Today's Sponsor: The Richmond Folk Festival

VaNews Sept. 30, 2019
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Today's Sponsor:


** The Richmond Folk Festival
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The Richmond Folk Festival, October 11-13, on downtown Richmond's riverfront features seven stages and over 30 different genres of music, offering something for everyone! RichmondFolkFestival.org ([link removed])

Read Online ([link removed]) 10 Most Clicked ([link removed])


** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: ANNUAL LOBBYIST ENTERTAINMENT DISCLOSURES ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Each year, lobbyists are required to report their activities to the Virginia Ethics Council, including spending on meals, receptions and other entertainment provided to executive and legislative officials. The most recent reports cover May 2018 through April 2019. VPAP shows the number of times each General Assembly member was listed, ranks lobbying clients by entertainment spending and provides a daily calendar of events.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** AS ELECTION NEARS, NORTHAM’S APPROVAL RATING CLIMBS ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Gov. Ralph Northam began the year as a massive liability for Democrats, nearly all of whom called for his resignation following the discovery of a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. With a pivotal General Assembly election just over a month away, he’s looking less and less like a problem for the party.


** VIRGINIA NEEDS TO LOOK AT HOW WE HANDLE EXPUNGING CONVICTIONS, HERRING SAYS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

If Virginia were to decriminalize possession of marijuana, what ought we to do about keeping records of past convictions? For that matter, what about convictions for behavior Virginia once considered a crime -- like vagrancy or inter-racial marriage? How about grand larceny when a past conviction is for stealing $201, now that the threshold that turns theft into a felony is $500? It’s the question of expunging criminal records, and Attorney General Mark Herring thinks Virginia ought to make it an option in more cases than it does.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** GRAND THEFT CASES DROP 33 PERCENT IN VA. SINCE NEW LAW RAISED FELONY ARREST THRESHOLD TO $500 ([link removed])
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By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Richmond woman in her early 20s was in a tough spot financially, her attorney said, so in an effort to make ends meet, she stole some clothes and other personal items valued at about $300 from a Walmart in Chesterfield County. She was caught. It was her second strike for theft, and she faced a possible prison term.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** FOR SENATOR CHASE, CONFLICTS OF HER OWN MAKING COME IN KEY ELECTION YEAR ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON AND MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

After ousting a 21-year incumbent in a Republican primary four years ago and cruising into the General Assembly, state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, is seeking a second term in what, on paper, is a conservative district. But conflicts of her own making have hindered some of her Republican support heading into the Nov. 5 election.


** CHESTERFIELD SHERIFF SAYS SEN. AMANDA CHASE FALSELY CLAIMED HE SUPPORTS 'SANCTUARY CITIES' ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard said state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, made “blatantly false accusations and lies” about him this week by accusing him of supporting so-called sanctuary cities. Leonard is a Republican up for re-election this fall along with Chase and other members of the Virginia General Assembly.


** AMANDA POHL CHALLENGES AMANDA CHASE FOR VIRGINIA'S 11TH SENATE DISTRICT ([link removed])
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By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

The district includes large swaths of Amelia County to the west as well as parts of Chesterfield and Petersburg in the east. The seat is currently held by Republican Amanda Chase, who came into the Senate as a Tea Party favorite in 2016. Chase pitched herself as an outsider and a small business owner, having never ran for public office previously. She’s now being challenged by another first-time candidate, Democrat Amanda Pohl. She’s a social worker and church deacon who is making her first foray into politics.


** EMAILS SHOW RICHMOND DELEGATE SHARED PATIENT INFORMATION WITH AIDE; CONSULTING OVERLAPPED WITH AGENCY WORK ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, shared private patient health information with a former legislative aide as part of work the aide performed for Adams’ health care consulting firm, according to emails obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.


