By ROBIN EARL, Prince William Times
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam alternated between words of hope and caution during a Wednesday afternoon press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope comes in the shape of two promising COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc. partner BioNTech and one from Moderna Inc. . . . In a note of caution, Northam said the vaccine would not be widely available for months and warned that community spread of the coronavirus is rising due to people gathering in groups, especially indoors, and not taking precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing.
By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
A refrigerated morgue truck is parked outside of Ballad Health’s flagship hospital and another is on order for the hospital where Emily Nichole Egan works. Egan’s eyes fill a video screen during a Ballad press conference Wednesday. Behind her is a plain door marked with a big stop sign and "COVID-19 unit" written in red. Her hair is tucked beneath a leopard-print skull cap. Her mouth is hidden hidden behind a surgical mask. And though her voice is soft, halting at times to push down a rising tide of emotion, her words pack a powerful punch as she tells what’s happening at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tennessee.
By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he will appoint an attorney and former member of his administration to a soon-to-be vacant spot on the powerful State Corporation Commission. Northam said he plans to name Angela Navarro to the post in early January. The announcement came after the U.S. Senate earlier this week confirmed current Commissioner Mark Christie’s nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury
The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council on Wednesday declared its support for loosening state laws on electronic meetings, backing legislation to give members of local boards more leeway to call in to public meetings instead of attending in person. Supporters of the change, which still has to be approved by the General Assembly, say it would help more people juggle their private lives with the duties of serving on public boards. . . . But skeptics, including the Virginia Coalition for Open Government and the Virginia Press Association, warned against a sharp departure from the state’s longstanding preference for in-person meetings, which allow face-to-face accountability to the public in a way virtual gatherings can’t.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Two laborers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against a Richmond drywall company and two Chesterfield County labor brokers for alleged unfair labor practices on almost three dozen major construction projects in Virginia, including the new General Assembly Building in Richmond.
By REID WILSON, The Hill
Virginia Republicans will get the first opportunity to plot the future of their party after President Trump leaves the White House next year in a competitive gubernatorial contest that will be seen as an early indication of the nation’s shifting political winds. The Republicans who run are likely to face an electorate furious over their loss in this year’s elections, steamed at a Democratic-controlled legislature that has advanced gun safety legislation and livid at outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has ordered lockdowns in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Over the past two decades, once-rural Stafford County has emerged as one of Virginia’s fastest-growing suburbs, one local leaders hope to turn into a new economic hub in the Washington region. The increasingly diverse county that sits 44 miles south of D.C. voted blue in last month’s presidential election for the first time in nearly half a century. . . . But Stafford is facing allegations of religious discrimination in a federal lawsuit wending its way toward a trial, leading some to question how much diversity and development the county of 153,000 residents welcomes.
The Full Report
47 articles, 25 publications
The Virginia Public Access Project
Virginia lawmakers accustomed to introducing dozens of measures will need to be more selective next month when the annual legislative session begins. This visual ranks legislators by the number of bills introduced last session.
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.
By MEL LEONOR AND MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday warned Virginians of capacity and staffing strains among some of the state’s hospitals due to the latest surge of COVID-19, and suggested that if trends continue, more public restrictions could be on their way. Northam’s comments came as Ballad Health, a hospital system that serves Southwest Virginia and Tennessee, announced that it will halt nonemergency elective procedures, starting Monday.
By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he’s hopeful every Virginian will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine by “early summer.” He heralded a pair of rapidly developing candidates as “the light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel” as hospitalizations and infections continue to surge. He told Virginians to trust the science behind the vaccines while continuing to follow prevention guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — washing hands frequently, socially distancing, wearing masks and avoiding crowds indoors.
By STAFF REPORT, WJHL
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that he is concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in southwest Virginia. He also said Tennessee’s lack of statewide COVID-19 restrictions may be contributing to rising case counts in the Commonwealth. “Health officials believe Tennessee’s lack of a mask requirement and other restrictions, has increased the spread of the virus in neighboring Virginia communities,” Northam said.
