VaNews
February 8, 2021

Today's Sponsor:


** Jason Carter
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Supporting Virginia's agriculture industry and agribusinesses - contributing to a stronger Commonwealth economy through responsible stewardship of land, environmental and capital resources.
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Top of the News


** Confusion and chaos: Inside the vaccine rollout in D.C., Maryland and Virginia ([link removed])
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By JULIE ZAUZMER, GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The first precious boxloads of the frozen elixir arrived in December, bearing great promise for curtailing the pandemic that has paralyzed the region and the world. Nurses and firefighters got injections on live TV. Some of them cried. Watching at home, many hopeful people cried, too. But in the weeks that followed, that hope was mixed with frustration, then anger, as it became clear that getting the potentially lifesaving vaccine would not be easy — not nationally, and not in the greater Washington region.
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** A glimpse into the lives of U.Va. Hospital workers during a demanding surge of COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By CHARLIE TEAGUE, Cavalier Daily

...U.Va. Hospital staff report unprecedented levels of stress and exhaustion that have only continued to build. “Our staff is unbelievably exhausted,” TJ Lovdal, critical care registered nurse and president-elect of the hospital’s Professional Nursing Staff Organization, said. “We felt at first like this was a sprint, and then we realized it was going to be a little bit more like a marathon. And now it's like ... at least a marathon you know when the end is, and you were able to train for it, and you were ready for it and you knew what you were getting into.”
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** Lawmakers consider dueling resolutions to restore voting rights for people convicted of felonies ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Sheba Williams regained her right to vote by the grace of Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2015. She’s grateful for the ability to vote in the years since, but overriding is her belief that her right should have never been taken away. Williams, an advocate with the criminal justice advocacy group Nolef Turns Inc., is urging lawmakers to end the revocation of voting rights in Virginia, one of just three states that permanently disenfranchises people convicted of a felony. Support for the concept - which would require a constitutional amendment - is ample among Democrats in Virginia. But the House and Senate have approved dueling proposals, which means lawmakers will have to decide how far to go in a matter of weeks.
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** Virginia Lawmakers Poised to Pass New Rules for Internet Privacy ([link removed])
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By DAVID UBERTI, Wall Street Journal (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

Lawmakers in Virginia appear poised to pass consumer privacy legislation, which would make the commonwealth the latest domino to fall in a state-by-state push for data protections. ...The proposal would allow Virginians to obtain, correct and delete data collected by businesses that handle the personal information of at least 100,000 consumers annually, with a lower threshold of 25,000 consumers for companies that sell data for most of their revenue. Virginians could also opt out of the sale of their personal data or data processing for the purpose of targeted advertising.
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** Virginia might scrap its defunct same-sex marriage ban. Most GOP legislators aren’t on board. ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

Fifteen years ago, more than 1.3 million Virginians said marriage should only mean a union between a man and a woman and same-sex couples shouldn’t be entitled to similar status that would give them the same rights under the law as straight couples. That was the view of 57 percent of Virginians who voted in 2006, more than enough to put a same-sex marriage ban in the state Constitution. Much has changed since then. And Democratic lawmakers want to give a new generation of Virginians an opportunity to make a different statement in 2022.
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** World's biggest battery could boost Appalachian Power, co-owner says ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

One of the owners of what’s been called the biggest battery in the world says it could help energize Appalachian Power Co.’s shift to carbon-free electricity. LS Power Development has a 24% interest in the Bath County Pumped Storage Station, a hydroelectric facility that can produce power when it’s most needed. And Appalachian may need it soon, LS Power figures.
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** Town leaders plan for Trail Days despite ATC advisory ([link removed])
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By JOE TENNIS, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is urging thru-hikers to stay off the Appalachian Trail, but newly elected leaders in this “Town of Many Trails” still want to bring back the annual Trail Days this year. “As it stands now, we are planning Trail Days as if it were going to happen in May,” said Trail Days Chairwoman Susan Coleman. The conservancy’s advisory to stay off the 2,190-mile-long Appalachian Trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine, was in response to COVID-19 concerns. That’s the same reason Trail Days was canceled last May. . . . In years past, as many as 20,000 people have attended the event in Damascus, which has about 1,000 residents.
The Full Report
27 articles, 18 publications
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** FROM VPAP
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** VPAP Visual Women Donors ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy each have relied heavily upon women to underwrite the cost of their campaigns for the Democratic nomination for Governor. This interactive visual shows the percentage of money from individual female donors that each candidate for statewide office received last year.
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** VPAP Visual Fewer Bills, Similar Yield ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

