VaNews
December 7, 2020

Today's Sponsor:


** Marie & Bernie Henderson
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Happy Birthday to our daughter, Carrie Henderson Caumont!
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Top of the News


** Virginia announces 1st vaccine priorities, expected doses ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

If federal regulators authorize two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Virginia expects to receive enough doses by the year’s end to begin inoculating nearly all of its health care workers and long-term care facility residents, officials said Friday. The state voted this week to adopt federal recommendations that those two groups be prioritized for vaccination.
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** Va. Republicans pick convention over primary to navigate Trumpism in 2021 governor’s race ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Republican leaders decided Saturday to pick the party's 2021 nominee for governor at a convention instead of in a statewide primary, a controversial decision that led a Trump-style contender to declare she'll drop out and run as an independent instead. The GOP's State Central Committee — some spooked by the notion that state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield) might snag the party nod in a primary — approved the nomination method in a virtual Facebook meeting after about five hours of debate and parliamentary gymnastics.
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** Virginia has spent $33 million on rent and mortgage relief ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

In Virginia’s eviction capital, applications for rental assistance swamped the nonprofit the state enlisted to help households hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Families facing eviction in central Virginia have inundated Area Congregations Together in Service, or ACTS, with requests for help on back rent they have no other way of paying. Meanwhile, landlords won about 2,000 eviction cases against tenants in Richmond and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield in a two-month span this fall.
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** Overwhelmingly, Richmond survey respondents say they want school to remain virtual ([link removed])
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By KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras has decided to recommend that the school district remain virtual for the Spring 2021 semester, in part because 80% of teachers and 63% of families who responded to a survey said they would not be comfortable returning to in-person learning due to COVID-19. The Richmond School Board voted in July to remain virtual this fall, and Richmond has been the only district to decide to remain virtual.
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** Test results show fewer Arlington elementary students grasping the foundations of reading ([link removed])
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By VALERIE BONK, WTOP

Arlington Public Schools is reporting a drop in the number of children grasping fundamental reading skills during distance learning. Elementary age students recently completed the statewide Phonological Awareness Literacy screening, which tests foundational reading skills. The results show that Black and Hispanic students and English learners are falling behind this fall during distance learning, according to data from Arlington County Public Schools.
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** Metro board gets first glimpse of budget that proposes drastic cuts to service ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Facing the worst budget crisis in Metro history, board members on Friday wrestled with how to plan for a half-billion-dollar deficit without proposing draconian cuts that could scare away riders the transit agency desperately needs back. The meeting was the next step after Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld proposed a scaled-down budget Monday that would eliminate weekend rail service and about half the agency’s bus lines. The move generated angst about the future of transit in the Washington region amid a pandemic that has wrecked Metro’s finances.
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** Builder surprises town, neighbors, by cutting down ginkgo tree they were trying to save ([link removed])
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By ROBIN EARL, Fauquier Times