By EMILY ZANTOW, Washington Times
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he expects the state will receive about 70,000 of the first round of coronavirus vaccine doses manufactured by Pfizer as early as mid-December if the Food and Drug Administration grants emergency approval. The second vaccine doses should be administered about three weeks apart, and those shipments are expected to be delivered “in time for those 70,000 people to receive them,” Mr. Northam said at a coronavirus press briefing in Richmond.
By JOSETTE KEELOR, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
COVID-19 vaccinations in Virginia could start as early as mid-December, Gov. Ralph Northam said in a Wednesday afternoon news conference. “I strongly encourage every Virginian to get the vaccine,” he said. He expects pharmaceutical company Pfizer to send about 70,000 vaccines to Virginia in the first round of vaccinations followed by a second dose about three weeks later. Health-care workers and residents at long-term care facilities are among those slated for the first round of vaccinations, he said.
By VICTOR MORTON, Washington Times
A county in southern Virginia has voted to declare itself a “First Amendment sanctuary” and ignore Gov. Ralph Northam’s coronavirus-related restrictions. Campbell County’s Board of Supervisors endorsed a resolution that declares Mr. Northam’s crowd-size limits and other orders as violations of the Virginia Constitution and urges county agencies not to enforce them.
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Nearly 100 people gathered in the Campbell County Board of Supervisors chamber outside Lynchburg this week, took off their face coverings and applauded an official resolution rejecting Gov. Ralph Northam's coronavirus restrictions. “Free people have a duty to push back against these restrictions,” County Supervisor Charlie A. Watts II said during the Tuesday night hearing.
By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that he will appoint Angela Navarro, formerly the state’s deputy commerce secretary, to a vacancy on the State Corporation Commission, the Virginia agency that regulates public utilities and many businesses. The General Assembly will need to confirm the appointment in next year’s regular session. The vacancy on the three-judge SCC panel will happen Jan. 4, when Commissioner Mark Christie will take an oath to be seated on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
By JO DEVOE, ArlNow
Working remotely started as an experiment but is now a permanent option for some U.S. companies. Now, the trend may be coming for public meetings. Virtual public meetings began in the spring after an emergency order from Gov. Ralph Northam authorized them. Normally, according to Virginia code, in-person meetings are required. Existing law lets officials attend up to two meetings virtually, if a majority is present in-person, and they must state for the record their reason for staying away. For a group of women in public life from Arlington County to Spotsylvania, these rules represent barriers to equal participation.
By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Virginia Beach state Del. Jason Miyares, a self-described conservative, former prosecutor and son of a Cuban immigrant, is joining the race for state attorney general. Miyares, a Republican, announced his candidacy for the seat Wednesday, as first reported by WAVY-TV. The attorney general’s office works to defend the state’s agencies and the governor’s office.
By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Del. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, announced Wednesday that he is seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general, asserting that the state's leaders are "more concerned about the rights of criminals than they are of victims." Miyares, a former Virginia Beach prosecutor, has served in the House since 2016.
By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE-FM
A Chesterfield Democrat who accepted a plea deal in an alleged “revenge porn” case has filed paperwork to run for the House of Delegates. In an interview, Sheila Bynum-Coleman said she would stage another bid for the seat vacated by Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), who is running for governor. Cox defeated Bynum-Coleman by about 4.5% in 2019. Bynum-Coleman said the district would be more competitive with Cox out of the mix and redistricting on the horizon.
By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
State education leaders are calling for greater teacher diversity and decreases in disproportionate rates of Black student suspensions in the Virginia Department of Education’s latest recommendations to address equity. The department is hosting a symposium this week highlighting educational equity in Virginia. Speakers include Gov. Ralph Northam, first lady Pam Northam, and John B. King, who served as secretary of education under President Barack Obama. The symposium lasts until Thursday and is part of EdEquity week declared by Northam.
