VISUALIZATION: 20-YEAR TREND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DONATIONS

If you look at political contributions to all General Assembly candidates, how much money comes from business donors, single-interest groups, out-of-state donors and others? VPAP looks at the 20-year trend and provides separate views to show the differences between Democratic and Republican candidates.

GOVERNOR PAYS VISIT TO HORIZON

Governor Ralph Northam was in the Hill City Friday morning to learn about services offered by Horizon Behavioral Health. At the community services board’s Langhorne Road headquarters, the governor met with Horizon leadership and other officials who highlighted partnerships with other agencies.

VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS HABITUAL DRUNKARD LAW SHOULD NOT BE ENFORCED

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has issued an opinion that commonwealth’s attorneys may no longer seek to have someone declared as a “habitual drunkard” and bar them from possessing alcohol. The opinion stems from a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in July

HAMPTON ROADS LAWMAKER SAYS HE’LL AGAIN FILE A BILL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN VIRGINIA

He calls himself an unlikely proponent — a former federal prosecutor, a former president of the Virginia Board of Medicine, in favor of legalizing marijuana? “It’s exactly because of that experience that I understand … this is not the problem that we were once led to believe that it was,” Del. Steve Heretick said Thursday.

MAILER FROM DEMOCRAT RODMAN CALLS REPUBLICAN SEN. DUNNAVANT A 'QUACK'

Del. Debra Rodman, D-Henrico, authorized a mail piece against her Senate opponent, Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, calling the OB-GYN a “quack.” Dunnavant called it a personal attack on her professional reputation as a doctor.

CAMPAIGN MISFIRE, AS SEN. CHASE CHANGES FACEBOOK AD ON GUN GROUPS

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, revised a Facebook campaign ad on Friday that groups working for gun control said targeted them with potential violence but her campaign called a “communications oversight.”

FOSTER, COLE CLASH OVER ERA AMENDMENT, OTHER ISSUES IN HOUSE DEBATE

Democrat Jessica Foster has said that the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment bill in a committee led by Del. Mark Cole was “a defining moment” in her decision to challenge him for the 88th District House seat in November Friday night, the Fauquier County lawyer had the chance to go head-to-head with Cole, who is seeking his 10th two-year term, during a debate at the University of Mary Washington’s Lee Hall.

FIRST CANDIDATES FORUM TACKLES WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES

Differences between candidates in three state races were more pronounced on abortion, gun control and the Equal Rights Amendment than on broadband expansion, the opioid crisis and education during a Sept. 18 forum.

SHEILA BYNUM-COLEMAN WANTS TO ADDRESS ‘THE EPIDEMIC OF GUN VIOLENCE’

Sheila Bynum-Coleman, a Democratic challenger in House District 66, stopped by the CBS-6 studio this week to talk about her campaign. Bynum-Coleman says this election is about people, versus corporations and special interest groups. She said people need a voice in their governmen

OUTSIDE NRA HEADQUARTERS, VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS FOCUS ON GUN VIOLENCE

The importance of guns in Virginia’s fall elections was on display Friday outside the headquarters of the National Rifle Association, as Democratic candidates — joined by former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords — vowed to mandate background checks, age limits and other gun restrictions if their party seizes control of the General Assembly.

BIG TV/RADIO SPENDING, EARLY, IN THE HOTTEST GENERAL ASSEMBLY RACES

When legislative candidates spend on broadcast ads, you know they’re serious — and maybe seriously worried. And the latest crop of campaign finance reports — detailing contributions and spending for July and August — show some unusually big sums dropped on TV and radio advertising, Shad Plank’s glance at the Virginia Public Access Project’s compilation suggests.

RICHMOND-AREA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES OUTFUNDRAISING REPUBLICAN OPPONENTS

Virginia Democrats are seeing a surge in campaign donations ahead of the November elections, including some regional races in Richmond. The most recent campaign finance reports show House Democratic candidates now have a $1 million advantage over House Republicans. In July and August, Democratic candidate Schuyler VanValkenburg of Henrico raised more than $150,000. That was more than five times the amount raised by his Republican opponent GayDonna Vandergriff who only raised around $29,000 in that same period.

