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VaNews Oct. 30, 2019
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Today's Sponsor:


** Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance
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REBA is leading a coalition to expand renewable energy access in the Commonwealth. Learn more at rebuyers.org ([link removed])

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** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** GERALD BALILES, MODERATE VIRGINIA GOVERNOR WHO WAS ‘BOLDLY CAUTIOUS,’ DIES AT 79 ([link removed])
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By MATT SCHUDEL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Gerald L. Baliles, an understated and cerebral political figure who served as Virginia’s governor from 1986 to 1990, cultivating a bland but effective style of leadership that emphasized increasing funding for transportation, education and the environment, died Oct. 29 at his home in Charlottesville. He was 79.


** GERALD BALILES, GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA FROM 1986-90, DIES AT 79 ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Gerald Baliles, a former Virginia governor and native of Patrick County, died Tuesday at the age of 79, after a four-year battle with cancer. Baliles, a Democrat, led the state from 1986 to 1990 after serving in the House of Delegates and as attorney general.


** FORMER VIRGINIA GOV. GERALD BALILES, CREDITED WITH HISTORIC INVESTMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, DIES AT 79 ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Gov. Gerald Baliles, a bookish Democrat credited with historic investments in transportation and economic development and who was elected in 1985 on a ticket that included the first African American and woman to win statewide office in Virginia, died Tuesday of cancer. He was 79.


** FORMER VIRGINIA GOV. GERALD BALILES DIES AT 79 ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Former Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles, a Democrat known as the “transportation governor” and for his work to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and to increase foreign trade, has died. He was 79. Gov. Ralph Northam issued a statement saying Baliles died Tuesday morning, while surrounded by his family. He had been battling cancer.


** GERALD BALILES: AN ADVOCATE AND AN EXAMPLE ([link removed])
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By HOLLY KOZELSKY, Martinsville Bulletin

Former Gov. Gerald Baliles, a native of Patrick County known statewide for his efforts in transportation and locally for his support of education, died Tuesday. He was 79. Baliles was Virginia’s 65th governor, from 1986 to 1990. “He was a great friend to me, and I admired him a lot,” said Ward Armstrong, a Martinsville attorney who served in the Virginia House of Delegates


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** VIRGINIA STATE ELECTIONS OFFER EARLY POLITICAL TEST AHEAD OF 2020 U.S. RACE ([link removed])
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By JOHN WHITESIDES, Reuters

The off-year elections for the Virginia state legislature are often a quiet, little-noticed interlude before the frenzy of the U.S. presidential campaign. But not this year....The results next Tuesday could provide an early gauge of the staying power of the grassroots anti-Trump movement that propelled Democrats to victory in last year's midterm congressional elections, particularly in suburban swing districts that are common in Virginia and will be vital again in the 2020 White House race.


** MASSIVE MONEY FLOWS INTO VIRGINIA CAMPAIGNS AS VOTERS SIGNAL HIGH INTEREST ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Historic amounts of cash flooded Virginia campaigns in October, with several candidates raising more than $1 million in the span of three weeks — an amount once unthinkable even for a full year of campaigning in state legislative races. Voter enthusiasm also appears to be high one week before the Nov. 5 election.


** VISUALIZATION: THE $1 MILLON CLUB ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

A record 21 candidates have spent $1 million so far in this year's Virginia legislative elections. And before it's over, another 15 candidates could reach seven figures for a part-time job with an annual salary less than $20,000.


** VISUALIZATION: SHIFTING CASH ADVANTAGE ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

In the high money battle for the General Assembly elections, a key measure is how much money Republican and Democratic candidates collectively have in the bank at the end of each reporting period. In the final snapshot taken Oct. 24, Democrats in the House and Senate both surpassed Republicans


** LOBBY TO END GUN VIOLENCE OUTSPENDS NRA BY OVER HALF MILLION ([link removed])
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By RODNEY ROBINSON, VCU Capital News Service

October brought more donations to candidates and more knocks on constituent doors from both sides of the gun lobby. Democratic coffers -- which have reached historic levels of reported fundraising -- swelled with October donations from Everytown for Gun Safety, a lobby group focused on reducing gun violence. Everytown contributed $938,238 to the Democratic party in 2019 according to The Virginia Public Access Project. Over $600,000 of that total was given in September.


** BATTLE FOR AN OPEN VIRGINIA BEACH SENATE SEAT COULD HELP DECIDE CONTROL IN RICHMOND ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The open 7th Senate District seat in Virginia Beach has risen to one of the most well-financed and most closely watched races in the contest for control of the General Assembly. Democrat Cheryl Turpin — a first-term delegate who jumped at the chance to move across the hall to the Senate when Republican Sen. Frank Wagner retired from the seat this year — is facing a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans, a former Navy pilot who’s now a geriatric nurse practitioner.


** RICHMOND-AREA SENATE RACES CONTINUE TO TOP STATE CAMPAIGN SPENDING ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Two Richmond-area Senate races remained at the top of state’s most expensive contests in the Nov. 5 General Assembly election, according to finance reports that were due at midnight Monday. The contests between Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, and Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, and between Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, and Del. Debra Rodman, D-Henrico, are critical for each party


** HARDING APOLOGIZES FOR TAKING DEEDS CAMPAIGN LITERATURE ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Elliott Harding, an independent candidate for the 25th District seat in the Virginia Senate, apologized Tuesday for removing his opponent’s campaign flyer from a door during weekend canvassing. Harding is challenging Virginia Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, in next week’s election.