** CORY BOOKER CAMPAIGNS FOR DEL. HALA AYALA IN 51ST DISTRICT ([link removed])
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By EMILY SIDES, Prince William Times

Sen. Cory Booker, one of more than a dozen candidates in the crowded 2020 presidential primary, talked Saturday about the importance of getting involved with elections at the largest canvass event for Del. Hala Ayala.


** INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE IN 66TH DISTRICT RACE SHARES HOW LIFE EXPERIENCES SHAPED HIS VISION ([link removed])
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By SARA MCCLOSKEY, WRIC

With a slim Republican majority in Virginia’s General Assembly, there is a lot at stake come Election Day for both sides of the aisle. But what about for an Independent?​​ Linnard Harris is running without a major party affiliation for the 66th House of Delegates District. Residents there have been represented by Republican House Speaker Kirk Cox for nearly three decades. Last year when Harris started campaigning, he was actually zoned for the 70th District and was running against long-time Democratic Del. Delores McQuinn.


** IT’S NOT JUST DEMOCRATS TAKING THE NO-DOMINION MONEY PLEDGE, SAYS DAVIS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Struck by the recent announcement that the Democratic Party of Virginia had joined the list of Democratic political candidates declining to accept money from Dominion Energy for their campaign funds, Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, thought he’d mention that he, too, has signed onto Clean Virginia’s no-Dominion money pledge.


** LOCAL, STATE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES STUMP AT FORUM ([link removed])
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By ANNA MEROD, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Six state and local Democratic candidates spoke briefly about their campaign platforms before an audience of about 40 people at James Wood Middle School on Saturday. The free event was hosted by the 10th Congressional District Democratic Committee. The general election is Nov. 5.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** BIDEN LEADS DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS IN VIRGINIA, POLL FINDS ([link removed])
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By ZEKE HARTNER, WTOP

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a strong lead among registered Virginia voters in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to a recent poll conducted by the University of Mary Washington.


** GOP GROUP TO RUN ONLINE ADS TARGETING SPANBERGER, LURIA OVER IMPEACHMENT ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A national Republican committee will begin running digital ads next week that challenge Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria’s support for an impeachment inquiry and paint the Virginia Democrats as too liberal for their districts. Facebook ads purchased by the National Republican Congressional Committee will begin appearing Monday in 16 districts, and more may be added, spokeswoman Camille Gallo said.


** THESE FIVE FRESHMAN CONGRESSWOMEN CHANGED HISTORY BY BECOMING UNLIKELY LEADERS ON IMPEACHMENT ([link removed])
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By DANA BASH AND BRIDGET NOLAN, CNN

When a group of moderate House freshmen Democrats moved from hard no to hell yes on starting an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, they changed the dynamic for House Democrats, and indeed -- the course of history. The reason they made their announcement and explained their reasoning as a group, in an op-ed in The Washington Post, is because they had already formed a bond over their national security background -- especially the five women: Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, both ex-CIA officers; Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania who was in the Air Force; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia were Naval officers.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** VIRGINIA MADE MOST OF ITS EXECUTION PROCESS SECRET. NOW NEWS OUTLETS ARE SUING. ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

After witnesses to Ricky Gray’s execution reported prison officials took an unusually long time to place IV lines for the chemicals that killed the convicted murder, Virginia moved to shield that process from view, a move several news organizations are now challenging in court.


** FORMER PROSECUTOR BECOMES FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO BE JUDGE IN VA. ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A former Fairfax County prosecutor is the first Asian American woman to become a judge in Virginia. Maha-Rebekah Abejuela, 38, officially took her seat on the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on Friday after the state legislature voted to elevate her to the position in January.


** HOW VIRGINIA PLANS TO PAY FOR ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia will use $20 million from the Volkswagen emissions settlement to pay for a new initiative aimed at deploying electric school buses across the state. Gov. Ralph Northam announced the funding plan during a Climate Week NYC event last week.


** ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSULTANT ON FLUVANNA WATER PROJECT FALSIFIED RESUME, OFFICIALS SAY ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

An archaeologist consulting on a controversial water project in Fluvanna County misrepresented her degree on her resume, according to state officials. Earlier this month, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources said in a letter to the James River Water Authority that an archaeological consultant on the water intake and pump station project, Carol Tyrer, was unqualified.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** NEW REPORT: FEDERAL RELIANCE COULD BE LIMITING VIRGINIA'S ECONOMY ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL LEE POPE, WVTF

Northern Virginia is almost half of Virginia’s economy, and it has a long history of being tied to federal spending. A new report from the Fuller Institute at George Mason University says that has not served Virginia well over the last decade, as every other major metropolitan area in the country has surged ahead. Jeanette Chapman at the Fuller Institute says Northern Virginia was doing relatively well during the recession.


** VCU HEALTH SELLING A MAJORITY STAKE IN ITS VIRGINIA PREMIER INSURANCE BUSINESS ([link removed])
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By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

VCU Health System is selling a majority stake in its health insurance managed care plan business. Virginia Premier Health Plan Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of VCU Health, will be mostly owned by Virginia Beach-based Optima Health Plan, a subsidiary of Sentara Healthcare.


** SENTARA’S OPTIMA HEALTH INSURANCE TO BUY MAJORITY STAKE IN VIRGINIA PREMIER ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Optima Health has announced it plans to buy a majority stake in a fellow Virginia health insurance provider. The Sentara Healthcare company based in Virginia Beach said it will own 80 percent of VCU Health System’s Virginia Premier after the deal clears multiple regulatory approvals.


** TASK FORCE TO PROVIDE LOCAL OVERSIGHT OF BALLAD HEALTH IN VIRGINIA'S COALFIELDS ([link removed])
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By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Southwest Virginia Health Authority has created a task force to monitor Ballad Health’s compliance with state regulations that permitted it to form a monopoly. The task force comes more than a year and a half after Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance merged and gave Ballad a monopoly on health care in Virginia’s coalfields.


** BRINGING IN THE BIG BUCKS ([link removed])
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By GARY ROBERTSON, Virginia Business

Virginia’s top-earning CEOs brought home the bacon in a big way in 2018 and were instant millionaires many times over, with average total compensation rounding out at about $8.17 million and change, nearly a million dollars more than their average total compensation the previous year, $7.26 million. Conducted by Redwood City, California-based executive compensation data firm Equilar, Virginia Business’ most recent pay survey of CEOs in Virginia looked at 40 public companies with annual revenues of least $1 billion.


** TESLA TO OPEN HAMPTON ROADS’ FIRST SERVICE CENTER IN VIRGINIA BEACH ([link removed])
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By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Tesla owners in Hampton Roads, who have had to go to Richmond or Raleigh for in-person service that the company’s mobile-repair teams couldn’t handle, may get a shorter trip.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** HAMPTON TO SEEK FEDERAL MONEY FOR MORE BIKE LANES ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Hampton wants federal help for some roadway improvement projects, one that would reduce the number of lanes on North Mallory Street to make more room for bicycles. The Hampton City Council on Wednesday gave its nod to seek funding under the Transportation Alternative Program.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** EMAILS REVEAL UVA ADMISSIONS OFFICERS DISCUSSED ‘HIGH-PRIORITY’ APPLICANTS LINKED TO DONORS ([link removed])
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By GRACIE KRETH AND ABBY CLUKEY, Cavalier Daily

