VaNews
January 16, 2021

Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia's Member-Owned Electric Cooperatives
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We provide reliable, affordable electric service to more than 1.5 million Virginians, from Fairfax to Halifax, the Cumberland Gap to the Eastern Shore. www.vmdaec.com ([link removed]) ; www.co-opliving.com ([link removed])
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Top of the News


** Va. inches toward 25,000 doses a day but is still behind most of U.S. ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

One month after Virginia’s first set of COVID-19 vaccinations, the state is inching toward its goal of giving out 25,000 doses per day. According to data from the Virginia Department of Health, which is about three days behind and fluctuates daily as information comes in, Tuesday saw nearly 20,000 vaccines administered. The second-highest number of doses given out in a single day was on Jan. 7 with 18,177.
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** 2,000 area teachers to get first dose of COVID-19 vaccine ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Health officials announced Friday that they will hold a mass vaccination clinic Jan. 22 for public and private school teachers in the Roanoke Valley. The goal is to get 2,000 teachers vaccinated in one day. The Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts are partnering with Carilion Clinic to hold the largest vaccination clinic yet in the area.
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** If teachers get raise, state employees ask 'why not us?' ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

State employees listened closely to Gov. Ralph Northam when he told the General Assembly Wednesday that he wants to turn bonuses into raises for teachers. It's what they didn't hear that concerns them. Northam didn't mention state and other public employees who would receive bonuses in his proposed budget if the money is there to pay for a one-time boost, but not a long-term raise.
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** Virginia officials on edge as pro-gun caravans prepare to converge on Richmond Monday ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The pro-gun signs and flags had all been snapped up from the racks inside Green Top Hunting & Fishing on Friday afternoon. Around Virginia, buses were being plastered with banners and ham radio operators were gearing up to coordinate a potentially massive gun-rights caravan to the state Capitol on Monday. With the FBI warning of the potential for right-wing attacks in capitals around the country this weekend following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, officials are watching anxiously as armed demonstrators prepare to converge on Richmond.
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** President of prominent Virginia gun lobby suspended from Facebook ([link removed])
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By RACHEL NEEDHAM, Rappahannock News (Metered Paywall)

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, told the Rappahannock News on Friday that his personal Facebook account was suspended this week. The VCDL, arguably the commonwealth’s most powerful pro-gun organization, is gearing up for its annual Lobby Day in Richmond on Jan. 18. This suspension comes on the heels of Mailchimp suspending its email marketing service to the VCDL earlier this week citing a “possible policy violation,” according to Van Cleave.
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** Armed 'Patriot' message from 6th District GOP: Anti-Trump politicians need to fear voters ([link removed])
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By PATRICK HITE, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

“Certify Trump” or “Get Lynched by Patriots.” That kind of message was circulated by some people across America on right-wing, white nationalist and facist anti-democratic social media in the days before Jan. 6. Then, those "Patriots" circled the U.S. Capitol by the thousands to intimidate elected members of Congress. And hundreds invaded, killing a cop and terrorizing the House and Senate. A week later, the top local 6th District Republican is seemingly encouraging that movement to continue.
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** A trail of goodwill: Developer looks back at his contribution to Montgomery County ([link removed])
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By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Bill Ellenbogen is a developer and a self-avowed capitalist—and he’s had his hands in numerous brick-and-mortar business projects. But what’s earned him admiration from many in the area is the Huckleberry – a beloved recreational amenity and a regional draw that now stretches from Christiansburg to the Jefferson National Forest north of Blacksburg.
The Full Report
56 articles, 23 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** From VPAP Now Live: Year-End Campaign Finance Disclosures ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

VPAP has posted the year-end campaign finance disclosures required of all candidates and political committees. Here are quick links to statewide hopefuls, General Assembly candidates and leadership PACs. For each committee, see the top level numbers and browse a list of contributions and expenses.
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** VPAP Visual Statewide Candidates, Ranked by Money Raised ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