VOTER REGISTRATION RISES IN COUNTY, CITY

The last time Rockingham County saw an election, voter turnout hit a one-digit percentage. With less than 50 days to go until the election in November where voters will select their next General Assembly representatives, voter registration is increasing.

CUCCINELLI LEAVES COMPLEX LEGACY FOR FAIRFAX REPUBLICANS

In Fairfax County, where Ken Cuccinelli got his political start, Republican Committee chair Tim Hannigan sees four maps every day on the walls of his office. They are his county, sliced into voting districts. And each tells the same grim tale: “We’re down nine to nothing on the state Senate districts, we’re down 16 to one with the House delegates districts here, we’re down eight to two on the Board of Supervisors … and we’re down three to zero in the Congressional districts,” Hannigan says. “We’ve just gotten steadily worse here over the last 20 years.”

RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL ENDS BIBLE-BASED 'GOD POD' AMID MUSLIM INMATES' DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

A Virginia jail has ended a program which inmates dubbed the "God Pod" after a lawsuit alleged the program provided favorable treatment to Christians and discriminated against Muslims. Court documents show the Riverside Regional Jail south of Richmond in Prince George County ended the program on the advice of counsel after a lawsuit was filed last year by Muslim inmates represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

FILM OFFICE: 3 SHOWS COULD GENERATE OVER $120 MILLION IN DIRECT SPENDING IN STATE

It’s been the summer of filming in Virginia. Three big-name shows have been calling the commonwealth home this summer. “This is the busiest we’ve ever been with shows in production,” said Andy Edmunds, the director for the Virginia Film Office.

KEMBA SMITH PRADIA, PARDONED BY CLINTON, IS APPOINTED TO VIRGINIA PAROLE BOARD

Kemba Smith Pradia, a Richmond native who served more than six years of a 24½-year federal prison sentence before she was pardoned by President Bill Clinton, was appointed to the Virginia Parole Board on Friday. Prior to the appointment, Pradia was the state advocacy campaigns director with the ACLU of Virginia.

SEN. WARNER, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE VISIT SWEET BRIAR ON FOUNDERS' DAY

Creative, sustainable and productive engagement in agriculture was the main topic of discussion for Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at Sweet Briar College on Friday afternoon. Warner and Perdue visited on the college’s Founders’ Day to hear from local agriculture officials and community members about developments in Central Virginia.

AG SECRETARY, BEN CLINE VISIT CREAMERY AND HEAR LOCAL CONCERNS

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Congressman Ben Cline, R-Lexington, toured Mt. Crawford Creamery in Mount Crawford and then heard farmers’ concerns about markets, labor and legislation on Friday afternoon. “My role is to come out here and listen to folks like you and go back and tell [President Donald Trump] what the issues are in the country,” Perdue told the crowd.

WHY REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER IS ALL IN ON GUN CONTROL

Abigail Spanberger knows guns. Her father, a local cop turned federal officer, was always armed. As a child, she revered — but never touched — the cherry wood cabinet where her uncle kept hunting rifles. And as a onetime federal agent herself, she carried a 9mm Beretta handgun, able to drop and reload magazines in an instant.

SPANBERGER HOLDS TOWN HALL IN ORANGE

On Sunday afternoon, Rep. Abigail Spanberger held a town hall meeting with constituents in a Germanna Community College lecture hall in Locust Grove. It was the 10th such gathering in her tour of all 10 counties in the 7th Congressional District during her first year in office. Before an audience of residents from Orange, Culpeper and Spotsylvania counties, the first-term congresswoman promoted a bipartisan approach to problem-solving

VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS BACK TRUMP'S PLAN TO USE MILITARY MONEY FOR BORDER WALL

Virginia Democrats are not happy with President Trump's plan to divert money from Virginia military facilities in order to construct portions of his southern border wall. But Republicans support the effort.

