VaNews Sept. 20, 2019
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Read Online ([link removed]) 10 Most Clicked ([link removed])


** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: MONEY IN THE BANK ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

A record 68 General Assembly incumbents face a major party challenger this November. As Labor Day approached, how many incumbents held a cash advantage?


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** STATE’S FIRST LADY WADES INTO THE WATER FOR FIRST-HAND LOOK AT HAMPTON STUDENTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM ([link removed])
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By MIKE HOLTZCLAW, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Pamela Northam said she woke up on Thursday with one thought in mind. “I want to get up and go to work like this every day,” she said. It was mid-morning, the denim of her jeans was soaked through to the skin and her boots had enough water in them to make oatmeal. The first lady of Virginia — a former high school science teacher and enthusiastic STEM advocate — had been waist deep in the water at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton, joining sixth-graders from the Phenix School


** FIRST LADY NORTHAM VISITS WARREN SCHOOLS ([link removed])
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By DONALD LAMBERT, Northern Virginia Daily

First lady of Virginia Pamela Northam paid a visit to E. Wilson Morrison and Ressie Jeffries elementary schools on Thursday. Northam was visiting the schools to check out the district’s preschool programs. “We love coming to Warren County,” she said.


** AG: PROSECUTORS SHOULD QUIT ENFORCEMENT OF HABITUAL DRUNKARD LAW ([link removed])
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By PETER VIETH, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Paywall for some articles)

Attorney General Mark Herring says Virginia prosecutors should stop seeking “interdiction” orders against people alleged to be “habitual drunkards” under a state law ruled unconstitutional by a federal court.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** MONTGOMERY CO. TO ASK STATE FOR HELP ON TAXING TECH FOUNDATION PROPERTIES ([link removed])
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By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Montgomery County plans to ask the General Assembly to consider raising the minimum percentage in property taxes paid by commercial tenants operating out of buildings owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation. The county’s Board of Supervisors recently directed its staff to add the tax percentage request to the annual legislative priorities


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** POLITICAL CONTROL IN VIRGINIA UP FOR GRABS IN TIGHT ELECTION ([link removed])
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By SCOTT CALVERT AND JON KAMP, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

ASHBURN—Democrats are banking on this affluent, fast-growing suburb of Washington, D.C., to help the party claim simultaneous control of Virginia’s legislative and executive branches for the first time in a quarter-century. Virginia is one of just four states holding state legislative elections in November, and the showdown there could offer clues on party strength in suburban swing districts for next year’s presidential election.


** DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIRGINIA REJECTS POLITICAL DOLLARS FROM DOMINION ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Democratic Party of Virginia will no longer accept political contributions from Dominion Energy, the Richmond-based electric monopoly that serves most Virginia residents. Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker said Dominion’s contributions are a “very contentious issue with a lot of folks all across the commonwealth, and we thought it was time for us to just step up and say this is where we are,” according to an interview published on the left-leaning blog Blue Virginia.


** VIRGINIA GOP RENEWS CALL FOR HEARING ON FAIRFAX ALLEGATIONS ([link removed])
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Associated Press

Republican lawmakers in Virginia are renewing their push to hold a bipartisan hearing into sexual assault allegations two women have made against the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor. House Courts of Justice Committee Chairman Del. Rob Bell pressed Democrats on Thursday


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** VIRGINIA BOARD VOTE OVER SPRINKLER MANDATE SPARKS OUTCRY FROM FIREFIGHTERS ([link removed])
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By MARTIN AUSTERMUHLE, WAMU

Plenty of new housing needs to be built in Northern Virginia over the next few decades to keep up with expected job growth, but for now some of it won’t include built-in sprinkler systems. This week, the Virginia Board of Housing and Community Development voted against an update to the Commonwealth’s construction code that would have required that sprinklers be put in all new single-family homes and townhouses. Federal law already requires most larger commercial and retail buildings have sprinkler systems.


** CONGRESS
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** TIM KAINE SPEAKS ABOUT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AT UMW ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

To an audience of University of Mary Washington students Thursday evening, Senator Tim Kaine shared his recollection of the moment the seed that led to his career in public service was planted.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** DOMINION WANTS TO BUILD THE NATION’S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM NEAR VIRGINIA BEACH ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Dominion Energy plans a 220-turbine wind farm, 27 miles off the Virginia Beach shore, that should generate enough electricity to power 650,000 homes when the wind is blowing steadily. The company says it would be the largest such operation in the United States.


