VaNews
January 23, 2021

Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia Poverty Law Center
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Paving the way for a fair and just path forward for all Virginians.
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Top of the News


** Vaccine update: Can supply meet demand in Virginia? ([link removed])
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By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Frustration is building among Virginians who believe they qualify to receive a coronavirus vaccine because of their ages, jobs or health issues but can’t figure out how to get one. Now Hampton Roads’ cities and counties have entered the state’s second phase for administering the vaccine, or are starting next week. Phase 1b opens immunizations to people ages 65 and older, front-line essential workers and adults with high-risk medical conditions.
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** Virginia surpasses 6,000 total COVID deaths less than three weeks after hitting 5,000 ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Three weeks after surpassing 5,000 total COVID-19 deaths, Virginia has reached its next grim milestone: More than 6,000 people dead because of the virus. And as cases continue to surge across the state, health care providers are warning patients that supplies of the vaccine won’t be able to keep up with demand for months. Since Jan. 1, the state has reported 970 deaths but due to the certification process, this number lags behind by nearly a month, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.
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** 'Something to celebrate': 2,000 school employees vaccinated during Roanoke Valley's largest COVID-19 vaccine clinic ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Standing on a landing in Roanoke’s Berglund Center coliseum on Friday morning, Dr. Cynthia Morrow gestured to the scene unfolding below her. “This is beautiful,” she said. As she spoke, educators from around the region wound their way through a maze of traffic cones and caution tape before arriving to a table. In exchange for their arm, they received a quick jab and a sticker that read, “I got my COVID-19 vaccine!”
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** Virginia lawmakers vote to remove statue of segregationist ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

A panel of Virginia legislators advanced a bill Friday to remove a statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., a staunch segregationist, from the state Capitol grounds. The decision came amid a yearslong effort in history-rich Virginia to rethink who is honored in the state’s public spaces. Byrd, a Democrat, served as governor and U.S. senator. He ran the state’s most powerful political machine for decades until his death in 1966 and was considered the architect of the state’s racist “massive resistance” policy to public school integration.
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** Virginia Senate repeals ban on abortion coverage for plans offered through state exchange ([link removed])
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By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury

For the last decade, Virginia has banned private plans on the state’s health insurance exchange from covering abortions in all but narrow circumstances. But in an almost entirely party-line vote on Friday, the state Senate passed a bill from Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, that would remove that prohibition in state code. It’s one of the lingering barriers to abortion access in Virginia, which McClellan and other legislators have been on a push to roll back for years — with much more success since Democrats took control of both General Assembly chambers in 2019.
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** Danville group gathers for prayer vigil to advocate abolishment of death penalty ([link removed])
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By PARKER COTTON, Danville Register & Bee

Twenty-eight names were read aloud as an act of remembrance. Bruce Younger. George Towler. Abraham Redmond. Walter Cotton. All names of Black individuals who had been lynched or otherwise brazenly killed in Virginia and around Danville during the Jim Crow era.
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** Virginia pays $115,000 to prisoner who says he was punished for not speaking English ([link removed])
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By RACHEL WEINER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Nicholas Reyes, a convicted murderer, was held in solitary confinement at one of Virginia’s most restrictive prisons for a decade because he did not fill out a journal in a language he does not speak, his attorneys said. Last week, Virginia agreed to pay Reyes $115,000 and set up a system for ensuring that non-English-speakers in the prison system are not isolated for lack of ability to communicate.
The Full Report
49 articles, 22 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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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.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Panel pushes resolution declaring racism a public-health crisis; vote was along party lines ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

A House panel has sent to the floor a resolution declaring racism a public-health crisis in Virginia. On a 13-5 vote along party lines, the House Rules Committee approved the resolution from Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, All five Republicans on the panel, including Del. Kirk Cox of Colonial Heights, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor this year, voted against the measure.
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** Doctors, state officials and advocates push to pass legislation declaring racism a public health crisis in Virginia ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Doctors, state officials and advocates in Virginia, which was home to the capital of the Confederacy and the birthplace of slavery in the U.S., endorsed legislation Friday that would declare racism a public health crisis. A quick 13-5 vote along party lines in the House Rules Committee sent HJ537, proposed by Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, to the largely Democratic House floor.
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** Va. Senate passes bill to repeal ban on abortion coverage in state's health exchange ([link removed])
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By EMILY ZANTOW, Washington Times

The Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate on Friday passed a bill that would make the state the first in the South to repeal a ban on abortion coverage for plans sold in the state’s health insurance exchange. The legislation, which passed 20-17 along party lines, was written by Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat who represents Richmond. Abortion is the only legal medical procedure barred from plans sold by private companies in the state-based health exchange, Ms. McClellan said in a statement Friday, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.
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** House panel advances bill to remove segregationist Byrd's statue from Capitol Square ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A House panel on Friday endorsed removing from Capitol Square a statue of former Sen. Harry Byrd Sr., architect of Massive Resistance to school desegregation. The House Rules Committee voted 13-5 along party lines to back a bill to remove the statue of the Democrat who was governor from 1926-30 and a U.S. senator from 1933 to 1965. The panel also voted 16-0 to endorse a state panel’s recommendation to erect a Virginia statue of teenage civil rights pioneer Barbara Johns at the U.S. Capitol, replacing the recently removed statue of Robert E. Lee. Both measures advance to the full House.
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** Censure move goes forward against GOP contender for Va. governor ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

All state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield) had to do Friday to avoid a vote of formal censure from the state Senate was apologize for inflammatory remarks that included referring to rioters at the U.S. Capitol as "patriots." But Chase couldn't quite bring herself to utter the words. "If I have offended any of you in this room because I am very passionate about the Constitution, I apologize," Chase said — the only regret she expressed during her lengthy comments on the Senate floor.
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** Chase tries to head off censure, but critics say apology fell short ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, tried to head off potential censure by the Virginia Senate on Friday by condemning the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, but her critics were unswayed by her attempt. In a floor speech, Chase, a Republican candidate for governor, apologized to anyone who took offense at her vocal support of the protests that led to the insurrection seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election.
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** Va senator who defended Capitol rioters faces censure effort ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

The Virginia Senate appears likely to censure a GOP state senator whose public apology fell flat after she had defended those who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Sen. Amanda Chase, a hardcore acolyte of former President Donald Trump, sought to head off a censure resolution Friday by giving a floor speech declaring she was “completely horrified” by the Jan. 6 insurrection and condemned the violence at the Capitol.
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** Herring issues advisory opinion on discipline, expulsion of legislators involved in Capitol attack ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, WAVY-TV

In response to a question about legislator participation during the attack at the Capitol, Attorney General Mark Herring issued an advisory opinion saying the legislature has the authority to “discipline or expel its members.” “The January 6 attack on our Capitol was an affront to our democracy and the very foundations of our country. It’s appalling that a Virginia legislator would have anything to do with that event, or with the baseless conspiracy theories and lies that fueled it,” Herring said.
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** Marijuana legalization clears key Virginia Senate panel ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A proposal to legalize marijuana and create a regulated market for the drug cleared a Senate hurdle on Friday, coming out of a key panel with a delayed implementation date and a new diversity requirement for the boards that would guide the process. The Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services panel voted 8-7 in favor of a bill crafted by Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. All seven Republicans on the committee opposed the measure.
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** Vigils across Virginia call for the death penalty to be abolished ([link removed])
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By ALICIA PETSKA, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For 20 years, Mary Atwell has been among the Virginians advocating for an end to state executions. “Twenty years, at least,” said the retired Radford University criminal justice professor and past board member with Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. In those early days, the outlook for their cause seemed dim in a state that had one of the nation’s highest number of executions. But now? “Here we are today,” Atwell said. “Where there is a chance that we’re going to abolish capital punishment.
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** Virginia unlikely to see major changes in redistricting ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press

A relatively static population means Virginia’s legislative maps will be less affected by redistricting than any time since World War II, according to a leading member of the state’s new redistricting commission. Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, told commission members at their first meeting Thursday evening that preliminary data show northern Virginia in line for a modest increase, and communities on the North Carolina border losing some representation, but nothing like the upheaval from past decades, when northern Virginia was home to some of the fastest growing suburbs in the country.
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** New Virginia House bill clarifies funeral home personnel as “essential workers” ([link removed])
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By BREANA ALBIZU, WFXR-TV

