VaNews
November 16, 2020

Today's Sponsor:


** Two Capitols Consulting
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Two Capitols Consulting is proud to welcome ED REED to our team of government consulting professionals. www.2capconsulting.com ([link removed])
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Top of the News


** With COVID-19 cases rising, Northam adds new rules statewide ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday announced substantial new statewide restrictions on gatherings and certain businesses in an effort to slow rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The state’s cap on gatherings will be reduced from 250 people to 25, the state’s mask requirement will be applied to younger children, the number of spectators allowed at athletic events will be reduced, and alcohol sales will be prohibited at dining and drinking establishments after 10 p.m., the Democratic governor’s office said in a news release.
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** Norfolk hospital has treated 7 children for rare coronavirus-linked syndrome ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A Norfolk hospital says it has treated seven children with a serious health condition linked to the coronavirus — more than half the number of cases recorded statewide — in the past four months. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, affects various parts of the body and may cause problems with a young patient’s heart and other vital organs. Globally, a small number of children and adolescents with the condition have died.
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** After confusion on election night, Virginia officials consider changes to how the state reports results ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Voting in Virginia ran smoothly this election year up to the moment polls closed. Confusion started when the results started flowing in. That’s because the state’s election system wasn’t designed for the 2.8 million early votes cast in the election — a whopping two-thirds of the state’s total turnout. Many localities did not report the choices on those early ballots until late on election night, causing wide swings toward Democrats in a number of races, including the one for president.
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** Virginia lawmakers say door is open to legalizing marijuana in 2021 ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Members of the House of Delegates expect it to pass. In the Senate, they give it “slightly better than 50-50 odds.” And Gov. Ralph Northam’s office says he’s “certainly open to it.” Proposals to legalize recreational marijuana in Virginia are set to get their first serious hearings when the General Assembly convenes in January and, at least for now, it looks like there’s a decent chance they could succeed.
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** Virginia cities hope to cash in after voters approved casino measures ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Four Virginia cities are finalizing deals to build the state's first casinos after local voters overwhelmingly endorsed the projects on Election Day. Though casino gambling has long been shunned in Virginia, economic distress finally tipped the odds in favor of multimillion-dollar developments promising jobs and tax revenue. Voters in Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth and Norfolk endorsed local casinos by nearly 2-to-1 margins.
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** Push for change at Virginia Military Institute had been building for months ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER AND CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Just two days after he resigned as superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III found himself face-to-face with hundreds of cadets who wanted to say a proper goodbye. The young men and women who lined the multistory walkways of the barracks broke into cheers and applause as Peay entered, dressed in a suit and escorted by two cadets in their gray-blue and white uniforms.
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** On Virginia’s far Atlantic flank, a cherished store of salt marshes is being lost ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

On a still day, floating in a flat-bottomed boat in the waters that stretch like sheets of glass between the mainland and the barrier islands off Virginia’s Eastern Shore, it’s hard to believe anything in this corner of the world has ever changed at all. For centuries upon centuries, you could believe, this region has been nothing more than vast horizontal expanses of water, grasses and sky, held together by thin strips of land. Here is home to an endless cycle of tides, schooling fish, great migratory sweeps of birds pausing to rest as they come and go on their long journeys between the Arctic and South America. But that sense of a world set off from time is an illusion.
The Full Report
57 articles, 16 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Timeline of U.S. Senate Race Results ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

On Election night, supporters of Republican Daniel Gade were excited to see their candidate was still leading three hours after the polls closed. This animated timeline explains that what they were watching largely reflected the preference of Election Day voters, who favored the GOP. Later, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner surged ahead as localities tabulated huge blocks of early votes, which favored Democrats.
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** VPAP Visual Voter Participation by Congressional District ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