Late in the afternoon on Nov. 30, Daniel Atkins of Atkins Homes, Inc. told the Fauquier Times that he was working with the town of Warrenton and Washington Street neighbors to see if a towering 200-year-old gingko tree on one of his properties – approved by-right for up to four houses -- could be saved. Atkins confirmed that he had been in conversation with the residents and was willing to work toward a solution. By 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, the Save the Warrenton Ginkgo Tree Facebook page posted “Mr. Atkins is cutting down the Ginkgo right now!!!”
The Full Report
54 articles, 25 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Where Were College Students? ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Polling predicted a surge of young voters this year. But three available metrics suggest Virginia voters 25 and younger may have represented a smaller share of the electorate this year. A definitive picture of how the pandemic affected voting behavior -- such as more students voting in their home precincts -- won't be available until the Department of Elections updates its voter history file early next year.
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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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** Madison County churchmen revive lawsuit against governor ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Four Madison County churchmen have revived a lawsuit against Gov. Ralph Northam following a new executive order intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, which they argue limits their religious liberties. An earlier version of the lawsuit was filed in July in Madison County Circuit Court on behalf of four Madison County church members: Brian Hermsmeier, Joe Sansone, Culpeper attorney Mike Sharman and Charlie Sheads. In that complaint, the plaintiffs wrote that they believed Northam had disregarded their religious liberties and undermined churches.
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** Lynchburg-area militias, elected officials lead rally to oppose governor's COVID-19 orders ([link removed])
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By JAMEY CROSS, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Following Campbell County supervisors' recent resolution opposing new statewide COVID-19 restrictions, about 300 people — including local militia members and elected officials — gathered Saturday to show they also reject the new rules. . . . On Saturday, the crowd at Timbrook Park in Campbell County included representatives from militias in Campbell, Appomattox and Bedford counties; other residents of these counties and Lynchburg; and elected officials. Members of the Campbell County Sheriff's Office directed traffic.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Legislators: 2021 Session Will Be Different ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The introduction of a new decade led to an unprecedented year as Virginia legislators not only adjusted to a power shift in the General Assembly, but a transition to virtual meetings as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Virginia. The General Assembly met for a total of 145 days in 2020, with the recent special session lasting 85. As the upcoming session draws near, Valley Senators and Delegates participated in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce’s Pre-Session Legislative Breakfast on Friday, giving constituents a chance to ask questions and hear concerns from lawmakers.
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** Morrissey faces criminal charges for allegedly campaigning inside a polling place ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia state Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Richmond) has been charged with three criminal misdemeanors after allegedly campaigning inside a polling place during the 2019 election. Morrissey, 63, was arraigned on Thursday in Richmond General District Court after being served with the charges on Monday.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Chase says she'll run for governor as independent after GOP chooses convention ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, said Saturday that she will run for governor as an independent after Virginia GOP leaders voted to pick the party’s 2021 statewide nominees in a convention rather than in a primary. “It’s the only way to bypass the political consultants and the Republican establishment elite,” she wrote in a Facebook post, stressing that she remains a Republican but will not seek the party’s nomination in a convention.
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** Amanda Chase says she’ll run as independent for governor, rejecting GOP convention ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Republicans decided Saturday to choose their nominees for statewide office via a convention instead of an open primary, setting up the possibility that Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, will run in the general election as an independent challenger. Chase, one of two announced GOP candidates for governor, has made her opposition to the Republican establishment a theme of her hard-right campaign, warning her supporters that party leaders would rig a convention against her.
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** Virginia GOP will hold convention to pick 2021 candidates, leading Chase to announce independent bid ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Former House Speaker Kirk Cox, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor next year, unleashed the most blistering attack of the campaign on his opponent, saying her decision to run as an independent now is the latest in a series of “antics” that “have long grown tiresome” and that loyal conservatives would not put up with “the demagogue she has become.”
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** Henrico prosecutor Shannon Taylor will forgo run for attorney general ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said Friday that she will not seek the Democratic nomination for attorney general. “While I have been encouraged to run by many, many people, and not just Democrats, I must focus on the critical issues happening in Henrico from criminal justice reform to addressing longstanding systemic racism in our society,” Taylor said in a statement.
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** Norfolk Democrats select nominee to fill 90th District House of Delegates seat ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, WAVY-TV

The Norfolk City Democratic Committee announced Saturday they have selected Angelia Williams Graves to be their nominee in the special election to fill the 90th District seat on the House of Delegates. Graves narrowly beat Rick James, a former Norfolk Police detective and Norfolk NAACP executive member.
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** $2.75M spent promoting casinos to voters in Virginia ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Backers of the Bristol casino project spent an average 10 times as much per vote as similar efforts supporting casinos in three larger Virginia cities. State-registered committees funded by backers of casino projects in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth spent a combined $2.75 million this year to generate votes and public awareness in referendums on the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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** Danville only locality to hold bidding process for casino provider ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

Among the four localities that have votes on casino referenda last month, Danville was the only one to have a competitive bidding process to choose its preferred gaming operator. Officials say that was the best route to take in deciding who would open and operate the only casino resort in the city.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Norfolk Naval Shipyard can go ahead with power and steam plant, state air quality regulators say ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Norfolk Naval Shipyard can proceed with plans to build a plant to supply the steam and most of the electricity it uses, the State Air Pollution Control Board ruled. The board found that the new facility would not boost pollutants — including sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide — above air-quality standards. Advertisement
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** Virginia Beach sheriff removed from state mass shooting investigation commission ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Sheriff Ken Stolle will not be allowed to serve on the state commission created to independently investigate the 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting. The Virginian-Pilot reported last week that Stolle had been appointed, at his request, as a commissioner by the Senate Rules Committee. But the clerk of the Virginia Senate said Stolle should not have been selected for the position because elected officials aren’t allowed to serve on the 21-member board.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Virginia's economic recovery could take several years, experts at economic summit say ([link removed])
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By JOHN REID BLACKWELL, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