Staff members at funeral homes are now considered “essential workers” in Virginia, thanks to a bill passed by several House delegates. This comes as local funeral homes are struggling to obtain need resources during the coronavirus pandemic. “They’re still challenging. There’s still a lot of anxiety,” said Sammy Oakey, President of Oakey’s Funeral Service and Crematory.
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** House passes Del. Rasoul's youth civic engagement bill; measure restricts police use of facial recognition technology ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Matthew Savage was able to testify to a House committee because his Fairfax County high school has a policy to excuse students for participating in a civic activity. Savage, the chairman of the Virginia Young Democrats Teen Caucus, was speaking in support of a bill to ensure more students in Virginia have that same ability. The bill from Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, would require the Virginia Department of Education to establish guidelines so that middle and high school students who are absent from school to attend a civic or political event can receive an excused absence.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Vendor that worked for Carroll Foy campaign apologizes for data infraction ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Carroll Foy’s campaign said a firm it hired to raise money inappropriately used data from a Democratic National Committee donor list. Carroll Foy’s campaign manager said the campaign had let the vendor go before learning of the infraction, which Carroll Foy takes “extremely seriously.” Campaigns are not allowed to use another campaign’s donor list without buying it or getting permission.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Hazard payments for home health workers arrive later and lighter than expected ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Yolanda Ross was happy to receive a check she had long awaited from Virginia's Medicaid program as hazard pay for working as a home health worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Ross, who makes less than $10 an hour while caring for her disabled adult son in their home in Henrico County, had expected a check for $1,500. After taxes, she received $971 - a 35% bite.
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** Shellfish harvesting ban extended for portion of the James River until Feb. 3 ([link removed])
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By SIERRA JENKINS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health extended the ban on shellfish harvesting in a portion of the James River until Feb. 3, according to a news release. The closure that was initially set to end on Monday. “Oyster sampling efforts made in an attempt to support an early reopening were unsuccessful and these results require an extension of the emergency closure duration,” the release said.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Norfolk manufacturer plans $6.5 million expansion that will create 68 jobs ([link removed])
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By SANDRA J. PENNECKE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Tabet Manufacturing Co. has provided parts, equipment and services for military, industrial and commercial customers for more than 60 years. Friday, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that the communications equipment manufacturer will invest $6.5 million to expand its Norfolk plant and create 68 new jobs.
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** The Navy is concentrating its amphibious ships in Hampton Roads — but moving some destroyers to Florida ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Navy is moving its East Coast amphibious ships to Hampton Roads and will shift some guided-missile destroyers to Naval Station Mayport in Florida. The aim is to make maintenance and repair work easier by keeping the ships closer to the shipyards that do the bulk of the work.
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** 'We're White': Virginia Newspaper's Radical Confession Gets Swift Pushback ([link removed])
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By MEGHAN ROOS, Newsweek

A Virginia newspaper's acknowledgment that the team behind its new reporting series about segregation in Norfolk is white drew heated responses from readers on social media. The Virginian-Pilot introduced its series, called "Dividing Lines," on Thursday with an overview of the racial segregation that exists in the city as a result of decades of policy and development decisions. The series is intended to be a long-term project and will seek input from readers through a designated tip line, the paper wrote. In a separate article also published on Thursday, the paper introduced the two reporters behind the series and their editor, all of whom "benefit from numerous privileges that the disadvantaged populations highlighted in this project do not," according to a tweet from the paper.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia to allocate limited vaccine supply based on population ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia is distributing its limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines across the commonwealth based on how many people live in a particular area. Dr. Danny Avula, who is leading Virginia’s vaccine efforts, said Friday in a media conference call that local health departments will know how many of the state's 105,000 doses they will get from week to week, but that their doses will need to be shared with hospitals, pharmacies and providers.
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** Federal supply remains biggest barrier to vaccination in Virginia, official says ([link removed])
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By ZEKE HARTNER, WTOP

Virginia is making strides in getting doses of COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of residents, but low federal supply remains the largest obstacle, according to the director of the state’s vaccine rollout on Friday. Dr. Danny TK Avula, who was appointed to oversee Virginia’s vaccine efforts by Gov. Ralph Northam, told reporters Friday afternoon that the state was currently receiving around 100,000 doses of vaccines per week. When Avula was first appointed, he said Virginia’s goal was to get to 50,000 doses distributed per day through mass vaccination sites staffed by members of the National Guard.
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** Officials plead for patience with vaccination program ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

