VaNews
February 20, 2021

Today's Sponsor:


** Humane Dominion
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Supporting Humane Treatment of All of Virginia’s Animals.
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Top of the News


** Virginia's vaccine supply expected to increase in coming weeks ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The number of COVID-19 doses coming to Virginia is expected to increase in the next two weeks, the state’s vaccine coordinator said Friday. “We had a big bump in new vaccine this week, which is pretty exciting,” Dr. Danny Avula said during a news briefing. “We’ve gone from 130,000 doses up to about 161,000 doses for this upcoming week. That is our core state allocation.”
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** Mobile clinics, free rides have done little so far to improve vaccine equity in D.C. region ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Inside Fairfax County’s government center one recent morning, elderly residents streamed in to get their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, underscoring a problem that has vexed officials across the greater Washington region. In a county of 1.1 million residents, where 26 percent of the population is Black or Latino, nearly everyone getting a shot was White. Amid a vaccine shortage where savvier residents have snapped up online appointments, local officials are working to more evenly administer doses through such initiatives as mobile vaccination clinics and free rides to appointments.
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** Lawmakers Approve Public Option for Retirement Savings ([link removed])
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By CONNOR SCRIBNER, WCVE-FM

A state House proposal to increase retirement savings access for over one million Virginians passed the Senate Friday, though not before the body excluded hundreds of thousands of workers from that expansion. The bill, from Del. Luke Torian (D-Prince William), would set up an “auto-IRA” program in the state. That would automatically enroll workers whose employers don't offer retirement accounts to have money put aside from each paycheck into a state-run retirement program. Employees would have the option to not participate in the program, but it would be mandatory for most employers who don’t offer their own savings plans.
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** Virginia Senate committee advances bill requiring police to release closed criminal investigations ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia is one step closer to requiring public officials to release records from closed criminal investigations, something 32 states and the federal government already do. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology voted 8-2 to advance a bill that would broaden public records laws and stop law enforcement and prosecutors from shielding investigative files from the public. The bill passed 55-44 in the House of Delegates on Feb. 4.
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** How Teachers Unions Are Fighting to Keep Virginia Schools Shuttered ([link removed])
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By TOBIAS HOONHOUT AND RYAN MILLS, National Review

For months, Virginia teachers unions have peddled fear: Reopening public schools for in-person learning was and is too dangerous. They’ve advocated delaying reopening schools until all teachers – and possibly all students – received a COVID-19 vaccine. In January, a Republican-sponsored state Senate bill requiring school districts to offer parents both in-person and virtual options drew a dour response. Forcing schools to open, the unions said, was a “BAD idea.”
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** COVID-19 Didn’t Cause Teacher Shortage: But It Sure Didn’t Help ([link removed])
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By IAN M. STEWART, WCVE-FM

For former fifth grade teacher Brandy Samberg, the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t the root cause of her decision to leave the teaching profession after six years, but it did help push her out the door. “I left in the long run because of COVID,” Samberg says. “Just with concerns of my own kids being in virtual school and needing that assistance, especially with my girls starting kindergarten at the same time. I knew from my experience and then [from] virtually teaching last year, it made work life balance really impossible.”
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** Williamsburg-JCC schools face backlash over decision to bar spectators from sporting events ([link removed])
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By DAVID MACAULAY, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 4 Articles per Month)

Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools is facing backlash over its decision to bar spectators from school sports events. At least three members of the School Board raised concerns about the policy at Tuesday’s meeting, while more than 10 members of the public complained about the prospect of parents being unable to watch their children play sports at venues such as the outdoor stadium at the Warhill Sports Complex.
The Full Report
63 articles, 27 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 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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** Northam urges raises of 5% for teachers, 3.5% for state workers ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam is urging state budget negotiators to use additional revenues to raise pay for teachers by 5% and state employees and state-supported local employees by 3.5% In a letter Friday to newly appointed members of a conference committee to negotiate changes to the budget, Northam praised the House of Delegates and Senate for converting one-time bonuses in his budget “into a permanent increase.”