By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Franklin County has now gotten the nod to resume holding jury trials, joining nearly three dozen courthouses across the state whose COVID-19 protection plans have been approved by the Virginia Supreme Court. The county is part of the 22nd Judicial Circuit, which also includes Danville and Pittsylvania County. On Nov. 25, all three localities were granted approval to convene juries during the pandemic.
By SUSAN KYTE, Mecklenburg Sun
Long touted as the power source of tomorrow, solar energy has become part of present day Mecklenburg County with the onset of two large-scale generation facilities in Chase City. Expected to become operational within the next 60 days is the 60 MW Bluestone solar generation facility being developed on Spanish Grove Road, while the 80 MW Dominion Grasshopper project on Highway 47 is already producing electricity.
By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury
Hang around any debate about clean energy and you’re bound to hear one question: What do you do when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing? The answer, at least in theory, is straightforward: energy storage. Storage can be thought of as the third leg of the stool Virginia will use to reach its clean energy goals.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
The U.S. Small Business Administration on Tuesday released additional information about all approved borrowers from its $659 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) small business relief program, this time including exact company names, loan amounts, addresses and other information. Previously, the government in early July had released an incomplete list of recipients, including only ranges of funding, not specific amounts.
By SARA GREGORY AND RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
After weeks of dodging the question, Tidewater Community College has confirmed the namesake donors behind its proposed culinary and visual arts center in downtown Norfolk have withdrawn their pledge. President Marcia Conston shared the news in an email to faculty and staff Tuesday, saying Patricia and Douglas Perry’s family foundation was pulling its donation, the amount of which was never disclosed, because of “a specific condition of their pledge not being met.”
By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
More than a week after the vast majority of college students in the Lynchburg region embarked home for Thanksgiving and winter break, nearly 60 students remain quarantined at two Hill City universities due to possible coronavirus exposures. Liberty University, which is scheduled to conclude the fall semester remotely during the next two weeks, reported 56 on-campus students were in quarantine as of Wednesday, according to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard.
By DAVE JOHNSON, WTOP
The George Mason University men’s basketball season is now on hold because of a positive COVID-19 test within the program. In a statement the school said it is pausing all men’s basketball activities after a positive test result was detected during routine COVID-19 surveillance testing. The testing is conducted three times a week in accordance with NCAA guidelines.
By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press
A health system serving a swath of the central Appalachian mountains said Wednesday it will halt nonemergency elective procedures due to surging cases of COVID-19 and capacity concerns at its Virginia and Tennessee hospitals. Ballad Health officials announced the change, which will take effect Monday and last for at least 30 days, at a news conference where they again implored community members to follow basic public health guidelines such as mask wearing and social distancing.
By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury
Over the past few days, Virginia has reached a grim milestone: more patients hospitalized for COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic. Those numbers are rising across the state with increases reported in each of Virginia’s five health regions, according to data from the state Department of Health. But nowhere is the spike more acute than in the southwest, where the number of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has soared from an average of 76 a day in late April to 361 as of Wednesday.
By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
A refrigerated morgue truck is parked at Johnson City Medical Center and another is on order, providing additional capacity for local victims of COVID-19. During November, 141 COVID-19 patients died at Ballad Health System hospitals — an average of 4.7 people every day. That eclipsed the previous record of 82 deaths in October, system officials said Wednesday during their weekly press briefing, held at the MeadowView Marriott Conference, Resort and Convention Center.
By CHARLES WILBORN, Danville Register & Bee
In November, 790 Danville and Pittsylvania County residents tested positive for COVID-19. That's a record. Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients are up 91% at Sovah Health-Danville. That's a troubling increase for Alan Larson, market president of Sovah Health and chief executive officer of Sovah Health-Danville. "We are seeing a significant surge," he said in a video interview Wednesday with the Register & Bee.