The Cavalier Daily obtained emails between University officials, board members and donors that reveal the influence of the admissions watch list first publicized in 2017. For the last 20 years, the University has used a list to track certain applicants who receive an additional review — many of whom are connected to major donors. The documents from 2010 through 2017 show that alumni, donors and friends of the University would write to officials such as Sean Jenkins, senior assistant to the President, on behalf of certain applicants. The University would then flag the applicants they deemed “high-priority” in the admissions cycle.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** ARTIST KEHINDE WILEY GOES OFF TO WAR WITH CONFEDERATE STATUES ([link removed])
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By PHILIP KENNICOTT, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The old-fashioned, ceremonial unveiling of a statue is mostly extinct as a cultural spectacle.... But Kehinde Wiley, the man who painted the portrait of Barack Obama that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, tried to reinvent the unveiling Friday afternoon in Times Square...Wiley was inspired to make the work, which sits on a stone-clad plinth the same size as the one that supports the J.E.B. Stuart statue, after visiting Richmond for an exhibition in 2016. “He became enamored of the dark legacy of Richmond,” said Alex Nyerges, director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. “We thought he’d stay a day, but he came down with his whole entourage.”


** SCULPTURE UNVEILED IN TIMES SQUARE WILL BE PERMANENTLY INSTALLED IN RICHMOND IN DECEMBER ([link removed])
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By COLLEEN CURRAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Richmond’s newest monument got a one-of-a-kind unveiling in New York’s Times Square on Friday. Kehinde Wiley, along with a group of speakers, unveiled his massive monument, called “Rumors of War,” to a crowd of cheering onlookers during an event livestreamed online.... “I’m a black man looking up at those things that give me a sense of dread and fear,” Wiley said at the unveiling. “What does that feel like physically to walk a public space and to have your state, your country, your nation say, ‘This is what we stand by.’


** LOCAL SCHOOL LEADERS WORK TO FIGHT TEEN VAPING THROUGH RULES, EDUCATION ([link removed])
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By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

When Marlin Goff attended school resource officer training in Hampton, Virginia, a few years ago, he heard a presentation on the rising number of teens using vapes — electronic cigarettes that heat what’s usually a nicotine-containing liquid to produce an aerosol the user inhales. “They said if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s coming your way,” said Goff, who works as Virginia High School’s SRO.


** AMID VAPING CONTROVERSY, LYNCHBURG-AREA BUSINESSES SPEAK OUT ([link removed])
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By RACHEL SMITH, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As vaping, electronic cigarettes and associated products come under fire nationally and the Trump administration talks of a proposed ban on some elements of the industry, local businesses that sell the products are fighting back amid fear of closure.


** PLANS FOR PIPELINE WORK AREA ATOP POOR MOUNTAIN DRAW OBJECTIONS FROM ROANOKE COUNTY ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Roanoke County is objecting to a temporary workspace for the builders of a natural gas pipeline, saying its location at the top of Poor Mountain could be seen for miles. Mountain Valley Pipeline has yet to make a formal request for the workspace, which would involve clearing about an acre of woods


** CELL TOWER BUILT AS A SILO IS LATEST EFFORT TO PROTECT BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY VIEWSHED ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

That grain silo you saw from the Blue Ridge Parkway? Or the water tank? Or the power line? Or even one of the countless trees? They might have been cell towers. The National Park Service has been working in recent years to have new towers designed to blend into the mostly bucolic surroundings of the parkway as it winds through the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia.


** LAND TRUST OF VIRGINIA RECORDS CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ON 205 ACRES IN LOUDOUN COUNTY ([link removed])
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By KAREN GRAHAM, Loudoun Times

Over the past two weeks, the Middleburg-based Land Trust of Virginia has recorded four conservation easements that will permanently protect a combined 382 acres from development in Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties.


** DECISION TO CONTINUE STRIPED BASS TOURNAMENT IS “HUGE." THE FISH WON’T BE. ([link removed])
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By LEE TOLLIVER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Despite regulations that will take big fish out of the equation, the founder of the Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout has decided to press on. The 17th annual event will take place Dec. 5-7.


** NEWPORT NEWS APPROVES DEAL TO GIVE OYSTER BUSINESSES CONTROL OF MENCHVILLE MARINA ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Four Virginia oyster companies will officially take over control of Menchville Marina Oct. 1, a move that the companies believe will help with access to the oysters that come through the marina and conservation efforts to benefit the longevity of the industry.