RURAL ERS SEE FALLOUT FROM NATIONAL NURSING SHORTAGE

Earlier this year, patients, doctors, nurses and EMTs took 3-minute turns telling Tennessee officials what they saw happening inside their hospitals after two health systems merged to form Ballad Health. The meeting in February has been the sole opportunity for people living in either Tennessee or Virginia to step up to a microphone and tell their stories on the record, and air their concerns

AFTER RURAL HOSPITAL'S CLOSURE, PATRICK COUNTY SEEKS OTHER OPTIONS

About two years ago, a rural, mountainous Virginia county lost its only hospital, and local officials have now all but given up trying to bring it back. Community leaders in Patrick County said in recent interviews that reopening the hospital has proven financially unworkable, in large part because of the deteriorating building’s $5 million price tag.

OMEGA PROTEIN CORP. ONCE AGAIN OVERSTEPS ENVIRONMENTAL BOUNDARIES

Maybe it was the oxygen-starved waters in the Chesapeake Bay, or maybe it was storms off the Atlantic coast that brought so many schools of menhaden to the mouth of the Bay. Scientists still don’t have a complete understanding of menhaden, a fish that’s rarely eaten, but has so many other uses that spotter planes and a fleet of ships chase them each season.

IN FARM BAILOUT, SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES REAP REWARDS

If granted three wishes, Virginia farmers hit hard by the China-U.S. trade war might ask first for good growing weather, second for an end to the yearlong conflict and third for an address in Southampton County or the city of Franklin. Why? Because farmers there are entitled to the highest payouts in the state under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Facilitation Program, a federal effort to ease the trade war’s burden on farmers by compensating producers for lost profits.

APPALACHIAN POWER OFFERS DISCOUNT FOR ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING

By charging up during lower-demand hours, owners of electric cars can reduce their charges from Appalachian Power Co. The utility is offering a discount to its Virginia customers as part of a pilot program approved by the State Corporation Commission.

NEW PLAN CALLS FOR 45 MILES OF TOLL LANES ON I-64, STRETCHING FROM NEWPORT NEWS TO CHESAPEAKE

State and regional officials are proposing a 45-mile network of toll lanes for drivers who want to avoid traffic jams on Interstate 64. It would stretch all the way from the Jefferson Avenue exit in Newport News to the end of the road at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake. It’s a major expansion of earlier proposals for HOT (or high occupancy/toll) lanes

PAVEMENT AND BRIDGES A BIG STATE PRIORITY

Big road projects like the express lanes or Rappahannock River crossing easily catch the driving public’s attention. Maintenance of the road system, though, often flies under the radar, but is every bit as crucial to keeping the transportation system working. The Virginia Department of Transportation has an annual maintenance and operations budget of $2.1 billion

TEACHING ABOUT DISCRIMINATION AND RACE CAN BE A “MINEFIELD” FOR TEACHERS

When Kelly Walker read about how an English teacher at Kempsville High School was fired after leading a lesson on stereotypes, she had one immediate thought. “Man, that could have been me,” said Walker, a 28-year educator in Virginia Beach’s schools. More and more, Walker said, teachers are having to worry about leading classes on topics such as race, discrimination and stereotypes, including one lesson that led to the firing last year of Deborah Aho Smith.

ARLINGTON SCHOOLS WERE NAMED BEST IN VIRGINIA, BUT A GROWING CHORUS OF BLACK PARENTS IS DISRUPTING THAT NARRATIVE

There is no shortage of praise or accolades for Arlington Public Schools. Students in the suburban D.C. school system outperform their peers on state tests. Most high school students graduate with advanced diplomas. The district spends nearly $20,500 per student, more than any other district in a region flush with well-heeled public schools.

TEXAS BUSINESSMAN BOUGHT 3,500 ACRES IN NEW KENT AND STARTED A PAC. WHAT DOES HE WANT?

As he pointed out the window of his restored 17th-century plantation house, John Poindexter asked a visitor to pay particular attention to the bend of the Pamunkey River. An old painting on his office wall shows the same curve in 1862, with about 100,000 Union soldiers camped alongside it.