It could take several years for Virginia’s economy to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and many businesses may permanently change the way they operate and the jobs they require, several business leaders and experts said at an economic summit on Friday. One economic research firm, Moody’s Analytics, has predicted that Virginia will not get back to full pre-pandemic employment until late 2023, said Stephen Moret, president and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Metro board presses Wiedefeld on plan for major service cuts ([link removed])
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By EMILY ZANTOW, Washington Times

The Metro board of directors on Friday pressed General Manager Paul Wiedefeld about the major cuts he has proposed to deal with a nearly $500 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year. Mr. Wiedefeld on Monday announced that the agency’s $1.9 billion budget plan for fiscal 2022 would include closing 19 subway stations, up to 30-minute wait times, no weekend rides and ending service two hours earlier at 9 p.m. Several bus service lines would be cut, and employees may be subject to layoffs and salary freezes.
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** I-66 is expanding amid a pandemic, and toll lanes are two years away ([link removed])
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By LUZ LAZO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The coronavirus pandemic brought challenges to the widening of Interstate 66 but also helped to accelerate it. Lower traffic counts over the summer helped to keep the massive toll lane project through the heart of Northern Virginia on schedule. Three years after construction began, the Virginia Department of Transportation says work is on pace for the late-2022 opening of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes stretching from University Boulevard in Gainesville to the Capital Beltway.
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** Arlington Memorial Bridge fully reopens after 2 years ([link removed])
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By LUKE LUKERT, WTOP

After two years, construction on the Arlington Memorial Bridge is over. Work cones were removed around noon Friday, and all six lanes and both sidewalks opened for use. . . . The $227 million renovation project was undertaken by both the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration to rehabilitate the 88-year-old bridge, the first complete rehab in its history.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** Covid delays JMU construction, but ambitious expansion ahead ([link removed])
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By JAMES FARIS, The Breeze

Already $12.6 million short in its educational and general budget, JMU postponed several construction projects during the pandemic. In the meantime, officials are hoping enrollment holds steady so the school can continue to service debts from a slew of projects completed in recent years. Charles King, senior vice president for administration and finance, said JMU decided this summer to delay a $49 million renovation of Eagle Hall, a $25 million renovation to the Convocation Center and a $3 million renovation to Sentara Park.
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** How a CNU insider and an alum say they pushed the school into more coronavirus transparency ([link removed])
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By MARGAUX MACCOLL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Keeping COVID cases down at Christopher Newport University was going to be an uphill battle. While other schools in the area, such as Old Dominion University and William & Mary, had the capacity to test their students regularly, CNU did not. Federal and state health officials had advised CNU early in the pandemic that the testing available then would not help the school because it didn’t provide “valuable quick information,” said the university’s top spokesman, Jim Hanchett.
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** More have applied to Virginia Tech so far than all of last year ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More people have already applied to be part of Virginia Tech’s Class of 2025 than all those who applied to the university last year. The regular admissions deadline for incoming freshmen is Jan. 15. To date, Tech has received 31,915 applications, compared with 31,041 total last year, according to data provided Friday by Mark Owczarski, a university spokesman.
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** As John Tyler Community College moves toward name change, Tyler’s descendants study his identity ([link removed])
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By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Frances Tyler spent the summer reading the 175-year-old letters written by her ancestors. Tyler, 23, is the great, great granddaughter of John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States, and while studying the correspondence, she developed a dishonorable view of him. She sees John Tyler as a slave owner and traitor, the only U.S. president laid to rest with another country’s flag draped across his coffin.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia reports 3,880 new COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health reported Sunday that the state’s cumulative total for COVID-19 cases during the pandemic is now up to 255,053, an increase of 3,880 from Saturday. There have been 4,200 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia, an increase of three from Saturday.
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** 480,000 Va. health workers, long-term care residents slated to get first dose of vaccine this month ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Before the close of 2020, Virginia is slated to receive 480,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, enough to inject nearly all of the state’s 500,000 health care workers and long-term care residents. That’s according to new information from federal officials the Virginia Department of Health shared on Friday.
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** Virginia officials wait to see impact of Thanksgiving on the coronavirus’ spread ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