** DOMINION ANNOUNCES 220-TURBINE OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT IN VIRGINIA BEACH ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Dominion Energy on Thursday announced plans to build the nation’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia — a 220-turbine installation that would power 650,000 homes at peak wind. If it gains state and federal approvals, the $7.8 billion project would deliver 880 megawatts of energy by 2024


** DOMINION ENERGY PLANS MAJOR OFFSHORE WIND FARM NEAR VIRGINIA BEACH ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Dominion Energy is proposing a major offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach that would be the largest of its kind in the country. The company said Thursday that it plans to expand a test project that’s already under construction


** WING, FEDEX AND WALGREENS TO LAUNCH FREE DRONE DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL LARIS, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Wing, the drone company that is part of Google parent Alphabet, on Thursday said it will launch a drone delivery pilot program with FedEx and Walgreens in the southwest Virginia town of Christiansburg next month, making an early jump in a highly competitive field with implications for noise, privacy and the future of ordering everything from ice cream to toiletries.


** WALGREENS, GOOGLE AFFILIATE TO LAUNCH DRONE DELIVERY TEST ([link removed])
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By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press

Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids will be delivered starting next month in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound (4.5-kilogram) drone flying as fast as 70 miles (122 kilometers) per hour, the companies said Thursday.


** BEZOS WANTS AMAZON TO HIT CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2040. HQ2 WILL PLAY A BIG ROLE. ([link removed])
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By ALEX KOMA, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Jeff Bezos is committing to move Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 as part of a broader private sector climate change initiative — and he says the company’s Arlington headquarters will play a major part in meeting that goal.


** OMEGA TO EXCEED THE CAP ([link removed])
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Northumberland Echo

Omega Protein, the Reedville menhaden company, announced last week that it will exceed the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s cap for catching Chesapeake Bay menhaden this fall. Exceeding the cap could cause the commission to try and shut down the business by having the Department of Commerce declare the company out of compliance with the cap. Omega does not think that will happen


** DRUG RESEARCH LABORATORY PLANNING $63.7 MILLION EXPANSION IN HENRICO, ADDING 200 JOBS ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A drug research and development company is planning to expand its operations in Henrico County, creating 200 jobs. Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC said Thursday that it is expanding its bioanalytical laboratory on Dabney Road. The company’s 250,000-square-foot lab and office complex already has been expanded several times and now employs about 1,000 people.


** PIPING COMPANY ANNOUNCES $8.5M INVESTMENT IN MANASSAS ([link removed])
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By GREG HAMBRICK, Prince William Times

A piping company will invest $8.5 million in a new Manassas production facility, state and local leaders announced Sept. 18. High Purity Systems Inc. will acquire a 30,000-square-foot facility that will triple current production capacity and create 105 new jobs with average annual salaries exceeding $100,000, according to a news release.


** GOV. JOINS NEW INTERCHANGE FACILITY RIBBON CUTTING ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Years of planning, 18 months of construction and more than $41.6 million later, the new InterChange cold storage facility in Mount Crawford is operational. Gov. Ralph Northam and Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring joined state Sens. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, and Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, InterChange leaders and Rockingham County Supervisor Bill Kyger for speeches before the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVA RETURNS TO COURT FOR MEDICAL DEBT CASES ([link removed])
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By RUTH SERVEN SMITH, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

One week after the University of Virginia Medical Center dismissed 14 lawsuits against patients with outstanding bills, lawyers returned to Albemarle General District Court on Thursday to dismiss additional cases and pursue judgments in others.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** COMMENT PERIOD FOR PIPELINE CONCLUDES; FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT DUE IN DECEMBER ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Katie Whitehead, of Chatham, expressed concern about the impact the Mountain Valley Pipeline could have on her timber farm. She said the route would cut through her loblolly pines and hardwoods, which are grown for production.


** REMOTE HEALTH CLINIC RETURNS TO LEE AS HOSPITAL PREPARES TO REOPEN ([link removed])
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By MASON ADAMS, Virginia Mercury

Lee County’s first Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic took place in 2014, one year after the county’s community hospital closed down. Now, even as the shuttered hospital prepares to reopen its doors as an urgent care center, RAM is gearing up to once again deliver free dental, vision and medical care to underserved and uninsured people in Lee County.


** LOCAL
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** AFTER REPORT ON NEPOTISM, RELATIVES STILL HAVE CITY JOBS ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

High-ranking Richmond administrators linked to a City Hall nepotism scandal kept their jobs Thursday, a day after a scathing inspector general report prompted Mayor Levar Stoney to fire his chief administrative officer.


