VaNews
November 19, 2020

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Top of the News


** Northam urges Virginians to stay home for Thanksgiving ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday urged Virginians to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday, saying it would be “an act of love” to help keep people safe amid steadily rising coronavirus cases. If people must get together, Northam said, they should keep gatherings small and celebrate outside.
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** With Northam’s signature, new eviction and utility cut-off protections take effect ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER AND SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

Gov. Ralph Northam signed a revised state budget Wednesday that restricts evictions and prohibits utilities from cutting off power, water and gas through the end of the state of emergency. “This budget will help keep people in their homes with their lights on and their water running,” Northam said. The new rules go into effect immediately.
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** Virginia gun show organizer files suit against Northam’s tightened coronavirus rules ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Virginia gun-show organizer is seeking a court-ordered exemption from Gov. Ralph Northam’s newly tightened coronavirus restrictions, arguing that the rules would force the cancellation of an event near Dulles International Airport this weekend that would probably attract several thousand people. In a lawsuit filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Showmasters, Inc. said state restrictions that went into effect Monday would effectively shut down its three-day “Nation’s Gun Show” exhibition, scheduled to start Friday at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, by limiting capacity for places classified as “entertainment and business” venues to 250 people at a time.
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** With legalization on the table, medical marijuana producers push to loosen restrictions ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

As Virginia begins its first earnest conversations about legalizing recreational marijuana, the state’s nascent medical marijuana industry is just getting off the ground. The first producer opened in Bristol last month. The remaining three licensees in Richmond, Portsmouth and Manassas aim to begin serving patients by the end of the year. And when the General Assembly convenes in January, the companies are hoping that as lawmakers consider allowing recreational use, they also act to ease up on the medical side.
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** Schools reflect regional trend of rising COVID-19 case numbers ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As students and teachers prepare for Thanksgiving break — a welcome respite from an unusual school year — local school divisions continue to report an elevated number of COVID-19 cases, consistent with regional trends. Schools have largely remained open throughout the semester because contact tracing has found that transmission is mainly occurring outside of the classroom, school leaders say.
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** Desperately trying to wipe the virus away ([link removed])
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By JESSICA CONTRERA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

They’d always checked temperatures inside this house. Twice a day the thermometer was moved from bedroom to bedroom, tucked under five arms, offering five beeps and five numbers, assurances that the women who lived here were, for now, okay. A beep for Andrea Outman, whose oxygen tubes curved around her wheelchair, the only resident of the house who could fully communicate through speech. For Carolyn Davis, the only one who could walk, her graying braids bouncing as she paced. For Ericka Yates, who kept being taken back to the hospital, the complications of her medical history complicating her life again.
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** Stafford supervisors set limits on flagpole heights ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Future flagpoles and monuments located within Stafford County will now be regulated by height limits, depending on where you live, or where your business is located. The focus on height restrictions began six months ago, following the May 25 death of George Floyd during a police arrest in Minneapolis. Following that incident, local attention and rage was directed toward an oversized Confederate battle flag that flew in Stafford County for six years from an 80-foot flagpole along Interstate 95.
The Full Report
40 articles, 17 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Correlating Trump's Support ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Which of these three variables most closely correlated with President Trump's vote margin in Virginia? A) Race; B) Guns; or C) Education. The answer can be found in this chart that correlates each variable with the percentage of votes that Trump received in each city and county.
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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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** As coronavirus cases in Virginia hit new records, Northam asks people to ‘do the right thing’ for Thanksgiving ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

An emotional Gov. Ralph Northam pleaded with Virginians on Wednesday to “do the right thing” through the Thanksgiving holiday as new coronavirus cases hit record levels in the state and the pandemic continues to devastate the nation. “I’ll tell you what really affected me was seeing mobile morgues outside hospitals because there’s no place to put the dead,” Northam said when asked why he imposed new pandemic restrictions last week. “We don’t need that to happen in Virginia.”
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** ‘All options are on the table’: Northam urges caution amid worrying COVID-19 trends ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam urged Virginians on Wednesday to hunker down and minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 as the state and country experience surges of the virus. Northam’s words of caution come days after his administration issued stricter statewide public restrictions for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Over the past week, Virginia has averaged more than 1,700 new cases per day and the state’s positivity rate — the share of positive cases among everyone tested — has now exceeded the 7% mark.
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** Northam says new restrictions aimed at avoiding an even worse outcome amid rising hospital admissions ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that graphic images of makeshift morgues in other states moved him to order new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. “I will tell you what really affected me is seeing mobile morgues outside hospitals because there’s no place to put the dead. We don’t need that to happen to Virginia,” he said.
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** Governor's office clarifies initial order, allowing UVA to stage a football game this Saturday ([link removed])
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By MIKE BARBER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