New bill limits cut by half the number of measures introduced at this year's General Assembly session. But roughly the same percentage of bills -- about half -- were still alive after Friday's deadline for legislation to "cross over" to the other chamber. This visual includes the details, among them a steep drop-off in the success rate of bills introduced by members of the minority Republican Party.
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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.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Senate committee delays release of budget plan ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Confusion over the state budget intensified late Friday after the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee abruptly canceled the meeting it had scheduled for Sunday to release its version of the revised two-year spending plan. The committee carried the budget bill over from the regular session that will adjourn on Monday into the special session that will convene Wednesday. A snowy weather forecast also played a part in canceling the budget meeting on Sunday, said Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, who said members did not want to drive back to Richmond on potentially icy highways since the legislature is scheduled to be idle on Monday and Tuesday.
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** A dispute over a federal tax break for businesses could cost Virginia $101 million ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

A disagreement between federal and Virginia tax policy — the result of a single page in the 2,124-page COVID-19 relief bill Congress passed late last year — has left state officials scrambling to prepare a balanced budget and businesses pleading for more relief. Caught in the middle? Virginia taxpayers who must wait for the dispute to get sorted out. At the center of the debate is the massive Paycheck Protection Program, federal relief that infused more than a half-trillion dollars into businesses through low-interest bank loans last year, and the differing interpretations of what tax breaks should come attached.
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** After Senate passage, advocates hope for compromise on new affordable housing tax credit program ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Senate unanimously backed the creation of a new tax credit program that could accelerate affordable housing development statewide. With its passage, the measure heads to the House of Delegates, where, earlier this General Assembly session, a subcommittee tabled a version of the same bill against the wishes of affordable housing advocates from around the state and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. Now, supporters of the so-called Virginia Opportunity Tax Credit Program are hoping lawmakers reach a compromise to salvage it.
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** Bill to reduce felony drug possession charges dies in subcommittee ([link removed])
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By HYUNG JUN LEE, VCU Capital News Service

Virginia lawmakers hoped to advance a bill that would eliminate felony drug possession charges and shift a focus to treatment, not punishment, of substance abuse. The measure had bipartisan support and backing from many commonwealth attorneys’ and lawyers around the state, but it died in a House subcommittee. Anyone found in possession of controlled substances would face misdemeanor charges under House Bill 2303 introduced by Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville. The bill would also amend the conditions set for probation under the current first offender statute, which allows drug possession charges to be dismissed if certain conditions are met.
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** Advocates say upping staff at nursing homes could save lives ([link removed])
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By MELISSA HIPOLIT, WTVR-TV

Born in a segregated hospital in the 1940s, Joseph Riley and his six siblings did not have an easy childhood in Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood. "No plumbing, stove heat, and an outhouse," Joseph's brother, James Riley, said about the house they grew up in. But, James said that Joseph always kept his family smiling. . . . At Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, Joseph enjoyed chatting with the staff, but James remembers his brother complaining about slow response times. . . . Last March, Joseph became one of the Richmond region's first coronavirus victims.
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** House passes Bell's bill to educate people about special-needs decisions ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A bill from Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, aimed at assisting people with special needs in making important life decisions has unanimously passed in the House of Delegates. HB 2230 seeks to direct Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to develop a program to educate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and others about supported decision-making agreements.
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** Competitive suppliers’ attempt to reopen Virginia’s renewable energy market faces tough utility opposition ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

A bill that would let millions of electric customers in Virginia again begin purchasing renewable energy from companies other than the utility that controls their territory cleared the House of Delegates last week but now faces a Senate committee that struck the proposal down in 2020. “The Senate oftentimes is a higher hurdle to get over,” said Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, the sponsor of House Bill 2048. “I think we’ve got a puncher’s chance, right? So we’re going to go in and give it all we got.”
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** Virginia eyes outlawing relic hunting on preserved battlefield land ([link removed])
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By CLINT SCHEMMER, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