One week after the Blue Ridge Health District said it would open up the COVID-19 vaccine to more people, officials are cautioning that vaccinating all those currently eligible will take months and require patience from the community. In a series of media briefings Friday, local and state public health officials sought to clear up confusion about the vaccination program thus far, outline plans moving forward and update the community about COVID case numbers.
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** Riverside president: Goal is to distribute full supply of vaccine by end of each week ([link removed])
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By MAGGIE MORE, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Running a hospital, and running it smoothly, is a complicated endeavor at the best of times. Figuring out how to organize COVID-19 vaccine distribution to employees and the public is a newer and more thorny problem, but it’s one that local hospitals like Riverside Doctors’ Hospital have had to try to solve out of necessity. “Our goal is to, at the end of any given week, to have no vaccine left,” said Dr. Mike Dacey, president and COO of the Riverside Health System, in a phone interview Thursday.
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** More deaths in state behavioral facilities as COVID-19 outbreaks rage ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The COVID-19 death count has risen to 22 in Virginia's public behavioral health facilities, most of them in two facilities in Nottoway County, as the state tries to control outbreaks of the coronavirus disease while vaccinating staff and patients against it. Most of the deaths have occurred at Piedmont Geriatric Hospital and the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation, both in Burkeville in Nottoway, which had recorded 1,570 cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths from the disease through Thursday.
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** King George dialed in to helping residents register for COVID-19 vaccine ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Gratitude—that’s what Shawn Simmons hears in the voices of older residents as she talks with them about getting signed up for the COVID-19 vaccine. Simmons is a division chief with the King George Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, and she’s done “a lot of heavy lifting” to set up a center to help residents with the task, said Chief David Moody. “The overall sense that we’re getting from people is just sheer gratitude, knowing there is some kind of sense of order—or at least as much as we can give,” Simmons said about the help provided, particularly to residents in their 70, 80s and 90s. “Overall, everybody’s been very grateful, and we’ve been happy, knowing we’ve been able to assist them.”
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** Vaccinations for Lynchburg essential workers begin ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Now that the Lynchburg area is in Phase 1b of COVID-19 vaccinations, with the first round of essential workers immunized this week, rollout should prove to be slow and steady, given a limited supply of doses. The Central Virginia Health District, composed of Lynchburg and surrounding counties, entered into Phase 1b — the second of four planned phases — Wednesday ...
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** Williamsburg, James City teachers get first COVID-19 vaccinations ([link removed])
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By ALEX PERRY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

In a joint news release Friday, county administrators and city leaders around the Peninsula issued a statement about the cooperative effort to establish local COVID-19 vaccine clinics that can vaccinate large numbers of people as enough supply becomes available. Three vaccine clinics have been established to serve the Peninsula, but are not yet open to the public, according to the statement. The clinic sites include the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, which will serve Williamsburg and James City County. The other two sites are Hampton Roads Convention Center, which will serve Hampton and Poquoson, and Christopher Newport University, which will serve Newport News and York.
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** ‘A huge gain for the community’: Williamsburg pharmacies among those getting COVID vaccine doses ([link removed])
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By MAGGIE MORE, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Local pharmacies in Williamsburg are getting their first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine soon, after months of back-and-forth with the Virginia Department of Health and extensive preparation. According to Irene Ferrainolo, Peninsula Health District spokesperson, among those newly approved facilities are The Prescription Shoppe on Monticello Avenue, Williamsburg Drug Co., which has locations in McLaws Circle and on Jamestown Road, and Eastern State Hospital in James City County.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Rocky Mount cops claim innocence during Capitol riots, but federal warrant says otherwise ([link removed])
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By SHAYNE DWYER, WSLS-TV

Two Rocky Mount police officers currently on administrative leave have maintained their innocence after a photo surfaced of them inside the U.S. Capitol’s Crypt the day of the riot, but a federal search warrant details a series of admissions and evidence to the contrary. The Federal Government issued arrest warrants for Thomas Robertson and Jacob Fracker based on the two bragging about their presence at the Capitol on social media. Both are charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and a charge of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
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** Military and Police Investigate Members Charged in Capitol Riot ([link removed])
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By DEEPA SEETHARAMAN, ZUSHA ELINSON AND BEN KESLING, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Jacob Fracker is a member of the Virginia National Guard and a police officer in the small town of Rocky Mount, Va. On Jan. 6, he joined the mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol and posted a photo of himself next to a fellow off-duty officer with his middle finger raised in front of a statue of a Revolutionary War commander, according to court documents. Mr. Fracker and the other officer, Thomas Robertson, were arrested last week on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. . . . As total federal arrests in the Capitol riot grow past 100, Mr. Fracker is one of at least 18 current and former police officers, firefighters and military members who have been charged as of Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal tally.
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** Va. men arrested near Pa. Convention Center during November vote-counting jailed again for attending Capitol riot ([link removed])
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By MENSAH M. DEAN, Philadelphia Inquirer