** NORFOLK SHERIFF ENDS CONTROVERSIAL IMMIGRATION DETENTION PROGRAM ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN EDWARDS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Norfolk’s sheriff has ended his agreement with federal authorities to lock up suspected illegal immigrants in the city jail. For the past two years, Sheriff Joe Baron has jailed detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in exchange for federal money, usually for a couple days before ICE officers transferred them to a long term detention facility.


** COUNTY INSURANCE COMPANY DENIES COVERAGE IN FRAZIER APPEAL ([link removed])
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By JOHN MCCASLIN, Rappahannock News

The case of Marian Bragg v The Board of Supervisors — Bragg 1 — could grow even more costly to taxpayers now that the county government’s insurance company, Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA), won’t defend the board in an appeal by Supervisor Ron Frazier for reimbursement of $19,365 in legal fees.


** SUPERVISORS WANT MORE STATE $$$ ([link removed])
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By LINDA CICOIRA, Eastern Shore Post

Accomack supervisors continued to seek additional state funds Wednesday to help recruit and retain teachers who might seek higher salaries in Maryland. The board authorized County Administrator Mike Mason to work with Northampton officials in sending a letter to Onancock area native Gov. Ralph Northam to request competing adjustment (COCA) funding. Eighteen Northern Virginia school divisions receive the monies to provide additional compensation to school workers to keep them from going to Maryland


** EDITORIALS
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** DARK CLOUDS ON VIRGINIA’S ECONOMIC HORIZON ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia finance secretary Aubrey Layne offered an ominous forecast for commonwealth lawmakers this week — and its one that could thrust tough choices on the General Assembly and citizens alike in the coming months.


** NO RACIAL CATEGORIES ON MARRIAGE LICENSES ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

IN response to lawsuits filed by three couples challenging a state requirement that they reveal their race in order to obtain a Virginia marriage license, Attorney General Mark Herring recently sent a memo to all clerks of court in the commonwealth telling them to “issue a license regardless of an applicant’s answer or non-answer to that inquiry."


** RICHMOND DESERVES GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The specter of cronyism continues to haunt Richmond City Hall and raises serious concerns about its culture. Selena Cuffee-Glenn, Richmond’s top administrator, was fired Wednesday by Mayor Levar Stoney after the release of a disturbing report outlining how five of her relatives landed jobs during her tenure with city departments she oversaw.


** COLUMNISTS
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** POLITIFACT: HUGO "MOSTLY FALSE" ON OPPONENT'S INSURANCE RECORD ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE

Tim Hugo, the last-standing Republican state delegate in Northern Virginia, is telling voters that Democratic challenger Dan Helmer wants to abolish private health insurance. Hugo has made the claim in at least four campaign mailings in the 40th House District, which spans portions of Fairfax and Prince William Counties.


** OP-ED
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** ORRIN & BROZ-VAUGHAN: LICENSING PLATFORM SERVES VA. WORKERS ([link removed])
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By JACOB ORRIN & MARY BROZ-VAUGHAN, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

In Virginia, there are 45 fields that are regulated by the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, which oversees hundreds of thousands of Virginians who need a license to operate. Electricians, cosmetologists, architects and real estate agents all have to show they are qualified and capable of performing the tasks that their jobs require

Jacob Orrin is co-founder of Merit. Mary Broz-Vaughan is acting director of the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.


** OLSHANSKY: IT'S TIME TO BAN CONVERSION THERAPY ([link removed])
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By KENNETH OLSHANSKY, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Several months ago, my wife and I went to see the movie “Boy Erased,” which stars Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Lucas Hedges. The movie is based on Garrard Conley’s autobiography, “Boy Erased: A Memoir,” which describes how his fundamentalist family forces him to go into a conversion therapy program. The movie is powerful and I strongly recommend it. Upon exiting the movie, we got into a discussion with a young man who also was there. Lo and behold, this incredible young man was a conversion therapy survivor.

Kenneth Olshansky is a retired surgeon who practiced in Richmond for 33 years.


** THE FRIDAY READ
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** AMID A SURGE OF SLOTS, BINGO’S LAST GASPS IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Two hours into a Sunday afternoon session at Pop’s Bingo World, the hall is less than a quarter full and the charity running the game is on track to lose more than $1,500 after all the jackpots are paid out. Everyone in the room knows bingo — once Virginia’s only legalized form of gambling and a lifeline for nonprofits like VFW Posts and volunteer fire departments around the state — can’t go on much longer like this.
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