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** Bill seeks to set up fund to boost Virginia State Police pay ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The state Senate is backing a plan to boost pay for state troopers at a time when the agency — in the national spotlight last month for responding to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — is struggling to attract and retain sworn officers. The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke), would establish a trust fund that State Police could tap to make salaries more competitive with those offered by local police and sheriff’s departments. The fund would be supported by an extra $4 fee tacked onto the cost of registering a car in the commonwealth, raising an estimated $30 million a year.
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** Lawmakers pass bills to collect data on pretrial detention ([link removed])
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By JOSEPHINE WALKER, NBC 29

The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this week that lawmakers said will increase transparency and equity in the judicial system, which disproportionately impacts communities of color. The bills, introduced by Senator Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, will create a centralized, publicly-accessible data collection system on pretrial detention. Senate Bill 1391 and House Bill 2110 both passed Thursday, February 18.
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** Democrats usher in election law changes ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Democrats' new majority might soon deliver permanent changes to Virginia's election process - including stricter voter protection laws and expanded ways to cast ballots. Under the “Virginia Voting Rights Act,” Democrats in the General Assembly are seeking to codify protections for voters who might face discrimination based on their race or ethnicity. Separate legislation would make permanent changes to the state’s election process put in place temporarily last fall, including ballot drop boxes and prepaid postage on mail ballots.
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** Virginia on the verge of banning guns at the polls ([link removed])
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By SARA SWANN, The Fulcrum

Following significant incidents of voter intimidation in the 2020 election, Virginia is poised to enact a law banning people from carrying guns near polling stations. The measure would prohibit anyone from knowingly possessing a firearm within 40 feet of a polling location beginning an hour before polls open to an hour after they close. With approval from the House of Delegates last month and the state Senate on Thursday, the bill is now headed to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's desk for his signature.
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** General Assembly approves Del. Chris Hurst's Bicycle Safety Act ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The General Assembly approved the Bicycle Safety Act, which bicycle advocates say will reduce collisions with cyclists. The bill from Del. Chris Hurst, D-Montgomery, would require drivers to fully change lanes to pass bicyclists and allow cyclists to ride two abreast in a lane. The legislation goes to Gov. Ralph Northam for his signature or changes. The original bill included a provision to allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, but it gave lawmakers heartburn, so they stripped it out.
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** Virginia lawmakers commit to clean car standards ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

In their second year in control of the legislature, Virginia Democrats pushed through another major measure to combat climate change when the Senate on Friday voted to adopt California regulations that set stringent vehicle emissions standards and electric car sales targets. “We know that our automobile emissions greatly contribute to our environmental problems,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. “It is incumbent upon us to start making changes.” The so-called clean car standards were a top-line environmental priority for House Democrats, who this session put forward a suite of bills intended to tackle transportation emissions, which are responsible for almost half of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
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** ‘Clean cars’ bill clears major hurdle in Virginia Senate ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

A bill that aims to reduce carbon pollution in part by getting more zero-emissions vehicles on the road cleared a key hurdle in the Virginia Senate on Friday. The measure, considered a top priority this year for environmental advocates, would require that starting in 2024 a certain percentage of new passenger vehicles sold by manufacturers be electric or hybrid electric. The bill is advancing along with several related pieces of legislation, including a measure that would invest public money in rebates for electric vehicle purchasers.
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** Greenway Tolls Bill Advances; Reid Bill Dropped ([link removed])
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By RENSS GREENE, Loudoun Now

A bill to fight toll increases on the Dulles Greenway could be one vote away from the governor’s desk, after the Virginia Senate’s Transportation Committee voted Thursday in favor of Del. Suhas Subramanyam (D-87)’s House Bill 1832. At the same meeting, the committee voted to drop a Greenway-backed bill introduced by Del. David A. Reid (D-32).
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** Senate panel backs removal of segregationist Harry Byrd Sr.'s statue from Capitol Square ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Senate Rules Committee on Friday voted 11-0 in favor of a bill to remove the statue of segregationist Gov. and U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr. from Capitol Square. Byrd, a Democrat, was governor from 1926-30 and a U.S. senator from 1933 to 1965. He was the driving force behind Massive Resistance to school desegregation following the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. "I'm sure everybody is familiar with Harry Byrd and his legacy of segregation and Massive Resistance that prevented people like my parents from going to public school in Virginia for several years," said the bill's sponsor, Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk.
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** House Democrats reject effort to limit speaker’s power over Capitol artifacts ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