An executive order from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam last week would have made it hard for UVA to stage a football game this weekend, but a clarified interpretation will allow full staffing and participation. The initial order, which capped gatherings at 250 people, said that participants in a sporting event count toward the tally.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** State Board of Elections unanimously certifies Virginia's election results ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia's State Board of Elections voted 3-0 Wednesday afternoon to certify the state's election results, two days later than expected because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Richmond's voter registration office. In a virtual meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes, the state certified its votes for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House contests and state constitutional amendments, with no comment from board members or the public.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Extended unemployment benefits to end for Virginians on Saturday ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginians who were counting on 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits amid the pandemic will see those payments go away effective Saturday. The Virginia Employment Commission announced Wednesday that the state’s extended benefits program would end this week. The unemployment picture has improved, so the U.S. Department of Labor is ending the program in the state.
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** Mass testing at Western Virginia Regional Jail shows 25% of inmates have COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Across-the-board testing at the Western Virginia Regional Jail in Roanoke County has found that approximately 230 inmates have COVID-19, the facility’s superintendent said Tuesday. That’s about 25% of the 830 individuals now housed there. Roughly a dozen of the jail’s 250 staffers have also returned positive results, officials said.
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** As Virginia routes more students with disabilities to private schools, costs are soaring ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

Virginia places more students with disabilities outside their local public schools than 37 other states — a trend that’s dramatically increased spending on specialized private schools over the past decade. The nonresidential programs — more commonly known as private day schools — have been a source of frustration for lawmakers over the past several years as more and more state spending has gone toward the cost-intensive model. Costs have more than doubled from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2019, soaring from $81 million to $186 million.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Rolls-Royce settles hiring discrimination allegations at Prince George plant without admitting wrongdoing ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Aircraft components manufacturer Rolls-Royce North America has agreed to pay $135,000 to 26 women to settle allegations of hiring discrimination at its manufacturing plant in Prince George County. While Rolls-Royce denies the charges, the company agreed to pay the back wages and interest to female applicants who were not selected for machine operator positions at the manufacturing plant.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVa's President Ryan mentioned as a 'maybe' for Biden cabinet ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

With one president on the way out and another on the way in, political pundits, experts and cognoscenti are busy making first and second guesses about who will fill cabinet posts in President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration. Among the multitude of candidates bandied about to replace Betsy DeVos, President Donald J. Trump’s Secretary of Education, are teacher union leaders, superintendents of large school districts, sitting politicians and University of Virginia President James E. Ryan.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia COVID-19 cases jump 2,071 from Tuesday ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Wednesday that the state’s cumulative total of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic is now up to 208,833 — an increase of 2,071 from the 206,762 reported Tuesday. The 208,833 cases consist of 188,853 confirmed cases and 19,980 probable cases. There are 3,860 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia — 3,569 confirmed and 291 probable. That’s an increase of 25 from the 3,835 reported Tuesday.
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** Wait times rise for coronavirus tests amid record spike ([link removed])
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By MEAGAN FLYNN, MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER, JULIE ZAUZMER AND RACHEL CHASON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Thousands in the Washington region are flocking to public coronavirus testing sites amid a record surge in cases, with many hoping for negative results before visiting family over the Thanksgiving holiday. The seven-day average of new cases across Virginia, Maryland and the District notched a high Wednesday for a 15th consecutive day, jumping to 3,830 daily infections.
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** Fauci urges caution ahead of holidays during UVa lecture ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Though the development of COVID-19 vaccines is promising, Dr. Anthony Fauci urged listeners to maintain health safety protocols for the foreseeable future during a virtual lecture to the University of Virginia on Wednesday. Hosted as part of the UVa School of Medicine’s Medical Center Hour, Fauci gave an expansive virtual lecture on COVID-19 and the challenges it poses.
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** At UVA, Fauci urges public to 'double down' on health precautions ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Dr. Anthony Fauci came to the University of Virginia Medical Center virtually on Wednesday with a mixed message, of hope for vaccines to immunize Americans against COVID-19 and concern that the pandemic will remain out of control unless people are willing to take the vaccine. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urged the public to “double down” on safety precautions, especially during the Thanksgiving holiday, even though at least two prospective vaccines appear to be effective in preventing a disease that already has killed roughly a quarter million Americans.
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** 1st COVID-19 positive inmate dies from Culpeper's Coffeewood Correctional Center ([link removed])
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By ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

