POLL SHOWS VIRGINIA GOV. RALPH NORTHAM’S APPROVAL RATING IMPROVES NINE MONTHS AFTER BLACKFACE SCANDAL

Gov. Ralph Northam’s approval rating has inched up and disapproval has dipped sharply since February, when fellow Democrats in Virginia and across the country demanded his ouster over a blackface scandal, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.

NORTHAM NAMES GRANT NEELY OF DOMINION AS HIS NEW COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF

The administration of Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday named its new communications chief, Grant Neely — filling a key administration job vacant since July. Neely previously worked for Dominion Energy’s communications shop and also was chief-of-staff to then-Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

LAWYER FOUND GUILTY OF DEFRAUDING VIRGINIA LEGISLATOR, AUTISM GROUP

An attorney and former police officer was found guilty Friday in Alexandria federal court of defrauding his former employer, an autism education organization and the campaign of a Virginia Democratic political leader. David Miller, 70, conspired with his wife to embezzle more than $1.5 million by creating fake law firms that siphoned funds from then-Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), SkyLink Aviation, and the Community College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities.

AFTER NARROW ESCAPE IN 2017, DEL. ROXANN ROBINSON FACES HIGH-DOLLAR REMATCH WITH LARRY BARNETT

Democrat Larry Barnett began the year almost $94,000 behind Del. Roxann Robinson, R-Chesterfield, in raising money for a rematch to determine who will represent the 27th House District in the next General Assembly. By the end of August, Barnett had almost $87,000 more in the bank than Robinson, a nine-year incumbent

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES IN RED DISTRICTS POOL RESOURCES

After driving up a long dirt road in her Toyota Prius, Elizabeth Alcorn stands on the porch of a stranger, a smile on her face and ready to pass out campaign literature. She’s gotten used to the process by now, she said, and averages about 500 doors a week, to varying success.

EMILY’S LIST MAKES RECORD DONATION TO VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS

Emily’s List will plow an additional $1.5 million into Virginia House and Senate races this year, backing female Democrats who support abortion rights as the party tries to flip the General Assembly.

A MAJORITY OF VIRGINIA VOTERS WANT DEMOCRATS TO CONTROL LEGISLATURE, CNU POLL FINDS

By a hefty margin, Virginia voters favor having Democrats take control of the General Assembly in November elections over leaving it in GOP hands, according to a poll released Monday by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

POLL FINDS VIRGINIA VOTERS FOCUSED ON GUN POLICY AHEAD OF PIVOTAL ELECTION

Gun policy is the top issue for Virginia voters just one month before pivotal elections that will determine control of the state legislature, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll. That could be a positive sign for Democrats, who have seized on gun control in the months since a gunman killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building on May 31.

VA. REPUBLICANS TARGET FRESHMAN DEMOCRATS IN HOPES OF KEEPING HOUSE MAJORITY

An intensifying front in the battle for control of Virginia’s General Assembly lies in several exurban House districts held by first-term Democrats whom Republicans consider vulnerable. With the Nov. 5 elections approaching, state GOP leaders are working to defeat four Northern Virginia delegates: Wendy Gooditis (Clarke), Hala S. Ayala (Prince William), Lee J. Carter (Manassas) and Elizabeth R. Guzman (Prince William).

LEGISLATION WOULD RAISE MAXIMUM PAYOUTS FOR CRIME-TIP PROGRAMS STATEWIDE TO $5,000

Inflation over 30-plus years has greatly reduced the purchasing power of $1,000 in today’s economy, so would a tipster be more willing to call police and report a crime if that sum were multiplied by five? That’s what board members of the Chesterfield County Crime Solvers program believe, and they took their idea to Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, who on Saturday announced that, if he’s re-elected, he will introduce legislation

REPUBLICANS HOLD ANNUAL BARBECUE FUNDRAISER

With a table full of assorted pies and the crisp fall weather to bring in the season, Republicans from across the county and city joined together on Saturday to enjoy each other’s company and raise funds for the party. The 10th annual barbecue fundraiser is a day of celebration rather than a regular meeting, said U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Lexington.

