VaNews
February 6, 2021

Today's Sponsor:


** The Virginia Lottery
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Circumstances change, but their mission doesn’t, giving back 595 million dollars to Virginia’s K through 12 public schools last year. Learn more at valottery.com/givingback ([link removed])
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Top of the News


** Northam: Schools should offer in-person teaching option by March 15 ([link removed])
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By BEN FINLEY AND SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday that all schools in the state should make in-person instruction available at least as an option next month, noting the coronavirus pandemic’s steep toll on children and families. Northam said during a news conference that all K-12 school divisions should make the option available by March 15. He also encouraged schools to offer summer classes for kids who want to take them. The governor did not say the guidance was mandatory, but his office later said Northam expects all districts in the state to be on board with the March 15 deadline.
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** Virginia legislature votes to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia's legislature has agreed to legalize marijuana and abolish the death penalty, a dramatic turn for a state once so opposed to change that it mounted "massive resistance" against school integration and stood by its Confederate statues for 155 years after the Civil War. Friday's votes in the General Assembly make it all but certain Virginia will become the first Southern state to allow legal marijuana sales and end capital punishment. Although both bills need details ironed out, Democrats who control the Senate and House of Delegates wield enough votes to send the measures to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has promised to sign them.
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** House, Senate vote to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences in Virginia ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly have legislation to eliminate numerous mandatory minimum prison sentences from the state code. The House of Delegates and Senate — both controlled by Democrats — each have different ideas of how many mandatory minimums they’d like to scrub. So now comes the hard part: reaching a consensus on a final piece of legislation that both chambers will agree to.
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** A test for Trumpism: Virginia Republicans seek new playbook ([link removed])
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By STEVE PEOPLES AND SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

The national Republican Party in Washington is at war with itself, struggling to reconcile a bitter divide between former President Donald Trump’s fierce loyalists and those who want Trumpism purged from the GOP. They need only look across the Potomac River into Virginia to see the dangers that lurk if they cannot correct course. In just nine months, Virginia voters will elect a new governor in what marks the first significant test of the Republican Party’s strength in the post-Trump era.
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** Independent review criticizes Fredericksburg police use of tear gas against protesters ([link removed])
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By TAFT COGHILL, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

An internal review of the Fredericksburg Police Department’s handling of protests from May 31 through June 2 of last year concluded that actions by officers were justified and carried out according to the department’s standards. But an independent examination of those events conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum determined that Fredericksburg police were too quick to deploy tear gas and pepper spray on demonstrators on two separate occasions It also found the department failed to protect its officers from the chemical agents they used and some officers carried patrol rifles against department policy. The review said police and city officials need extensive training on how to prepare for future mass demonstrations.
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** Virginia still doesn't have a website or phone bank to help people find COVID-19 vaccines ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Howard Spielberg, 81, ​has spent a month looking for a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. He’s rung the local health district, nearby CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, his doctor’s office, the state health department - anywhere he thinks may have a dose. He said he’s submitted his name five times through a form on the Henrico health department website.
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** For Rockingham, An Unusual 'First' Day Of School ([link removed])
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By MEGAN WILLIAMS, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Katie Dulo has been a freshman at Spotswood High School for five months now, but Thursday was the first time she has ever stepped foot in the school. “I was a little scared. I got lost a few times,” Dulo said. “But everyone was really nice to point me in the right direction.” It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed in a space you’ve never been to. Normally, incoming freshmen have a chance to visit their new school at least once before the first day of class. But this is not a normal year, and this was not a normal “first day of school.”
The Full Report
62 articles, 28 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Fewer Copy-Cat Bills ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