It may take two to three weeks to know whether Gov. Ralph Northam’s pandemic restrictions imposed before the holiday are working to stem Virginia’s rise in cases. But things aren’t looking good. At a news conference Wednesday, Northam said local health departments already are getting troubling signs: For instance, reports that whole families in Mount Rogers Health District, which includes Bristol, Galax and neighboring Southwest Virginia counties, are quarantining after exposure at Thanksgiving gatherings, he said.
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** Western District again suspends jury trials ([link removed])
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By PETER VIETH, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Subscription required for some articles)

Heeding reports of rising infection rates, the judges of the federal courts in the Western District have postponed jury trials through March 1. The U.S. District Court for the Western District had established infection-control procedures and cleared the way for jury trials starting in September. Judge James Jones held a criminal trial at his court in Abingdon on Sept. 16.
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** Fredericksburg-area virus deaths reach 100; new cases break daily records ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

In terms of the spread of COVID-19, all was not merry and bright during the first weekend of December, as the Rappahannock Area Health District reached several grim milestones. The 100th local death was reported—a King George County man, white and in his 60s—and records were set for the number of new daily cases recorded on both Saturday and Sunday. Another 344 people tested positive for the virus over the weekend; there were 187 new cases reported on Saturday and 157 on Sunday.
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** Patients weighing risks of pandemic when turning to home health care ([link removed])
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By WAYNE EPPS JR., Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sam Spellman admits it drives him crazy to be home, but he knows he should hunker down during the pandemic. In the spring, after he was diagnosed with kidney disease, Spellman and his wife initially looked into dialysis centers, where he’d need to go for treatment three times a week, rain or shine. But he went on to opt for what he’s found to be more convenient — home peritoneal dialysis every night at bedtime, hooking a tube to the one doctors implanted in his abdomen and letting a small machine do the work his kidneys can’t.
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** Pittsylvania County man in his 60s latest to die as Virginia sets record for daily cases ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Danville Register & Bee

Pittsylvania County added to its COVID-19 death toll the same day Virginia set a daily record for cases of the virus that's seemingly spiraling out of control around the commonwealth and nation.
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** Wastewater surveillance for COVID expands to greater Charlottesville area ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Wastewater surveillance is now being used in the Charlottesville area to help forecast surges in COVID-19 cases. The samples, combined with other data, are part of an epidemiologic model project at the University of Virginia. Ultimately, the data will be shared with public health officials, hospitals, the Virginia Department of Heath and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Virtual learning a mixed bag for special education students, teachers ([link removed])
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By HUNTER BRITT AND INDIA JONES, VCU Capital News Service

Sebastian and Gabriel Saxon wake up at the same time every day and log into online classes. Sebastian has Cerebral palsy and is diagnosed with autism. Gabriel has hearing loss and wears hearing aids. The twins’ mother, Judi Saxon, said that Google Meet, the platform used to conduct online classes, has worked well for her sons, who are freshmen in high school this year.
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** Charges dismissed for some Richmond protesters, few convicted, many still pending ([link removed])
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By ALI ROCKETT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

More than 300 people have faced charges stemming from protests in Richmond this summer and fall over racial injustice and police brutality. Most cases are still pending months later. Some charges have been dropped, or dismissed altogether. Twelve people have been convicted, though several have appealed; two have been acquitted, according to a review of online court records of the 107 people whom Richmond police have publicly identified.
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** Etched in Stone: The Hurt Behind the Heritage ([link removed])
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By JANET ROACH, WVEC

On a warm Friday afternoon, Rocky Mount, Virginia cosmetologist Bridgette Craighead scurries around making last-minute arrangements for a march to the Franklin County courthouse and the demonstration to follow. A crowd is expected to travel about one mile from the Farmer's Market to the courthouse and gather in front of the Confederate monument that protesters have been fighting to have removed.


