VISUALIZATION: GOVERNORS AND BIG DONORS

While polls have shown a rebound in Gov. Ralph Northam's approval rating, preliminary campaign finance numbers indicate Northam has yet to see a rebound in political fundraising. A full accounting from his PAC is not due until next Tuesday, but VPAP looks at available data showing how much Northam reported from donors who gave $10,000 or more and compares it with the amount raised by his predecessors at the same point in their second year in office.

VIRGINIA GOV SAYS HE’S RESTORED CIVIL RIGHTS TO 22K FELONS

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he has restored voting and other civil rights to more than 22,000 felons who have completed their sentences since taking office last year. Northam announced the milestone Wednesday. The restored rights include the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office.

GOV. NORTHAM ANNOUNCES NEARLY $1.5M GRANT FUNDING FOR VIRGINIA RESEARCH INVESTMENT FUND

Governor Ralph Northam says that nearly $1.5 million in grant funding has been awarded from the Virginia Research Investment Fund in its second funding round on Wednesday, Oct. 9, according to a press release. The grant will support the launch of the Commonwealth Center of Innovation for Autonomous Systems (C2IAS).

VIRGINIA'S AG CONTINUES FIGHT FOR CLEAN AIR, CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORTS

Attorney General Mark Herring stepped up to defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect clean air and limit greenhouse gas emissions. Herring said there have been recent concerns because the Trump Administration may not vigorously defend the authority in pending lawsuits brought by fossil fuel companies.

LAWMAKERS CONSIDER TAX FOR VAPE PRODUCTS

...The subcommittee is considering Ebbin’s 2019 bill that would impose a 40% tax rate on the wholesale price of vape products and funnel most of the revenue into a fund for more school counselors.

3% TAX RATE INCREASE TOPS CLARKE'S LIST OF LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Clarke County is seeking state approval to increase a tax charged by lodging providers by up to 3% to generate more revenue to promote tourism. That tops the Board of Supervisors’ draft list of legislative priorities for 2020. State law generally allows counties to impose a transient occupancy tax of up to 2%.

DUNNAVANT CALLED FOR 'BUMP STOCK' BAN IN TV AD. IN THE LEGISLATURE, HOWEVER, SHE VOTED AGAINST IT.

Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant says in a TV ad that she supports a federal ban on bump stocks, the devices that allow continuous firing of a semiautomatic firearm with one trigger pull. Not so fast, says Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the leading national organizations lobbying for restrictions on firearms. Dunnavant, R-Henrico, voted no on that issue in 2018 as a member of the Virginia General Assembly.

CANDIDATE SUGGESTS GUN-RIGHTS FOR CONVICTED FELONS

A candidate for the 16th Senate District seat said Tuesday night that he favors the strengthening of gun rights for Virginians, but he would take it a step further by immediately restoring gun rights to convicted felons as they are released from jail. “They are still finding ways of getting guns because they need to protect themselves, and they do,” independent Waylin K. Ross told a legislative candidate forum

HARDING AND DEEDS CLASH ON DOMINION, RECORD AT FORUM

Independent Elliott Harding went on the offensive as State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, defended his record and past campaign donations at a forum on Wednesday. Harding is challenging Deeds in Virginia’s 25th Senate District and the two met for the second time this election cycle in a forum hosted by the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.

VA. HOUSE SPEAKER KIRK COX TAKES TO DEBATE STAGE FOR FIRST TIME IN DECADES

Facing his first competitive re-election campaign in decades, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox found himself on unfamiliar terrain Wednesday night: a debate stage. At a candidate forum in Chesterfield County, Cox, R-Colonial Heights, faced off against Democratic challenger Sheila Bynum-Coleman, fielding questions on gun violence, climate change, the economy, LGBTQ rights and other issues.

DEL. AIRD AND INDEPENDENT CHALLENGER HAAKE FACE OFF IN PETERSBURG

Candidates for the 63rd House of Delegates district Lacheresce Aird (D), and Larry Haake (I), shared the stage together in Petersburg on Tuesday night. The event was co-hosted by VPM and The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. Aird, the incumbent and a higher-education administrator, and Haake, a former Richmond police officer and Chesterfield Registrar, each tried to make their case to the audience as to why they are the best person for the job.

VITA TO RESTORE HR OFFICE TO IMPROVE AGENCY CULTURE, BOOST ORGANIZATION

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency wasted no time in acting on a legislative watchdog recommendation to bolster staffing and organization at a critical time in the transition to a new system for serving state agencies.

VA. REGULATORS FILE TO SHUT DOWN COMPANY ACCUSED OF EXPLOITING IMMIGRANTS IN NEED OF BAIL

State regulators are seeking a cease-and-desist order against a Virginia-grown company that’s drawn nationwide scrutiny amid allegations it exploits immigrants by charging excessive fees to secure their release from detention centers. A filing Friday by the state Bureau of Insurance accuses Libre by Nexus, which was founded and operated out of Augusta County until earlier this year, of refusing to obtain a license to sell insurance in Virginia.

