By SABRINA RODRIGUEZ AND MAYA KING, Politico
Terry McAuliffe has long signaled he wants his old job back as Virginia governor. But a slew of political groups focused on women and Black voters have a message before he jumps in the race: It’s not your time. McAuliffe’s 2021 run — he is planning to announce on Wednesday, POLITICO confirmed — has rankled a number of groups across the commonwealth and country.
Associated Press
A GOP state senator in Virginia is suing over plans by Democratic leaders to limit public access to lawmakers’ offices during next year’s legislative session. Virginia Beach Sen. Bob DeSteph announced his lawsuit Tuesday, saying plans to keep a state office building open only to credentialed staff and lawmakers during the legislative session is a violation of the First Amendment.
By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, ANTONIO OLIVO, OVETTA WIGGINS AND JULIE ZAUZMER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The number of known coronavirus cases in the greater Washington region climbed past 500,000 on Tuesday, a milestone that is forcing leaders to consider tightening restrictions on a population already weary from the pandemic’s emotional and economic toll. Officials in the District, Maryland and Virginia say they are considering stricter limits on businesses and public interactions as the weather turns colder and holidays lure residents to gatherings.
By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The five words were strung together in group chats on school-issued laptops. Emails. Homework assignments. Repeatedly, the monitoring system alerted administrators of the chilling digital trail Richmond Public Schools students were leaving behind in virtual learning. “I want to kill myself.” Then, came six words, flagged at least once. “I have access to a gun.”
By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)
Fairfax County’s list of its top 10 largest employers hasn't changed much in a decade. But the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac, has dropped a place for the first time in five years to make room for the company that is quickly becoming one of Northern Virginia’s dominant bosses, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). The company is now a top-10 principal employer in Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington counties, according to fiscal year 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports recently issued by the trio.
By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Nearly six months into the coronavirus pandemic, many children are getting an education at home or doing their homework in a school parking lot where there is an internet connection. Adults are working at their computers from their kitchen tables or outside of a library. About 600,000 Virginians, mostly in Southwest, Southside and the Tidewater areas, lack access to broadband. Even where some theoretically have access to it, they can’t afford it. And Virginia doesn’t currently have a plan to address affordability.
By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
After months of debate, Fairfax County school officials are proposing final options for reforming admissions at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology — either switching to a lottery system or adopting a “holistic review,” revisions meant to boost diversity at the flagship STEM magnet school.
The Full Report
50 articles, 26 publications
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 ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)
Another local lawsuit, this time in Culpeper County, has been filed against Gov. Ralph Northam alleging pandemic restrictions are unfairly limiting freedom of religion. Davis Street attorney Mike Sharman filed the 38-page civil complaint this week on behalf of three residents in Culpeper Circuit Court. It seeks declaratory relief, temporary injunction and temporary and permanent injunctive relief from the most recent and controversial, though public health-supported COVID-19 rules in Executive Order 67, which limits gatherings to 25 people.
By MARIELENA BALOURIS, WRIC-TV
Drivers should not be using their phones behind the wheel but unfortunately, it still happens. Starting in 2021, there will be a new law to enforce that rule: it will be illegal to hold a phone while driving in Virginia. That means no scrolling social media, playing a game, checking your email or sending texts while driving or operating a car. State officials say making it illegal and enforceable is a necessary step toward reducing deaths on the road.
By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press
Terry McAuliffe is trying to get his old job back. The former Virginia governor is set to announce a formal bid for governor Wednesday morning in Richmond, according to a McAuliffe aide who was not authorized to speak publicly about the campaign.
By MEL LEONOR AND MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe will seek another term as the state’s leader, with a formal announcement planned for Wednesday, according to three state lawmakers who are aware of McAuliffe’s plans and support his candidacy. McAuliffe, 63, is among the most prominent fixtures of Virginia politics — an unmatched fundraiser and popular former governor, with close ties to powerful Democrats, including President-elect Joe Biden.
By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who mixed business-friendly politics with liberal social policies over four hard-charging years as Virginia governor, will announce Wednesday that he wants his old job back. McAuliffe, 63, is scheduled to formally kick off his bid for a second term Wednesday morning in Richmond, according to four people with knowledge of his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The Virginia Republican Party’s decision to choose its nominee for governor by convention instead of a primary didn’t discourage Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, in considering a potential bid for the state’s highest office. Quite the opposite.
By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Woodbridge, is resigning from her legislative post to focus on her run for Virginia governor. The 2nd District Democrat, whose district includes part of Stafford County, submitted her resignation letter Tuesday. The resignation takes effect Dec. 12. Gov. Ralph Northam announced a special election for Jan. 5 to fill the vacancy.