FORUM ALLOWS GENERAL ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES TO DISCUSS PRIORITIES

All but one of the eight people campaigning to represent the Northern Shenandoah Valley in Virginia’s General Assembly participated in a candidates’ forum Saturday morning at Handley Library in Winchester.

THE STORY OF A VIRGINIA SWING DISTRICT TOWN HALL: FROM CHEERS TO JEERS

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) went home to one of the most politically divided districts in the state to defend her support of an impeachment inquiry into President Trump and found a town hall crowd that alternately praised and derided her decision.

SHAD PLANK: LURIA OUTLINES IMPEACHMENT VIEWS AT VIRGINIA BEACH TOWN HALL

The last time Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Norfolk, was at New Hope Baptist Church was a sad time, the funeral for Keith Cox, who died in May’s mass shooting at the Virginia Beach municipal center saving fellow workers’ lives. Thursday’s town hall was somber, too, as she and some 300 constituents considered the prospect of the impeachment of a president.

FREITAS, RAMIREZ JOIN PRO-TRUMP PROTEST OUTSIDE REP. SPANBERGER'S OFFICE

Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, and Tina Ramirez, a candidate for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, joined more than 50 people Friday for a pro-Trump protest and news conference outside the Glen Allen office of Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th.

IMPEACHMENT TESTS DEMOCRATS’ FOOTHOLD IN SWING DISTRICTS

In front of New Hope Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, supporters of President Donald Trump hollered for his reelection. Behind it, taped-up signs on the doors warned, “Firearms Not Allowed.” And inside, Rep. Elaine Luria personally delivered her call for Trump’s impeachment, drawing a standing ovation from more than half of the 200 or so people attending her town hall — and a few jeers, shut down quickly by church security officials. “I got no problem throwing you out,” the Rev. James Allen, the moderator, told one heckler. “If you can’t sit here and be respectful, get out.”

NEW TOOL LAUNCHED FOR TRACKING SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE IN VIRGINIA

A system allowing sexual assault victims to follow the evidence recovered in a case as it moves from hospitals to investigators to a forensic lab was launched Friday by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science.

'DRASTIC': COMMUNITIES GRAPPLE WITH A LOSS OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

By next summer, a program administered by Region Ten that provides last-resort therapeutic services for Central Virginia schoolchildren could see its enrollment fall by 30% compared with 2018. The program, called Therapeutic Day Treatment, is seen as the last option before a student is hospitalized, placed in residential care or incarcerated. Without the service, officials said, students in dire need will go without critical mental health care.

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WEIGHS PRISON NURSERY FOR NEW MOTHERS

Virginia prison officials say they want to stop separating mothers who give birth while incarcerated from their newborns by opening a nursery in one of their women’s prisons. The proposal is part of what the Department of Corrections is billing as a “gender responsivity plan” they’ll begin rolling out next month, when they’ll move 300 inmates across the state to consolidate operations and management of the four facilities that currently house women.

FORMER TROOPER'S LAWYER WANTS VA. TO STOP BARRING EMPLOYEES FROM ARGUING DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN COURT

Antonio Passaro Jr. was burned out from working on child porn investigations as a Virginia State Police special agent. A doctor in 2012 diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder because of frequent exposure to child pornography, according to court records. His requests to be transferred out of the unit were denied. Passaro filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was fired

HEALTHY HAUL: SEPTEMBER DEFENSE CONTRACTS FOR HAMPTON ROADS SURPASSES $650M

AH Environmental Consultants of Newport News had 60 million reasons to celebrate last month. That was the dollar value of a defense contract awarded to a joint venture managed by the company, which is small in stature — about 50 scientists and engineers — but has a worldwide footprint. They were far from alone. The Pentagon closed out the final month of the federal fiscal year by pouring well over half a billion dollars of contracts into Hampton Roads