A debate Friday about who should control the artifacts and artwork inside Virginia’s Capitol turned into a larger discussion of women’s accomplishments and the legacy of slavery, with House Democrats voting against relinquishing some of Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn’s power to the unelected Capitol Square Preservation Council. Amid social justice protests last summer, Filler-Corn abruptly removed a statue of Robert E. Lee and busts of seven other Confederates from the Old House Chamber, a museum-like section of the Capitol. The secrecy surrounding the removals drew some pushback, and Filler-Corn was later fined for failing to properly respond to a public records request from a lawyer seeking more information about the removals.
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** Push to remove outdated same-sex marriage ban from Virginia Constitution passes ([link removed])
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By JACKIE DEFUSCO, WAVY-TV

An effort to get rid of an outdated ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia cleared its final hurdle of the 2021 General Assembly on Friday. While the constitutional amendment passed this year, it still needs to win a majority in next year’s General Assembly and in a statewide voter referendum. That means if Republicans take back control of the House of Delegates, it could potentially derail the effort down the road. The provision defining marriage as between a man and a woman was added to the state’s constitution in 2006. While the section is no longer enforceable, some lawmakers say it’s a stain that needs to be removed.
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** Bills that help first responders hit by COVID-19 advance ([link removed])
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By SAM FOWLER, VCU Capital News Service

Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that allow certain first responders to file workers’ compensation benefits for being disabled from COVID-19, but still need to reach agreement on some differences. The measures would make COVID-19 an occupational disease for firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and law enforcement or correctional officers and allow these individuals to file for workers’ compensation benefits.
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** Virginia General Assembly passes bill to modernize HIV laws ([link removed])
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By CIERRA PARKS, WWBT-TV

The General Assembly passed a bill this week that lawmakers say will modernize Virginia’s current HIV laws. Senate Bill 1138, introduced by Sens. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, also removes a law that prohibits the donation of blood and organs by people with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. A 21-17 vote along party lines pushed the bill out of the Senate earlier this month. The House of Delegates passed the bill Friday in a 56-44 vote.
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** Legislation Would Help With Food Insecurity, During and After the Pandemic ([link removed])
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By JAHD KHALIL, WVTF-FM

A senator’s bill creating a fund to help food banks pay the fixed costs associated with harvesting and processing local food products has yet to pass through the house. If created it could have implications for food aid and food waste. . . . Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond) introduced SB 1188 to create the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund. The fund would provide grants to food banks to pay farmers for the costs of harvesting food that otherwise would be considered excess.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** Virginia GOP still has not resolved how to nominate statewide candidates ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Virginia Republicans picked a new party chairman in August with hopes of winning again after losses in every statewide Virginia race since 2009. But before they can win, they need to figure out how to nominate their statewide candidates for the November election. And disagreement within the party’s governing body continues to unwind publicly.
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** Judge tosses suit brought by Republican contender for Virginia governor ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Richmond judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Republican contender for governor who argued the Virginia GOP's plan to pick its gubernatorial nominee at a convention would run afoul of coronavirus restrictions. State Sen. Amanda F. Chase (Chesterfield) asserted in her suit that a traditional convention — a day-long gathering of about 10,000 delegates — would be illegal under Virginia’s current pandemic rules limiting groups to 10 people. But after an hour-long hearing, retired Circuit Court Judge Margaret P. Spencer ruled from the bench that Chase lacked standing to sue.
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** Judge dismisses Amanda Chase lawsuit over nominating contest ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

A judge ruled against GOP candidate for governor Amanda Chase on Friday in her lawsuit over the state Republican party’s unsettled plans for this year’s nominating contest. The ruling leaves the Republican Party of Virginia to continue trying to figure out for itself how it wants to pick its nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. So far, party leaders have been deadlocked over the issue.
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** In bid for second term as governor, McAuliffe proposes quicker minimum wage hike for Virginia ([link removed])
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By DEAN MIRSHAHI, WRIC-TV

