility relief efforts. “These are challenging times for Virginia families and businesses, and we remain committed to helping them keep the electricity on and the water running,” Northam said in a statement.
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** Governor gives conditional pardon to former ODU student serving 10 years for crash that left a man severely disabled ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER AND ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday conditionally pardoned a former Old Dominion University student sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for a multi-car crash that left a New York man severely disabled. Matthew Rushin, who has autism, is expected to be released sometime in early 2021, the governor’s office said.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Virginia General Assembly passes rules for newly approved redistricting commission ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

With Virginia’s redistricting debate now settled by voters, state lawmakers approved a package of rules Monday for how the new, bipartisan map-drawing commission will work next year. Democrats’ dispute over the redistricting commission, which almost 66 percent of Virginia voters approved last week, delayed the formal conclusion of the special session that began in August. To settle it, legislative leaders and Gov. Ralph Northam agreed to pass a post-election budget amendment allowing the commission to be set up and begin its work next year.
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** General Assembly adjourns 83-day special session with revised budget, police reforms ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned its special session Monday with a revised two-year budget and police and criminal justice reforms. The House of Delegates and Senate met in the afternoon to adopt Gov. Ralph Northam’s recommended changes to the budget as well as a handful of bills, bringing to a close an 83-day session. The budget includes $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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** Virginia lawmakers approve $1 million to investigate VMI ([link removed])
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By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Virginia lawmakers on Monday approved budget changes proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam, including adding $1 million to pay for an independent investigation into allegations of racism at the Virginia Military Institute. Northam — a VMI graduate — and other top Democratic elected officials sent a letter to the public school’s board last month announcing an investigation into its culture, policies, practices and equity in disciplinary procedures after a Washington Post story that described Black cadets and alumni facing “relentless racism.”
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** Norment denounces ouster at VMI ([link removed])
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By IAN SHAPIRA AND AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. used inflammatory language Monday as he denounced the resignation of Virginia Military Institute's superintendent, warning lawmakers: "You cannot let the media lynch VMI." Norment, who graduated from VMI in 1968, made the remark in a special session at the Science Museum of Virginia before a vote to appropriate $1 million for an investigation into racism at the state-supported military college.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** BLM757 president says he'll run for Lt. Governor ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Black Lives Matter 757 organized a vigil and celebration Sunday at Fort Monroe in Hampton for Joe Biden’s apparent victory in the presidential election. Aubrey “Japharii” Jones, president of Black Lives Matter 757, joked that the air and sun felt different. While leading the group of about three dozen, Bobby Joe prayed for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris before asking for unity.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Federal appeals court imposes another delay for Mountain Valley Pipeline ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In the latest misfortune for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a federal appeals court put a hold Monday on newly issued permits that would have allowed the pipeline to cross water bodies. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a full stay late in the afternoon, after hearing oral arguments in the morning from environmental groups concerned about the pollution of nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands.
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** Left out in the cold? DC-area restaurants scramble for outdoor heaters ([link removed])
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By KATE RYAN, WTOP

As the coronavirus continues to spread in the D.C. area, concerns that winter could wipe out restaurants already battered by the virus are also spreading. Areas across the D.C. region experimented with “streateries” over the summer, but as winter looms, the race is on to get heaters that will allow diners to be comfortable eating outdoors as the temperatures drop.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Elizabeth River Crossings, operator of the Downtown and Midtown tunnels, sold for more than $2 billion ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The operator of the Downtown and Midtown tunnels, Elizabeth River Crossings, has been sold to a Spanish toll road operator and the John Hancock Life Insurance Co. for more than $2 billion, according to the companies involved. The purchase would give the new owners a lucrative, but often criticized, contract with the Virginia Department of Transportation that allows the company to levy tolls on travelers driving through the tunnels linking Norfolk and Portsmouth through 2070. The tolls can be raised up to 3.5% annually.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** $22M in CARES Act funding directed to Va. private colleges ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Virginia’s private higher education institutions will receive $22 million in federal CARES Act funding for COVID-19 preparedness and response, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. In late October, $116 million was allocated to Virginia’s public higher education institutions — with today’s allocation proportionate to the public school funding, according to Northam’s office.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia's COVID-19 cases up 1,302 ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Monday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 193,477, an increase of 1,302 from Sunday. The 193,477 cases consist of 177,240 confirmed cases and 16,237 probable cases. There have been 3,713 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,447 confirmed and 266 probable. That’s an increase of six from Sunday.
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** UVa patients had access to important research treatments early in pandemic ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

From offices to laboratories to the hospital floor, University of Virginia Health System officials dropped their sometimes competing interests to help place their COVID-19 patients in studies that had the potential of giving them a better chance of surviving the disease. UVa patients were eligible early in the virus’ first wave for treatments through studies that included the recently approved drug remdesivir, other drugs, plasma containing COVID antibodies and treatment with stem cells.
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** Lord Fairfax Health District hits new pandemic peak ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

Over the past seven days, the Lord Fairfax Health District has seen its highest influx of new cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic first hit the region in March. During the pandemic’s first regional peak around Memorial Day, the district’s daily case count from May 27-30 was 71, 73, 42 and 53. The total of 239 still stands as the highest four-day case count in the health district.