By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press
Democratic state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy is resigning her seat to focus on her bid to be Virginia’s next governor. The two-term lawmaker who represents Prince William and Stafford counties announced her resignation Tuesday in a bid to help distinguish herself among a crowded Democratic field for governor. “I’m stepping down from the House of Delegates to focus 100% of my time on building a grassroots movement to meet this moment,” Carroll Foy said in a statement.
By JILL PALERMO, Fauquier Times
When she first heard Del. Elizabeth Guzman would not seek re-election to run for lieutenant governor, Kara Pitek said she was worried about how local Democrats would find another strong candidate to hold onto the hard-won 31st District seat, which Guzman flipped from GOP control in 2017. Then she had an idea: Maybe she should run herself.
By PAT THOMAS, NBC 12
Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are getting Virginia’s 13 electoral college votes, per an official signing Tuesday by Governor Northam. “Today, I carried out my duty as required by federal law to sign the Certificate of Ascertainment recognizing a slate of Virginia electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” wrote Northam in a social media post.
By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Officials say recent allegations of assaults and other abuse by staff on inmates at Wallens Ridge State Prison made by an advocacy group have been or are being investigated and that thus far none have proven to be founded. "We investigate all allegations and the investigations are done by our special investigations unit which is comprised of sworn law enforcement officers," said Lisa Kinney, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The governing body of Riverside Regional Jail has voted to raise employee salaries 4% — including the starting sum for new hires — in an effort to address the facility’s staggering annual turnover rate of 47%, which is more than four times the industry average. On the recommendation of new jail superintendent Larry Leabough, whom the board hired in June to help turnaround the struggling correctional facility, the jail authority last week unanimously approved the salary hike, which will go into effect Jan. 1.
By STAFF REPORT, WAVY-TV
On Tuesday, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) reduced Virginia’s menhaden harvest by 10 percent to comply with the newly adopted menhaden fishery quota from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Virginia’s harvest was cut from 168,213 metric tons to 151,392 metric tons. The Chesapeake Bay harvest cap remains unchanged.
By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner heard Tuesday that testing supplies and exam gloves could soon be in short supply in Southwest Virginia as surging cases of COVID-19 show no signs of slowing just as federal relief funds run out. Warner hosted a virtual meeting with health officials from Southwest Virginia to let them know he is pushing for passage of a $908 billion COVID relief bill and to hear what is happening in the rural mountainous part of Virginia that is severely stressed by the disease.
By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner on Tuesday pledged to seek federal funding for COVID-19 testing supplies and support after hearing from area health leaders. Warner, D-Va., addressed the current wave of COVID-19, a compromise federal funding bill and the push for vaccines for the novel coronavirus during a Zoom call with Eric Deaton, chief operating officer of Ballad Health, Dr. Sue Cantrell, director of the LENOWISCO and Cumberland Plateau health districts, and Bill Flattery, vice president of Carilion Clinic Western Region.
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Amazon announced Tuesday that it plans to open two new delivery stations in Norfolk and Hampton next year. In Hampton, Amazon paid $5.95 million for the 21-acre site of a former Kmart store at 210 W. Mercury Blvd. on Nov. 25, according to city property records. . . . The global e-commerce giant said the two stations, where packages will be loaded into vehicles to be delivered to customers, are expected to create more than 200 jobs, both full- and part-time.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Virginia Business
Silent Falcon UAS, an unmanned aircraft systems service provider and equipment manufacturer, will invest $6 million to locate its new East Coast headquarters for research development and manufacturing at the Front Royal-Warren County Airport, creating 249 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. Founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Silent Falcon UAS manufactures patent-pending unmanned aircraft systems components and sensors for security, military and commercial customers. Its decision to move operations to Virginia coincides with an expansion of the company’s data collection business for runway inspections at airports.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given approval to Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. to sell an updated version of its IQOS device, a battery-powered alternative to conventional cigarettes.
By WYATT GORDON, Virginia Mercury
When former Gov. Doug Wilder sold off the state’s interest in hundreds of miles of track and rail right of way in the early 1990s, the move was applauded by the Republican-dominated legislature as a prudent divestment to help balance the annual budget. Since then, though, the state has spent millions more on track improvements benefitting railroad corporations in exchange for every increase in passenger train service Virginia has sought. To avoid another such flash sale of Virginia’s rail infrastructure and to oversee an increasing focus on boosting passenger rail capacity to combat congestion, this March the General Assembly created the brand new Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.
By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times
The $300 million Va. 28 bypass, approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in September, is planned to extend into Fairfax County where it will connect with the existing Va. 28 near the Fairfax County line. But it remains unclear whether the Fairfax “tie-in” will require a public hearing from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. . . . The topic is a source of controversy among some Fairfax County residents who worry about the potential impacts to the Bull Run Regional Park and surrounding wetlands.