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) hopes to get Virginia’s minimum wage up to $15 per hour two years ahead of schedule, proposing an economic plan Thursday as part of his reelection campaign that centers on strengthening the commonwealth’s workforce. McAuliffe’s proposal calls for employers to provide paid sick days and family medical leave statewide, using federal money to pay co-payments for child care for families who need assistance and initiatives to close pay gaps.
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** Most Virginians haven’t decided who they favor for governor, new poll shows ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginians are largely undecided about which candidate they want to represent their political parties in this year’s gubernatorial election, a new poll reveals. According to the survey results released Friday by the Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University, about half of Democrats and Republicans polled said they’re undecided about who they want to claim their party’s nomination this spring. Advertisement


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** State police transitioning to all SUV patrol fleet ([link removed])
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By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The familiar silver-gray-and-blue police sedans driven by state troopers on Virginia's roadways are being phased out, perhaps for good, as the department transitions its fleet to Ford Interceptor Sport Utility Vehicles as a matter of necessity. Faced with Ford Motor Co.'s decision to end production of its popular Taurus Police Interceptor sedan, state police officials said they had little choice but convert to an all SUV fleet


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** Many southwest Virginia business owners not taking advantage of available PPP money ([link removed])
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By RACHEL LUCAS, WSLS-TV

There is still CARES Act money available for businesses struggling to pay their employees, but many in southwest Virginia aren’t taking advantage of it. Due to demand, many missed out on the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program, or have already spent what they received last year. A second round, dubbed PPP2 rolled out in mid-January. The Roanoke Regional Small Business Development Center (SBDC) director, Amanda Forester said money is available, but not enough businesses are applying.
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** Richmond-area employers ponder whether to require COVID-19 shots for workers ([link removed])
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By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Kleane Kare Team Inc. has a policy that its employees must get the annual flu shot. The same policy now applies to the coronavirus vaccination when shots become available for workers this year, said Sharon Dabney-Wooldridge, the founder, president and CEO of the multimillion-dollar commercial cleaning business based in eastern Henrico County. The company has the policy because many of its accounts handle the cleaning of healthcare facilities.
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** Barkin: Vaccine Hesitancy A Problem, But Not Barrier To Economic Recovery ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As COVID-19 cases drop and vaccination numbers rise, the presence of doubt about the vaccine itself has led to some deciding not to get inoculated against the illness, which has shaken nations and economies across the globe. “I think individual hesitancy is going to be a real barrier to herd immunity,” said Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as he addressed the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County business community on Friday. “The good news is I’m not sure the economy requires it,” he said.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVa says COVID surge created by student noncompliance ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

University of Virginia officials say the COVID-19 outbreak at the school is the result of many small groups and individual students not following public health guidelines rather than the result of a few super spreader events. Nearly 650 students have tested positive for the virus since Feb. 14 and UVa has averaged 129 new COVID cases a day from Valentine’s Day to Thursday, including a high of 229 new cases on Tuesday. That’s the day that administrators decided they needed to take action to ‘flatten the curve’ and prohibited all gatherings among students except for in-person classes. They also restricted students living in dormitories to their residences except for trips to class, to get food, go to work or other essential activities.
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** Covid cases at U-Va., VMI and other Virginia colleges spark worry, lead to changes ([link removed])
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By LAUREN LUMPKIN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia universities are ramping up testing and at least one is banning in-person gatherings to deal with surging cases of the coronavirus and protect against a more contagious variant that was first detected in the state in late January. More than 600 students have been sickened this week at the University of Virginia, spurring restrictions that have left the campus divided. And cases at the Virginia Military Institute have been on the rise since early this month.
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** Virginia Tech board could raise tuition up to 2.9% after 2-year freeze ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia Tech may either freeze tuition or raise rates up to 2.9% when the Board of Visitors considers the matter in March. The university said Friday that mandatory fees could also increase by up to $90 per student to cover state-mandated employee benefit cost increases and student health and counseling services. The board will make its final decision assuming the state finishes its budget next month.
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** Investigation into racism at VMI moves forward after dispute over lawyers at interviews ([link removed])
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By IAN SHAPIRA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The state-ordered investigation into allegations of racism at the Virginia Military Institute is moving forward after the school initially resisted allowing cadets or faculty members to be interviewed without VMI lawyers present. VMI teachers told The Washington Post this week that they have already spoken with Barnes & Thornburg, the law firm conducting the $1 million inquiry, and did not feel pressure from school officials to have a VMI attorney present for their interviews with the investigators.
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** JMU Approves Building Name Changes ([link removed])
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By MEGAN WILLIAMS, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