By REBECCA TAN, ERIN COX, LAURA VOZZELLA AND MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Officials in the Washington region laid out strategies Wednesday for distributing vaccines as coronavirus-related hospitalizations and fatalities continued to climb across the area. Maryland and Virginia officials said they expect their first shipment of vaccines in mid-December, although members of the general public will probably have to wait until the spring to receive doses.
By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The Virginia Department of Health reported 242,480 total COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a 2,417-case increase from Tuesday. This brings the 7-day average to more than 2,300 new cases daily. Last week, that number was an average of almost 2,600 cases per day, marking a state record since the start of the pandemic.
By AMY TRENT, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Despite optimism COVID-19 vaccines could arrive in the area as soon as next week for essential workers and frontline caregivers, Centra Health officials Wednesday expressed concern about the rising number of COVID-19 cases. “November has been a difficult month for us,” Dr. Chris Lewis, Centra’s vice president of medical affairs, said during a news conference with Centra CEO Dr. Andy Mueller on Wednesday.
By MATT COHEN, Mother Jones
On a frigid Martin Luther King Jr. Day earlier this year, Philip Van Cleave brought out the big guns to Richmond. As he stood on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol, Van Cleave—a 68-year-old balding and mustachioed software programmer—delivered a stern warning to the Democrats who had recently gained control of the state government: “We’re here today to remind Governor [Ralph] Northam and the general assembly that the last election was not a referendum on gun control.”
By STAFF REPORT, Inside NOVA (Metered Paywall)
After a review of COVID-19 metrics across the region, Prince William County Schools Superintendent Steve Walts told the school board Wednesday he’s not recommending any changes to the division's plan to bring students back into classrooms. About 3,000 county first graders returned to in-person learning this week under the school system’s part-time hybrid plan, joining some pre-kindergarteners, kindergarteners who returned Nov. 10. In all, there are about 7,750 students back in classrooms across the county.
By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Some 1,200 students with special needs returned for in-person learning Tuesday, the first batch of children to come back to Virginia Beach public schools since coronavirus cases spiked throughout the region two weeks ago. And that group will likely remain in person moving forward, as the school board again opted to keep its reopening plan the same later Tuesday night.
By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
More than a year and a half has passed since 12 people were murdered and four severely wounded by a city engineer at Virginia Beach’s municipal center. While the pandemic has raged on, the city has delayed building a memorial to honor those who were impacted. On Tuesday, the council took its first step toward building a permanent memorial for those victims, voting 10-0 to create a “5/31 Memorial Committee” — the date of the mass shooting — and to hire two consultants to work on the project.
By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Thousands of Stafford County school and government employees will have a memorable Christmas holiday this year, thanks to a bonus approved by county supervisors this week. Following a joint work session with the Stafford School Board, supervisors voted 6–0 Tuesday to give one-time bonuses of $1,000 to full-time employees and $500 to part-timers on Dec. 18. Members of the Sheriff’s Office and Stafford County Fire and Rescue will also receive the same bonus.
By STAFF REPORT, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)
Parents and legal guardians residing in Culpeper with children in kindergarten through 8th grade may qualify to receive pandemic-related financial assistance. The county on Wednesday morning released more information about the new, “Childcare/Workforce Relief” grant program approved Tuesday by the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.
By NOLAN STOUT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
The Charlottesville Police Department has hired an analyst to examine its stop-and-frisk data. CPD announced Wednesday that it has hired Larry Jacobs as a Fourth Amendment investigative analyst. He will start Monday. Department spokesman Tyler Hawn didn’t have Jacobs’ salary, but said the civilian position was advertised with a range between $58,845 and $79,996.
By ASHLYN CAMPBELL, The Breeze
Rockingham High School students may see a new African American history class on the horizon. The Rockingham County School Board met Nov. 23 to discuss a list of additional classes to add to next year’s curriculum, including the new history class. Oskar Scheikl, Rockingham County Public Schools superintendent, said the proposed addition of African American history was a result of a commission from Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in 2019. Scheikl said they’re proposing the elective class because it provides a look at history from a different perspective.