** LOCAL
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** Kindergarten Drives Enrollment Drop, but FCPS Braces for Spike in Returns ([link removed])
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By JO DEVOE, Reston Now

Driven by the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, 8,959 students left Fairfax County Public Schools this school year with elementary school students, particularly kindergarteners, representing the most withdrawals. About 87% of the students who left are in elementary school, and of those, 2,208 students would be kindergarteners, according to a Membership Trends Report presented to FCPS School Board members last Wednesday (Nov. 4). This report is used to inform the school board’s capital improvements planning process.
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** Prince William County's youngest students begin returning to classrooms today ([link removed])
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Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

School buses will be rolling Tuesday as more than 3,000 Prince William County students begin a return to in-person learning. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students will be the first to go back to classrooms under a 50/50 hybrid model voted on by the school board last month. First grade students are expected to follow, coronavirus numbers allowing, on Dec. 1. Second and third grades are expected to return Jan. 12.
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** Richmond Public Schools won't play winter sports, including basketball, superintendent says ([link removed])
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By TIM PEARRELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Public Schools superintendent Jason Kamras said in a newsletter Monday night that the school division will not play winter sports in high schools and middle schools. That will sideline Armstrong, Huguenot, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall and George Wythe, the RPS high schools that play as part of the Virginia High School League.
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** Richmond's Confederate Avenue now Laburnum Park Boulevard after City Council renaming ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Confederate Avenue, a stretch of four residential blocks in Richmond’s North Side, is now Laburnum Park Boulevard. With most of the residents there supporting the change, the Richmond City Council unanimously approved the new name Monday.
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** $10M in funding for VB Municipal Center renovations nixed from state budget ([link removed])
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By BRETT HALL, WAVY-TV

Leaders in the City of Virginia Beach were hoping a $10-million boost from the state budget for a road project would help free up some monLeaders in the City of Virginia Beach were hoping a $10-million boost from the state budget for a road project would help free up some money for renovations at the Municipal Center, but that funding was removed from the budget on Monday.ey for renovations at the Municipal Center, but that funding was removed from the budget on Monday.
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** Dates for more York middle and high school students to return unclear amid staff shortages ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

York County district leaders say they don’t have dates yet for most middle and high school students to start coming to school in person. Some sixth graders whose families opted for hybrid learning set foot in school buildings Monday. The district had planned to bring back ninth graders too, but the county has a shortage of staff who can work in person.
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** Fauquier County Public Schools returns majority of students to classrooms ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Roughly 7,000 children enrolled in Northern Virginia’s Fauquier County Public Schools returned to school for in-person instruction Monday, even as neighboring school systems are continuing to operate online-only or retreating from reopening plans. The returning children — who span all age levels, from kindergarten through 12th grade — will learn in school buildings for two days each week.
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** Augusta County defers appeal for courthouse expansion project ([link removed])
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By MONIQUE CALELLO, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

Two days after Staunton Historic Preservation Commission unanimously denied Augusta County's application for a Certificate of Appropriateness on nine buildings related to the Augusta County Courthouse project, the county filed an appeal of the commission's denial with Staunton City Council. In accordance with the Staunton City Code, the appeal was due to be scheduled for the Nov. 12 city council meeting, but when the City of Staunton posted the meeting agenda, the appeal wasn't on it.
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** Behavioral health issues more complex, widespread for local providers during pandemic ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Local mental and behavioral health providers said they’ve seen more patients and more challenges during the pandemic, but reaching some patients has become easier with more robust telehealth systems. Melissa Lucy, senior director of emergency, forensic and psychiatric services with Horizon Behavioral Health, said she’s seen an increase in referrals of new patients since the spring. Some of those who may not have reached out before have used expanded telehealth options to seek help.

Today's Sponsor:


** Chris Marston
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Thanks to VaNews for making Virginia election coverage so easy to follow.


** EDITORIALS
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** An election with integrity in Virginia ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As the vote counting continues in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere, Virginia should take a moment to be thankful, because the commonwealth’s smooth and drama-free election was no accident. From poll workers to local election officials, lawmakers to the voters themselves, everyone who participated deserves some measure of credit for conducting a vote under extraordinary conditions in a manner that kept people safe, improved voter access and delivered results quickly and without controversy.


** OP-ED
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** Herring: We need the ACA now more than ever ([link removed])
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By MARK HERRING, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

On Tuesday, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes in front of the U.S. Supreme Court yet again, facing what might be the most legally flimsy and most dangerous attack yet devised by its conservative opponents. And in this seemingly surreal reality we are living in, the U.S. Department of Justice, under the direction of President Donald Trump, will stand before the Supreme Court and ask it to decimate our country’s health care system and effectively rip coverage away from millions in the middle of the worst global health and economic crisis in our lifetimes.


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