James Madison University’s Board of Visitors approved on Friday the renaming of three buildings on the campus quad for Joanne V. and Alexander Gabbin; Sheary Darcus Johnson, (Class of 1970 and 1974); and Doris Harper Allen, (Class of 2019, honorary) and Robert Walker Lee, according to a press release. The recommendations were made by senior leadership in collaboration with the Campus History Committee. In July 2020, the BOV voted unanimously to remove the names of three Confederate military leaders from buildings in the Bluestone section of campus.
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** Radford University continuing property acquisition, major construction plans ([link removed])
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By SAM WALL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Radford University is in the process of purchasing close to $23 million worth of off-campus properties as major construction projects continue, according to numbers presented at a recent board of visitors meeting. The university has torn down—or has plans to raze—numerous private structures as it clears way for the new construction. Some of the cleared land will be used for parking needs.


** CORONAVIRUS
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** Coronavirus cases are falling. But local officials say it’s too soon to ease most restrictions. ([link removed])
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By REBECCA TAN, GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

After a holiday surge that killed more than 7,000 residents, coronavirus infections in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are declining steadily — an encouraging, but precarious, mark of progress, officials and experts say. On Thursday, the region’s seven-day average of new daily cases fell to the same levels as mid-November. Hospitalizations were also down to pre-Thanksgiving levels, and deaths had dropped to half of their January peak. “I have rarely offered words of optimism. But I have been watching the numbers, and I’m beginning to feel optimistic,” said Eric Toner, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
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** Severe weather delays coronavirus vaccine distribution in Va., Md. ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Severe winter weather this week caused delays in shipments of more than 100,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine in Virginia and Maryland, and officials are urging residents to check the status of their appointments. Multiple vaccination events were postponed in Virginia because of the likely delay of about 106,800 doses, and a mass-vaccination site at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County was closed Friday. Those appointments were automatically rescheduled, officials said.
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** Virginia to see 60% increase in weekly COVID-19 vaccine doses in the coming weeks ([link removed])
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By JILL PALERMO, Prince William Times

About 210,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine will begin flowing into Virginia on a weekly basis by the first week of March as additional pharmacy chains – including Walgreens, Walmart, Safeway, Giant, Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Kroger – begin administering shots. Meanwhile, the severe winter weather has caused a delay in the delivery of Virginia’s vaccine supply this week, which means local health districts should have more doses to give out next week, according to Dr. Danny Avula, who is overseeing the Virginia’s vaccination efforts.
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** Virginia to shift vaccine distribution toward Black, Latino residents ages 65 and up in next few weeks ([link removed])
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By SABRINA MORENO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The Virginia Department of Health is finalizing details that would adjust how the state distributes its vaccines, giving more weight to localities with higher rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among Black and Latino residents ages 65 and older. The announcement comes as Virginia’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has been decreasing every day for more than a week straight. It’s the first time this has happened since June. The shift away from the current population-based model will likely not go into effect for a few weeks, said Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, in a media briefing Friday.
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** Virginia to revisit vaccine distribution plans ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Virginia health officials are revisiting how COVID-19 vaccine doses are distributed and expect to ultimately make vaccination appointments through the new state call center and portal. Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, made those and other announcements Friday during a phone call with the news media. Avula said there are issues with current distribution, which allocates doses to health districts based solely on population.
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** Problem with leaked links for vaccine appointments should be fixed next week, state says ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY AND ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

For weeks, people across Virginia have been sharing signup links for coronavirus vaccine events with others they weren’t meant for, leading to hundreds being turned away after showing up at inoculation sites set up for limited groups. Shot providers have struggled to tamp down on the practice, but on a call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, state officials said PrepMod — the new software Virginia’s public health officials are using to schedule and plan vaccination events — should fix the problem by Feb. 24.
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** Frustration follows after some turned away from second dose appointments in Hampton Roads ([link removed])
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By CHRIS HORNE, WAVY-TV