One month before the 2020 General Assembly convened, Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland) introduced a bill to make it illegal for drivers to hold a cellphone in their hand. It turned out to be a popular idea. In the end, five other legislators put in bills essentially identical to Stuart’s bill. But this year, legislators – faced with strict bill limits – have cut back on duplicating others’ ideas.
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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 to 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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** Virginia governor calls on all schools in state to reopen by March 15 ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is calling on all schools in the state to offer some form of in-person learning by March 15, marking a major escalation in the ongoing battle among elected officials, administrators, teachers and families over when and how to reopen classrooms. The governor’s request — made in a call with superintendents statewide Friday morning, as well as in a formal letter — is an expectation and not an order, according to spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky. But she said the governor feels confident that every Virginia school system will be able to reopen on his timeline.
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** Northam tells school districts to offer in-person learning by March 15 ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR AND KENYA HUNTER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Push has come to shove for Virginia’s school districts that remain fully virtual, as Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that they must begin to offer in-person learning by March 15. In a letter to the state’s school superintendents, Northam wrote: “To prevent irreparable learning loss and psychological damage, I expect every school division in the Commonwealth to make in-person learning options available by March 15, 2021, in accordance with the latest guidance.”
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** Northam says he wants Virginia schools to open by March 15 ([link removed])
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By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam was unequivocal Friday: He wants schools open and open soon. About a third of school districts didn’t have in-person classes as of late January, according to the Virginia Department of Education. Those districts combined enroll almost 500,000 students. Even after the state issued new guidelines last month, some schools remain reluctant to reopen amid staff shortages and elevated case numbers. The decision to reopen, the state has maintained since summer, is up to each local school board and superintendent.
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** Summer School Is a Hot Idea Right Now. Could It Work? ([link removed])
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By DANA GOLDSTEIN AND KATE TAYLOR, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)

The idea makes sense, so much so that at least two governors, a national union leader and President Biden are behind it: extend this school year into the summer to help students make up for some of the learning they lost during a year of mostly remote school. By summer, more teachers will be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Transmission rates might be significantly lower. And it will be easier in warm weather for students and educators to spend time in the open air, which is safer than being indoors. Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia promoted the idea on Friday, saying that schools should make summer classes an option for families.
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** Northam gives update on vaccine rollout in Virginia ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Virginia continues ramping up efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday, but he admitted the state has a “long way to go.” Speaking during a news briefing, Northam said changes made last week have greatly increased the state’s vaccination rates. As of Friday, Virginia has administered 86% of its allocation of first doses of the vaccine and 67% of total doses, to rank 12th among all U.S. states.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** House of Delegates votes to abolish death penalty, signaling end of capital punishment ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

In a landmark vote Friday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in the state that, since Colonial times, has executed more people than any other. With the Senate approving similar legislation Wednesday and Gov. Ralph Northam backing both measures, the action all but ends the death penalty in Virginia, which will now join 22 other states without a capital punishment law.
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** Virginia House joins Senate in voting to end death penalty ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Virginia moved another step closer to ending capital punishment on Friday when the state House joined the Senate in voting to abolish the death penalty. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam supports the legislation, which would make Virginia the 23rd state to stop executions. It’s a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state.
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** House of Delegates passes bill to abolish Virginia’s death penalty; governor expected to sign into law ([link removed])
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By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

The Virginia House of Delegates on Friday passed legislation abolishing the death penalty, which would make the Old Dominion the first southern state to end the centuries-old practice. Sponsored by Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, the House bill passed on a 57-41 vote, two days after the Senate passed an identical measure by 21-17. Both votes were overwhelmingly on party lines, with Democrats in favor of the change and Republicans opposed. Gov. Ralph Northam has vowed to sign the measure.
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** Virginia’s legislature is a procedural vote away from passing legislation abolishing death penalty ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