** ‘SHUT DOWN DC’ CLIMATE PROTESTERS RETURN TO D.C. STREETS FRIDAY MORNING ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN WM. MOYER, MARISSA J. LANG AND DANA HEDGPETH, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Climate change protesters who shut down intersections in the District during Monday’s morning commute returned Friday for a sequel, another rally to call attention to Earth’s rising temperatures. Dozens of protesters marched through downtown, causing traffic disruptions and rolling street closures for about two hours during the morning rush. Unlike the numerous blockades that snarled traffic earlier in the week, Friday’s march was more contained, with protesters marching on a planned path.


** LOCAL
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** IN VALEDICTORY, BULOVA PRAISES PROGRESS IN FAIRFAX ([link removed])
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By BRIAN TROMPETER, Inside NOVA

Sharon Bulova is on her way out as Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman, but she took time Sept. 26 to trumpet the county’s virtues and predict a bright future.


** LOUDOUN SCHOOL BOARD CONDEMNS RACISM, HATE AFTER REPORT DOCUMENTS DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLS ([link removed])
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By DEBBIE TRUONG, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

For years, advocates complained that students of color in Loudoun County Public Schools had been subjected to racist incidents and hate. They had pushed for more representation of black students in advanced programs. Then, after the 2016 election, the bullying seemed to pick up, according to Phillip E. Thompson, former president of the Loudoun NAACP.


** SHE LED RICHMOND’S NEGOTIATIONS ON THE $1.5 BILLION NAVY HILL PLAN. HER NEPHEW WORKS FOR THE DEVELOPER. ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Before a nepotism scandal prompted her firing, Richmond’s chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, led Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration through 18 months of negotiations over the $1.5 billion plan to redevelop downtown around a new Coliseum. On the other side of the table were officials from NH District Corp., the would-be developer for the project with a governing board that includes Cuffee-Glenn’s nephew, Carlos M. Brown,


** SOLAR FARM AND DATA CENTER PLAN APPROVED AT FORMER MEGASITE PROPERTY IN CHESTERFIELD ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The fate of more than 1,600 acres in eastern Chesterfield once slated for thousands of homes and then a controversial industrial megasite will now house a solar farm and data center.


** LEADER CLAIMS 2 SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS CREATED “HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT" ([link removed])
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By BRIANA ADHIKUSUMA, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence has filed a complaint claiming that he experienced “abusive conduct” from two board members, leading to a “hostile work environment," according to an attorney’s letter obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. The Virginia Beach School Board discussed his July 18 grievance against members Victoria Manning and Laura Hughes in private on Aug. 13, according to the letter sent by the members’ attorney to the city’s lawyer


** EARLIER START TO THE SCHOOL YEAR? PENINSULA DIVISIONS SURVEYING OPINIONS. ([link removed])
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By MIKE HOLTZCLAW, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For most of the past three decades in Virginia, Labor Day had a very specific significance for kids, parents and teachers all around the state — the last day of public school summer vacation. It was state law.


** OFFICIALS IN 3 VA. COMMUNITIES WITH NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS SAY THEY WORK ([link removed])
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By EVAN GOODENOW, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Smyth County Sheriff B.C. Chip Shuler remembers being skeptical about a needle exchange program starting in his county. Shuler was concerned about it enabling drug use. But the community was experiencing an outbreak of the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis C viruses due to intravenous drug use tied to the opiate epidemic. Residents frequently called police about finding used needles in the community, and Shuler’s deputies were regularly finding dirty needles during searches of homes and during traffic stops.


** WHILE GAINS OUTWEIGH LOSSES FOR JOBS IN DAN RIVER REGION, SOME PROMISED POSITIONS NOT YET FILLED ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

The number of jobs announced by businesses setting up shop in the Dan River Region over the last five years has exceeded the jobs lost, reports show, but not all of the promised positions are filled. According to figures provided by the city, there have been 1,291 new jobs announced in Danville and Pittsylvania County since 2014, with 1,048 lost during that same period.

