VISUALIZATION: SPECIFICITY IS IN EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

After each General Assembly session, lobbyists are required to identify the legislative actions they sought to influence. Nothing in the law requires a list of bills, but instructions provided by the Virginia Ethics Council state: "Please use as much specificity as possible." VPAP provides a list of clients that did disclose bills and shows which measures drew the most interest among those that listed bills.

POWHATAN FERRY CHRISTENED BY PAM NORTHAM WIELDING A BOTTLE OF BILLSBURG BEER

A brand new ferry boat, the governor’s wife and a bottle of craft beer; it’s just another day on the James River as state and local officials traveled to the Jamestown ferry terminal to dedicate the Powhatan ferry.

JUDGE THROWS OUT TWO VIRGINIA ABORTION LAWS BUT UPHOLDS OTHERS

A federal judge on Monday struck down two parts of Virginia’s abortion laws but upheld other abortion regulations that had been challenged. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said Virginia’s law requiring that non-surgical second-trimester abortions — up to the fetus’s point of viability — be performed only in a hospital is unconstitutional.

JUDGE ISSUES MIXED RULING IN VIRGINIA ABORTION LAW CHALLENGE

A federal judge on Monday upheld a Virginia law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound and wait at least 24 hours before having an abortion, as well as the state's "physician-only law" barring nurse practitioners and physician's assistants from performing abortions.

LEGISLATORS CONTINUE TO ADDRESS HIGH EVICTION RATES IN VIRGINIA

Scholars, lawyers and lawmakers are still grappling with high eviction rates in Virginia and how to enact solutions. A panel Thursday at Virginia Commonwealth University addressed the Eviction Lab at Princeton University’s findings that five cities in Virginia ranked in the top 10 for national eviction rates, including Richmond, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Chesapeake. The local eviction rates ranged from 11.4% in Richmond to 7.9% in Chesapeake. The rate represents the number of evictions per 100 rental homes in an area.

LOUDOUN SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES WITH STATE LAWMAKERS

Funding for school counselors, support for performance-based assessments, school safety and student mental health were the main topics discussed Friday at the annual Loudoun County Public Schools legislative breakfast, which joined the Loudoun County School Board, LCPS staff and student representatives with state senators and delegates representing Loudoun.

CHESTERFIELD GOP KICKS SEN. AMANDA CHASE OUT OF THE COUNTY PARTY

The Chesterfield County GOP notified hometown state Sen. Amanda Chase on Monday that she was being kicked out of the local party following a series of controversies that upset other Republicans, including public attacks by Chase on Republican Sheriff Karl Leonard.

WITH TRUMP-STYLE BRAVADO, SUBURBAN STATE SENATOR ALIENATES HER OWN PARTY

Virginia state Sen. Amanda F. Chase strapped a .38 Special to her hip and swaggered through her first term in “Mr. Jefferson’s” Capitol like she owned the joint. The Chesterfield County Republican cussed out a cop over a parking spot, called the Senate clerk “Miss Piggy” and said rape victims are “naive and unprepared.”

VIRGINIA BEACH MASS SHOOTING BEING USED IN ATTACK AD AGAINST GOP

One of the people who was in the building during the Virginia Beach mass shooting appears in a new gun-control-themed ad for a Democratic state Senate candidate trying to unseat the incumbent Republican who represents part of Virginia Beach.

STATE CANDIDATES MAKE THEIR PITCHES TO VOTERS AT ACCOMACK COUNTY FORUM

Candidates in contested races for Virginia Senate and House of Delegates had three minutes each to make their case to a packed room at a candidate forum in Accomack. Incumbent Rob Bloxom, a Republican, is facing Democratic challenger Phil Hernandez in the Nov. 5 election for the House of Delegates 100th District.

WHY DEMOCRATS ARE PUMPING BIG MONEY INTO A RACE FOR A RURAL EASTERN SHORE HOUSE SEAT

In the stands on a Friday night at his son’s high school football game — far across the Chesapeake Bay from the Eastern Shore-based House of Delegates district he represents — Rob Bloxom isn’t especially worried about the looming election. Bloxom’s been told — jokingly, he says — that he should spend more time in the district to knock on doors.

FORMER TRUMP DEFENSE OFFICIAL TO SEEK GOP NOD TO CHALLENGE VA.’S SPANBERGER

A former defense official in the Trump administration and first-generation American plans Tuesday to add his name to the list of Republicans seeking the nomination to challenge freshman House Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the Richmond suburbs. Andrew F. Knaggs traveled the world for two years as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism and was deployed twice to Iraq as a Green Beret.

SCHOOL ACCREDITATION STAGNANT ACROSS STATE

Nearly the exact same number of Virginia schools meet the state’s standards of accreditation in the second year of a system that officials have trumpeted as being a better way to judge schools. The Virginia Department of Education released its annual accreditation ratings Monday, revealing that 92% of the state’s public schools — 1,682 of 1,825 — are accredited

ACCREDITATION RATINGS SHOW NEED TO CLOSE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS IN REGION, STATE

A handful of schools in the Roanoke region and New River Valley did not receive full accreditation this year. The Virginia Department of Education announced its annual ratings Monday for the 2019-20 school year. Across the state, 92% of schools earned a rating of accredited, while 7% were accredited with conditions.