A COVID-19-positive inmate of Coffeewood Correctional Center has died, according to reporting on Wednesday from the Virginia Department of Corrections. This was the first COVID-19-related death reported in the state prison, located in Mitchells. The 57-year-old prisoner died about 2:40 p.m. Monday at Culpeper Medical Center, according to DOC spokesman Greg Carter.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Committee formed to help determine Confederate monument's fate ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Eight people will serve on a committee that will determine and explore options for a Confederate monument at the Clarke County Courthouse. The Clarke County Board of Supervisors formed the committee Tuesday afternoon.
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** Project studying submerged aquatic vegetation in Back Bay shows promise, needs funding ([link removed])
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By JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, Princess Anne Independent News

A couple of years ago, Dr. Sara Sweeten, a research scientist at Virginia Tech, stumbled across specimens of an aquatic plant called wild celery that had been started from seeds left behind by undergraduate students who had been working on a project at the university in Blacksburg. Sweeten started “playing around” with the plants, which were grown from seeds that came from Back Bay in Virginia Beach, in part, because she didn’t want them to die. “I just picked up the plants to see if I could get them to grow for fun,” she said.
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** Water-damaged items salvaged from Confederate statue time capsule ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Multiple items were recovered from a time capsule that sat enclosed in concrete under a Confederate solider statue in Albemarle County for more than 110 years. The “At Ready” statue, which was on Albemarle County Circuit Courthouse land that was never annexed by the city of Charlottesville, was taken down on Sept. 12. A copper box of items was in the center of a concrete foundation underneath the base of the statue.


** LOCAL
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** Courthouse Closes After COVID-19 Exposure ([link removed])
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Loudoun Now

The Loudoun County courthouse complex shut down at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after court personnel learned of a COVID-19 exposure in the building. Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj said the complex was being cleaned for the remainder of the day and that it should reopen tomorrow as normally scheduled.
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** Loudoun School Board establishes metrics to trigger return to distance learning ([link removed])
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By JOHN BATTISTON, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

With little to no prior public notice, the Loudoun County School Board on Tuesday passed a plan specifying the COVID-19 public health metrics that would trigger a return to 100 percent distance learning in Loudoun County Public Schools. If core indicators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relating to Loudoun’s coronavirus case incidence rate and percent positivity rate are both “at the highest risk level,” LCPS will automatically return all students to a virtual classroom setting and freeze its staged implementation of a hybrid learning model.
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** School Board Member Reprimanded for Disclosing Information Deemed Confidential ([link removed])
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Loudoun Now

The Loudoun County School Board on Tuesday night issued a formal reprimand to a member who was found to have disclosed on social media confidential information presented by the division attorney during a closed meeting. Following a closed session to discuss the issue, the School Board voted unanimously to affirm that the information disclosed was subject to attorney-client privilege and should remain confidential. In a separate motion, members voted 6-2-1 to publicly reprimand Beth Barts (Leesburg) for the violation of board rules. Denise Corbo (At Large) and John Beatty (Catoctin) opposed that action.
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** Barts reprimanded from School Board for disclosing confidential info ([link removed])
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By JOHN BATTISTON, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

After a nearly two-hour closed session during its special Tuesday night meeting, the Loudoun County School Board voted to issue an official reprimand to board member Beth Barts (Leesburg District). Per Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan (Sterling District), the reprimand involves Barts’s alleged “unauthorized disclosure of confidential, attorney-client-privileged information” from a prior closed session, the specific parameters of which remain unclear.
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** Virginia Beach will need to cut budget next year to avoid deficits, official warns ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

If the city of Virginia Beach doesn’t make any budget cuts next year, it will be operating in the red annually for the next five years, the city’s budget director warned on Tuesday. During a presentation of a five-year financial forecast report, Budget Director Kevin Chatellier told the City Council that the region has weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than most, but that city tax revenues have taken a hit.
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** Prosecutors push for officers’ personnel records in Newport News killing case ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Prosecutors are asking a judge to order the city of Newport News to turn over the full personnel files for two police officers charged in a man’s killing late last year. The prosecutors say the Newport News City Attorney’s Office has declined to hand over the records for Sgt. Albin T. Pearson and Officer Dwight A. Pitterson, who are charged in the Dec. 27 death of Henry K. “Hank” Berry III during an attempted arrest.
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** Hampton mayoral opponent not reappointed to second term on city planning commission ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The City Council has opted not to reappoint the planning commissioner who challenged Mayor Donnie Tuck in the May elections. Chris Carter, whose four-year term on the commission expired Sept. 30, contends he was denied a second term for political reasons - that his criticism of the city’s work in some projects was held against him.
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** Poquoson parents want to send their children back to in-person learning ([link removed])
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By NOOR ADATIA, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