The Virginia House of Delegates voted 57-41 Friday to abolish the death penalty. The Senate passed identical legislation on Wednesday. Gov. Ralph Northam has not only said he’ll sign it, but has championed the issue. Which is all to say, Virginia is very close to finalizing legislation that would make the state the first in the South to end capital punishment.
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** Vogel opposes amended death penalty bill over no life without parole ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Twenty-seventh District state Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Upperville, said she voted against an amended version of a bill to abolish the death penalty in Virginia. On Tuesday, Vogel supported legislation eliminating the state’s death penalty. But on Wednesday she voted against the legislation because it did not establish a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for anyone convicted of what is currently a capital offense.
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** Marijuana will be legal in Virginia after historic vote, with dispensaries opening in 2024 ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia, which for decades has sent thousands of people to jail for selling or using marijuana, is about to make it legal. In a historic shift for this traditionally conservative Southern state, the General Assembly voted Friday to allow its possession, manufacture and sale. But while lawmakers in the House of Delegates and Senate agree on legalizing the substance, the chambers will have to work out differences in their proposed bills before a final version reaches Gov. Ralph Northam, who has signaled he will sign their legislation into law.
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** Virginia lawmakers pass marijuana legalization bills ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN AND DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation Friday that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, with retail sales starting several years down the road. Work on the complicated legislation has been a priority for Democrats who control state government. But the process is far from finished — there are substantial differences between the two chambers’ bills that must be worked out before they can be sent to Gov. Ralph Northam, who could also seek to make additional changes.
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** Virginia House and Senate back legalization of marijuana ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Virginia lawmakers took key steps Friday toward making Virginia the 16th state to legalize marijuana, as the House and Senate separately voted to allow recreational use by adults, with retail sales by 2024. The Senate voted 23-15 in favor of legalization, as two Republicans, Sens. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico and Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier, joined the Democrats. Earlier Friday, the House of Delegates voted 55-42 along partisan lines to support legalization. Gov. Ralph Northam backs legalization.
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** Virginia lawmakers vote to legalize marijuana, but House and Senate still have to agree on details ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Virginia lawmakers voted Friday to legalize marijuana, agreeing in principle to legislation that would allow retail sales to begin in 2024 and expunge many past convictions. . . . The bill passed the House on a 57-41 party line vote, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing. The measure drew modest bi-partisan support in the Senate, with two Republicans joining the chamber’s 21 Democrats in voting for the bill.
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** Budgets will emerge before assembly knows how much it can spend ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Teachers want pay raises, and so do state employees. The Board of Education says Virginia needs to spend almost a half-billion dollars to meet its own standards for public education. Home health agencies say they need a big boost in Medicaid reimbursements to cover their costs when the state minimum wage rises on May 1 and again on Jan. 1.
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** Virginia House, Senate pass bills to eliminate costly coal tax credits ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Both chambers of the General Assembly have passed legislation this week to eliminate the controversial coal tax credits, making it all but certain that the costly business incentive will end after attempts in past years to retain it as a financial lift for far Southwest Virginia. A critical report from the legislature’s watchdog agency found that the tax credits — among the state’s largest — generated economic losses for the state, making it hard for legislators to justify the program’s continuance.
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** House adopts narrow tax benefit for businesses, setting up showdown with Senate ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The stage is set for a showdown between the House of Delegates and the Senate over tax relief for businesses that received forgivable loans from the federal government to help them survive the COVID-19 pandemic without laying off their employees. The House voted 54-43 along party lines on Friday to support limited tax relief for unincorporated businesses that received forgivable, tax-exempt federal loans under the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the CARES Act emergency relief package Congress adopted last spring.
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** Va. Senate rejects bill to require background checks for gun rentals ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

A bill meant to prevent suicides at Virginia shooting ranges failed on the floor of the state Senate Thursday after a majority of senators decided it was unworkable. The legislation, brought in response to the back-to-back suicides of two young men at a Hanover County shooting range, was sent back to a Senate committee by a 21-18 vote, effectively killing it for the year. The proposal would have required state-level background checks for gun rentals starting in 2023.
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** Bill to Manage Future Toll Increases on Dulles Greenway Clears Senate ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

A bill that would add additional criteria for future toll increases on the Dulles Greenway has cleared the Senate with a 32-5 vote. The proposal, which was sponsored by Sen. John Bell, heads to the House of Delegates for a vote. If approved, the bill would require Toll Road Investors Partnership II, the operator of the toll road, to receive the approval of the Virginia Department of Transportation before toll increases go into effect. The greenway covers 14 miles of road from Dulles Airport to Leesburg.
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** Virginia House repeals constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage ([link removed])
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By JOHN RILEY, Metro Weekly

