VaNews
November 12, 2020
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Top of the News


** Daily coronavirus infections surpass 3,000 in D.C. region, setting record for eighth day ([link removed])
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By ERIN COX AND DANA HEDGPETH, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Coronavirus infections across the greater Washington region surged past the 3,000 mark Wednesday for the first time, spreading with relative ease as the average number of daily caseloads set another record high. The seven-day average of new cases across Virginia, Maryland and D.C. stood Wednesday at 3,015, making it the eighth consecutive day with a record number of new cases.
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** Ballad says region is at a 'crisis point' ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Escalating COVID-19 cases and deaths have brought this region to a “crisis point,” a Ballad Health official said Wednesday. Claire Marr, Ballad’s clinical value improvement coordinator and a registered nurse, discussed the death of her 97-year-old grandmother as it relates to a seemingly indifferent public response to continuous calls for mask wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Her comments came during Ballad’s weekly media update.
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** As some in GOP amplify election conspiracies, Riggleman says Republicans ‘have a duty to speak out’ ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

On Twitter, former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock has deemed some conspiracy theories about a stolen election “tin foil hat stuff.” Soon-to-be former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman agrees. And he’s concerned other Republicans may be validating untruths by staying silent. “If you see things that are false, or you see things that could be damaging based on hyperbole or conspiracy theories, you have a duty to speak out,” Riggleman said in an interview with the Mercury Wednesday. “It’s what you’re supposed to do as an elected official.”
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** No concession from Republican challengers in losses in two Virginia congressional districts ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

One race was close and the other a blowout, but the candidates who lost in Virginia's 7th and 4th congressional districts did not concede on Wednesday after local electoral boards certified the re-election of Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, and Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th. Spanberger defeated Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, by 8,208 votes in Virginia's tightest congressional contest, a nationally watched campaign that could have affected the balance of power in the House of Representatives. McEachin drubbed Republican challenger Leon Benjamin by 91,403 votes, according to locally certified totals posted online by the Virginia Department of Elections.
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** VPAP Visual Rural Counties Lead Turnout Gains ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Voter participation saw its largest gains this election season in Virginia's rural areas energized by President Trump and riled by gun control laws and other measures enacted by the General Assembly's new Democratic majority. This chart ranks each locality by the change in turnout compared to the most recent presidential election in 2016.
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** Plywood barricades come down at Virginia Capitol after five months ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

A plywood barricade blocking the entrance to the Virginia Capitol — a stark reminder of the civil unrest the roiled Richmond after George Floyd’s death — came down this week after more than five months. “It has been some time since we have experienced violent protests at Capitol Square,” Department of General Services spokeswoman Dena Potter said in an email, “so in consultation with the Division of Capitol Police, DGS thought it was an appropriate time to remove the plywood that had been protecting the Capitol visitor entrance.”
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** An inside look at one Chesapeake school as students return and the pandemic continues ([link removed])
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By GORDON RAGO, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The masked students in Mrs. Wood’s sixth-grade English class on Tuesday morning learned the most important piece of information they were ever going to get. How to save yourself from a kangaroo attack. Yes, students at Indian River Middle School in Chesapeake were far, far from any such danger lurking in the Australian outback. But Amy Wood — apt to dance during videos she plays in class — needed to teach her kids about process. And she needed to be engaging. Thus her lesson about how to think through, step by step, a strategy to escape a marauding marsupial.
The Full Report
41 articles, 20 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual A Visual History of Virginia Presidential Elections ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Do you remember the days when Arlington was red and Virginia's coalfields were blue? This map slideshow begins in 1960 and takes you through 60 years' of presidential election results.
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** VPAP Visual Over 24 years, Warner's coalition has changed ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