“Somebody please tell me, where can I get my second shot?” is a question on the minds of several people across Hampton Roads, including Denise Magee of Portsmouth. She got her first COVID-19 vaccine shot four weeks ago at a community services board in the Harbor View section of Suffolk. Right after she got that initial shot Jan. 20, she received a message from the CDC to schedule her second through the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) portal. Neither her initial location nor anywhere in Portsmouth was an available site for the second dose. It was a case of “any port in a storm,” so she “had to go with the Virginia Beach Convention Center,” the only available site.
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** PrepMod flaw led to long lines, cancellations at vaccine clinic ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A vaccination clinic that was organized on short notice in an attempt to get defrosting Pfizer vaccines in arms quickly went awry Wednesday when the link to sign up for an appointment went to more people than intended. Late Thursday, the Blue Ridge Health District offered more details on what led to long lines and some with appointments being turned away. “We acknowledge that the clinic did not go as planned,” district officials said in a statement late Thursday. “This clinic was organized with short notice. There was a supply chain complication that led to Pfizer vaccines defrosting and needing to be administered before the impending snow storm.”
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** Walgreens in Virginia will start getting vaccines next week ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER AND ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Walgreens will start sending doses of the coronavirus vaccine to Virginia locations next week, the pharmacy chain said Friday. Beginning Thursday, Feb. 25, it will receive 480,000 vaccine doses per week from the federal government, officials said in a news release. The pharmacy chain is one of several companies in Virginia, including Walmart, Safeway, Giant, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Kroger and the independent pharmacy network, that will begin getting supplies through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
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** Virginia Department of Corrections reports half of inmates vaccinated ([link removed])
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By LEANNA SCACHETTI, WDBJ-TV

Virginia’s Department of Corrections reported this week that half of the state’s incarcerated people have been vaccinated. The department also reports more than half its staff has also been vaccinated. By the numbers, that comes out to about 13,000 incarcerated people and 6,000 staff members with the first of their Moderna shots.
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** Lynchburg-area school divisions report only 17 new cases of COVID-19 this week ([link removed])
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By JAMEY CROSS, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

After reporting an average of about 60 COVID-19 cases weekly since the beginning of the year, Lynchburg-area school divisions reported only 17 new cases of COVID-19 this week.
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** 20% of Page County has been vaccinated, but positivity highest in district again ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

Approximately one in five Page County residents have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. On Friday, the Virginia Department of Health reported that 4,893 people in Page had received at least the first dose, with 1,502 county residents fully vaccinated. Given its relative population, that puts Page County right about where it should be among other jurisdictions within the Lord Fairfax Health District.
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** VDH reports 1st case of South African COVID-19 variant in southwest Virginia ([link removed])
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By SARAH FEARING, WAVY-TV

The Virginia Department of Health says it has identified the first case of the COVID-19 variant from South Africa in the southwest region of Virginia. The case is an adult who recently returned to Virginia after international travel. All contacts of the case have been identified and appropriately managed, the health department said Thursday night. This comes just two weeks after the first case of the South African variant — B.1.351 — was reported in the state. That case was in eastern Virginia.
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** Long-term-care facilities still suffer COVID-19 outbreaks even as cases drop in Danville, Pittsylvania County ([link removed])
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By CHARLES WILBORN, Danville Register & Bee

Even as daily COVID-19 cases continue on a descent and vaccine efforts steadily grow, outbreaks continue to plague the Dan River Region's long-term-care facilities. As of Friday, Danville and Pittsylvania County combined were averaging about 34 new cases of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. That's the lowest 7-day average since late November, before infections exploded in several post-holiday waves.
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** Health officials report a mostly flu-less flu season for SW Va., NE Tenn. ([link removed])
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By SARAH WADE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

On Friday, Jan. 24, 2020, Bristol Virginia Public Schools shut down to do a deep cleaning of all of its facilities amid a spike in flu cases and other illnesses among students and staff. At Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, absences surpassed 20% for both kids and employees.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** Fort Monroe named ‘site of memory’ under United Nations agency’s Slave Route project ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Fort Monroe, where the first Africans arrived at English North America in 1619, has been named a “site of memory” with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s slave route project, Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday. UNESCO created the designation 27 years ago to break the silence about the transatlantic slave trade and slavery across all continents.
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** "Freedom Fortress" Recognized For Significance in Enslaved Africans' Struggle ([link removed])
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By BRANDON SHILLINGFORD, WCVE-FM