On Thursday, lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates took the first step in a long, complicated process of repealing a voter-approved constitutional amendment that prohibits two people of the same gender from marrying. Approved in 2006, the Marshall-Newman Amendment’s prohibition on same-sex marriage is no longer enforced in the commonwealth, ever since a pair of Supreme Court decisions in 2013 and 2015, respectively, overturned a law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriages, and declared all remaining bans on same-sex nuptials unconstitutional.
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** Virginia House advances resolution on water as a human right ([link removed])
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By DAVID TRAN, VCU Capital News Service

The city of Petersburg made headlines last year when the city disconnected water service to non-paying residents preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, criticized the city’s action as “inhumane” and the dispute reached Virginia Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, who in a letter ordered the city to restore service to 150 residences that still didn’t have water last May. Aird introduced House Joint Resolution 538 to ensure no person in the commonwealth is denied access to water. The measure recognizes the access to clean, affordable water as a human right.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Sen. Chase says she's awaiting COVID-19 test result after a volunteer tested positive ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, said she’s awaiting results of a COVID-19 test after learning that a campaign volunteer she was with has tested positive. Chase, a candidate for governor, attended a gun show in Augusta County on Saturday.
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** Early voting underway in Virginia Senate District 38 special election ([link removed])
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By SLATER TEAGUE, WJHL-TV

Early voting is underway in the special election for the Virginia Senate District 38 seat. Democrat Laurie Buchwald and Republican Travis Hackworth are vying for the seat vacated by Sen. Ben Chafin, who died from COVID-19 last month. With the special election 45 days away, those in the 38th District can now cast absentee ballots in-person by visiting their local registrar’s office. Early voting will continue through March 20.


** CONGRESS
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** In 2018, Luria said she wouldn’t accept corporate PAC money. But she just took in more than $30,000. ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

After making a promise in 2018 to not use money from corporate political action committees, U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria has changed her mind. Luria, a Democrat who lives in Norfolk, ended her 2020 campaign owing more than she had in her campaign account and accepted more than $30,000 from corporate PACs at the end of 2020, according to CQ Roll Call, which first reported Luria’s reversal. The contributions were from the corporate PACs of Google, Altria, Raytheon, General Dynamics and others, according to Federal Election Commission documents.
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** Sen. Warner to unveil bill reining in Section 230, seeking to help users fight back against real-world harm ([link removed])
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By TONY ROMM, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Sen. Mark R. Warner is set to introduce a bill that could hold Facebook, Google and other tech giants more directly accountable when viral posts and videos result in real-world harm. The measure is dubbed the Safe Tech Act, and it marks the latest salvo from congressional lawmakers against Section 230. The decades-old federal rules help facilitate free expression online, but Democrats including Warner (Va.) say they also allow the most profitable tech companies to skirt responsibility for hate speech, election disinformation and other dangerous content spreading across the Web.
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** New Senate intel chief wants to reimagine 'decimated' spy agency ([link removed])
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By MARTIN MATISHAK, Politico