PLATANIA ARGUES IMMUNITY IN 'SKILL MACHINE' LAWSUIT

Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania should be immune under state law to a lawsuit filed by a games manufacturer after his office imposed a ban on “skill machines,” according to a recent filing in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Skill machines have been in Virginia for around two years, and Charlottesville is the first locality to question their legality.

CLINE, RIGGLEMAN HOLD TOWN HALL IN BEDFORD

A lack of bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., immigration reform and the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump were among the topics discussed by freshman congressmen Ben Cline and Denver Riggleman on Wednesday in Bedford.

VIRGINIA GOP REPRESENTATIVES' TOWN HALL HEAVY ON POLICY, LIGHT ON IMPEACHMENT

The House’s impeachment inquiry, which has engulfed Washington politics and dominated national news coverage, barely got a mention at a town hall here Wednesday night hosted by Republican Reps. Ben Cline and Denver Riggleman. The topics on constituents’ minds included an array of policy topics, such as President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, the trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, climate change, infrastructure and immigration.

SPANBERGER STARTS EDUCATION TOUR IN CULPEPER

It’s hard not to have your spirits lifted by enthusiastic young children, and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is no exception. Her joy was evident as the 7th District congresswoman interacted with children at Culpeper Head Start and Kid Central’s facilities early Tuesday morning.

VIRGINIA BEACH BITCOIN MINING COMPANY ORDERED TO LIQUIDATE

BCause Mining LLC, the bitcoin mining operation that filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy a year after it received a grant worth up to $500,000 from the city of Virginia Beach to expand to a rented warehouse there, has been ordered to liquidate its assets. An attorney for BCause confirmed the company’s operations have shut down.

VIRGINIA RANKS AMONG STATES WITH LOWEST CRIME RATES

Virginia had the fourth lowest violent crime rate and 13th lowest property crime rate in the United States last year, according to new data from the FBI. The commonwealth had 200 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2018, the data showed. Only Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire had a lower violent crime rate. Nationally, there were 369 violent offenses per 100,000 population.

PRINCE WILLIAM CHAIR CANDIDATES TALK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, METRO, BOND QUESTIONS

Attracting new business and fixing traffic nightmares were the hot topics at the latest debate for the four candidates running to be chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. The forum Tuesday at the Manassas campus of the Northern Virginia Community College was hosted by the college and Prince William Chamber of Commerce.

STONEY TO PITCH HARSHER PENALTIES FOR NOT REPORTING STOLEN GUNS AND FOR DISTRACTED DRIVING

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney wants to impose new city laws to curb trafficking of stolen guns and distracted driving, he said Wednesday. One would require gun owners to report a stolen firearm within 24 hours to Richmond Police. The other would allow police to pull over and ticket drivers using a cellphone while speeding, swerving or ignoring street signs.

EXPULSION QUESTION HOVERS OVER SPECIAL ELECTION FOR AMHERST TOWN COUNCIL SEAT

On the evening of July 10 as the sun set over Amherst, Town Council voted to remove one of its own — and town residents have been in the dark since as to the reason why. Janice Wheaton, who was serving on council at the time, before a closed session had just publicly stated her frustrations with her role in the decision-making processes as an elected town official and claimed she was being shut out.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVES INFORMATIVE FLYERS ON COURTHOUSE VOTE

After mulling over the wording, the Washington County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved sending flyers to county voters informing them about the potential move of the county courthouse to Abingdon’s former Kmart building. The supervisors voted 5-2, with Supervisor Phillip McCall and Vice Chairwoman Allison Mays opposing the plan, to spend more than $20,000 on the flyers.

IS A POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE COMING?

They say dogs can hear earthquakes before they happen because of a wider range of hearing that can pick up sounds deep in the earth of tectonic plates scraping together before everything goes bang. With that image in mind, we pose this question: Did a poll from Christopher Newport University just pick up an impending political earthquake in Virginia?

SCHAPIRO: FOR WARNER, WHY EVEN MENTION RE-ELECTION?

Mark Warner has the best of both worlds: As a bipartisan, he gets to run his mouth about Donald Trump this year. And as a partisan, he gets to run against Donald Trump next year. Warner is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, the only entity within Congress in which members of both parties are speaking as one over Russian meddling in the 2016 election

SELTZ: A PLAN TO LOWER COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE

I love our community. That is the main reason I am running for the 7th District House of Delegates. I was raised in Pulaski County, as were my working-class parents. For the past two decades I have helped thousands gain access to health care through Virginia’s FAMIS programs, the federal marketplace and other critical safety nets.

Seltz is the Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates for the 7th District seat that covers Floyd County, and parts of Montgomery and Pulaski counties.