DOMINION ENERGY CONSIDERS LARGE-SCALE SOLAR PROJECT AT DULLES AIRPORT

Washington Dulles International Airport is being considered by Dominion Energy Virginia and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority as the future home of a large-scale solar energy project, according to company officials. Dominion representatives say the company signed a sublease with MWAA to begin feasibility studies for the proposed project, which would cover approximately 1,200 acres at the airport

A GLIMMER OF HOPE AS RIDERSHIP REBOUNDS FOR METRO AND OTHER TRANSIT SYSTEMS

Jeremy Munro never set out to defend Metro’s honor. He has a nonconformist ethos that would never allow him to become a shill for a transit agency viewed by some as a necessary evil: convenient for a densely packed region but frustrating with its delays and limited service hours.

WILT, COVINGTON DISCUSS I-81 PROJECTS, FUNDING

With Interstate 81 improvements already underway, the Virginia Department of Transportation lead for the I-81 work, Dave Covington, joined Del. Tony Wilt, R-Broadway, a member of the Interstate 81 committee, for a Daily News-Record podcast Friday to discuss funding and what to expect on the roadway in coming months.

TWO CENTURIES AGO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA STUDENTS BEAT AND RAPED ENSLAVED SERVANTS, HISTORIANS SAY

The two young, white University of Virginia students had a secret. It was September 1826, and the men — both scions of wealthy Southern slaveholding families — were suffering from the same sexually transmitted disease. Conferring, they identified a possible culprit: an enslaved black woman whom both had raped.

U.S. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CASE OF GAS PIPELINE SEEKING TO CROSS APPALACHIAN TRAIL IN VA.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a lower court was correct to block a major natural gas pipeline from crossing underneath the Appalachian Trail in the mountains of Virginia.

SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN SET OVER PIPELINE CROSSING OF APPALACHIAN TRAIL

The stage is set for a high-stakes showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed crossing of the Appalachian Trail. The court agreed on Friday to hear an appeal of a decision by a Richmond-based federal appeals court last year. That court revoked the permit the U.S. Forest Service issued to allow a partnership led by Dominion Energy to build the proposed natural gas pipeline beneath the Appalachian Trail

VIRGINIA OFFICIALS SAY DEER DEATHS CAUSED BY VIRAL OUTBREAK

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has confirmed that a viral disease has killed a number of deer across the state. Hemorrhagic disease is a common infectious disease of white-tailed deer. Outbreaks occur annually in the Southeast.

DOLPHINS ARE SWIMMING, MATING AND EVEN GIVING BIRTH IN THE POTOMAC

Five decades ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the polluted Potomac River a “national disgrace.” Although it is now much cleaner, officials in Washington are still not convinced the water is safe for humans to swim in. But many miles downriver, where the Potomac widens to lakelike proportions as it flows toward the Chesapeake Bay, it teems with a different species of swimmers whose presence may signal healthier waters: dolphins.

LAWYERS, LITIGANTS STRUGGLE AT BALKY CLERK’S OFFICE

An understaffed clerk’s office in fast-growing Prince William County may have created a perfect storm for lawyers and others who had to navigate that courthouse in recent years. Multiple complaints about delays, errors and unhelpful staff suggest what can happen when clerks lack money to fill needed positions.

FED, STATE, LOCAL OFFICIALS TALK BROADBAND EXPANSION IN STAFFORD

Rep. Rob Wittman(R-1st District) joined Stafford County Aquia District Supervisor Cindy Shelton, and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam chief broadband advisor Evan Feinman, discuss the way ahead for getting broadband access to the underserved areas of Stafford County.

FEDERAL JUDGE SANCTIONS HENRICO SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FOR LYING

A federal judge has sanctioned a Henrico County School Board candidate for lying under oath, fined her $1,000 and barred her from working on special education cases filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. The ruling caps a lawsuit filed by the Henrico School Board against the family of a boy with autism and the woman who once represented them as an unlicensed advocate

A JUDGE WILL RULE ON THE FATE OF PORTSMOUTH’S CITY JAIL. HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT COULD COME NEXT.