This interactive visual compares money raised last year by an unusually large field of candidates seeking the major party nominations for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. A straightforward comparison can be difficult because candidates tend to collect donations with multiple accounts and shift money back and forth. VPAP's analysis provides an apples-to-apples comparison and breaks down donations in each half of 2020.
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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. We've added a link the VDH vaccination data. There's also 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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** Northam administration decries 'double tax benefit' for businesses in federal relief package ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam doesn't want Virginia to endorse a new tax benefit for business in federal emergency relief legislation that could cost the state a half-billion dollars or more while giving a "double tax benefit" to companies that received forgivable federal loans for maintaining their payrolls during the COVID-19 crisis. Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne told the House Appropriations Committee on Friday that the governor wants Virginia to "deconform" its tax code from the provision of the federal emergency relief bill adopted by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in late December.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Proposal to end for-profit prison management fails in Virginia Senate ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

A proposal to bring Virginia’s only privately operated prison under state management failed in the General Assembly on Friday when it was voted down by members of the Senate’s Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee. The decision means GEO Group, a publicly traded corporation based in Florida, will likely continue to oversee the Lawrenceville Correctional Center in Brunswick County, where advocates and some lawmakers worried persistent staffing shortages have jeopardized inmate safety. . . . The company has been fined at least $700,000 by the Virginia Department of Corrections since 2018 for failing to maintain contractually agreed upon staffing levels, according to department records.
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** Enhanced Security and Potential Delays Ahead of Monday Gun Rally ([link removed])
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By WHITTNEY EVANS, WCVE-FM

Residents and public officials in capital cities are holding their breath this weekend, as they prepare for potential armed protests leading up to the presidential inauguration. Richmond is no exception. The city declared a State of Emergency Monday following FBI warnings and had already planned for large crowds, many carrying firearms as part of the annual pro-gun Lobby Day protest organized by the Virginia Citizen’s Defense League. Capitol Square was closed to the public Thursday and will remain closed through at least Jan. 21.
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** Booze laws: Bills would create open-container districts and extend cocktails-to-go ([link removed])
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By KARRI PEIFER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia lawmakers are considering allowing open container districts and making delivery cocktails legal for another year as part of a package of roughly a dozen alcohol-related bills filed in this year’s General Assembly session.
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** Delegate Marcia Price introduces first-of-its-kind Voting Rights Act of Virginia ([link removed])
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By ADRIANA DE ALBA, WVEC

It’s the first of its kind in the Commonwealth: the Voting Rights Act of Virginia. State Delegate Marcia Price (D-95), who represents parts of Newport News and Hampton introduced the legislation Tuesday. It’s a push to expand the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, with updates to protect people’s right to vote across Virginia.
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** Del. Reid seeks support for new Dulles Greenway bill ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia Del. David Reid (D-32nd) is seeking a determination of whether the Dulles Greenway is in the public interest to continue operating under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988 or should instead be brought under the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995. This is the second Greenway bill filed since lawmakers announced plans earlier this week to amend how the 14-mille Greenway is regulated.
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** House Democrats demand removal of redistricting commission member for ‘rigged’ election tweet ([link removed])
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By DEAN MIRSHAHI, WRIC-TV

Virginia House Democrats believe a Republican from Fredericksburg selected to be on the state’s new redistricting commission should be taken off the panel before its first meeting, calling for the removal of Jose A. Feliciano, Jr. after he tweeted that the only way President Trump could lose the election is if “the election is rigged.” Nine days ago, Feliciano was one of eight citizens chosen by a panel of five retired judges to work alongside state lawmakers already on the committee in the effort to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts.
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** Gooditis calls for LaRock to resign ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Del. Wendy Gooditis, (D-10th) on Friday publicly called for 33rd District Del. Dave LaRock to resign, accusing the Republican of encouraging the violent siege at the U.S. Capitol and condemning him for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. On Jan. 6, hundreds of President Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, interrupting a joint session of Congress to count the Electoral College’s votes to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November presidential election. The siege led to the deaths of four civilians and one police officer.
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** Sen. Amanda Chase says she’ll move to censure Sen. Louise Lucas over Portsmouth Confederate monument ([link removed])
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By BRETT HALL, WAVY-TV

In response to Virginia Senate Democrats’ plan to censure her, state Sen. Amanda Chase is reportedly moving to censure state Sen. Louise Lucas, for her involvement in the destructive Confederate monument demonstration in Portsmouth in June. Chase (R-Chesterfield) — who is also running for governor — tweeted Friday that, “Monday I will be filing resolutions to call for censure of every last legislator who has arrested or participated in a rally that ended in destruction.”