By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Blacksburg Town Council is set to act on a proposed ordinance to ban the carrying of firearms inside public buildings and on streets being used for festivals, among other places. If passed, the ordinance would make Blacksburg one of just a handful of Virginia localities that have taken such action—something that localities can now do based on a local option measure passed by the General Assembly earlier this year and that took effect in July.
By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee
Both Danville Public Schools and Pittsylvania County Schools confirmed new cases of COVID-19 within their respective school systems Tuesday. The city schools learned of positive tests for one student at Grove Park Preschool, one student at Galileo Magnet High School, a student at George Washington High School and a staff member at the Danville Alternative Program at Langston. The announcement from Danville Public Schools stated there were no other exposures as a result of these new cases.
By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee
The city of Danville can expect that $15 million up-front payment from Caesars Virginia LLC to arrive next week. Danville City Council heard that news Tuesday night when members had a first reading on a budget appropriation ordinance accepting the money from Caesars. Final approval will be at council's meeting on Dec. 15.
By BILL WYATT, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
The state has declined the city of Martinsville’s application for $600,000 in state funding to help pay to renovate the former BB&T building in Uptown Martinsville. A list of Industrial Revitalization Fund awards announced Nov. 20 in a release from Gov. Ralph Northam’s office included the towns of Vinton, Warsaw and Wytheville as receiving more than $1.4 million, but Martinsville conspicuously was excluded.
Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
We have one election in the rear view mirror which means another is just ahead of us. The 2021 governor’s race is now taking shape. Democrats have the biggest field, with former Gov. Terry McAuliffe attempting a comeback, along with Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond and Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy of Prince William County — with Del. Lee Carter of Manassas saying he’s thinking about running.
Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Do the Virginia State Police and local police departments have the right to collect data about where you go, and store it in a database for up to a year if you are not accused or even suspected of breaking any laws? Yes, according to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that the police are allowed to use Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR), which can photograph over 1,800 license plates per minute, and store the tag numbers, times and locations where the photos were taken in a searchable database that is shared with law enforcement, fusion centers and private companies.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
In November, Virginia voters overwhelming endorsed changing the way the state draws legislative and congressional boundaries. Now it’s time for citizens to step up and join the action. This election, Virginians voted 2-1 in favor of amending the state Constitution to create a bipartisan commission that will be charged with redistricting. No longer will the decennial map drawing be decided by lawmakers in the backrooms of the state Capitol, out of public sight and away from citizen scrutiny.
By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
With Republican Mark Christie’s departure for the national agency that oversees the utility industry, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Virginia legislature — make that, Virginia Democrats — will fill another seat on the state agency that oversees nearly all industry, the State Corporation Commission (SCC). With Gov. Ralph Northam’s choice of Angela Navarro, an environmental lawyer and former sub-Cabinet secretary, it will be the second time in two years Democrats pick a new commissioner.
By WARREN FISKE, WCVE-FM
Virginia will go to pot next year if Gov. Ralph Northam has his way. The Democrat says he will have legislation introduced this winter that would make Virginia the 16th state - and the first in the South - to legalize marijuana. One of his main reasons, he says, is to end a racial injustice. “People of color and those of not, they use marijuana at the same rate. People of color are three times more likely to get arrested and convicted,” he said during a Nov. 20 radio interview on WAMU in Washington. We fact-checked his statement.
By NATASHA K. SRIRAMAN AND LASHRECSE D. AIRD, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Dr. Chaniece B. Wallace, like many other women, was enjoying her pregnancy. She and her husband were preparing for the arrival of their first-born child. She was a pediatrician. She died. Wallace, the pediatric chief resident at Indiana University School of Medicine, passed away on Oct. 22 after giving birth two days earlier to a daughter, Charlotte, via an emergency cesarean section at one of the top medical institutions in this country.
Sriraman, M.D., practices pediatrics in Norfolk and is on the executive board of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Aird, D-Petersburg, represents the 63rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates.
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