Fort Monroe was designated on Friday by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a Site of Memory associated with the UNESCO Slave Route Project. The project was launched in 1994 with the purpose of “breaking the silence” surrounding the slave trade and giving the world a better undertsanding of the legacy of slavery and its effects and consequences worldwide. . . . Fort Monroe, known by some as the “Freedom Fortress,” was the site where the first enslaved Africans arrived in North America in 1619. During the Civil War, Union soldiers used the fortress as a safe haven for enslaved Africans, who would be considered “free” if they made it there.
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** 'CBS Sunday Morning' to feature Va. project to restore justice to Black cemetery's people ([link removed])
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By CLINT SCHEMMER, Culpeper Star Exponent (Metered Paywall - 20 articles a month)

This Sunday, a heart-rending story from King George County, Va., and Washington, D.C., should find a wider audience. “CBS Sunday Morning” plans to air a news segment on Virginia’s $5 million project to restore dignity to Black people’s gravestones stripped from a historic D.C. cemetery and dumped as riprap along the Potomac River, state officials said this week. In 1960, a developer removed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of headstones from Washington’s Columbian Harmony Cemetery, resting place of Frederick Douglass’ son Charles and other African American luminaries who lived in and around the nation’s capital from 1825 onward. The stones were trucked to Virginia and strewn along two miles of shoreline near the Dahlgren naval base to retard erosion of the homeplace of the trucking company’s owner.
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** Police make plans to remove tree-sitters blocking the Mountain Valley Pipeline ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

One day after a Montgomery County judge ordered tree-sitters to come down from where they had been blocking work on a natural gas pipeline, or be taken down by authorities, a lieutenant colonel with the Virginia State Police reached out to a colleague. Removing the protesters “has the potential to be complicated and messy,” Matthew Hanley wrote in an email to Lt. John Noel of the state police’s Salem division.
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** Gloucester School Board asks U.S. Supreme Court to review transgender policy ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A school board in Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its transgender bathroom ban after rulings by lower courts that the policy is unconstitutional and had discriminated against former student Gavin Grimm. The Gloucester County School Board filed a petition before the high court on Friday that argues its bathroom policy poses a “pressing federal question of national importance.”


** LOCAL
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** Arlington, Alexandria move forward with school reopening plans ([link removed])
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By HANNAH NATANSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Arlington Public Schools and Alexandria City Public Schools moved ahead with their reopening plans this week, releasing new details about learning and staffing strategies — and spurring a fresh round of debate among parents, students and teachers. Arlington announced it is launching a “health screening platform” ahead of the return to school, which will require every student to fill out a questionnaire each morning that asks whether they are experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Officials for the school system of 23,000 also said that, once in-person classes resume, school lunches will be held outdoors whenever possible. Alexandria officials, meanwhile, reported that about 1,700 of the school division’s nearly 2,700 staffers had begun the vaccination process.
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** After backlash, jail to offer more showers for incarcerated people during COVID-19 outbreak ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times

As a COVID-19 outbreak rampaged through the Prince William-Manassas jail in January and February, jail officials revealed that they were holding hundreds of incarcerated people in quarantine and allowing them only two showers and two changes of clothes per week as they attempted to slow the spread of the virus. Now, after public outcry, jail Superintendent Col. Pete Meletis says staff are ensuring that more showers and fresh changes of clothes are being offered above the state-mandated minimum for those who are being quarantined.
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** Chesapeake to now allow fans in stands for rescheduled fall sports ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORTS, WAVY-TV

Chesapeake high school football games will have spectators after all. The district announced Thursday it will allow two guests per athlete at outdoor events and 25 guests total in the bleachers at indoor events, after originally saying it wouldn’t allow spectators for the shortened rescheduled fall sports schedule. The season also includes competition cheer, cross country, field hockey, golf and volleyball.
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** Historical marker slated for home of one of first Black Chesapeake city council members ([link removed])
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By KARA DIXON, WAVY-TV