Two Donald Trump supporters arrested in November on weapons charges near the Pennsylvania Convention Center, while votes from the presidential election were being counted inside, were back in custody Friday after a Philadelphia judge increased their bail for attending the Jan. 6 deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. During a combative hearing at the Stout Center for Criminal Justice in Center City, which included contempt charges against defense attorney William J. Brennan, no evidence was presented that the defendants, Joshua Macias and Antonio LaMotta, entered the Capitol building along with thousands who battled with law enforcement and ransacked offices.
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** Meet the Richmond-area UPS driver who introduced Jon Bon Jovi during the inauguration TV special ([link removed])
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By COLLEEN CURRAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

On Wednesday night, Richmond-area UPS driver Anthony Gaskin, 53, appeared on President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony amidst a sea of celebrities and introduced Jon Bon Jovi. How the Powhatan County resident and Midlothian worker got there is a story about kindness. How a simple act of kindness – a daily “hello” or a quick smile – brought him to President Biden’s inauguration ceremony.


** LOCAL
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** Arlington Co. superintendent seeks vaccine progress before setting school return dates ([link removed])
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By NEAL AUGENSTEIN, WTOP

The superintendent of Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia said the start of COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers is “exciting,” but he wants to see more shots administered before setting new dates for students and teachers to return to in-person learning. Superintendent Francisco Duran heard public comments from some frustrated parents, as well as calls from teachers to hold-off on bringing more people back into school buildings for the time being, during a virtual meeting with the county school board on Thursday.
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** APS Superintendent Releases New COVID-19 Data for In-Person Instruction ([link removed])
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By JO DEVOE, ArlNow

Arlington Public Schools has asked nearly 6% of all staff who have reported in-person for work to stay home temporarily because they tested positive for COVID-19. Among in-person students, the percentage who have been kept out of school after testing positive is 5%. APS Superintendent Francisco Durán presented data on those excluded from school based on reported positive tests or contact with positive cases during the School Board meeting last night (Thursday). These new data, for the period from Nov. 1, 2020 to Jan. 21, 2021, come after weeks of teachers and staff asking for more transparency regarding coronavirus tests and exclusion rates.
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** Judge: lawsuit over elite school’s admissions can move ahead ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A judge is allowing a group of parents to move forward with a legal challenge to new admissions policies designed to create a more diverse student body at an elite public high school in northern Virginia. Fairfax County Public Schools had asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit over the admissions policies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which is ranked as the country’s best public high school by U.S. News and World Report.
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** Ordinance would empower citizens panel to allocate $3 million in city budget ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

On Monday , the Richmond City Council will consider an ordinance that would make part of the city's annual budget process more democratic, allowing residents to choose projects they want the city to fund. A City Council committee voted last week to recommend the creation of a public commission for the initiative, known as "participatory budgeting," more than a year after unanimously passing a resolution in support of the concept.
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** Richmond's top prosecutor favors abolition of death penalty ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin announced Friday that her office supports a bill pending in the Virginia General Assembly that would abolish the death penalty and said Friday that she will not seek any death sentences. The legislation, SB1165, backed by Gov. Ralph Northam, has bipartisan chief patrons, Sens. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and William Stanley, R-Franklin.
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** Thousands of Chesterfield residents push to delay return to schools ([link removed])
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By JESS NOCERA, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Nearly 4,000 Chesterfield County residents — led by parents of schoolchildren — on Friday petitioned public school leaders to keep buildings shuttered until staff members are fully vaccinated. “It’s not just the teachers, it's the aides, the counselors, the bus drivers, the people who work in the cafeteria.
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** Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander has a new gig: Chancellor of a network of for-profit schools ([link removed])
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By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander has a new gig overseeing a network of trade and technical colleges, centered in Norfolk but with campuses around the country. As chancellor, Alexander will “oversee policy development and provide direction for the institutional mission, core values and vision while supervising external affairs,” according to a statement released by the network late Friday.
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** Portsmouth residents rally against — or for — making Danny Meeks city manager ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A week after a majority of Portsmouth City Council members signaled support for hiring former councilman and mayoral candidate Danny Meeks as city manager, a group of business, civic and religious leaders gathered Thursday to call him woefully unqualified and push the council to hire a more experienced person. A crowd of about 100 people listened to the speakers in a vacant lot near City Hall, with half cheering and clapping in agreement and half waiting for the speaker to stop so they could break into chants supporting Meeks.
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** Judge: Tax on freelance author is unconstitutional ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Charlottesville’s business license taxation of a freelance author is unconstitutionally vague, according to a recent order from a Charlottesville Circuit Court judge. Authors Corban Klug and John Hart had lawsuits filed on their behalf in July 2019 claiming that the city and county are unconstitutionally discriminating between different types of speech by taxing freelance writers and not traditional media.
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** Loos news: Coronavirus relief funds helping Christiansburg parks ([link removed])
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By TONIA MOXLEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Federal coronavirus relief has brought more than tax refunds and paycheck protection loans to Christiansburg. It’s also bringing an end to port-a-potties in some town parks. “Ever since the pandemic has happened, our parks have just been so busy – our parks and our trails,” Parks and Recreation Director Brad Epperly said. “People are just starved for those types of opportunities.”
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** Town attorney: Front Royal gets hundreds of FOIA requests per year ([link removed])
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By ALEX BRIDGES, Northern Virginia Daily