Nearly every day, on one of America’s Civil War battlefields, some tangible bit of history is erased. Relic hunters were at work, unearthing the metallic evidence of warfare. That’s due to legal loopholes and the fact that most battlefield acreage has not been preserved. In Virginia, though, a proposal to discourage metal detecting on preserved battlefield land is gaining traction in the General Assembly.
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** Virginia House Advances Bill Repealing Protections for Faith-Based Adoption Agencies ([link removed])
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National Catholic Register

The Virginia House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to remove conscience protections for child-placing agencies, prompting worry that the state’s Catholic adoption and foster care agencies could be forced to shut down because of their views on marriage. HB 1932 would repeal a section of the Code of Virginia which reads, in part: “To the extent allowed by federal law, no private child-placing agency shall be required to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any placement of a child for foster care or adoption when the proposed placement would violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies.”


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Kitchen Joins Five House Democratic Candidates In Lawsuit ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When Democrat Jennifer Kitchen was running against Republican Chris Runion for the 25th House of Delegates District in 2019, she did so without the obstacle of managing a campaign during a pandemic. Runion, R-Bridgewater, handily won the election in the heavily Republican district. This time around, Kitchen is facing a new challenge — obtaining signatures to qualify for the ballot while COVID-19 cases continue to increase.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** Winchester employers advised of COVID-19 regulations ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The city’s Economic Development Department and Lord Fairfax Community College’s Small Business Development Center told area employers on Thursday that Virginia’s temporary COVID-19 safety regulations are now permanent workplace standards. According to the state Department of Labor and Industry‘s Occupational Safety and Health requirements that went into effect on Jan. 27, employers must file a report with the Virginia Department of Health within 24 hours of any two or more employees testing positive for the potentially deadly coronavirus within a 14-day period.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** New restaurant owners get shut out of PPP loans despite their financial losses ([link removed])
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By TIM CARMAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Every month, Andrew Darneille says his Smokecraft Modern Barbecue in Arlington, Va., has been losing between $15,000 and $20,000, and the numbers would be uglier if not for breaks from his bank and landlord. December was the worst yet: The owner and pitmaster says he suffered $30,000 in losses, even with a skeleton crew and a separate ghost kitchen selling fried chicken sandwiches. . . . Darneille had hoped the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program would get him to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, or at least to spring, when he could reopen his patio. But he learned the Small Business Administration program excludes businesses such as his. He opened Smokecraft on July 31. All PPP applicants had to be operating by Feb. 15, 2020.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Virginia reports 2,949 new COVID-19 cases ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia on Sunday reported 2,949 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s cumulative total during the pandemic to 529,125, the Virginia Department of Health reported. As of Sunday morning, there had been 6,778 COVID-19 deaths in Virginia, an increase of five from Saturday.
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** State to train 750 workers for new COVID-19 vaccine call center ([link removed])
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By A.J. NWOKO, WWBT-TV

s the state continues working to administer vaccinations, Governor Ralph Northam announced Friday that a robust call center is in the works to help people get signed up for their shot. The call center will act as a central hub that all Virginians — no matter where they live in the state — can call to get the correct, specific information to sign up for a vaccine. “We are significantly expanding our call center starting Saturday. We will begin training more than 750 new call center workers that will be complete within a week,” Northam said.
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** Thousands in region have registered for the COVID-19 vaccine through Danville's online portal ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

About 8,000 people in the Dan River Region have registered for the COVID-19 vaccine through a portal created by the city of Danville, one of several paths created by community leaders to encourage the public to sign up to get their shots. "We have a mixture of city and county residents," as well as people from other nearby localities who have signed up, Danville City Manager Ken Larking said.
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** COVID-19 cases remain ‘very high’ in Va., Prince William, but show 2-week decline ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORTS, Prince William Times