What regions saw the biggest increase in voter turnout compared to the last presidential election in 2016? This gap chart looks at the change in turnout by voters in Virginia's 11 congressional districts. Atop the list are the three districts with the most competitive congressional contests and two mostly rural districts west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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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 imposes additional COVID-19 restrictions, limits certain gatherings to 25 people ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR AND KARRI PEIFER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday afternoon announced new COVID-19 restrictions for the state, limiting certain gatherings to 25 people indoors and outdoors ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Northam administration will also ban the serving of alcohol after 10 p.m. statewide, echoing a measure put in place in the state’s eastern region to limit bar-like activities. Northam said in a video announcement that restaurants will close at midnight.
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** Va. to tighten coronavirus restrictions amid rise in infections ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, DANA HEDGPETH AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia tightened its coronavirus restrictions Friday in response to a surge in infections as the greater Washington region registered record caseloads for a 10th consecutive day. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) lowered the number of people allowed for gatherings indoors or outdoors from 250 to 25 and imposed new limits on restaurants and businesses.
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** Northam limits gatherings, adds restrictions to curb rise in COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday wielded his regulatory stick and imposed new restrictions on people and places in order to slow the rising curve of COVID-19 cases. Northam instituted new statewide restrictions that take effect 12:01 a.m. Monday and will: Lower the limit on public and private gatherings, indoors and outdoors, from 250 people to no more than 25. Workplaces and schools are not included.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Joan Munford, woman who excelled in business and politics ([link removed])
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By JEFF STURGEON, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Joan Hardie Munford, a prominent Blacksburg businesswoman and Democratic officeholder who advocated for children and the elderly, has died. She was 87....In 1981, Munford successfully ran as a political outsider for the Virginia General Assembly. She was 47 at the time and later told an interviewer that, as a person devoted to family, she entered politics only after her daughter had grown. She represented the 13th District in the New River Valley in the House of Delegates for 12 years.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** Coronavirus upended voting in the D.C. region. Officials want to make some changes permanent. ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER, ERIN COX AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Officials across the region exhaled this week after a general election marked by firsts. Record numbers of people voted in Virginia, which like Maryland and the District saw expanded options and historic increases in early voting. Ballot drop boxes, which were new to D.C. and Virginia and had been used sparingly in Maryland, proved immensely popular.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** A DMV visit was never fun. The pandemic has made it worse. ([link removed])
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By LUZ LAZO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Richard Steelman’s only chance to go to his local Department of Motor Vehicles office to renew his driver’s license is in mid-December, three weeks after his license expires. Steelman spent the past two months navigating a tedious process trying to secure an appointment at the Alexandria DMV — and still was unable to get one before Nov. 23 — the expiration date. He spent hours waiting on customer service; emails went unanswered. The application and payment he mailed were returned.
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** Case challenging Va.'s ‘red flag’ law dismissed ([link removed])
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By HANNAH EASON, NBC 12

A court case challenging Virginia’s “red flag” law was dismissed on Friday after Attorney General Mark Herring argued that the measure did not violate constitutional rights. The suit was filed in July by a man who claimed Virginia’s new law was unconstitutional. It named the Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney and Chief of Police.
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** Fairfax judge rules cash bond unconstitutional ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

A circuit court judge in Fairfax appears to be the first in Virginia to rule that keeping an indigent defendant in jail in lieu of a cash bond is unconstitutional, writing that it violates the Due Process Clause by forcing poor people awaiting trial to remain confined in jail while the wealthy walk free. “The inherent arbitrariness of the use of the cash bond is as palpable as it is counterproductive,” Judge David Bernhard wrote last week in the opinion, which addressed the case of a man who could not pay a $2,500 cash bond on a DUI charge and was held in jail for at least five days even though he was unlikely to serve jail time if found guilty.


** CONGRESS
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** Riggleman says one term enough in Congress ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE-FM

Outgoing Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-5th) has no regrets about his one term in the House of Representatives and no plans to do it again. “It would have to be a miracle for me to run for Congress,” Riggleman said in an interview. “I would say that it's the best thing I've ever done, worst job I've ever had.”