By ALEX PERRY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)
Students at the College of William & Mary finished their fall semester the week of Thanksgiving with 71 COVID-19 cases on campus. Ethan Brown, a W&M senior and the editor-in-chief of the school’s student newspaper The Flat Hat, said he’s been impressed by how students and faculty finished the semester. “I think William & Mary deserves a lot of praise, and I think William & Mary students also deserve a lot of praise for what’s going on,” he said in a phone interview.
By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia intends to award a contract to investigate the Virginia Military Institute to national law firm Barnes & Thornburg, according to the state's online procurement system. The council on Monday issued a notice of intent to award the contract and posted it Tuesday to the state's online procurement website, eVA.
By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
With warnings of a possible holiday surge of COVID-19 cases and many hospitals and health systems across the country overwhelmed with patients, University of Virginia Health System officials are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Officials are advising doctors, nurses and hospital staff that sudden changes in schedules and assignments could occur if the virus strikes hard at Central Virginia.
By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
So many people in the Rappahannock Area Health District—and across Virginia—have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks that public health officials are having to prioritize which cases they investigate. The Virginia Department of Health announced new guidelines on Monday that allow local health officials to decide whose cases will get immediate investigation and contact tracing—and who may not be contacted at all.
By DAVID SEIDEL, WVTF
Health officials feared that COVID-19 cases would surge after the Thanksgiving holiday. And that appears to be happening. The Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District reported 1,767 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning. That’s about 350 more than a week earlier. And with more holidays in the weeks ahead, health officials like Dr. Cynthia Morrow are worried.
WVIR - TV29
According to the Virginia Department of Corrections’ website, the Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville reports 40 positive COVID-19 cases in offenders on-site. The website also reports 11 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press
A Maryland man was sentenced on Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an FBI undercover investigation of a white supremacist group that espoused using violence to accelerate overthrowing the U.S. government. William Garfield Bilbrough IV was an “unabashed” member of the group, called The Base, and participated in its military-style training camps, a federal prosecutor said. Bilbrough, 20, was one of three men arrested in January ahead of a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia.
By PAUL DUGGAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
One of three men charged with plotting violence at a Virginia gun rights rally pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to five years in federal prison in what prosecutors said was a scheme by white supremacists to spark a “race war” by shooting “unsuspecting civilians and police officers” during the demonstration. The defendant, William G. Bilbrough IV, was arrested by FBI agents after he and two others allegedly plotted to kill people at random at the January rally in Richmond, hoping to ignite what one of them purportedly called a “full-blown civil war.”
By DICK ULIANO, WTOP
The Falls Church School Board in Virginia voted 7-0 to change the names of Thomas Jefferson Elementary and George Mason High Tuesday night. The vote comes despite an October community survey that found 56% opposition to changing the school names. . . . The name change is a school board initiative that began in the summer at the height of social unrest and included a survey of the Falls Church community taken in October.
By JO DEVOE, Reston Now
Fairfax County Public School administrators are looking to write a new policy that will ban secluding children across the division by 2023. The new policy governing when and how children can be restrained or secluded would also require administrators to contact parents the day of an incident and to review data every quarter. After being restrained or put in a room alone, students would meet with a trusted staff member who could provide positive supports.
By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
The city of Richmond plans to expand a pilot program guaranteeing $500 monthly payments to 37 more families over the next two years, tripling the number of households involved. The guaranteed basic income is expected to help randomly selected families and households that do not qualify for public benefits but whose incomes are not enough to pay monthly bills and save for emergencies.
By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
In a normal year, J&A Racing pays tens of thousands of dollars to Virginia Beach for running events held on public property. The company uses city staff and equipment, for example, to control traffic and provide security and emergency services for the annual Shamrock Marathon at the Oceanfront. But when the pandemic crushed all hope for in-person races and events in 2020, event planners like J&A Racing took a big financial hit. Now the city is trying to help them get back on their feet.
By JOSH REYES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Portsmouth sheriff’s deputies are on leave as the office conducts an internal investigation, an official said Tuesday. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Lt. Col. Marvin Waters, told WAVY, who first reported the probe, that the office was conducting the review to ensure all of of its policies and procedures were being upheld. Waters said fewer than 20 deputies were on leave and several have returned, according to WAVY.
By DAVID MACAULAY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)
The worsening COVID-19 situation in the Historic Triangle has prompted the City of Williamsburg to hold its eighth biennial State of the City address virtually Thursday. . . . In a typical year, the mayor delivers the State of the City address at the Stryker Center with fellow council members, city staff, dignitaries and members of the public. The pandemic has rendered 2020 anything but a typical year.