Front Royal collects thousands of dollars each year to fulfill requests for mostly public information that can amount to tens of thousands of documents. But town employees can spend hundreds of hours poring through paperwork, emails, reports and other documents to find the information as requested. Town Attorney Douglas Napier spoke this week to the Town Council and provided members a basic overview of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The town received 91 FOIA requests in the first 19 days of the year, Napier said.
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** Councilman Proposes Renaming Street in Front Royal After Donald Trump ([link removed])
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By DREW WILDER, WRC-TV

After the inauguration of President Joe Biden, some supporters of former President Donald Trump are still finding ways to honor him and his presidency. Town Councilman Scott Lloyd proposed renaming a road in Front Royal, Virginia, to Donald Trump Avenue to honor the Trump supporters who live there. Voters in Warren County favored Trump over Biden two to one in November.

Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia Poverty Law Center
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Paving the way for a fair and just path forward for all Virginians.


** EDITORIALS
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** Time for passenger rail advocates to think big ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It’s time to think big, folks. Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed spending $50 million to extend passenger rail to the New River Valley — and get a second train on that route. That’s definitely thinking big, especially considering that until 2017 we didn’t have any passenger rail service in Virginia west of Lynchburg. Now that extension to Roanoke has proved surprisingly popular (well, maybe not surprising to people around here, but to government officials in Richmond and Washington).
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** Transit ridership drop may be permanent ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Like most mass transit agencies across the nation, those serving the Fredericksburg region have suffered a steep drop in ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, necessitating deep cuts in service. Many local commuters who used to take Amtrak, the Virginia Railway Express, a carpool, vanpool or bus to work are now socially distancing and teleworking at home.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Little bills with big meaning for ordinary Virginians ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Del. James Edmunds II wants to clean up rural Halifax County. Not that its politics demand it, though the roads that lace its rolling hills do. Edmunds and his 17-year-old daughter, Caroline, have spent hours policing the highways and byways near the family farm, filling large plastic bags with trash, much of it dumped by passing motorists. Offended by the detritus, the Republican believes stiffer penalties for littering in Virginia will have people thinking twice about hurling onto a leafy shoulder or grassy median beer cans, soft drink bottles, fast food wrappers, losing lottery tickets, soiled diapers and more.


** OP-ED
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** Creighton, Little, and Robinson: Governor's schools reform an overdue course correction ([link removed])
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By RASHEEDA N. CREIGHTON, MAKYA RENÉE LITTLE, AND RODNEY ROBINSON, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

This legislative session, we are hopeful that the Virginia General Assembly is planning to consider a governor’s schools bill — as we feel it is an important step toward transforming gifted education into a system that works for all. We are two alumnae of the commonwealth’s top governor’s schools, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) and Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies (MLWGS), and the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. ... we say the status quo is untenable.

Creighton, cofounder of The Jackson Ward Collective, was in the first class of Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. Little, president of TJ Alumni Action Group Inc., alumna of Thomas Jefferson High School. Robinson was the 2019 National Teacher of the year


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