In the coming weeks, Portsmouth should have some answers about the future of its city jail. But a judge’s ruling that’s expected soon could raise further questions and, depending on what he decides, could prompt further litigation, political wrangling and possibly the relocation of about 280 inmates.

RACIAL ISSUES LED PORTSMOUTH TO PLAN TALKS ON “CULTURAL HARMONY.” THEY NEVER HAPPENED.

Half a year ago, Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe said he wanted a committee to tackle issues of race in the deeply divided city. City Council members, split on the suggestion, were supposed to weigh the merits of such a task force — and potentially spending $50,000 on it — after they wrapped up budget talks on May 14. The plan was to have a meeting about Rowe’s proposal by the end of that month.

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY SEES INCREASE IN CONCEALED CARRY PERMITS

The Pittsylvania County Circuit Court office issued 1,809 concealed carry permits in 2018, a record number for the county, according to numbers from the clerk’s office. The number of concealed carry permits issued has fluctuated during the past several years, but the figures rose steadily between 2015 — with 1,380 permits — to last year, deputy clerk Arlene Worley said.

VIRGINIANS WANT MORE GUN CONTROL. THEIR VOTES FOR THE LEGISLATURE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Virginians should not forget what happened at the state’s special legislative session on gun safety this summer, when Republicans who control both houses forced an adjournment after just 90 minutes and sent everyone home — and the GOP House speaker allowed the National Rifle Association to set up its command post in his conference room. The party’s leaders made sure there was no debate there on even one of the dozens of bills submitted beforehand.

YET ANOTHER HURDLE FOR MENTALLY ILL

Virginia has been moving ahead in serving its mentally ill residents. But every step forward seems to reveal yet another gap where a stepping stone needs to be placed.

CHS LEADS ON ISSUES OF MENTAL HEALTH

Charlottesville High School — and especially its students — recently received a high compliment from the state’s secretary of education. Atif Qarni visited CHS to discuss its mental health initiatives. “This is a model situation you have here at CHS that we want to apply elsewhere,” Mr. Qarni told students. “You can really shape policy and the world you live in.”

WHY LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATTERS

A few weeks ago, we wrote approvingly of the first summit of local governments from the Alleghany Highlands and Roanoke Valley and New River valleys. The official purpose of the Sept. 12 meeting, was for local elected officials to get a briefing on the research taking place at the Virginia Tech Carilion Academic Health Complex — and the economic potential it holds for the whole region.

AS NOVEMBER VOTE LOOMS, THE STAKES ARE HIGH FOR COMMONWEALTH

Nearly two years ago, Virginians held their collective breath for a few moments when State Board of Elections Chairman James Alcorn dipped his hand into a blue ceramic bowl and plucked one of the two film canisters it contained.

UPCOMING ELECTIONS

A special time of year is quickly approaching: Election season. You may have already seen the yard signs sprouting like flowers - or weeds depending on your perspective - along the roadway and received candidates’ fliers in your mailboxes.

HOW APPALACHIAN NATURAL GAS IS CONNECTED TO UKRAINE (SORT OF)

Here’s a riddle for you: How is the Mountain Valley Pipeline connected to the controversy — perhaps even an impeachable controversy — over President Trump’s attempt to get Ukraine to dig up political dirt on Joe Biden? The answer is a broad one: The global market for natural gas.

DEMOGRAPHICS IS DESTINY

Whether it knows it or not, the Fredericksburg region is already fighting “a war for talent” in “a highly volatile economy in which the new normal is certain uncertainty,” Dr. James Johnson, distinguished professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, recently told attendees at a “Good Jobs Here!” seminar sponsored by the George Washington Regional Commission and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance.

MONACANS' RASSAWEK MUST BE SAVED, PRESERVED

“The land of the free and the home of the brave” — that famous line from “The Star-Spangled Banner” — doesn’t ring true for all people in this nation. Four hundred years ago, in 1619, the first Africans arrived at Jamestown, the capital of the first permanent English settlement in North America.