Today's Sponsor:


** The Richmond Folk Festival
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The Richmond Folk Festival, October 11-13, on downtown Richmond's riverfront features seven stages and over 30 different genres of music, offering something for everyone! RichmondFolkFestival.org ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** VRS MULLS LOWERED EXPECTATIONS ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Virginia Retirement System is considering lowering the estimated growth rate of its $82.3 billion investment portfolio after once again failing to reach its long-term goal of 7 percent annualized rate of return.


** WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO TURN THE COALFIELDS INTO BRIGHTFIELDS? PART 1 ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Here are two interesting facts — or inconvenient truths, as some might say: 1. The United States now generates more electricity from renewables than from coal. In 2015, natural gas surpassed coal as the nation’s number one energy source


** CAN THE COALFIELDS BE TURNED INTO BRIGHTFIELDS? PART 2. ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The ancients looked into the night sky and saw not just stars, but patterns in the sky. They drew mental lines from this one to that one and that one over there. Out of the randomness of the universe, they created constellations that made sense. They connected the dots. It’s time for Southwest Virginia to connect some dots of our own. Here are the dots we see.


** FINALLY, A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR STATE'S RETAILERS ([link removed])
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News & Advance Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Since the dawn of internet commerce in the mid-1990s, cyber-retailers weren’t responsible for collecting states’ sales taxes, giving startups such as a little-known book seller in Seattle called Amazon a leg up on their competition. You could order the latest bestseller or the hottest CD — books and CDs were about the only products Jeff Bezos’ company sold in its early days — and not have your state’s tax assessed at check out.


** WOMEN’S PRISON PLAN MAY BE SOLUTION ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The idea sounds good. Its implementation will be the telling factor, however. Virginia prison officials have decided to move all women inmates to three prisons in the central part of the state to create a more unified administrative system geared toward women’s needs.


** THERE’S SIMPLY NO REASON TO VOTE FOR JOHN GRAY IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

John Gray, the Republican nominee to chair the local governing body in Virginia’s second-largest locality, Prince William County, reveals himself in his tweets as a garden-variety bigot with the comic sensibility of a not-terribly-clever eighth grader. These are the tweets that he paid $30 to have deleted but that — oops — were easily unearthed by his Democratic opponent, who was tipped off by Mr. Gray’s own campaign finance report.


** BEACH INVESTIGATION SHOWS SIGNS OF PROGRESS ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Beach knows more today about the series of events that ended with a city employee opening fire in Building 2 at the Municipal Center on May 31, killing 12 people and injuring four before he was fatally wounded by police. Residents have a better idea of the timeline of that tragic afternoon.


** COLUMNISTS
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** SCHAPIRO: FOR VA. GOP, IMPEACHMENT TESTS SURVIVAL OF FITTEST ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Kenny Klinge spent part of this past Thursday watching the House Intelligence Committee hearings. With potential impeachment again in the air — this time, for Donald Trump — the hard-boiled Republican operative, who fled his native Northern Virginia for the mountains of Shenandoah County, followed national intel chief Joseph Maguire’s testimony with a sense of familiarity. And dread.


** OP-ED
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** SLIGH: CLEAN WATER RULE CHANGE THREATENS STATE POWERS ([link removed])
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By DAVID SLIGH, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Trump administration is proposing changes to Clean Water Act regulations to limit the abilities of states and local communities to protect their waters from harmful federally-licensed projects. This would encroach on Virginians’ rights to protect and preserve our natural treasures and must be met with strong opposition.

Sligh is Conservation Director for Wild Virginia.