The widening gap between rural and urban Virginia can be seen in the results of Mark Warner's five statewide elections over the last two and a half decades. In his first race in 1996, more than one in five votes received by Warner, a Democrat, came from rural Southwest and Southside Virginia. This year, only one in 10 votes he received came from those regions. Over the same time, Warner has become much more reliant on voters in the suburbs of Washington, DC.
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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.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Legislators discuss priorities, plans for 2021 General Assembly ([link removed])
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By CAROLINE KEALY AND MAGGI MARSHALL, WSET-TV

Local legislators are already focusing on their plans for the 2021 General Assembly session in January. Some of the topics they plan to discuss include regional transportation, environmental regulations and bills impacting businesses....Several Republican legislators expressed their concerns about the possibility of the special session being virtual again but said that they would still go to Richmond to conduct meetings.
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** New delegate reflects on City Council career ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

After six years of service, Bill Wiley has bid farewell to City Council. “This is a bittersweet moment for me,” Wiley said at the beginning of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting in Winchester’s War Memorial Building. “People say that I’m moving up; I just think it’s another way to give back and be of service in a different way.”


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Sen. Chase acknowledges armed men arrested in Philadelphia are ‘supporters’ ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

After initially downplaying her association with two men arrested Thursday outside a vote counting center in Philadelphia, Chesterfield state senator and gubernatorial candidate Amanda Chase reversed course Saturday afternoon and acknowledged they are her supporters. Speaking to the media during a “Stop the Steal” rally outside the Virginia Department of Elections building in Richmond, a defiant Chase said Anthony LaMotta and Joshua Macias are “innocent until they’re proven guilty” and slammed media reports of their arrest on illegal possession of firearms charges as “complete and total bullcrap.”


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** ‘Stop with the ridiculous conspiracy theories’– Virginia Republican criticizes election fraud claims ([link removed])
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By JACKIE DEFUSCO AND KEYRIS MANZANARES, WRIC-TV

An outgoing Republican congressman in Virginia is making headlines for being one of the few in his party to publicly criticize President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) was recently ousted in his District 5 primary after losing to Bob Good, who will replace him in Congress in 2021. Two days after the election, Rep. Riggleman tweeted “…stop the Bravo Sierra, Mr. President, and respect the democratic process that makes America great.”
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** Biden wins Chesterfield, easily. Can Republicans win it back? ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

Prior to Nov. 3, anyone younger than age 72 had not yet been born when the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee last won Chesterfield County. Chesterfield was mostly farm country in 1948. Only 4,730 county residents voted in that year’s election and an even 2,600 of them chose Harry Truman over Republican Thomas Dewey. (That was the year of the Chicago Daily Tribune’s famously erroneous “Dewey defeats Truman” headline).
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** City, county saw record turnout in 2020 election ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Charlottesville and Albemarle County saw record-breaking numbers of voters in the 2020 election cycle. . . . Both registrars said this year’s election was historic for a on several levels, including the number of voters, the number of early voters and the cost of the election.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Natural Bridge State Park makes loan payment as search for a new owner continues ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Natural Bridge State Park has made a $579,000 annual payment on a loan used to purchase the property, without the help of a conservation nonprofit that initiated the deal. The Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund bought the privately owned limestone arch and surrounding woodlands in 2014, saving it from being sold at an auction. At the time, the fund intended to donate the land for a state park once it paid off a $9.1 million loan from the Virginia Resources Authority.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** HQ2 appears to be the base for Amazon's efforts to fight fake goods ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Va Business Magazine

Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters appears to be the base for the company's latest global effort to rein in faux goods sold on its e-commerce platform. The head of its so-called “Counterfeit Crimes Unit” is based in Arlington, and the company was recently recruiting for the division at its Crystal City offices. Just last month, the company was looking to fill an opening for a corporate counsel who would join this team based at HQ2.
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** Kings Dominion to open in December on limited days for new holiday-themed event ([link removed])
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By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Kings Dominion will open up this year after all — for a new limited capacity special holiday-themed event in December that requires reservations. The theme park in northern Hanover County, one of Virginia’s biggest tourist attractions, will reopen on select dates between Dec. 5 and Dec. 27 for the Taste of the Season: An Outdoor Holiday Experience. Exact dates have not been set.
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** Executive order increases Busch Gardens' capacity; more areas of park added to Christmas Celebration ([link removed])
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By WILFORD KALE, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Busch Gardens' Christmas Celebration will have a new increased capacity limit of 4,000 in each session when the park’s holiday program opens Friday. Gardens President Kevin Lembke explained that a change in Virginia regulations pertaining to COVID-19 allows for an increase from the previous 1,000 guest limit to expanded visitation which then permits additional areas in the park to be opened.
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** Hemp industry takes another step forward ([link removed])
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By JOAN TUPPONCE, Va Business Magazine

The co-founders of South Boston-based Golden Piedmont Labs want to give the county a boost by processing hemp from local farmers. “We were looking for a way to give back,” says Rick Gregory, who started Golden Piedmont Labs with Sterling Edmunds Jr. Both are Halifax County natives with extensive backgrounds in real estate and finance. Helping rural communities make products from hemp that can find “success in global markets” will assist the local economy, Gregory says. So far, the company has approximately 100 growers under contract.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Bridgewater College Board Of Trustees Approves Cuts ([link removed])
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By MEGAN WILLIAMS, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Bridgewater College board of trustees has approved recommendations that will eliminate programming and result in 40 faculty and staff layoffs. The board concluded its fall meeting on Friday and officially made decisions on program restructuring at the college. The trustees took into consideration the feedback they received during the last month, and determined the phasing out of majors in applied chemistry, French, mathematics, nutritional science, philosophy and religion, and physics, as well as the restructuring of the equestrian program, would best support the future goals of the institution, said Abbie Parkhurst, associate vice president for marketing and communications.
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** Randolph College to open campus for spring semester ([link removed])
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By JAMEY CROSS, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

After an entirely virtual fall semester, Randolph College will reopen campus to students and staff for the spring semester. In a message to the college community Wednesday, Randolph College President Bradley Bateman said students will be able to choose whether they will continue to learn in an online format or return to campus in the spring.
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** Liberty University reports 34 active COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Liberty University on Wednesday reported 34 active COVID-19 cases among its students and employees, a slight decrease from the 36 cases reported a week ago. According to the university’s online COVID-19 dashboard, which debuted Sept. 16 and is updated weekly, 23 students and 11 employees are currently sick with the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Last week, 20 students and 16 employees were sick.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia COVID-19 cases increase by 1,594 from Tuesday ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Wednesday that the statewide total for COVID-19 cases is 196,506 — an increase of 1,594 from the 194,912 reported Tuesday. The 196,506 cases consist of 179,686 confirmed cases and 16,820 probable cases. There are 3,741 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,474 confirmed and 267 probable. That’s an increase of 15 from the 3,726 reported Tuesday.
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** Ballad Health warns that beds for COVID patients are running short ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Jamie Swift, Ballad Health’s chief infection officer, said Tennessee’s rate of cases and of deaths is among the worst in the nation, and that the region Ballad serves is the worst of the worst. She said people think health officials are being dramatic and that pictures they’ve seen elsewhere of makeshift hospitals in parking structures won’t happen.
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** Second COVID-19 outbreak strikes Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Danville ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

Another COVID-19 outbreak has hit Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute, where 13 patients and staff have tested positive for the disease. Nine patients and four staff members have been infected, said Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which oversees the facility.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Citizen Journalists Seek Answers From Richmond Police ([link removed])
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By DANIEL MORITZ-RABSON, WCVE-FM

Two weeks after he allegedly committed a misdemeanor during a September protest, Richmond police arrested activist and independent journalist Kristopher Goad. Police informed Goad, known by the name “Goad Gatsby,” that RPD had issued him a warrant for obstructing the free passage of others. Officers transported him to the coronavirus-stricken Richmond jail and took his phone, later claiming it was being held under a sealed warrant. More than a month later, the police haven’t returned it.
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** Report: School segregation by race, poverty deepening in Virginia ([link removed])
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NBC 29

According to a report by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Pennsylvania State University, school segregation by race and poverty is deepening in Virginia. The report also found that while segregation by race and poverty is deepening, policies made by state and local governments could lead to more integration and better educational opportunities.