** LOCAL
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** Arlington official fraudulently misled court in bankruptcy, judge rules ([link removed])
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By PATRICIA SULLIVAN AND RACHEL WEINER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Arlington County Board member Christian Dorsey, whose ethical and financial difficulties have tangled him in a web of false statements over the past year, fraudulently misrepresented his assets while filing for bankruptcy, a federal court ruled Friday. Dorsey had listed a second mortgage payment as one of his obligations, which would have reduced the amount he had to pay toward his other debts. But a trustee charged with overseeing his case said in court on Thursday that the mortgage debt had been forgiven, and Dorsey had made no payments on it since October 2019, when he filed for bankruptcy.
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** Prince William supervisors stick with Newsham despite backlash ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is standing by its decision to hire Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham as Prince William County’s next police chief despite pushback from some county residents. Dozens of county residents, including many young adults, spoke out against Newsham’s hiring during the Tuesday, Dec. 1 board meeting and expressed concerns about Newsham’s controversial four-year tenure as MPD chief, and what they said was a lack of citizen input in the hiring process.
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** Proposed Richmond charter change would limit mayor's access to closed meetings ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Members of the Richmond City Council remain unconvinced that they should be legally obligated to let the mayor or a representative of his administration attend their closed sessions. The council is scheduled to vote later this month on whether it should ask its delegation in the General Assembly to amend a provision in the city charter that lets the mayor’s administration into those meetings.
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** In Virginia Beach, city and environmentalists turn to planting trees to slow flooding woes ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

In Ocean Lakes, 100 more trees will soon be popping up in yards throughout the flood-prone neighborhood in southern Virginia Beach, each gifted at no cost from a local environmental group. And in nearby parks and other green areas, dozens of volunteers recently planted nearly 400 oaks and bald cypresses, among other trees, with plans for another 500 to be in place next year.
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** Virginia Beach warns all students may return to virtual learning ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORTS, WAVY-TV

On Sunday, the Virginia Beach City Schools Division sent out a notice regarding current COVID-19 health metrics for the Eastern Virginia Region. Officials said right now data shows cases are rising 421 per day with a 9.9 percent positivity rating. That data puts VBCPS in the yellow/red zones, and they are continuing virtual instruction for all students, with the exception of designated groups of students with disabilities.
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** Norfolk could bring students back in-person sooner than planned ([link removed])
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By SARA GREGORY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Some Norfolk students and teachers could return to classrooms in-person sooner than expected under proposed changes to the district’s reopening plan being considered this month. The Norfolk School Board agreed to one of the region’s most conservative return-to-school plans in October but almost since it was approved there’s been talk of making adjustments.
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** Districts need families to fill out aid forms to get millions in funds. Some are refusing. ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

It’s not usually this controversial. Each year, families across the country fill out federal impact aid forms. Those are used to distribute funds from the U.S. Department of Education, tied to students whose parents live or work on federal property. But this year, a small but vocal group is advocating not returning the forms as a protest of virtual-only instruction during the coronavirus pandemic.
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** King William County orders forensic audit following discovery of money mismanagement ([link removed])
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By EMILY HOLTER, Tidewater Review

King William County has ordered an in-depth forensic audit on the county and school district’s finances and the Treasurer’s Office after another audit revealed the office has been paying the district more money than the Board of Supervisors appropriated. The earlier audit also revealed that the county Treasurer’s Office has been depositing school system money into the general fund — a direct violation of state code — while recording that it had been put into the school division’s bank account, according to county Finance Director Natasha Joranlien.
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** Fauquier high schools consider cheerleaders essential despite new rules ([link removed])
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By FRED HODGE, Fauquier Times

Gov. Ralph Northam’s order cutting the number of spectators to 25 at all sports events and deeming cheerleaders as “spectators,” is forcing high schools to make a difficult choice. If schools let cheerleaders in, that means fewer parents and family members at games. At Fauquier and Kettle Run, cheerleaders have gotten the nod, with Liberty awaiting guidance from the school system's central office.
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** Roanoke's financial picture better than expected, despite pandemic ([link removed])
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By RALPH BERRIER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Roanoke’s city finances have remained in remarkably good shape despite the COVID-19 pandemic, city council members learned last week. During a council retreat to talk about the city budget, Director of Finance Amelia Merchant told members that revenues in the spring and summer exceeded expectations. The city’s budget writers had anticipated steep drop-offs in tax collections as statewide restrictions limited business activity.
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** Former Rocky Mount assistant manager still being paid 5 months after leaving job ([link removed])
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By MIKE ALLEN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A former assistant manager for the town of Rocky Mount has continued to receive his full salary since turning in his resignation in June. Payments every two weeks to Matt Hankins of $4,167.86 kept going even after he started work Oct. 19 as assistant county manager for Wythe County at a salary of $98,000. “Matthew Hankins received payments in 2020 after separation from the Town of Rocky Mount,” wrote Town Manager James Ervin in response to a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request from The Roanoke Times.
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** Martinsville's Christmas parade was a show of overcoming the odds ([link removed])
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By BILL WYATT, Martinsville Bulletin (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Friday night the 70th annual Christmas parade was held in Uptown Martinsville. City officials were not too keen on allowing it, and cable access station BTW21 begged off entirely, calling the event potentially harmful to the community. But Charles Roark, parade organizer, improvised a safe parade that adhered to CDC guidelines, and Martinsville Mayor Kathy Lawson convinced city officials the show had to go on.