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** As nomination battle for Va. governor revs up, some worry the GOP is stuck in neutral ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Glenn Youngkin had not yet officially entered this year's race for Virginia governor when a fellow Republican on Friday rolled out a blistering online ad meant to stop the Great Falls businessman from snagging the nomination. “Youngkin puts profits over people,” an ominous-sounding narrator declares about the enormously wealthy former Carlyle Group executive in the ad, paid for by an anti-Youngkin political action committee.
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** McClellan pledges universal child care and preschool if elected governor ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, on Friday pledged to deliver affordable and high-quality child care for every Virginia child under the age of 5 by 2025. McClellan’s plan for universal child care and preschool in Virginia would guarantee free services for every low-income family. No family would pay more than 7% of their income in child care costs.
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** Delegate accuses Virginia’s attorney general of abuse of power over investigation into Confederate statue removal ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

In what may become a heated Democratic primary contest for Virginia attorney general, state Del. Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones Friday attacked Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) Friday for authorizing an investigation into allegations of impropriety surrounding Richmond’s mayor — a standard move in an ongoing court case that Jones called a Trump-like abuse of power. “Using the office of the Attorney General to investigate your political opponents is the same tactic employed by Donald Trump,” Jones (D-Norfolk) said in a statement, referring to the fact that Richmond Mayor Levar A. Stoney has endorsed him, and not Herring, for the Democratic nomination for attorney general this year.
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** Herring authorizes state police investigation into Richmond mayor's removal of Confederate statues ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has authorized state police to investigate Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and his administration’s work to take down the city’s Confederate monuments last year, a special prosecutor confirmed Friday. After former City Councilwoman Kim Gray last year raised concerns about a $1.8 million no-bid contract for the removal of the statues last summer, a Richmond Circuit Court judge assigned Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Timothy A. Martin to investigate.
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** GOP primary set for 8 sites Jan. 21 in Virginia's 38th District Senate race ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

A field of at least six Republican hopefuls will vie for their party’s nomination Thursday in a “firehouse primary” to fill the vacant 38th District Senate seat. Facing a qualifying deadline of Jan. 22, the district Republican committee announced it will host voting on Jan. 21 at eight sites across the district, which is more than 150 miles wide. The seat was left vacant by the Jan. 1 death of Sen. Ben Chafin, R-Lebanon.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** No more Lee-Jackson Day: Virginia sheds its Confederate symbols ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

For the first time in more than a century, Virginia won’t be honoring generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson with a holiday as the state continues to shed its Confederate symbols. It would have been celebrated Friday. Some cities in Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton, had opted not to commemorate the event even before a state law gave localities the option to replace Lee-Jackson Day with Election Day. The change was made by Democratic lawmakers who took control of the General Assembly last year for the first time in decades.
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** Bomb threat at Virginia Supreme Court all clear as Richmond remains on high alert ([link removed])
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By AMELIA HEYMANN AND JACKIE DEFUSCO, WRIC-TV

Virginia Capitol Police said no explosive device was found by K-9 units in the Virginia Supreme Court Building after a bomb threat was reported earlier this afternoon. VCP said just before 1 p.m. an employee received a phone call with someone referencing a possible bomb. Police said units arrived at the scene around 1:15 p.m., and out of an abundance of caution, they evacuated people into the Pocahontas building.