** LOCAL
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** Women make gains on Richmond City Council, School Board ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Final results released late Tuesday solidified outcomes of three competitive Richmond elections. . . . The nine-member council will include seven women - the most in the history of the body. Likewise, eight women will sit on the nine-member School Board, also a record.
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** Virginia Beach to bring remaining students back for in-person learning on Thursday ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia Beach will bring the rest of the students who opted to return for in-person learning back this Thursday, despite concerns over rising coronavirus case numbers both in schools and throughout the region. Grades 7 and 8, as well as 10 through 12, will be back under a hybrid plan, joining some 25,000 younger students who have already returned for in-person classes. Under this plan, one of the most aggressive in the region, 7th and 8th graders and high schoolers will be back for classes twice a week. They will continue virtual learning the other days.
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** Newport News police officer charged with murder in suspect’s 2019 death ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

A grand jury in Newport News Circuit Court this week indicted two Newport News police officers in the killing of a man they were trying to arrest on a misdemeanor charge late last year. Police Sgt. Albin T. Pearson, 33, a 12-year-department veteran, is charged with second-degree murder and other charges in the killing of Henry K. “Hank” Berry III during a struggle over a Taser on Dec. 27, 2019.
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** Fredericksburg Police Department eyeing use of electric vehicles ([link removed])
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By TAFT COGHILL JR., Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Fredericksburg Police Department has taken the first step in the process of converting its fleet of vehicles to alternative fuels. In response to City Council’s adoption of a 100 percent renewable energy resolution last December and the Clean and Green Fredericksburg initiative, the police department has partnered with Virginia Clean Cities for guidance on converting to electric vehicles and the use of other alternative fuels.
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** Broadband coming for up to 4,800 rural Stafford homes ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A $525,000 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act grant recently awarded to Stafford County means high-speed broadband internet service will be available soon for nearly 5,000 residents in the western portion of the county. County officials said the new service, aimed at homes in the rural Hartwood and Rock Hill districts, should be fully operational shortly after Christmas.
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** Caroline schools decide to offer hybrid learning in January ([link removed])
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By DAWN HAUN, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Caroline County Public School system is moving forward with a phased-in approach for students to return to learning under both a virtual and hybrid schedule for the second semester. The School Board approved the action by a 4–2 vote at its Monday meeting.
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** Nervous optimism as Albemarle schools begin in-person classes ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Jaylen Crist’s third-graders at Crozet Elementary were a little quiet at the start of the school day until she led them in a game of “Would You Rather?” That started the conversations among students who have spent the last nine weeks getting to know one another through a computer screen.
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** County COVID Cases Rise Slightly Ahead Of Students' Return ([link removed])
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By MEGAN WILLIAMS, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Rockingham County School Board met Monday and received the last COVID-19 update it will get before students in grades second through eighth head back to the classroom next week. The School Board decided that beginning on Monday, the remainder of the division’s elementary school students and middle school students will head back to the classroom two days a week using an A/B day model.
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** 10-Acres Solar Farm Moves Forward In Harrisonburg ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Harrisonburg City Council voted Tuesday to lease out nearly 10 acres for a solar farm in what was called a “unique” arrangement by Brian O’Dell, general manager of Harrisonburg Electric Commission. The lease is to the Virginia Municipal Electric Association, though the energy itself will be generated by Dominion Energy Virginia and purchased by HEC, according to O’Dell.
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** Small group instruction opportunities expand for Roanoke middle and high school students ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