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** New law pushes Appalachian Power toward more renewable energy ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gusts of wind and rays of sunlight will provide more electricity to customers of Appalachian Power Co. in the coming years, as a sweeping new law pushes the utility into an era of renewable energy. The Virginia Clean Economy Act, passed this year by the General Assembly, requires Appalachian and Dominion Energy to be totally carbon-free by 2050.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Metro considers buyouts to stave off 1,400 layoffs due to pandemic-created financial crisis ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Metro plans to offer buyouts to avoid having to lay off 1,400 employees as it searches for ways to cut more than $176 million from its pandemic-ravaged budget. The transit agency’s board on Thursday will consider offering retirement-eligible employees a bonus to quit so Metro can freeze or eliminate their positions and save jobs for younger, less expensive workers.
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** Norfolk Airport traffic still less than half what it was a year ago ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The number of travelers flying into and out of Norfolk International Airport in October was off by 53.5% compared with a year ago as it continues to slowly recover amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport reported Thursday that it saw 156,686 passengers last month, down from 336,759 a year ago.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** VMI appoints interim superintendent, who pledges to hit the ground running ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Retired Maj. Gen Cedric T. Wins became the first in his family to earn a college degree when he graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1985. Now, 34 years later, he’s returning to lead his alma mater. “I believe in the experience,” Wins said in an interview Friday afternoon, explaining his decision to return. VMI’s Board of Visitors on Friday morning appointed Wins as interim superintendent while the college searches for a permanent replacement following the resignation of Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III late last month.
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** A Black man will lead VMI for the first time in history ([link removed])
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By IAN SHAPIRA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Under fierce attack over racism in its ranks, the Virginia Military Institute has appointed a Black man to lead the school for the first time in its 181-year history, VMI officials announced Friday. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, who graduated from VMI in 1985, will serve as interim superintendent until the Board of Visitors appoints a permanent chief to oversee the country’s oldest state-funded military college.
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** VMI names first Black leader as interim superintendent ([link removed])
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By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Military Institute on Friday named a Black general and alumnus as its interim superintendent, and he pledged to give the college a self-assessment of its racial culture as an independent investigation into claims of bigotry is about to begin. The Lexington school named retired Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins its temporary leader, chosen by the board of visitors’ executive committee. Wins graduated from VMI in 1985 and spent 34 years in the Army.
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** University of Richmond reverts to COVID response stage 'red' ([link removed])
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By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The University of Richmond took a step back Friday, returning to the red stage of its COVID-19 reopening protocols. The university reported 21 new positive cases this week, the most since it reopened in August. The school has conducted 501 tests this week, resulting in a positivity rate of 4%. UR has seen 64 total cases among students and employees since the pandemic began and has filled 13% of its isolation space on campus.
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** Virginia Tech should aim for carbon neutrality by 2030, group tells board ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia Tech should achieve carbon neutrality, power itself by 100% renewable electricity and produce zero waste by 2030, a group tasked with revising the university’s climate plan told board of visitors members Sunday. “We are in serious times now with the pandemic, but we have a serious future as well related to climate change,” said John Randolph, the climate group’s chair and a professor emeritus of urban affairs and planning.
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** College students 'nervous and concerned' about sickening relatives at Thanksgiving ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Kyree Ford would be the first to say he and other college students think they’re too young to be seriously impacted by COVID-19. But older family members are another matter, and as Thanksgiving nears, the University of Mary Washington student government leader wanted advice from public-health officials about ways students could keep loved ones safe as they go home for the holidays.
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** Facebook post by Virginia Wesleyan dean asks Biden voters to ‘unfriend’ him, causes an uproar at university ([link removed])
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By JOANNE KIMBERLIN, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A private Facebook post by a Virginia Wesleyan University dean has gone public, creating a firestorm at the university. It wasn’t so much that Paul Ewell asked all Biden voters to “unfriend” him. After such an emotional election, people on both sides have done plenty of that. But Ewell, a business professor and dean of the university’s Global Campus, called anyone who voted for Biden “ignorant, anti-American and anti-Christian” and accused them of corrupting not only the election but “our youth … our country.”
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** Trump Tweets support for Virginia Wesleyan professor's controversial Facebook post ([link removed])
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WVEC