** HOPE: VIRGINIA’S SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR LAWS HAVE GONE TOO FAR ([link removed])
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By PATRICK HOPE, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The “lock ’em up and throw away the key” era of criminal justice is over. Virginians have reassessed their views on criminal justice to better address mass incarceration weighed against costs and the likelihood to reoffend. Policies ripe for reform include: resentencing prisoners who were convicted as youth; repealing mandatory minimums; legalizing marijuana; abolishing the death penalty; ending solitary; reinstating parole; ending cash bail; and creating alternatives to incarceration.

Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, represents the 47th District in the House of Delegates.


** KAREL: WE ALL HAVE A STAKE IN CHESAPEAKE OYSTER RECOVERY ([link removed])
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By RICHARD B. KAREL, Published in the Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

As Upton Sinclair once observed, it is difficult to get someone to understand something when his income depends on not understanding it. On Sept. 16, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the commercial oyster-harvesting season would open Oct. 1 and end March 31 but with no commercial harvesting on Wednesdays.

Karel is a Baltimore writer


** BARON: UNDERSTANDING ICE AGREEMENT REQUIRES CONTEXT ([link removed])
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By JOE BARON, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Sept. 19 Virginian-Pilot article, “Norfolk sheriff ends controversial immigration detention program,” portrays the expiration of a rider billing agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the result of political pressure based on protests and concerned citizens. I would like to set the record straight. First, the agreement was neither “controversial” nor was it a “detention program.” The agreement was a tool which identified daily billing rates and expected levels of care for ICE responsible inmates when in our custody.

Joe Baron is sheriff of the city of Norfolk.


** LEMMON: GREENWAYS AND BLUEWAYS ARE ECONOMIC DRIVERS ([link removed])
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By RANDI LEMMON, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As the economic development leaders in the Roanoke Valley can well attest, greenways and blueways are viewed as important elements in the creation of communities that can attract innovative and high tech oriented industries.

Lemmon is a land planning consultant in Blacksburg.


** WHITEHEAD: MVP SOUTHGATE EXTENSION NOT NEEDED, EVEN AT THE MEGA SITE ([link removed])
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By KATIE WHITEHEAD, Published in the Danville Register & Bee

The Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill doesn’t need the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Extension, and neither do the residential and commercial customers of Dominion Energy, formerly Public Service North Carolina (PSNC).

Whitehead, a native and resident of Pittsylvania County, lives on the route of the proposed MVP Southgate Extension.


** MARSDEN: PERHAPS A THIRD WAY ([link removed])
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By DAVID MARSDEN, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

There is little disagreement as to the need to convert our power supply to clean, renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar. Combine this with savings from energy efficiency efforts (the lowest-hanging fruit). Given the rapidly declining cost of these clean and renewable energy systems, and updated information that climate change is occurring at an even faster pace than previously thought, we must act with renewed urgency.

David Marsden, D-Fairfax, represents the 37th District in the Virginia Senate.


** MILLER & KODRANSKY: WHAT RICHMOND CAN TEACH WASHINGTON ABOUT TRANSIT ([link removed])
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By JASON MILLER AND MICHAEL KODRANSKY, Published in the Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Around the country, from Los Angeles to the District, public transit ridership — particularly on buses — is in decline . The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrobus ridership, for example, has decreased over the past five years , and a steeper rate than in many other metropolitan areas.

Jason Miller is chief executive of the Greater Washington Partnership. Michael Kodransky is the U.S. director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.


** MORSE: BEER-SOAKED MEMORIES AT THE RAVEN, NEVERMORE ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

To paraphrase Shakespeare, let us sit upon the ground and sing sad songs of the death of joints — the Raven, in this case. A long familiar Virginia Beach eatery/bar/hedonistic place of joy, with its storied, liquid past, has rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible....But before we go too far with this, allow me a side trip to comment upon former governor and U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb, whose own storied past found its way into The Pilot’s obituary on the Raven.

Gordon C. Morse wrote editorials for the Daily Press and The Pilot in the 1980s. He later wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then worked for corporate and philanthropic organizations
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