Some Democrats may be eager to use their newfound power in Washington to investigate the misdeeds of the Trump era. But Mark Warner isn’t interested in performing an autopsy of the last four years in the U.S. intelligence community. The Virginia Democrat and newly installed chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee doesn’t believe he would best serve the country by launching probes into the political pressure spy agencies faced under former President Donald Trump, who labeled elements within the intelligence community part of the “deep state” and clashed with them over issues like Russian election interference. Instead, Warner would rather focus on depoliticizing and rebuilding the clandestine organizations.
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** Protesters in Christiansburg demand Griffith step down ([link removed])
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By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More than 40 people lined the sidewalk on West Main Street late Friday morning, with many of them holding up messages directed at U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. One cardboard placard issued a succinct demand: “Griffith Resign.” “After all that happened at the Capitol, he would still vote to not accept the election results when clearly Biden had won, and all of this was just fanning the flames of the big lie,” said Meredith Dean, director of the Floyd County-based Appalachian Women of Action.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Dawn of legal sports gambling in Virginia - just in time for Super Bowl ([link removed])
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By NORM WOOD, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Johnny Avello couldn’t have imagined sports wagering grabbing hold across the country the way it has in recent years. With 35 years in the horse racing and wagering industry, he’s made a living in Las Vegas setting odds on sporting events. Only a handful of years ago, his odds on Virginia soon becoming a sports gambling playground wouldn’t have been great, and he would’ve been wrong. Just in time for the Super Bowl, Virginia went online Jan. 21 for legal sports gambling through mobile apps, becoming the 20th state to permit sports wagering since the Supreme Court started opening the business to states other than Nevada in May 2018.
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** Lobbying begins anew for FBI headquarters as GSA considers its options ([link removed])
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By AARON GREGG AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The General Services Administration is embarking on yet another phase of the long-stalled effort to relocate the FBI headquarters from its 45-year home in downtown Washington, teeing off a complex lobbying battle over the jobs and financial investment the project would entail. The omnibus spending bill recently approved by Congress requires the GSA, whose Public Building Service operates as a sort of centralized landlord for the federal government, to come up with a plan for a new headquarters within 90 days.
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** DoorDash donates $450,000 to state for grant program for Virginia restaurants ([link removed])
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By KARRI PEIFER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia restaurants have another opportunity for financial relief, thanks to a $450,000 grant program from DoorDash — a national restaurant delivery service — and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, the state’s division of the National Restaurant Association. Independently owned restaurants throughout the commonwealth can apply for grants of $3,500 now through March 1 at VRLTA.org. “Restaurants and hospitality businesses have made tremendous sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** “Pod” registration faces a slow start as parties erupt on campus in spite of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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By HOLLYANN PURVIS, Collegiate Times

As students enter their fourth week of classes and on-campus move-ins finally come to a close, it’s safe to say that the second semester has officially begun for Virginia Tech students. However, as the semester gets rolling, another aspect of campus life has begun to erupt on campus: unmasked, large gatherings of students that go against Gov. Northam's COVID-19 preventative guidelines. Over the weekend of Jan. 23 through the 24, the Blacksburg Police Department tracked down over 10 parties on campus, referring over 30 students to the Virginia Tech Student Conduct office. With the last move-in time slot for on-campus residents landing on Jan. 24, this was the first weekend that the majority of Tech students were back in Blacksburg.
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** Off-campus students at University of Richmond end their quarantine Monday ([link removed])
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By ERIC KOLENICH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The University of Richmond will welcome 500-plus undergraduate students back to campus Monday, two weeks after they were asked to stay home. After conducting COVID-19 tests of its student body in January, the university learned that 17% of students living off campus had tested positive. The rate for on-campus students was 1.4%.
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** U.Va. extends offers of admission to 6,187 early action applicants for a 21.4 percent acceptance rate ([link removed])
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By LAUREN O'NEIL, Cavalier Daily

The University released early action decisions Friday, extending offers of admission to 6,187 candidates out of a total of 28,897 applicants — a 21.4 percent offer rate. 40 percent of those admitted are students of color, 7 percent are foreign nationals and 46 percent are white. The application pool for early action admission to the Class of 2025 saw a record 15 percent increase over those for the Class of 2024 when 25,160 applied. There was also a slight increase in the early action acceptance rate this year — up .7 percent from last year’s 20.7 percent offer rate.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** South African variant appears in Virginia as state is poised to deliver millionth dose of vaccine ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Sometime over the weekend, vaccinators will deliver the millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine into a Virginian’s arm. The millionth dose will come just days after the South African variant of the virus was identified in a sample from an Eastern Virginia resident and about a week after the first of four cases caused by the United Kingdom variant were discovered in the state. The variants appear to spread more easily than the virus that has circulated in the state for nearly a year.
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** Virginia reports first case of another COVID variant; Northam says 'now is not the time to relax' ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia has become the third state in the U.S. to report a highly transmissible variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa. Like other COVID-19 mutations that originated in the United Kingdom and Brazil, the variant has sparked fears among health officials of unmitigated spread. Within weeks, these aggressive mutations have been found in more than 32 countries. Only 8% of people in the U.S. and 9.5% of people in Virginia are vaccinated with at least one dose, according to federal and state data.
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** Eastern Virginia has 1st confirmed case of new COVID-19 variant ([link removed])
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By SIERRA JENKINS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Health announced Friday the first case of another COVID-19 variant in Eastern Virginia, according to a news release. The sample came from an adult. Health officials said they are investigating the person’s travel history. The department would not say where in Eastern Virginia the case was identified.
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** Mobile vaccination clinics racing to Richmond's Black and Latino neighborhoods ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