Virginia’s COVID-19 numbers have declined over the past two weeks as a result of a holiday surge that did not last as long as feared. But new variants of the virus – and a rocky vaccine rollout—have experts urging caution. That was the gist of the latest weekly updates from the University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute and the RAND Corporation, both of which analyze the state’s pandemic data and issue weekly reports to the Virginia Department of Health.
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** Chaplains 'pour it all out' giving comfort to virus patients ([link removed])
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By ANNA MEROD, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Outside every room in the COVID-19 units at Winchester Medical Center is a door with a large window. Over the last 10 months, WMC chaplains have often found themselves on the other side of the window talking with COVID patients on a phone. To avoid transmission of the virus, chaplains cannot visit COVID-19 patient rooms. Neither can family members, unless it is a near-death situation. Visitors are allowed in non-COVID-19 patient rooms, but the number of visitors is limited.
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** Virginia assisted-living facility markets a ‘Vaccination Staycation’ ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

As seniors across the country struggle to book appointments for scarce doses of coronavirus vaccines, one assisted-living facility marketed access to the doses through a “Vaccination Staycation.” Tall Oaks Assisted Living in Fairfax County advertised that those who booked a month-long stay in a $5,000, all-inclusive studio apartment there could also receive a two-dose vaccine at the facility. “Begin your ‘staycation’ by February 6 to participate in our COVID-19 vaccination clinics!” the ad read. But the offer raised some eyebrows among local officials.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Two Biden Strongholds. Two Different Lists of Policy Priorities. ([link removed])
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By ELIZA COLLINS AND JIM CARLTON, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

President Biden won the White House in part by motivating voters from widely different backgrounds. Now, those supporters have a long list of issues they want him to tackle. Petersburg, Va., and Marin County, Calif., 3,000 miles apart, each gave more than 80% of their votes in the November election to Mr. Biden—among his highest rates of support in the nation. Petersburg, a small city that is majority Black and home to a historically Black university, has been looking for an economic boost since a tobacco company left decades ago. The median household income of $39,000 is well below the nation’s roughly $69,000. Residents say a major worry they want the new administration to address is racism in America.


** LOCAL
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** Judge faults Fairfax County prosecutors for failing to notify victim of trial ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

When John Karau was allegedly threatened in August by a man who had a gun on him, Fairfax County prosecutors declined to handle the case. It’s a stance they have taken in many misdemeanor cases in recent months, citing a lack of resources. Karau ended up representing himself in General District Court — and the alleged assailant was convicted of assault. But when the defendant appealed to circuit court, Fairfax County prosecutors again declined to participate and didn’t notify Karau of a new trial date in January, according to court records.
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** Women Underrepresented In Local Elected Positions ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When Emily Estes decided to run for Dayton Town Council in November, she wasn’t sure she would get elected. A town resident for 48 years, Estes didn’t come from a political background, but had seen firsthand the “ups and downs” of the town, she said. She wanted to start somewhere, and that push to run came from the 2018 election, when a record-breaking number of women ran and won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I was inspired,” Estes said.
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** Data dispute still stalls racial-profiling lawsuit ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Disagreements continue over statistical data in a federal racial profiling lawsuit against the Albemarle County Police Department as dispositions from staff members involved in compiling the data claim ignorance. The case, filed on behalf of four local Black residents, alleges that Officer Andrew Holmes targeted the plaintiffs for traffic stops and search warrants because of their race, violating their 14th Amendment rights to equal protection under the law.

Today's Sponsor:


** Jason Carter
------------------------------------------------------------

Supporting Virginia's agriculture industry and agribusinesses - contributing to a stronger Commonwealth economy through responsible stewardship of land, environmental and capital resources.


** EDITORIALS
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** Get rid of VMI? This isn't new ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The chairman of one of the General Assembly’s budget committee raised eyebrows — and in some quarters, full-scale alarm — when she suggested last fall that maybe Virginia doesn’t need a military college. After multiple reports about racism at Virginia Military Institute, state Sen. Janet Howell, a Fairfax County Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told Richmond Times-Dispatch political columnist Jeff Schapiro that she wants to see some changes at the school — or else. “I’m not sure how important or relevant it is,” Howell said.
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** Civil commitment is the reform ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee put off—for now—any consideration of ending involuntary civil commitment for violent sex offenders by unanimously voting to have the Virginia Crime Commission study the issue and come back with recommendations by the next session, which will be after the legislative elections in November. This is not the first time senators have acted as a brake on various criminal justice “reforms” focusing on making criminals’ lives easier that have been proposed by the Democratic majority in the House.


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