** CONGRESS
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** Bob Good Staffer Apologizes for Social Media Posts ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE-FM

Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) distanced himself on Friday from a staffer with history of extreme Twitter posts, including one that referred to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “Hitler.” Sandra Adams, Good's district director, apologized for using “poor judgement” in the posts. Adams and her husband, Melvin Adams, also attended portions of a riot outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Sandra Adams has used her Twitter presence since the November election to repeat false claims of voter fraud and chastise those who disagree with her unfounded claims. In one thread, Adams mocked another user who said that fraud did not exist.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Rambler Wood Products to base facility in St. Paul, Va., creating 73 jobs ([link removed])
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Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Rambler Wood Products will invest $7.6 million in the town of St. Paul to establish a value-added wood products manufacturing facility in the former Bush Furniture Industries building, creating 73 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The nearly 300,000-square-foot facility will make Rambler the first business of its kind to operate entirely indoors, allowing for full-capacity production year-round, according to a news release.
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** Bristol firm plans to hire about 50 workers ([link removed])
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Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

ActivePure Technologies, LLC, formerly Aerus Holdings, plans to hire about 50 employees at its city manufacturing facility. The firm makes air purification and other technology and has immediate openings in manufacturing, distribution, customer service and information technology, according to a written statement. Positions are located in ActivePure Technologies 400,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Bristol, Virginia.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** Bridges from Virginia into Washington will be closed 48 hours for presidential inauguration ([link removed])
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By SHAWN COX, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Several bridges that connect Virginia to Washington will be closed 48 hours for next week's presidential inauguration. The Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia State Police announced Friday that state authorities would be assisting with the closures of the Potomac River spans under an agreement with the U.S. Secret Service.
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** Inauguration Day closures expected to include the Mall, major bridges ([link removed])
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By EMILY DAVIES AND JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

All or most of the Mall is expected to close to the general public for Inauguration Day, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues. The National Park Service has not announced its full swath of closures for Jan. 20, saying in a statement Thursday that it has “yet to make an official decision regarding closures of the National Mall.”
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** Suit points to reason for suspension of Roanoke airport executives ([link removed])
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By JEFF STURGEON, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport suspended its former chief and its former head planner in November to investigate what the airport’s general aviation services provider called a leak of company secrets, a federal lawsuit says. Signature Flight Support, which handles a variety of airfield services including fuel sales, thinks a former top Signature official in Roanoke gave internal company figures and reports to airport officials in violation of a non-disclosure agreement, according to the suit. Then, the suit says, airport officials made the information public in a solicitation for bids.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVA will proceed with its plan to begin spring semester in person on Feb. 1 ([link removed])
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By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The University of Virginia will proceed with its plan to start the spring semester in person on Feb. 1, as universities face the question of how to bring students back to campus as COVID-19 cases surge. Virginia Commonwealth University will start its semester virtually and won’t consider resuming face-to-face education until mid-February.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Will vaccine shipments from feds ever increase? Officials in some states expressing alarm. ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A day after state officials said they would begin offering the coronavirus vaccine to about half of Virginia’s population, they now don’t know whether supplies will come from the national stockpile to support that expansion. Some state and local leaders around the country said Friday that if the federal government doesn’t increase shipments as they believed it would, their vaccination programs’ reach will be dramatically limited.
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** Exhausted vaccine reserve could unravel plans for Phase 1b expansion in Virginia ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

News that the federal government has already exhausted its supply of “reserve” COVID-19 vaccines sent Virginia officials scrambling on Friday — less than 24 hours after Gov. Ralph Northam outlined plans to expand vaccine eligibility. The Washington Post reported Friday that there was no federal stockpile of additional vaccines, despite an announcement earlier this week by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who told states the Trump administration would begin distributing those doses immediately. Previously, the administration said it was holding back the vaccines to ensure a second dose for everyone who had already received a first shot.
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** UVa to assist health district as vaccine is opened up to more people ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

University of Virginia Medical Center staff will join Blue Ridge Health District personnel on Monday to help give shots in the arm to residents who qualify as next-phase recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine. The health district will open its doors on Monday to emergency first responders, teachers and school staff who live in the district, which includes Charlottesville and Greene, Nelson, Louisa, Fluvanna and Albemarle counties.
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** More vaccines to start flowing Monday in Pittsylvania-Danville Health District ([link removed])
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By CHARLES WILBORN, Danville Register & Bee