** SOME STATE SENATE RACES SPLITTING PRECINCT LINES ([link removed])
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By BRYAN MCKENZIE, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For Central Virginians voting in Virginia Senate races, it’s a matter of place and numbers. Eight candidates running for four Virginia Senate seats are on the ballots of Central Virginia’s eight counties and one independent city in the Nov. 5 general election. Voters in Albemarle, Orange, Madison, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Buckingham and Nelson counties as well as the city of Charlottesville will cast votes in Senate races


** GILBERT, HARRISON FIGHT FOR HOUSE MAJORITY ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Republicans have held the majority in the House of Delegates since 1999. But as next month’s elections loom, Democrats need to win two seats to flip it. It’s a far cry from the last 10 election cycles, when the Republican Party had maintained majority in the House by at least 10 seats. From 2011-15, the party out-weighed Democrats by more than 30 seats, but the power hold took a turn in 2017 when Democrats picked up 15 seats.


** MIKE MULLIN, HEATHER CORDASCO FACING OFF FOR THE 3RD TIME FOR A PENINSULA SEAT ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For the third time, Mike Mullin and Heather Cordasco are battling for the House of Delegates seat representing the 93rd District, which stretches from Newport News to Williamsburg. The incumbent Democrat, Mullin, is a violent-crimes prosecutor. His Republican challenger is a conservative activist who’s unafraid to find her own solutions to political flashpoints.


** TARGETED RACE: HD40 IN FAIRFAX AND LOUDOUN COUNTIES ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

House District 40 straddles the county line, with nearly eight of 10 voters in Fairfax County and the remainder in Loudoun County. Del. Tim Hugo (R-Clifton) is challenged by Democrat Dan Helmer. In this visualization, VPAP draws together all its resources to explore the district's geography, demographics, voter profile and partisan tendencies in recent statewide elections.


** TARGETED RACE: HD50 IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY AND MANASSAS CITY ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

House District 50 includes Manassas and a portion of Prince William County to the east of the city. One-quarter of the district's voters are Hispanic, based on the 2010 census. The race between two 30-something candidates, first-term Del. Lee Carter (D-Manassas) and Republican Ian Lovejoy. VPAP provides maps and charts that illuminate the district's geography, demographics and partisan tendencies in recent statewide elections.


** DO DEMOCRATS HAVE A RURAL FUTURE? ([link removed])
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By MASON ADAMS, Virginia Mercury

Rural Virginia has swung hard for Republicans over the last decade, driven by backlash to President Barack Obama, an emigration of more educated residents to urban and suburban areas, and a realignment in culture and voting patterns. So why is a Democrat in exurban Northern Virginia running on the campaign slogan, “The Future is Rural”?


** ABSENTEE VOTE SETS RECORD FOR OFF-OFF YEAR ELECTIONS ([link removed])
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By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE

Nearly 75,000 Virginians have already submitted absentee ballots as of Monday, breaking records for “off-off” year General Assembly elections. The figure is likely to grow over the next week, with absentee ballots pouring into registrars’ offices through election day on November 5.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** APPEALS COURT HEARS DISPUTE OVER PIPELINE COMPRESSOR STATION ([link removed])
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By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Lawyers for opponents of a natural gas compressor station proposed in a historic African American community in Virginia told a federal appeals court Tuesday that the state has failed to carefully consider the potential health impacts of the station and "unequal treatment" of the people who live near it.


** STATE ADMITS RACIAL STATUS OF UNION HILL IN PIPELINE CASE ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Lakshmi Fjord began to cry after an attorney for the State Air Pollution Control Board conceded in federal court Tuesday that Union Hill, a community established by freed slaves in Buckingham County after the Civil War, is indeed overwhelmingly populated by African Americans. Deputy Solicitor General Martine Cicconi made the concession under sharp questioning by Chief Judge Roger Gregory in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.


** A SLOT MACHINE SHOWDOWN IN CHESTERFIELD PARKING LOT HIGHLIGHTS LEGAL UNCERTAINTY ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

A middle finger, sharp words, some auto mechanics threatening to call the cops. The gritty, confusing debate over so-called “skill games” in Virginia reached new heights Tuesday outside a strip mall in Chesterfield, where the purveyor of one slot-machine-style game staged a press conference in front of a rival operation to call for it to be shut down.


** QUEEN OF VIRGINIA POINTS FINGER AT RIVAL GAMING MACHINES IN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The debate over the difference between illegal gambling and legal gaming reached a noisy crescendo Tuesday afternoon in a parking lot along Hull Street Road in Chesterfield County. Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment — the target of the Virginia Lottery for slotlike machines that allegedly operate in a gray zone of legality — held a news briefing in a parking lot in front of a competitor that it accused of breaking the state’s legal prohibition against games of chance.