A Facebook post by a dean at Virginia Wesleyan University in which he asked people who voted for Democrat Joe Biden to unfriend him has caused an uproar at the private liberal arts school in Virginia Beach. Now, President Trump has weighed in on the controversy.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Ballad: Cases, testing percentage continue climbing ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Ballad Health established another new record for patients being treated for COVID-19, while the region’s testing positivity percentage equaled its all-time mark Friday — foreshadowing more cases in the coming weeks. Ballad’s number of inpatients with the novel coronavirus rose 22% during the past seven days, from 190 last Saturday to a new record 233 on Friday, according to the health system.
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** Soldiers camp out for days at Newport News' airport for the holidays. But this year, officials are worried. ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

It’s a Peninsula tradition — several hundred soldiers camping out, sometimes for days, at the Newport News airport, waiting for flights home for the holidays — and it’s got people around the facility worried. “I’m concerned there won’t be enough flights,” said Diane Fry, director of the USO office at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, as she pauses to talk about how volunteers traditionally pitch in with meals, treats, entertainment and visits for soldiers as they wait.
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** Coronavirus slowly grows in Virginia’s Eastern region headed into holidays ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Infectious disease watchers in Virginia say the latest wave of the coronavirus may not be as short-lived as previous surges. Winter weather is associated with higher transmission rates. Holiday travel and students returning home for breaks will increase the risk. And public health experts know now that family and community gatherings can be major culprits in the pandemic.
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** Fredericksburg-area health care officials facing COVID-19 fatigue ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

There’s been a lot of talk in the national news about how tired people are of the pandemic and restrictions that have dominated normal life for more than eight months. Dr. Wade Kartchner provides a different take on that same topic. He’s the director of the Rappahannock–Rapidan Health District, which includes Culpeper, Fauquier and Orange counties, and he summed up what’s been “a difficult week for the health district” in a Friday email.
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** Another 74 Virginia Beach inmates test positive for COVID-19, sheriff reports ([link removed])
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By JANE HARPER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Another 74 inmates at the Virginia Beach city jail have tested positive for COVID-19, the Sheriff’s Office announced Friday in a news release. Four deputies and one civilian staff member also got positive results, the release said. The news comes just 10 days after the office reported that 70 inmates and 10 deputies had tested positive for the disease.
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** Western Virginia Regional Jail sees spike in COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Over the past two weeks, the Western Virginia Regional Jail has seen a dramatic increase in inmates testing positive for COVID-19, but officials said that none of those cases have required hospitalization. On Friday, Superintendent Bobby Russell reported that the facility now has approximately 120 detainees with the virus, up from 29 on Oct. 30.
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** Pandemic brings challenges to foster parent recruitment ([link removed])
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By ALISON GRAHAM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The coronavirus pandemic wouldn’t stop Karen Mason from becoming a foster parent. For years, she and her son talked about opening their home to another child, but it was never the right time. Just as all of the pieces seemed to fall into place, a global pandemic settled into the Roanoke Valley.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** VCU study: School segregation worsening in Virginia ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Schools are becoming more segregated by race and poverty, according to a study released last week by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Penn State. The report says the metro Richmond area is the only area of the state with “severe” school segregation along racial lines. According to the report, the overall student body in Virginia is mostly made up of students of color, at 51.6%.


** LOCAL
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** Northern Virginia teacher associations urge governor to return to virtual-only learning ([link removed])
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Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)

Representatives from teacher associations in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Manassas Park will host a news conference Monday urging a return to virtual-only learning. In a statement Sunday evening, the Fairfax Education Association said it "stands with our colleagues from the Northern Virginia region to ask the Governor to return the Commonwealth to a full Phase II of the reopening plan and to recommend that our schools return to a fully virtual method of instruction ..."
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** Fairfax County teachers push back on return-to-school plans ([link removed])
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By JOHN DOMEN, WTOP