Shots to fight COVID-19 will begin flowing into the arms of teachers and residents 65 and older Monday when the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District moves into the next level of a vaccination plan. Since the vaccine still isn’t available to the general public, those doses will be administered in what’s known as closed point of dispensing clinics, officials stressed in a Friday news release announcing the move to the next phase. Appointments are required.
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** Technology error allowed 6,000 Richmond-area residents to sign up for COVID vaccine ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Nearly 6,000 people who aren’t yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine were able to register for a vaccination appointment after a Henrico County scheduling system sent them a sign-up link by accident. Those sign-ups represent more than half the total number of residents from across the city of Richmond and Goochland, Hanover and Henrico counties who flooded the site Thursday night and forced the demand to far exceed the 6,000-dose supply allotted for schools and public safety workers in an upcoming vaccination event.
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** Frontline workers nervous, confused as Virginia vaccine numbers lag behind ([link removed])
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By ELIAS WEISS, Chatham Star Tribune

Virginia has administered just over a quarter of its distributed COVID-19 vaccine doses, which, going into 2021, was 110,000 fewer doses than the commonwealth expected to receive. And with the projected numbers of both doses distributed and administered lagging behind statewide, Southern Virginia has gone overlooked, leaving Southside citizens worried and confused.. . . All of Southside Virginia combined, including the counties of Pittsylvania, Campbell, Franklin, Patrick, Halifax, Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Appomattox, Brunswick and Greensville, plus the cities of Danville, Martinsville and Emporia, account for less then three percent of vaccinated Virginians.
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** Ballad: Plasma donations slow for COVID-19 patients ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Local donations of convalescent plasma used to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients declined sharply since Christmas despite record numbers of cases across the region, forcing Ballad Health to purchase plasma elsewhere. The local hospital system received just over 200 donations during the past three weeks at a time when there are more than 50,000 potential donors across Ballad’s 21-county Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia service area who have recovered from COVID-19 since Nov. 1.
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** First Fredericksburg-area person in 20s dies from COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

While the COVID-19 vaccine expands to a broader audience statewide, the virus continues its deadly spread. A Stafford County resident has become the first local 20-something to die, while lethal outbreaks continue at six long-term care facilities in the Rappahannock Area Health District. The Latino man was the youngest person to die locally, and one of 10 people in their 20s across Virginia whose deaths have been certified as COVID-19 related.
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** Richmond-area teachers are up next for COVID-19 vaccines ([link removed])
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By JESS NOCERA AND KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond area teachers and school staff will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations beginning Jan. 18, the Virginia Department of Health announced Wednesday. Local health officials are planning several large vaccination events starting next week for teachers, public safety officials and other front-line workers in the Richmond metro area. Those required to teach in person will go before those who may teach virtually.
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** Fredericksburg-area teachers start receiving COVID-19 vaccines ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Fred Jerman, a one-on-one paraprofessional at Fredericksburg’s Hugh Mercer Elementary School, rolled up his sleeve with a big smile on his face. He was one of several hundred Fredericksburg City Public Schools employees who went to the Fredericksburg Expo Center on Friday morning to start receiving Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
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** Rappahannock Regional Jail inmate tests positive for COVID-19 day after release ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Daniel Correll completed a nearly two-year sentence at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on Wednesday morning and went home to his parents’ house in Stafford County. On Thursday, he tested positive for COVID-19. According to his mother, Susan Correll, her son reported feeling ill when she spoke to him on Sunday evening.
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** Health Wagon Busier Than Ever, Breaking New Ground ([link removed])
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By ROBBIE HARRIS, WVTF

A free mobile medical clinic in Southwestern Virginia, known as the “Health Wagon” is serving record numbers of patients this year, due to COVID -19. And even though the pandemic is spiking, they report that have not lost a single patient to the disease. Busier than ever, the Health Wagon is, as always, up and running.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Declaring bankruptcy, NRA says it will explore leaving Virginia ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