IN 4 HAMPTON ROADS DISTRICTS, EVERY SCHOOL IS ACCREDITED. BUT SOME STUDENTS CONTINUE TO LAG.

Three more Hampton Roads school districts can boast that every school is fully accredited, even as students who are black or poor or have disabilities continue to lag behind there and across the state. This is the second year of a new rating system that takes factors other than test scores — which fell again in reading — into account.

MOST PUBLIC DEFENDERS IN RICHMOND MAKE LESS THAN A SECRETARY IN THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

Lawyers in Richmond’s public defender’s office, in the midst of a campaign to increase their salaries, say they’re paid so much less than the prosecutors they face in court that it raises questions about whether low-income defendants are getting a fair shake at justice. “If you’re going to fund one side of the courtroom, then you have to fund the other,” says Lauren Whitley, Richmond’s deputy public defender. “And to not do that automatically results in inequity.”

'TRADE, NOT AID'

U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Lexington, toured Cave View Farm in Weyers Cave along with others involved in the Virginia agriculture industry, where they spoke about how trade deals affect farmers and what can be done to help.

DOMINION ENERGY TAKES A SECOND SWING AT COSTLY PLAN TO UPGRADE VIRGINIA POWER GRID

Dominion Energy has filed a plan with the state to spend $594 million over the next three years modernizing Virginia’s electrical grid, which it says would cost customers an average of a little more than $1 per month.

NORTHERN VA. ACCOUNTS FOR 40% OF TOURIST SPENDING IN STATE

Virginia’s tourism industry generated a record $26 billion in tourist spending in 2018 — and 40% of that, or $10.3 billion, was spent in Northern Virginia. Both Arlington and Loudoun counties had record years for tourism last year.

ALDERMAN LIBRARY IN MIDST OF REMOVING 1.7 MILLION BOOKS, OTHER ITEMS

By now, the steps are familiar to everyone working in the stacks of Alderman Library: pick a book off the shelf, scan it, fit it into a cardboard tray, scan a barcode on the tray, load trays into orange crates and stack the crates into a truck.

FOREST CONSERVATION GRANTS AWARDED TO OFFSET DAMAGE FROM MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE

Forest conservation grants totaling nearly $4 million have been awarded as part of an effort to offset environmental damage to Southwest Virginia caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation announced the six grants Monday to restore and protect woodlands in Bland, Botetourt, Charlotte, Roanoke and Rockbridge counties.

MORE VIRGINIANS ARE HOME-SCHOOLING THEIR CHILDREN

About 1.3 million students across Virginia went back to school after summer vacation. But for Alison Hatter's three children, this didn't require getting on a bus or even going outside. Instead, their classroom is the kitchen of the family's home in Floyd County.

POLL: MORE VIRGINIANS OPEN TO LEGAL MARIJUANA

Support for legalizing marijuana in Virginia appears to be growing like a weed, according to a University of Mary Washington poll released Monday. According to a UMW news release, 61 percent of more than 1,000 adult Virginians interviewed for the survey said they are in favor of legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use.

SUPERVISORS TO DISCUSS USING COUNTY MONEY TO FIGHT CHARGES

The Board of Supervisors at its 9 a.m. meeting today will discuss whether to use taxpayer money to fund legal expenses related the recent misdemeanor charges of misfeasance and nonfeasance levied against county officials. The meeting comes one week after all five supervisors, County Administrator Doug Stanley, and former County Attorney Dan Whitten turned themselves into the Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren Regional jail.

POTENTIAL DISASTER LOOMS IN LOW-LYING AREAS

The island of Ocracoke suffered devastating flooding, and some nearby stretches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were hit hard as Hurricane Dorian headed north last month. But Hampton Roads and most of Virginia and North Carolina were spared the worst of the lingering environmental devastation that hurricanes too often bring. Next time, we might not be so fortunate.

NEW KENT’S CONCERNING PATH TOWARD GROWTH

Through the past decade, New Kent has risen as one of the fastest growing counties in Virginia. The key to that growth is its location as a vital connector along Interstate 64 between Richmond and Hampton Roads. It’s that position between two major metropolitan areas and the potential growth that has caught the eye of John Poindexter, a Texan who is angling to become an influential figure in New Kent.

A PROMISING ROADMAP FORWARD

Goochland County residents and officials know the hurdles to achieve reliable, broadband internet. With a renewed financial commitment and set of strategies, local leaders are one step closer to supporting a connected future. On Sept. 9, Goochland County introduced a promising roadmap forward.

MOORE: TAX HIKE THREATENS VIRGINIA’S GROWING CRAFT DISTILLING INDUSTRY

As a craft distiller in the Blue Ridge Mountains and president of the Virginia Distillers Association, it is rewarding to see the incredible growth in craft distilleries throughout the commonwealth. Virginia is home to nearly 70 distilleries, up from just 10 only a decade ago.

Gareth H. Moore is CEO of Virginia Distillery Co. and president of the Virginia Distillers Association.