About 1,000 more Roanoke middle and high school students will be able to participate in small group instruction beginning in December, Roanoke City Public Schools Superintedent Verletta White announced Tuesday. Students will attend a half-day on Mondays through Thursdays starting Dec. 7 through the end of the second nine weeks in late January.
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** Schools planning to double the pace of instruction ([link removed])
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By LAWRENCE EMERSON, Fauquier Now

Fauquier public schools would double the amount of new instruction early next year under a plan administrators have developed. Most students would continue in-person classes two days a week but also would cover new material via livestreamed instruction another two days, Deputy Superintendent Major Warner explained during Tuesday’s school board “summit.”
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** Winchester likely to resume utility disconnections early next year ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

City Council is moving forward with plans to start disconnecting water and sewer service for customers who have accrued past-due balances during the COVID-19 pandemic. If approved by the panel, Winchester Public Services Director Perry Eisenach said disconnects would resume "after the holidays," most likely in February.
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** Lynchburg council discusses how new legislation will impact city water cutoffs ([link removed])
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By SARAH HONOSKY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Despite talks of resuming water cutoffs for the steadily growing number of Lynchburg residents behind on water bills, new legislation slated to pass the governor’s desk in coming weeks will prevent Lynchburg City Council from immediately resuming disconnects, which have been on hold since March. But as numbers climb, Tim Mitchell, director of water resources, said the city likely will be eligible to apply for an exemption to the disconnect moratorium and resume cutoffs.
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** Longtime Damascus mayor ousted in election ([link removed])
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By JOE TENNIS, Southwest Virginia Today

Longtime Damascus Mayor Jack McCrady was unseated Tuesday by challenger Katie Lamb, according to unofficial results late Tuesday. . . . McCrady, 72, steps down after a decade in the mayor’s chair plus more time on Town Council and as mayor in earlier years. He sounded upbeat late Tuesday, saying his wife didn’t actually want him to run for reelection. As for his defeat, McCrady said, “If you cannot afford to get defeated, don’t play the political game.”


** EDITORIALS
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** Four ways a Biden administration could change Southwest Virginia ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

What will a Biden administration mean for this part of Virginia? Here are at least four ways in which a President Biden could have a unique impact. 1. More international students at local colleges. The number of new international students in the United States declined for the first time during Barack Obama’s final year in office — but that decline accelerated during the Trump years, not surprising given all the ways in which President Trump has tried to restrict immigration.
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** Virginia will decide how COVID crisis proceeds ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Stephen King writes frightening horror stories but they are nothing compared to the latest COVID forecast published on Friday by the University of Virginia. It predicts the commonwealth could surpass 208,000 coronavirus cases by Thanksgiving and warns of a dangerous surge in the winter months that could prove devastating. These are modeling forecasts, not certain outcomes, but also not the sort of fiction that made King one of America’s most famous authors. The public health threat remains real and requires Virginians to be safe and responsible heading into the holidays.
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** COVID-19 and the holidays — behavior matters ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

As we head into the holiday season amid the global coronavirus pandemic, the message is simple: Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. And celebrate safely. The number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to climb. Eight months into the public health crisis, we need to continue to modify our behaviors to contain the virus. Actions matter.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Richmond's campaign within a campaign ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Outside events and outsized intrigues reshaped Richmond’s elections. They positioned its young mayor for a possible run for governor, introduced to municipal politics a new face, raised questions about the relevance of an old one and spotlighted quirks in the way City Hall works — or doesn’t.


** OP-ED
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** Bolling: We've had controversial elections before ([link removed])
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By BILL BOLLING, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The 2020 election is over, sort of. Votes have been cast, but they are still being counted. And once the counting is finished, there are still numerous steps to be completed, including recounts, certification of the vote, the vote of the Electoral College, and the resolution of numerous lawsuits that will likely be filed by the Trump campaign alleging various election irregularities.

Bolling served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2006-2014. He now teaches government and politics at Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University.


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