This isn’t the first epidemic Thelma Fields has survived. The 78-year-old lived through polio outbreaks that infected thousands, a round of influenza in the 1960s and the swine flu contracted by 22 million Americans in 2009. But Fields wasn’t a 15-minute drive to the nearest vaccination site like she is now. That’s if she could find an appointment and a ride.
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** CVS to begin vaccinations; independent pharmacies want broader role ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

CVS will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to Virginians next week at three dozen of its stores across the state as part of a national and state push to use local pharmacies to reach elderly people and others who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus disease. The initial rollout will include CVS stores in Richmond, Mechanicsville and Midlothian that the national pharmacy chain said it will identify when it starts to accept appointments on Tuesday for vaccinations that will begin on Thursday.
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** Northam: Virginia saw more than 20% increase in vaccine doses from government ([link removed])
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By A.J. NWOKO, NBC 12

Governor Ralph Northam says this week the state saw a 23% jump in doses from the federal government than last week. He also said the health department is working with hospitals that have unused second doses to redistribute those as first shots for those still waiting to receive a vaccine. Front line workers and those who have underlying medical conditions are still at the highest priority to receive a dose, with the local health district reserving half of each weekly allotment for those 65 and older.
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** Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg area reopens hospitals to visitors ([link removed])
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By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Mary Washington Healthcare is opening its hospitals to visitors again because the number of local COVID-19 patients hospitalized is on a “significant downward trend” across the region, state and nation, said Dr. Mike McDermott, CEO.
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** Public defenders raise concerns about jail conditions as COVID-19 spreads ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times

Attorneys at the Prince William County public defender office are sounding the alarm over a fast-spreading COVID-19 outbreak at the county jail and the conditions in which inmates are being held as a result of it. Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox said on Friday that the number of sick inmates has grown from two in mid-January to 33 as of Friday, Feb. 5. But she said the number of sick people in the jail may be higher than reported, and that her office has received no information from the jail about how many inmates have been tested.
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** COVID-19 vaccine administered at Visitor Center at Colonial Williamsburg ([link removed])
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By ALEX PERRY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Ken Hoffman felt good after he received his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center Friday morning. “It will just make me more comfortable, as time goes on, and so forth,” Hoffman, a substitute teacher for Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, said as he waited in the monitoring area after his shot. . . . Hoffman’s vaccine shot was administered by Julie Anderson, a Toano Middle School nurse and one of the volunteer vaccinators at the greater Williamsburg clinic. Anderson said that the vaccination process has been “like clockwork,” and recipients have been happy to receive their shots.
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** Lynchburg mass vaccination site to be at Candlers Station ([link removed])
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By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Lynchburg has announced the location of a mass vaccination site that’ll be able to accommodate regional COVID-19 immunization on a large scale once supply chains open up. The city said Friday it has entered into a lease agreement with Liberty University for a Candlers Station retail space that formerly housed a T. J. Maxx, at 3700 Candlers Mountain Road.
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** Amherst County educators begin getting COVID-19 vaccines ([link removed])
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By NICK CROPPER, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