SCHAPIRO: BALILES PREPARES TO 'LEAVE THIS LIFE' BELIEVING IN THE FUTURE

If you’re Jerry Baliles, you don’t stop thinking about tomorrow. Whether you’re a little boy ducking his chores, reading the biographies of leaders long past under a big maple tree on his grandparents’ farm in his native Patrick County.

BALLARD: MORE ATTENTION, RESOURCES NEEDED FOR MENTAL HEALTH

In A 1988 article in the Mobile, Ala. Press-Register, “Mother Cannot Make Son Well,” my courageous mother, Irene Frazer, spoke out. "It's such a tragedy. It's just a tragedy to see this beautiful personality that you adore dissolve into something you cannot fathom," she said.

Margaret Frazer Ballard serves on the board of directors of the The Chas Foundation, a Norfolk-based non-profit that advocates on behalf of those with mental illness.

JONES AND AIRD: FOR BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS ALIKE, VIRGINIA MUST REFORM ITS ENERGY ECONOMY

For the second time this decade, Virginia earned the distinction of “America’s Top State for Business,” thanks largely to the fact that our commonwealth leads the country in the quality of its workforce and education system . Virginia’s greatest strength has always been the hard-working people who call it home, and this recognition is one of which we should all be proud.

Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones, a Democrat, represents Norfolk in the Virginia House of Delegates. Lashrecse D. Aird, a Democrat, represents Petersburg in the Virginia House of Delegates.

LIND: REFORMING VIRGINIA'S ELECTORAL PROCESS

Virginia’s elections are under assault. External threats — including the now-proven Russian cyber-probe of the state’s Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) elections management software in 2016 — are alarming, but the internal threat is more dangerous. One need not steal an election to poison democracy. It is sufficient to destroy public confidence in the election results.

Robin Lind has served on the Goochland County Electoral Board since 2001 and is immediate past president of the Virginia Electoral Board Association.

LAWSON: INCREASE FUNDING FOR VIRGINIA'S NATURAL RESOURCES

Last week, the celebration of National Public Lands Day reminded many of us of the abundance of public land throughout Virginia, and in the Roanoke area in particular. Situated in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains (indeed, dubbing itself Virginia’s Blue Ridge), close by the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, the Roanoke Valley is surrounded by public lands, making it an outdoor enthusiast’s dream.

Lawson, a resident of Botetourt County, is a board member of the Valley Conservation Council, and a former trustee of the Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

MARSHALL: VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT'S DRIVE TO RATIFY ERA IS DECADES TOO LATE

Delegate Mark Cole’s Democrat opponent, Jess Foster, is either ignorant of the facts regarding the proposed Equal Rights Amendment or is manipulating them. A Foster press release published in Blue Virginia claims that Del. Cole cited a non-existent 1994 Virginia attorney general’s opinion. She demanded that Cole produce the opinion, which stated that the time for ratification of the ERA had expired. I was the one who requested and received that opinion

Bob Marshall served for 26 years in the Virginia House of Delegates

MORSE: STEADFAST, MEASURED, FOCUSED — THAT WAS GOV. BALILES

Not everyone issues a statement in these circumstances. But not everyone is former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles. The details were stunning: Nearly four years of treatment, surgery and continuing care had left Baliles enrolled in a “palliative care program.” Oh.

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

MCNAB: ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS REGION STRONG, FUTURE PROMISING

The 20th annual State of the Region Report for Hampton Roads examines a series of topics that should spark discussion and support calls for regional action. With the regional economy poised for continued growth, Hampton Roads should leverage its strengths and address its weaknesses. There are challenges but these challenges represent opportunities for us to grow as a region.

Bob McNab is a professor of economics and director of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University.

VOGLER: VIRGINIA CELEBRATES NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY WEEK

National Clean Energy Week is an opportunity to bring together individuals, businesses, nonprofits and industry associations to discuss common sense clean energy solutions that directly address our need for abundant, reliable energy while preserving the environment.

Vogler is the Vice-Mayor of Danville, He currently serves on the advisory board for Conservatives for Clean Energy Virginia.