A historic home in Chesapeake is getting a historical highway marker. The Owens-Melvin Home is located in Deep Creek off Shell Road and was built in the early 20th century. “It was built around 1915 by James Edward Owens and Grace Catherine Melvin. Their parents lived here. Their parents were slaves. My dad, Hugo A. Owens, grew up in this house with two people who had been enslaved living in the house with them,” said Patrice Owens Parker. The house is full of fond memories for Owens Parker, who visited it as a child.
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** State Grants City, County Permission To Resume Trials ([link removed])
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By PETE DELEA, Daily News Record (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Supreme Court of Virginia authorized Harrisonburg and Rockingham County to resume jury trials, clerk of Rockingham County Circuit Court Chaz Haywood said Friday. The local circuit court hasn’t held a jury trial since March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as of Friday afternoon, the procedures for how the city and county will resume hasn’t been posted on the state’s website.
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** Town sells Brown’s Restaurant and Old Bridge Theater for $50,000 ([link removed])
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By RANDY ARRINGTON, Page Valley News

A little over six years ago, the Town of Luray found themselves between a rock and a hard place — more specifically, they got their abutment caught between a bridge and a building. As the West Main Street Bridge continued to deteriorate (earning a rating of 32 on a scale of 100), the Luray Council made plans to replace the aging infrastructure that involved state and federal funding — and all of the “red tape” associated with such funds. There were mountains of paperwork, checking for special bat habitats and a lot of waiting on budgeting cycles tied to specific funds.
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** Boil water notice issued for Chatham, Tightsqueeze areas after major leak discovered ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Danville Register & Bee

A boil water notice is in effect in Chatham and Tightsqueeze following the discovery of a major water leak Thursday near U.S. 29. Flooding in the Cherrystone Creek caused debris to break a section of a water line belonging to the town of Chatham, said Pittsylvania County spokesperson Caleb Ayers.
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** Bristol school leaders ask Northam to revisit crowd limit at outdoor venues ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)

Bristol Virginia school leaders sent Gov. Ralph Northam a letter Friday asking him to revisit newly prescribed crowd limitations for upcoming high school football games. Specifically, the letter asks that Virginia High School band members and cheerleaders be counted as participants and not included within the 250-spectator limit included in revised Executive Order 72. The order also directs that people sit 10 feet apart outdoors, compared to 6 feet apart indoors.

Today's Sponsor:


** Humane Dominion
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Supporting Humane Treatment of All of Virginia’s Animals.


** COLUMNISTS
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** Schapiro: Old Right and the Five Trolls ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The candidates for the 2021 Republican nomination for governor say they’re offering practical ideas — the kind favored by Virginians, regardless of party. There’s another word for it: pandering — or in current parlance — trolling. Whether online or in person, Democrats are guilty of this, too. It’s easier for them to get away with it. That’s because they’re strongest where votes are most abundant: the bustling, diverse suburbs.
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** PolitiFact: Does the Death Penalty Deter Murder? ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE-FM

The state Senate recently voted to repeal Virginia’s death penalty after a poignant debate that often focused on an age-old question: Does capital punishment deter murder? Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, said it does not. “In fact, the states that have abolished the death penalty have murder rates that are lower, consistently lower,” she said in a Feb. 3 floor speech. We looked into Favola’s statement, and found a mixed bag.


** OP-ED
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** Kaine: "I prayed Virginia would end the death penalty" ([link removed])
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By TIM KAINE, published in Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

I met my wife, Anne, a native Virginian, in law school in the early 1980s. Idealistic youngsters, we grappled with whether to live in Richmond or my hometown of Kansas City. A key consideration in our choice of Virginia was the Biblical phrase “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” There seemed to be so much work to be done here.

Kaine, a Democrat, represents Virginia in the U.S. Senate and was governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010.
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** Amundson: Tutoring can help kids catch up — but only if It’s done right ([link removed])
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By KRISTEN AMUNDSON, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

As we approach the one-year anniversary of school closures, there are glimmers of hope that kids eventually will get back to in-person schooling. But what happens then? One thing is clear: Students who already were behind this past March will be even farther behind. Evidence abounds. Fairfax County Public Schools saw an 83% increase in the number of middle and high school students receiving an F in two or more classes.

Amundson is the former chair of the Fairfax County School Board and a former member of the Virginia General Assembly.


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