Amherst County speech pathologist Jennifer Edmonds was jumping with excitement when she crossed the threshold to the Lancer gym, where she was greeted by the school division’s chief financial officer, Theresa Crouch, sporting a pom-pom in each hand to cheer on staff as they entered the building. She was one of dozens of Amherst County educators who got their shot of a COVID-19 vaccine Friday as Amherst County Public Schools, in conjunction with the county’s public safety department, held a small immunization clinic for the division.
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** Mountain Empire region's cases, positivity dropping; death rate remains high ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Indicators show COVID-19 continues to subside across the region, but there were still 1,390 new cases diagnosed during the past seven days and regional testing positivity — while declining — remains above statewide rates. Ten Northeast Tennessee counties reported 948 new cases of the novel coronavirus between Jan. 30-Feb. 5, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Ten counties and two cities of far Southwest Virginia reported 442 newly diagnosed cases during that same span.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Presbyterian seminary demolishes historic Richmond home of Confederate surgeon ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Inspired by the removal of Confederate statuary on Monument Avenue last summer, Union Presbyterian Seminary last month demolished the historic country home of a Confederate surgeon who served under Stonewall Jackson. The ruins of the McGuire Cottage, located in the middle of the 34-acre Westwood Tract off of Brook Road, are nestled between an urban farm and a new apartment complex the seminary's neighbors filed suit to keep from rising.
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** Over 900 acres protected in Page County through DuPont settlement ([link removed])
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Page Valley News

The Shenandoah National Park Trust (the Trust), working alongside the Commonwealth of Virginia and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) through the DuPont Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement, acquired more than 900 acres of rolling woodlands in Page County, Va. Greg Yates, chair of the Shenandoah National Park Trust, is pleased to announce that the Trust has acquired this land to be donated to the Shenandoah National Park in the near future.
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** Fredericksburg protesters file lawsuit against local governments and officials ([link removed])
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By TAFT COGHILL, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A group of 10 protesters have filed a lawsuit accusing the City of Fredericksburg, Stafford County and numerous officials and law-enforcement officers of violating their constitutional rights during demonstrations from May 31 through June 2. The lawsuit filed Thursday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond accuses numerous city and county officials and law-enforcement officers of violating their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly and Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
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** Wife of GOP Sen. Hawley files criminal complaint over protest at their home ([link removed])
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By MIKE LEVINE, ABC News

The wife of Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has filed a criminal complaint against one of the organizers of a protest last month outside their Virginia home. The individual has been charged with a misdemeanor count of illegally demonstrating, but not charged with making threats or vandalism, as the Missouri senator initially alleged. A local magistrate found enough "probable cause" to issue a summons in the case, according to a police spokesman. Hawley's office said the complaint was filed in a court in Fairfax County, Virginia, with the defendant identified as activist Patrick Young of Washington, D.C.
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** Judge Jones to take senior status ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

U.S. District Judge James P. Jones of Abingdon announced Friday that he plans to take senior status effective Aug. 30. Jones, who has presided over a number of the region’s high-profile federal court cases for 25 years, intends to continue to perform judicial duties as a senior judge, according to a written statement. His decision to take senior status will create a vacancy on the Western District of Virginia court, which will be filled by President Joe Biden.


** LOCAL
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** Some Fairfax Co. teachers will remain virtual when students return to the classroom ([link removed])
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By LUKE LUKERT, WTOP

Thousands of Fairfax County, Virginia, public school students will be returning to classrooms next month but many of their teachers will remain at home and teach classrooms full of kids virtually. On Tuesday the school board voted unanimously to approve the latest draft plan for a return to in-school learning. It calls for all students to attend in-person classes twice per week by mid-March.
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** As Northam calls for schools to reopen by March 15, Prince William eyes late February return of thousands more students ([link removed])
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By JILL PALERMO, Prince William Times