NORFOLK TOUTS BENEFITS A CASINO WOULD BRING. BUT STUDIES SHOW THEY’RE NO SURE BET.

Since the proposal for a casino resort on the banks of the Elizabeth River was floated by the Pamunkey Indian tribe and its partners in December, the discussion has been dominated by big numbers. The tribe would spend $700 million to put up a casino and 500-room hotel near Norfolk’s Harbor Park.

SPOTSYLVANIA SUPERVISOR WANTS COUNTY TO CONSIDER RED LIGHT CAMERAS

Spotsylvania County already has decided to install cameras on school buses to catch drivers who break the law. Could cameras on red lights be next? As the Board of Supervisors was approving the school bus cameras at last week’s meeting, Chris Yakabouski noted his interest in red-light cameras and suggested the county look into them.

SALES TAX BUMP GIVES FRANKLIN COUNTY SOME BUDGET WIGGLE ROOM

Franklin County’s sales tax collections were up by 20% in the fiscal year that ended in June, generating nearly $1 million additional revenue. Finance Director Brian Carter said actual collections exceeded budget by approximately $925,000. He said the spike could most likely be attributed to Mountain Valley Pipeline activity in the locality.

VIRGINIA FLUNKS LATEST TEST OF ETHICS, TRANSPARENCY

You would think that Virginia, the home of George Washington who is held up as the paragon of the ethical statesman, would rank as one of the most ethical, the most transparent, the most open states in the country. You would be wrong.

VIRGINIA'S DOCTOR SHORTAGE IS COMING SOON

You can have the best health insurance money can buy, but that won’t help you much if you can’t find a doctor to treat you when you get sick. That’s especially true for the six in 10 Americans trying to manage a chronic disease. But that might be a real possibility in Virginia as the number of retiring physicians increases over the next few years.

CLIMATE FIGHT OF VITAL CONCERN TO HAMPTON ROADS

A report released one year ago by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlined the grave threat posed by global warming and the daunting steps needed at once to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

A NECESSARY BRIDGE

Parsing through student loan details is no simple task. Language from servicers can be difficult to understand. Borrowers face complex choices within the fine print and mistakes can happen. ... As graduates work through repayment, Student Loan Advocate Scott Kemp is a necessary bridge between Virginia borrowers and servicers. We applaud the General Assembly and Gov. Ralph Northam for legislation last year directing SCHEV to create the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman.

AMBITIOUS RAIL PLAN WOULD BENEFIT CITY

Charlottesville Amtrak riders will be interested in this: An east-west route is being proposed by a group of organizations that includes the Piedmont Environmental Law Center, which has an office in Charlottesville. The proposed route is euphoniously labeled the Commonwealth Connector, linking the Blue Ridge and the beach.

SOME SURPRISING EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS FROM SOUTHSIDE AND SOUTHWEST VA.

What part of the state is doing the best job of educating its people — as measured by how many are getting some kind of education beyond high school? The obvious answer, of course, would be Northern Virginia. After all, Northern Virginia has one of the most educated workforces in the country.

WOULD WE REALLY BE SERFS IF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE WERE GONE?

USA Today recently ran a commentary with the provocative headline: “Rural Americans would be serfs if we abolished the Electoral College.” Is that so? Being located in a generally rural part of Virginia, we’re sensitive to all things rural, so the question intrigued us. The author, conservative writer Trent England, praises our current system for electing presidents because “the Electoral College makes it impossible for one population-dense region of the country to control the presidency.

SCHAPIRO: NORTHAM TALKS TOUGH - THIS TIME, TO FRIENDS

In July, the president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, Doris Crouse-Mays, met privately with Gov. Ralph Northam in his third-floor office overlooking the state Capitol. Anticipating the legislative elections in November and the prospect that Democrats could be in charge in January, Crouse-Mays wanted to know if Northam — elected with the backing of organized labor — had its back.