Next week, thousands more Fairfax County Public School students will start moving back into classrooms, and a month from now, first- and second-graders will be in classrooms, too. But the move to more and more “concurrent learning” — where some students are in the classroom and others are learning at home virtually — is drawing criticism from teachers, both for the quality of education they think is being provided and for the move to get more of them back into school buildings as coronavirus cases around the region keep climbing.
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** Richmond schools use long-term suspensions far more often than neighboring counties ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Over the past five years, Richmond Public Schools issued more than 2,200 long-term suspensions at a time when the neighboring counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico combined handed down that punishment fewer than 400 times. The data, obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch through an open records request from the Virginia Department of Education, shows that Black students accounted for more than 90% of the city’s long-term suspensions in that time period.
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** Hopewell to re-open schools, offer parents choice of sending their children back ([link removed])
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By JEFF MILBY, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Hopewell City Public Schools will re-open school buildings and offer in-person learning for its students, the Hopewell School Board decided on Thursday, following the recommendation of Dr. Melody Hackney, the division superintendent. Parents of Hopewell students will be given the choice to send their children back to school, or to remain in remote, virtual learning.
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** No Hampton school board member has voted “nay” since 2016. Now they’re split in two. ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The division among the School Board was clear even in how they sat. Ann Cherry, Jason Samuels, Tina Banks-Gray and Richard Mason sat on one side. Chairman Joe Kilgore, Vice Chairman Reginald Woodhouse and Stephanie Afonja sat on the other. “We can all have different responses to the reopening plan, it doesn’t mean we’re not connected or disjointed,” Afonja said, about an hour and a half into Tuesday’s meeting at Sandy Bottom Nature Park. “That’s not what we’re talking about, Stephanie,” Banks-Gray said. “Well then we need to be really clear what we’re talking about, because I’m still trying to figure out why we’re having a four-hour meeting,” Afonja said.
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** Muslim group says battle isn't over in Stafford cemetery case ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Stafford County officials’ latest attempt to end a federal lawsuit against the county seems to be a non-starter for lawyers representing the All Muslim Association of America. “We’re very happy [supervisors] repealed the ordinances. I think that’s a great move,” said Melanie Westover Yanez, an attorney representing the AMAA. “Obviously [the ordinances] weren’t necessary in the first place, and an impediment to development of the cemetery, but until Stafford County allows AMAA to build its cemetery, this case isn’t going away.”
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** Report evaluates implementation of Albemarle schools' anti-racism policy ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Albemarle County schools’ first Anti-Racism Evaluation Report will serve as a baseline for the division as staff continue to implement the anti-racism policy. “When you look at that report, I consider it as a tool that’s going to allow us to do an even better job with the next six months or so because now we have a frame of reference — and that is a quality of frame of reference — that this work can be done,” said Bernard Hairston, assistant superintendent for school community empowerment.
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** How area private schools have been able to maintain in-person learning ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

From the start of planning for this academic year, the staff at Tandem Friends School wanted to bring all of their students onto campus. “Community is what Tandem is all about,” said Whitney Thompson, head of school at the Albemarle County private school. But with the space requirements for social distancing, that would have meant that one class would have been broken into three sections — a classroom with the teacher, a group in a satellite room on campus and one learning at home. “That was just too many variables,” Thompson said.
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** Utility shutoffs in Radford cause community concern ([link removed])
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By SAM WALL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Radford’s handling of delinquent utility accounts is prompting debate among some residents on the city’s willingness to work with them during the COVID-19 pandemic. City Treasurer Janet Jones – an elected official who controls when delinquent accounts are sent disconnection notices – said she sent approximately 400 notices at the beginning of October that gave recipients two weeks to contact the office to make arrangements or their utilities would be disconnected.
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** Former hoops star is new mayor of Cedar Bluff ([link removed])
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By TIM HAYES, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Luke Phillips was relentlessly preparing for his senior basketball season at Richlands High School at this time four years ago. A whole new type of challenge awaits him these days. Phillips, 22, was elected as the mayor of Cedar Bluff, Virginia, last week and will be sworn in next month as one of the youngest mayors in the history of the commonwealth.