Gov. Ralph Northam’s call Friday for all Virginia schools to offer in-person instruction by mid-March won’t have an immediate impact on Prince William County schools, which have already met that standard and are now considering the return of thousands more students in late February and early March. During a Friday morning press conference in Richmond, Northam called for the state’s 42 school divisions still offering only remote instruction to begin returning students to school buildings by March 15. The governor also urged schools to offer voluntary in-person summer school to help students who have fallen behind academically during the pandemic.
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** Richmond-area teachers grapple with putting political landscape in context ([link removed])
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By HOLLY PRESTIDGE, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The leaked "Access Hollywood" video of former President Trump's lewd conversation about women was a first for Henrico County teacher Ben Fabian. A first, but not the last time class discussions would veer wildly from his carefully crafted lesson plans and required Standards of Learning. The highly charged presidential election and political change of power, acts of impeachment, riots in the nation's capital, and growing national movements for social and racial justice means a deluge of local and national news bleeds into classrooms.
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** Charlottesville expands upcoming in-person classes to students through sixth grade ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Charlottesville school division said Friday that it will expand in-person classes to those in sixth grade and younger. The classes will be offered four days a week, with Fridays being for virtual learning. The classes are set to start March 8 after the School Board gave its final blessing to the division’s plan Thursday night to provide in-person classes for preschoolers through second-graders, as well as targeted assistance to other students in need, such as those in special education and English-language learners.
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** As Northam calls for in-person learning, area school divisions are already there ([link removed])
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By ANNA MEROD, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

On Friday, Gov. Ralph Northam pushed for all school divisions in Virginia to offer some form of in-person instruction by March 15, but school divisions in Winchester, Frederick County and Clarke County are already one step ahead. Schools throughout the state closed for in-person learning for several months beginning in March when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck. Some school divisions still have not opened to any on-site instruction, but all three local school divisions have offered some form of in-person learning since the first day of school on Sept. 8.

Today's Sponsor:


** The Virginia Lottery
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Circumstances change, but their mission doesn’t, giving back 595 million dollars to Virginia’s K through 12 public schools last year. Learn more at valottery.com/givingback ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** Why don't Republicans form a new party? Here's why ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Republicans are having an identity crisis. Are they the party of Ronald Reagan or the party of Donald Trump? Are they the party of Liz Cheney or Marjorie Taylor Greene? Closer to home, are they the party of Denver Riggleman or the party of Bob Good? From time to time, each faction has suggested the solution to this intraparty civil war is to form a new party. Trump mused about creating a Patriot Party. The former chair of the Washington state Republican Party recently wrote in the Seattle Times that “principled Republicans willing to put country before party” should encourage that split.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Williams: I was wrong. No context can justify Harry F. Byrd Sr.'s statue remaining in Capitol Square ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Thanks, but no thanks. Dr. William Ferguson Reid, who in 1967 became Virginia’s first African American elected to the state legislature in the 20th century, wants nothing to do with a statue of himself in Capitol Square, as I suggested in a recent column, if it means the statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr. remains there. For him, there’s not enough context to justify the architect of Massive Resistance maintaining a place of honor in the square.
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** Schapiro: Looking back with an eye to the future ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Once upon a time, Virginia Republicans seemed unstoppable. By 1981, they had controlled the governorship for 12 years. Republicans occupied nine of then-10 congressional seats. There were, in effect, two Republican U.S. senators — one, the real deal; the other, an independent who voted with the GOP. Republicans even were making inroads in the legislature, winning seats in a region that since has become a dead zone for them: Northern Virginia.
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** PolitiFact: Did Luria Flip on PAC Money? ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE-FM

During the final weeks of 2020, U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria accepted $34,000 in corporate PAC contributions to pay down debt from her recently successful reelection campaign. Her actions disappointed End Citizens United, a Washington-based public interest group seeking to reform campaign finance laws. It accused her of breaking a pledge not to accept corporate donations. So, we measured on the Flip-O-Meter whether Luria - a Democrat from the 2nd Congressional District anchored in Virginia Beach - has changed her stance on taking corporate contributions.


** OP-ED
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** Barrett: COVID-19 and homelessness in the Tri-Cities: Why the bigger picture matters ([link removed])
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By KATHLEEN BURKE BARRETT, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A single mother worked as a waitress, and just made her rent and utility payments each month. When COVID-19 shut down her restaurant, the bills began to mount, including her rent. She faced long days with kids doing online school. With libraries and most government offices closed, she waited on hold for hours seeking assistance. Her landlord began to talk about eviction. But without nearby family, and the pandemic raging, where would she and her children go?

Barrett has served as chief executive officer for St. Joseph’s Villa since 2006.


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