As part of a major restructuring, the National Rifle Association says it will explore moving out of Virginia but for now will continue running its operations from its headquarters in Fairfax. On Friday, the gun-rights group announced it would file for bankruptcy as it works to cut its ties to New York, whose attorney general had probed the misuse of NRA funds and sought to force the organization to dissolve, and reincorporate in Texas. Eventually, the Virginia headquarters might follow.
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** Virginia men who came armed to Philly vote count remain free on bail after also attending Capitol rally ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A Philadelphia judge has denied a request to revoke bail for two Virginia men who traveled to the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes were being counted and were arrested originally on weapons charges, despite prosecutors' objections that they attended a rally last week that turned into a violent siege of the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors had argued that Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, each violated the conditions of his $750,000 bail by participating in the riot-turned-insurrection.
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** Gun-toting Chesapeake men who allegedly tried to stop vote count face more charges in Philadelphia ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The two men from Chesapeake who allegedly went to Philadelphia in November armed with guns and other weapons to confront elections officials counting presidential votes are facing new charges. The pair initially had several weapons charges against them, but those have been amended to include charges for attempted interference with primaries and elections, conspiracy and hindering or delaying performance of a duty, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office.
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** Natural Bridge Zoo fined for animal welfare violations ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Nearly six years after its undercover investigation of the Natural Bridge Zoo revealed widespread cases of animal abuse and neglect, the Humane Society of the United States said Friday that federal regulators have imposed a $41,500 fine. The fine was assessed in August 2019, but the humane society said it only recently learned of it through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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** Virtual tribute honors Wilder ahead of his 90th birthday Sunday ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Two days ahead of his 90th birthday, academic, legal and political leaders paid tribute to former Gov. Doug Wilder on Friday in a virtual ceremony that emphasized his contributions to education. Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao; Roger Gregory, chief judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., were among officials who helped honor Wilder during the celebration organized by VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
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** Rioting conviction lands man 1 month in jail ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

A Lynchburg man was sentenced to one month in jail this week after being convicted of participating in a riot following a May clash outside Fifth & Federal Station. Andrew Moore Stegner, 19, pleaded not guilty to felony throwing a projectile at an occupied dwelling and misdemeanor participation in a riot at his Wednesday bench trial in Lynchburg Circuit Court, according to records.


** LOCAL
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** County Defends Vaccine Rollout, Amid More APS Employee Complaints ([link removed])
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ArlNow

Acknowledging that “many residents are frustrated,” Arlington officials on Friday urged patience with the county’s vaccine distribution, while calling on the state for more doses. The county has been facing scrutiny for what some see as a slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite receiving the first vaccine shipment before Christmas. Earlier this week, vaccinations in Arlington were happening at a pace of just over 200 per day. At that rate, it would take more than two years just to give a single dose of the two-dose vaccine to every adult resident of the county.
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** Loudoun County Public Schools incorporates 'gender expression' into policy ([link removed])
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By JOHN BATTISTON, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Loudoun County School Board voted Thursday to incorporate the words "gender expression" into Loudoun County Public Schools policy, the latest in a recent series of changes to school system regulations seeking to enhance equity for students and staff who are part of the LGBT community.
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** Loudoun Co. pauses plan for return to in-person learning, as staff vaccinations begin ([link removed])
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By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

Coronavirus conditions have not improved enough to bring more students and staff back into classrooms, according to the Loudoun County School Board. All Loudoun County, Virginia, public school students have been doing distance learning since a December spike in positivity rates throughout the D.C. region. Before that spike, the plan for Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) was to allow middle and high school students to choose a return to two-day-per-week in-person learning for the start of the 2nd semester, beginning next week, Jan. 21. But in a Tuesday meeting, the Loudoun County School Board voted the opportunity to return to any in-person learning would have to wait for the foreseeable future.
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** City voter registrar may be out ([link removed])
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By JEREMY M. LAZARUS, Richmond Free Press