Today's Sponsor:


** Two Capitols Consulting
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Two Capitols Consulting is proud to welcome ED REED to our team of government consulting professionals. www.2capconsulting.com ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** Roanoke-NRV has more graduate students than you might think ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

One of the big economic goals for the Roanoke and New River valleys is a demographic one — to persuade more young adults to live here as a way to replenish, and grow, a labor pool from which baby boomers are retiring. To accomplish that, local governments — be they rural, suburban or urban, be they run by Republicans or Democrats — have made it a policy to invest in quality-of-life infrastructure, such as greenways and bike paths.
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** Eligibility standard could undermine redistricting commission ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As nature abhors a vacuum, so does democracy detest its many and varied imperfections. The invariable impulse: Let’s fix this. Reform. The magic word. Say “reform” in the right mix of people and their eyes light up and they reach for their checkbooks. Which gets us to the subject of redistricting in Virginia, an object of zealous reform which passed handily on election day. It wasn’t even close. Now what?
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** Now is the time to assess lessons learned during this historic year of voting ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The data is a defining moment for democracy. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, turnout soared in the 2020 elections. According to a visual created by The Washington Post, as of Friday morning, almost 65% of eligible voters cast ballots, with more votes still to count. With estimates of roughly 160 million votes nationwide, that figure would be a record-high, and the turnout rate could be the highest in more than a century.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: AAS as Virginia's centrist AOC ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Abigail Spanberger works blue. In this instance, it’s a double entendre — a commentary on her Democratic politics and her warning to fellow Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The usually decorous, freshly re-elected congresswoman from the suburban Richmond-anchored 7th District dropped the F-bomb this past week in a lament to the party’s House conference that its seemingly absolutist progressive wing fails to grasp that words have meaning — and that in a hard-fought campaign, such as hers against Nick Freitas, they potentially are lethal.


** OP-ED
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** McClenny: Rebuild VA grants offer opportunity for tourism businesses ([link removed])
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By RITA MCCLENNY, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

While our country is facing an unprecedented impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s tourism and hospitality industries have been especially hard hit during this time. Revenue declines and workforce reductions have created profound levels of concern among business owners. And while many businesses and destinations have reopened, they are still facing the impact of months of lost revenue. The pandemic has put a devastating strain on our industry that will be felt for months — if not years — to come.

McClenny is CEO and President of Virginia Tourism Corporation.
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** Howell: Virginia cannot afford the Transportation and Climate Initiative ([link removed])
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By WILLIAM J. HOWELL, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Few issues were more important during my time in the General Assembly than transportation funding. Representing a district filled with long-distance commuters and congested highways, it always was a struggle to balance the need for funds against public reluctance to raise taxes. One compromise in 2013 raised transportation revenue during my tenure as speaker of the House of Delegates and the 2020 General Assembly approved another set of tax increases, including an automatic escalator on future fuel taxes. Parts of the state will see their state gasoline taxes doubled by next summer to almost 35 cents per gallon, and then continue to rise.

Howell of Stafford is former speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and a member of the board of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.
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** Davis: Virginia leads the way on police reform ([link removed])
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By MOLLY DAVIS, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Well, Virginia just helped make history. In a historic sign of change in America, Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation to officially put an end to no-knock warrants on Oct. 28. It’s now the third state to ban forcible entries, following Oregon and Florida who have long banned them since 1994. This law, among other major police reforms such as ending police militarization, was part of a package of bills passed largely in response to the tragic killing of Breonna Taylor, who perished in a no-knock warrant gone wrong in March 2020.

Davis is a policy analyst at Libertas Institute and an opportunity Fellow for Young Voices in Washington, D.C.
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** Jessee-Wallace: Envisioning a new day in Southwest Virginia ([link removed])
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By LOU ANN JESSEE-WALLACE, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Those of us who live in Southwest Virginia feel truly blessed with the bounty of our forests, rivers and beautiful mountains, and the deep connections we have within our communities. Many of us come from coal-mining families, and take special pride in the hard work of our people that for more than a century helped make America a great nation. Now, as the country’s energy sector undergoes a major shift, we are pulling together to write the next chapter of our region’s economic story.