A parents group in Poquoson got part of what it wants Tuesday night when the School Board agreed unanimously to resume high school sports next month with other school systems in the region. Several parents rallied outside Poquoson City Hall before the board meeting, and several athletes and coaches addressed the members before the vote.
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** Williamsburg, James City middle, high school students return to classrooms delayed as COVID cases surge ([link removed])
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By DAVID MACAULAY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Williamsburg-James City County Schools has postponed plans to return high school and middle school students to classrooms at the end of the month as COVID-19 cases surge across the district. WJCC Schools will also temporarily return all students to remote learning only the week after Thanksgiving — from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, and the week after the winter break from Jan. 4-Jan. 8.
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** Stafford's Treasurer's Office closes because employee tested positive ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Stafford County’s Treasurer’s Office was closed on Wednesday after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. Offices were disinfected after county officials got the news late Tuesday, but still were closed Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution” for the public and county employees, according to a news release.
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** Emergency grants help dozens of city businesses ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The city’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) has issued nearly $300,000 in emergency grants as part of its ongoing effort to help local businesses weather the economic storm stirred by COVID-19. “I think it’s been a successful venture,” Winchester Development Services Director Shawn Hershberger said on Tuesday. To date, the Winchester EDA has issued three rounds of emergency grants culled from federal CARES Act funds, which were appropriated to the city to help businesses remain in operation as the eight-month-long pandemic continues to cut into revenues.
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** Judge Denies Local Group's FOIA Request ([link removed])
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By PETE DELEA, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Rockingham County judge denied a local immigrant advocacy group’s claim that Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act when he refused to release information about immigration detainers on inmates booked into the jail. The ruling was issued in a letter sent to attorneys on Nov. 12 following arguments in Rockingham County Circuit Court on Nov. 10.
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** Appeals court declines latest request to stop work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

An attempt to once again stall work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline fell short Wednesday, when a federal appeals court let stand a finding that construction would not jeopardize endangered species. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups contend that two species of protected fish — the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter — could be pushed closer to extinction if the controversial project pollutes their waters.
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** Virtual groundbreaking for public-private affordable housing project for Martinsville ([link removed])
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By KIM BARTO MEEKS, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Martinsville City officials turned the first shovelfuls of dirt Wednesday morning on an empty, grassy lot on West Church Street, kicking off a new housing development program that aims to help 27 local families become homeowners.

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


** EDITORIALS
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** 'NoVA creep" turns former red state blue ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The political barometer in the Fredericksburg area is far from constant. Eight years ago, Stafford County went for Republican Mitt Romney over incumbent President Barack Obama by 8.7 percentage points. In 2020, the county chose Democrat Joe Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump by 3.3 points, a blue swing of 12 points. Biden is the first Democrat to win Stafford since Jimmy Carter in 1976, in the wake of Watergate.
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** Student virus risk resurfaces ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Well, here we are again. The University of Virginia is dealing with additional reports that students are not following COVID restrictions, thus endangering the health not only of themselves but of those with whom they come in contact at wineries, breweries and restaurants.
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** How long should General Assembly sessions be? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It takes seven to ten minutes to boil an egg, depending on how firm you want the yolk to be. It takes 30 to 50 minutes to bake a cake, depending on what kind of cake it is. All those are known facts of science. But how long does it take to make laws, especially good ones? That’s answer is more like art and beauty — it’s in the eye of the beholder.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Despite down market, GOP berth for Virginia's next governor has value ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Even at the bottom of the market — or maybe because of it — the Republican nomination for Virginia governor is worth something. Its value is increasing now that former House Speaker Kirk Cox officially is a candidate, likely auguring others to declare. That includes a familiar face from the GOP countryside with a history of being underestimated and a newcomer from blue Northern Virginia with two presumed pluses: no apparent record and sufficient wealth to self-finance.


** OP-ED
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** Norment: The enduring relevance of VMI ([link removed])
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By THOMAS K. NORMENT, JR., published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

These have been turbulent legislative months in Virginia with the General Assembly meeting in an 84-day special session to address a budget shortfall, Virginia’s response to COVID-19, and social justice reform. In this atmosphere, on Oct. 17, the Washington Post published an article alleging that Black cadets at VMI endured “endless racism” and an “atmosphere of hostility and cultural insensitivity.”

Norment, VMI Class of 1968, serves as Republican Leader in the Senate of Virginia.
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** Perryman: Virginia Democrats can win big on bold ideas ([link removed])
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By SEAN PERRYMAN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It’s been a historic few weeks for our nation. Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States after four years of what can only be described as a lurch towards authoritarianism. As we look at the lessons of this election, many will wonder what it means for Virginia’s fast-approaching 2021 election cycle. It’s no secret that while Biden flipped crucial red states in his favor, Democrats at the Congressional, state, and local levels took losses.

Perryman is President of the Fairfax County Chapter of the NAACP, a technology public policy advocate, attorney, former congressional investigator, and candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.


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