Kirk Showalter’s 25-year tenure as Richmond’s voter registrar may be coming to an end. Expectations are rising that the Richmond Electoral Board’s Democratic majority will vote to remove Ms. Showalter when the board meets Feb. 1 to consider upcoming elections. In response to a Free Press query, James M. Nachman, chair of the three-member board, would only say that the meeting agenda would include a closed-door session to discuss Ms. Showalter’s continued service.
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** Former Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene has told the city she plans to sue ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Former Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene plans to sue the city for wrongful termination, defamation, conspiracy and interfering with her contract. A law firm representing Greene sent a letter last month to then-Mayor John Rowe, the interim city manager and interim city attorney saying she intends to file legal action.
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** With school board deadlocked, Bedford student athletes rally in support of winter sports ([link removed])
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By JAMEY CROSS, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Although the Bedford County School Board took no action Thursday regarding winter sports, around 200 middle and high school athletes in the division gathered outside the board meeting demanding to be heard. The school board unanimously voted last month to fully fund winter sports, but added a caveat that decisions about contests would be made on a game-by-game basis. If the core indicators from the Virginia Department of Health show the county in the highest risk category, games will not be played, the school board decided.

Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia's Member-Owned Electric Cooperatives
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We provide reliable, affordable electric service to more than 1.5 million Virginians, from Fairfax to Halifax, the Cumberland Gap to the Eastern Shore. www.vmdaec.com ([link removed]) ; www.co-opliving.com ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** Virginia lawmakers have to set the standard for good governance ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

When the Virginia General Assembly set its calendar for the 2021 regular session, lawmakers across the commonwealth knew they would be governing in a time of crisis. Due to COVID-19, the state Capitol and the Pocahontas Building are “temporarily closed for public safety” and rightfully so. Ten months into the pandemic, we mourn the loss of more than 5,300 Virginia lives and 365,000 American lives.
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** Virginia should expand its appeals court, and by extension — justice ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

In Virginia, unlike in every other state, the losing side in criminal and civil trials has no automatic right of appeal. So few petitions for review are granted by Virginia’s appeals courts that, in the vast majority of cases, the rulings and opinions of trial judges are the final word. This is an injustice, and an invitation to injustice.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Matchmaker, matchmaker make Democrats a match ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia Democrats would tell you publicly their throng of statewide candidates is an embarrassment of riches, a reflection of the state’s accelerating diversity and the growing muscle of its metropolitan areas. Virginia Democrats privately would tell you that some of their candidates are embarrassments, though perhaps not on the scale of the Republicans’ Trump channeler, Amanda Chase.
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** PolitiFact: State Senator Spreads Lies About Capitol Riots ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE-FM

State Sen. Amanda Chase urged fellow Republicans to attend a Jan. 6 rally in Washington protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. She drove to it with personal bodyguards and gave a speech repeating a discredited statement she’d been making for two months - that the election had been “stolen” from President Donald Trump. . . . “Antifa is the culprit,” she wrote on her Facebook page, referring to a loose collection of activists who rally against fascism and far-right groups.


** OP-ED
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** Perrigan: Virginia’s Rural Students Deserve Better than a “seek to” Mentality ([link removed])
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By KEITH PERRIGAN, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

COVID-19 has had a tremendous negative impact on school divisions across the Commonwealth. The impact has been especially negative on rural school divisions. Several areas that have been concerns for rural schools prior to COVID-19 have been exacerbated during the pandemic. Those critical areas include enrollment loss, school infrastructure, and broadband access. The Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia, which includes 77 of the Commonwealth’s 133 School Divisions, have prioritized all these issues for the 2021 Legislative Session.

Perrigan is superintendent of Bristol Public Schools and president of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia.
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** Lea: I think it is the wrong decision ([link removed])
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By SHERMAN LEA, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

We are in the middle of a life-threatening pandemic across this Country and world. It has affected every aspect of our lives. I think the decision to play winter sports at this time is wrong. Roanoke’s infection rate for the virus is at an all-time high. The metrics indicates that it is not a good idea to play basketball. The medical doctors, or at least those in charge of Roanoke-Alleghany Health Districts, oppose the playing of basketball.

Lea is the mayor of Roanoke


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