Jessee-Wallace Jessee-Wallace serves on the Russell County Board of Supervisors.
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** Morse: Virginia elections serve as a strategic “gambit” ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

“The Queen’s Gambit,” the much-watched Netflix series about a young chess champion’s eventful rise to glory, offers some lessons to those seeking to hold or secure elective political office. These are not profound lessons, but rather obvious — they just routinely get missed: Study the moves. Learn all the time. Study more.

After writing editorials for the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot in the 1980s, Gordon C. Morse wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then spent nearly three decades working on behalf of corporate and philanthropic organizations
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** Stephens and Gottlieb: After casino vote, a strategy for employment ([link removed])
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By ROBERT E. STEPHENS AND LEAHMARIE GOTTLIEB, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Somewhere in Tidewater Gardens a single mother is hoping for a better full-time position so that she can quit her two part time jobs and be at home more for her children. Somewhere in Young Terrace a recent high school graduate who works 20 hours a week at a fast food outlet is hoping to find a training program where he can build a career.

Stephens and Gottlieb are co-founders of St. Paul’s Community Development Corporation in Norfolk.
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** Remick: Build on regional economic success through smart planning ([link removed])
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By WORTH REMICK, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

“757 Hampton Roads” is celebrating recent news of new high-paying jobs in manufacturing, defense-related and corporate expansions. While we continue to support our local businesses due to the pandemic, we should recognize these wins as they represent our strengths and the teamwork that our region has in attracting these jobs. Many of these jobs are related to our regional military presence and the Port of Virginia which have been a vital part of the region for decades.

Remick is a senior vice president with Colliers International of Virginia and specializes in advising businesses on industrial commercial real estate matters.
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** Myers: Why the Stonewall Jackson statue belongs at Chancellorsville ([link removed])
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By BARTON A. MYERS, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

In late October, Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors voted to remove the statue of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson from the post in Lexington. Jackson, a Confederate army general remembered by many people for his Civil War command decisions and military service, lived in the Shenandoah Valley town during the 1850s while serving as a faculty member at the institute.

Myers is Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and History at Washington and Lee University and the author of “Rebels Against the Confederacy: North Carolina’s Unionists,”
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** Harris: My VMI — Moving forward together ([link removed])
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By GRANT T. HARRIS, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

I am many things. A husband and a father. An entrepreneur and a scholar. A man of faith and conviction. All of which I am immensely proud. I am also a graduate of Virginia Military Institute (VMI). I am proud of my VMI lineage and hold the totality of my VMI experience close to my heart.

Harris is 2006 graduate of VMI and lives in Ashburn.
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** Bryan: The VMI ring ([link removed])
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By CHARLES F. BRYAN JR., published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Next to a diploma, graduates of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) hold their class rings as the most important symbol of their association with the college. Presented to cadets in November of their second class (junior) year, it represents a milestone event during their time at VMI.

Bryan is president and CEO emeritus of the Virginia Historical Society.
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** McKay: Let’s not leave Metro high and dry ([link removed])
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By JEFF MCKAY, published in Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

By now many area residents have heard that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is facing a significant financial crisis. Because of low ridership in the coronavirus pandemic, its expected budget gap for fiscal 2021 is projected at more than $200 million. The situation is even more dire for fiscal 2022: The gap in funding could be as high as $716 million.

McKay, a Democrat, is chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
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** Kromer, Fauntroy, Rozell: What the election meant for D.C. region ([link removed])
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By MILEAH KROMER, MICHAEL K. FAUNTROY AND MARK J. ROZELL, published in Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

With all the emphasis on the presidential race, less emphasis has been given to the political impacts of the national elections on this region. Here we examine what this year’s election means for Virginia, Maryland and D.C. President Trump’s “drain the swamp” and other attacks on the Washington community complicated local, state and federal cooperation. In the short term, at least, with Democratic administrations in D.C. and Richmond and a Republican governor in Annapolis willing to work across party lines, there will be greater prospects for regional and federal cooperation on critical state and local issues.

Kromer is director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. Fauntroy is the author of “Home Rule or House Rule? Congress and the Erosion of Local Governance in the District of Columbia.” Rozell is a dean at George Mason University.


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