BRODERICK, SHAEFFER, LUFKIN, DEVER & DECINQUE: IMPROVING COLLEGE MOBILITY SERVES STUDENTS, REGION

Legislation in Virginia calls upon higher education to make it easier for students to transfer academic credit between institutions. From developing a set of courses that should transfer between all schools to promoting the creation of a “Uniform Certificate of General Studies,” these measures are responding to a trend we have long known on our campuses — students often move between institutions in their degree-seeking efforts.... As presidents of five higher education institutions in Virginia, we are working together to do just that.

Broderick is president of Old Dominion; Shaeffer is president of Eastern Shore Community College; Lufkin is president of Paul D. Camp Community College; Dever is president of Thomas Nelson Community College; DeCinque is interim president of Tidewater CC

HADWIN: ROANOKE GAS CUSTOMERS WILL PAY FOR MVP

Citizens of Roanoke must choose their energy and economic future. Existing businesses want to expand and new ones want to move here. RGC Resources will invest over $50 million to become a 1% owner of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) intending to make a big profit by owning part of a pipeline.

Hadwin served as an executive for electric and gas utilities in Michigan and New York. He lives in Waynesboro.

MORSE: WEIGHING RISK, REWARD AS CAMPAIGNS TAKE SHAPE

With the Nov. 5 state elections rapidly approaching, thought has turned to what may lurk beyond. Where might Virginia be headed with all this? It’s the uncertainty that unnerves some observers. Look what happened two years ago. Only in retrospect did anyone appreciate the anti-Trump surge that nearly created a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates.

Gordon C. Morse wrote editorials for the Daily Press and The Pilot in the 1980s. He later wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then worked for corporate and philanthropic organizations

WODICKA: MANY WILL MISS OUT ON TAX REFUNDS

If everything goes according to schedule, Virginia’s tax department will begin issuing $110 refund checks — $220 for joint filers — to Virginia taxpayers beginning through the first half of October. The checks are the result of tax legislation signed into law earlier this year. Unfortunately, not every tax filer will get a check. Over 1 million tax filers in the state will miss out altogether

Chris Wodicka is a policy analyst for the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, based in Richmond.

CANDIDATES, VOTERS EXPECT ACTION ON CLIMATE

No one willingly votes for dirty air, deadly heat waves and flooding. But if the wrong candidates win this fall, this is what voters will get instead of the health, safety and economic benefits of taking bold climate action. All 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly are on the ballot this year, and 2019 will be a make-or-break election for climate action in the commonwealth.

Rebecca R. Rubin is founder, president and CEO of Marstel–Day in Fredericksburg, an international environmental consultancy, and is a former member of the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board.

SYLVESTER-JOHNSON AND WIEGARD: ROANOKE, ARE WE THERE YET?

Based on a conversation between two members of the Citizens Climate Lobby: Joy Sylvester-Johnson of Roanoke and Chris Wiegard of Chesterfield County: Joy: I had a reality check. Four of my best friends questioned human-caused climate change, but then recently one got concerned about her beach house being flooded. Climate change has been in the news so much, all four now acknowledge it’s happening, but they still don’t see the connection to making better energy policies.

Sylvester-Johnson and Wiegard are members of the Citizens Climate Lobby.

HINCKER: THE U.S. SUPREME COURT ON GERRYMANDERING: 'I DUNNO'

I hate gerrymandering. It flies in the face of a fundamental constitutional principle – one-person, one-vote. Columnists, including this one, have railed against gerrymandered electoral districts, which essentially weight certain votes more than others. Gerrymandering, if not the primary cause, is certainly at the root of the current national political divide.

Hincker is a retired public relations executive living in Blacksburg.

FAVOLA: IN VIRGINIA, WE WILL WORK TO PROTECT WOMEN’S HEALTH

As a firm believer in equality, when the Virginia Legislature reconvenes in a few months, I will work to increase state funding for family planning services, including expanding the availability of birth control for low-income Virginians, and require insurance companies to cover contraceptives without a co-pay. And it’s important that Virginia does so, because the federal government is working hard to suppress equality for women.

Barbara A. Favola, a Democrat, represents Arlington in the Virginia Senate, where she is chair of the Women’s Healthcare Caucus.