Today's Sponsor:


** Marie & Bernie Henderson
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Happy Birthday to our daughter, Carrie Henderson Caumont!


** EDITORIALS
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** We dissect Bob Good's conspiracy theories ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Fifth District voters have elected a conspiracy theorist to Congress. Virginia’s three Republicans who got reelected to the House — Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith and Rob Wittman — have all been conspicuously silent about the election results and President Trump’s attempt to overturn them. There will be no profiles in courage awarded there, only the silence of the lambs. Rep.-elect Bob Good of Campbell County has shown no such reticence. He’s taken to Twitter to post a long statement that deserves some much-needed context.
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** More trade means more resilience ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

CAN VIRGINIA rise from 41st place in exports per capita to the top 20 states over the next few years, creating 150,000 new export-related jobs in the process? Government and business leaders are cautiously optimistic that it can. And more diversified trade means more economic resilience. Moody’s Analytics’ latest forecast is that Virginia’s eastern “urban crescent” won’t recover economically from the coronavirus pandemic until late 2023.
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** The Biden administration can reverse the Trump coverup in the Bijan Ghaisar case ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Trump administration has thwarted justice at every turn for Bijan Ghaisar, the unarmed 25-year-old accountant shot to death in 2017 by two U.S. Park Police officers following a fender bender near D.C. despite the fact that he posed no threat. By reassessing that stance, the Biden administration could send an early signal that it is committed to accountability when police wrongly kill civilians — even or especially if the police happen to be federal officers.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Scaring Virginians into voting Republican ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia Republicans are politicking like it’s 1993. Recycling from nearly 30 years ago a theme that lifted them to power after more than a decade in the wilderness, Republicans are yowling over law and order, depicting Democrats as patsies for property-wrecking Black Lives Matter protesters by pushing reforms that supposedly put cops in handcuffs. Republicans aren’t talking to voters, they’re trying to terrify them.


** OP-ED
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** Northam: Virginia leading Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts ([link removed])
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By RALPH NORTHAM, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As the new chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council, I understand the urgency of saving the Chesapeake Bay from the pollution that has threatened it for so many years, as well as the magnitude of the challenges we face in the bay watershed, which includes six states and the District of Columbia. It will be my job to ensure we have strong leadership on bay issues, and that all of our partners are working together toward the same goal as we approach our 2025 bay restoration deadline.

Northam is the 73rd governor of Virginia
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** Abraham: The haves want better for rural Virginia, too ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL ABRAHAM, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Your editorial “How the haves out-voted the have-nots,” (November 14, 2020) struck a chord and threw me into reflection on my quixotic run for the Virginia House of Delegates, 7th District, seven years ago. Y’see, I was a liberal Democrat running in a staunchly conservative, rural Republican district. I got shellacked. Rainwater still drips right off. I knew my chances of winning were slim to none, but I felt compelled to run.

Abraham is a businessman and author with eight books now in print. He lives in Blacksburg.
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** Morse : Wrestling with Woodrow Wilson’s complicated legacy ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

So, Portsmouth doesn’t want Woodrow Wilson in the picture anymore. He’s a racist and banished from the kingdom. Well, so it goes. Wilson High School becomes Manor High School. Go Manor! Only, you sort of wish for a little nuance, some measured reflection on all this, that perhaps the name “Wilson” would come down and the listing of a new Manor class would go up. Call it “Wilson Basics: A study of a contradictory, confounding, complex American leader.”

After writing editorials for the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot in the 1980s, Gordon C. Morse wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles.
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** Leonard: The re-evolution of criminal justice ([link removed])
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By KARL LEONARD, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sparked by the death of George Floyd, we have seen a wave of calls for criminal justice reform throughout our nation. In Virginia, it particularly was visible with the recent special session of the General Assembly. In its dust there now is a cloud of uncertainty that hovers over all law enforcement agencies. What will this change do to us? How will it affect what we do? Will we be able to continue to do our job?

Leonard is sheriff of Chesterfield County.


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