By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Fredericksburg City Public School students will have the option to begin in-person classes in January. Division Superintendent Marci Catlett presented her recommendations for student transition to in-person learning at a virtual meeting of the City School Board Monday evening.
By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
King George County has received $25,707 of state CARES Act money to bring internet service to 11 households where 44 residents and 17 school-age children live. Known as the Atlantic Broadband Fiber Project, the grant is part of $30 million allocated by the state to improve broadband access in underserved communities.
By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Starting next Monday, classes in the Albemarle County school division will move online as a precaution, the division announced Tuesday. Classes will stay online until Monday, Jan. 11, which allows for a one-week buffer before and after the two-week winter break that starts Dec. 21.
By NOLAN STOUT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
It’s a pandemic. They wanted to skate. Could they be anymore obvious? Skater boys, girls and their parents lobbied City Council to not close down Charlottesville’s skate park during a virtual meeting on Monday. Before the weekend, the city issued a press release warning it would consider closing Parks and Recreation facilities if too many people were seen gathering as COVID-19 cases spike in Virginia and around the country. The release said more than 75 people were observed the previous weekend at the Skate Park.
By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
Harrisonburg City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to install cameras on school buses to ticket to drivers who illegally pass them. Council will need to vote again on the ordinance during its next meeting in January before the measure can go into effect.
By SARAH HONOSKY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
With rising numbers of Lynchburg residents behind on water payments, and hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the city by delinquent accounts, more than $344,000 has been made available to the city through the state’s COVID-19 Municipal Utility Relief Program to assist businesses and residents with sewer and water payments.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
Amherst County announced Tuesday it has disbursed $450,000 in CARES Act funding to 48 area businesses that were affected by the pandemic. Businesses received up to $15,000 for rent or mortgage payments and utility relief for up to six months. The local Economic Development Authority and the Amherst County Finance Department partnered to manage the grant program.
By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee
After a lengthy discussion on the matter Tuesday evening, the Pittsylvania County School Board voted on and rejected a proposal to have students return from winter break in a virtual learning environment spanning the first two or three weeks of January. Citing a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 16.9% over the last 14 days across Pittsylvania County, school board member Calvin Doss made a motion to continue with hybrid learning through the end of next week, return from winter break on Jan. 4 with virtual learning and resume in-person learning about two weeks after that if numbers stayed low.
By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee
Danville Public Schools confirmed on Tuesday morning that three more staff members in the school system have tested positive for COVID-19. One of them works at George Washington High School and was last in the building on Friday. The two others both work at Westwood Middle School, but the positive cases are not connected.
Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
We’ve written plenty of words about the election just passed, so today let’s sweep up some of the stray numbers. The final margin in the popular vote was Joe Biden 51.1%, Donald Trump 47.1%. Trump improved slightly over his 2016 performance, where he took 46.1% of the vote.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Few of us need an academic report to tell us workplaces these days are heavy with stress and anxiety. We are living through it. But this year’s State of the Region report from Old Dominion University offers useful insights into how serious the problem is here in Hampton Roads. It shines a light on a problem that’s bad and getting worse. Fortunately, it also suggests some strategies that might help.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
As state leaders shift their focus toward 2021 and the hope for ubiquitous access to an effective COVID-19 vaccine rises, one key priority is getting Virginians back to work. The question is how? “How do we move toward recovery? How do we accelerate recovery?” asked Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) President Stephen Moret in a Friday presentation during the 2020 Virginia Economic Summit and Forum on World Trade.
By RICK GREENE, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
When Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy” dropped last week on Netflix, I was skeptical of how Hollywood would again portray Appalachia based on the film industry’s dismal performance. Films like “Deliverance” and “Next of Kin” are so blatantly offensive that it leaves Appalachians a little bit gun shy when it comes to big screen portrayals.
Greene is a longtime journalist in the Ohio Valley and is an award-winning columnist and editorial writer.
By OWEN LANIER, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
In a matter of minutes, Virginia patriots changed the course of American history — and very well the fate of our liberties — on Dec. 9, 245 years ago. The Battle of Great Bridge defined Virginia’s role in the American Revolution, and now the American Battlefield Trust is working to preserve land on which it was fought.
Owen Lanier is a senior at Gloucester High School and a recent member of the American Battlefield Trust’s Youth Leadership Team.
By MICHAEL T. GWINN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)
What can you get for $1 million? This question lies at the heart of Gov. Ralph Northam’s recent request for an external investigation into Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) policies and culture. Following coverage in The Washington Post and a series of leadership changes in Lexington, Northam asked the General Assembly to provide $1 million for a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) investigation into his alma mater. The assembly approved the money in November.
Gwinn of Reston is a 2012 graduate of VMI, a veteran and a practicing Virginia attorney.
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