** CHANGES SOUGHT AT WOMEN'S PRISON IN VIRGINIA AFTER INMATE'S DEATH ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Lawyers who represented an inmate at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women who died while seeking emergency help in federal court are asking a judge to order changes at the prison, alleging that more lives are at stake.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** AT NEWPORT NEWS, THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER JOHN F. KENNEDY HITS THE WATER ([link removed])
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By HUGH LESSIG, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Newport News Shipbuilding turned on the faucets Tuesday, flooding a dry dock to float the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, a process that will ultimately require more than 100 million gallons of water. It marked a milestone for the nuclear-powered ship, which will be christened Dec. 7. It also boosted morale for shipbuilders and the Navy, keeping the ship three months ahead of schedule.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** GEORGETOWN WILL START FUND TO BENEFIT DESCENDANTS OF SLAVE SALE ([link removed])
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By RACHEL L. SWARNS, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Joining a wave of American institutions moving to offer a measure of restitution for their ties to slavery, Georgetown University announced on Tuesday that it would raise about $400,000 a year to benefit the descendants of the 272 enslaved people who were sold to help keep the college afloat nearly two centuries ago, officials said.


** QUESTIONS STILL LOOM OVER MISSING STUDENT NEWSPAPERS AT RU ([link removed])
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By SAM WALL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The case of the missing Radford University Tartans remains without a culprit, but details are emerging about administrative displeasure with the school newspaper’s front-page photo. Emails obtained by The Roanoke Times show administrators — including President Brian Hemphill — weren’t happy with the cover of the Sept. 18 edition.


** VIRGINIA BUSINESS COLLEGE GETS PROVISIONAL STATE APPROVAL ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Virginia Business College received a provisional certificate to operate Tuesday from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Meeting in Richmond, the council approved a plan by college officials to establish a four-year private business school on the former campus of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** IN PRO-TRUMP WEST VIRGINIA COAL COUNTRY, THE JOBS KEEP LEAVING ([link removed])
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By KRIS MAHER, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

George Adkins and other miners now spend their shifts pulling equipment from an underground coal mine before it closes in December. He and his wife, Missy Adkins, are considering leaving the state altogether and heading to Tennessee or North Carolina—if they can get someone to buy the old coal camp house they spent years and thousands of dollars updating in the narrow hollow where they live.


** DATA: SAME-SEX MARRIAGES REPRESENT 4% OF VA. NUPTIALS IN 4-YEAR PERIOD ([link removed])
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By PATRICIA CASON, VCU Capital News Service

Same-sex couples have made up one of every 26 marriages in Virginia since such unions were legalized in the commonwealth in 2014, although in a half-dozen localities – ranging from cities such as Richmond and Norfolk to rural communities like Buena Vista – same-sex couples represent a larger percentage of the overall marriage pool.


** LOCAL
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** NORFOLK RESIDENTS SEEK OBSCURE PATH TO DEFEATING CASINO LAND DEAL ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Norfolk citizens hoping to reverse city leaders’ approval of a land deal for a potential waterfront casino resort have taken a rare new tack. After failing to get enough signatures on a petition to force a referendum vote on the decision, they’ve turned instead to a section of the city charter that allows them to introduce a new ordinance. What would the new one do? Cancel the other out.


** FRONT ROYAL SCANDAL: CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE CHARGES AGAINST SOME OFFICIALS DISMISSED ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A judge in Warren County, Va., has dismissed misdemeanor charges against the county’s top officials in the ongoing scandal over $21 million in missing funds from the local economic development authority. But with a legal effort underway to remove all five county supervisors from office, and with state and federal criminal investigations continuing, a cloud still hangs over the community

Today's Sponsor:


** Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance
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REBA is leading a coalition to expand renewable energy access in the Commonwealth. Learn more at rebuyers.org ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** GERALD BALILES WAS ‘PROGRESSIVE’ IN A TRUE SENSE ([link removed])
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Winchester Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Gov. Gerald Baliles, who died Tuesday at the age of 79, was a progressive, but not of the sort that defines the word today. He was, in his Democratic way of the 1980s, truly a progressive governor, one who moved the Old Dominion ahead rather than diminish it.


** BALILES DELIVERED A STERN MESSAGE IN BLACKSBURG ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

In the spring of 1986, the new governor of Virginia went to Winchester for the city’s annual Apple Blossom Festival. Gerald Baliles wasn’t the most famous celebrity there that day. That honor belonged to Len Bias, a star basketball player from the University of Maryland who many considered on a par with Michael Jordan. Surely he was destined for a glamorous career in the NBA.


** GERALD L. BALILES SERVED WITH DISTINCTION ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia lost a senior statesman Tuesday with the passing of Gerald L. Baliles, who will be remembered as one of the commonwealth’s most visionary leaders. The 65th governor of Virginia spearheaded record investments in transportation, championed education, promoted conservation and expanded the state’s economic development efforts across the globe.


** DEEDS DESERVES RE-ELECTION TO VA. SENATE ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

State Sen. Creigh Deeds has been admirably and honorably serving the 25th District for nearly two decades. He deserves a return to that office.


** BELL AN ASSET TO HOUSE OF DELEGATES ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

We are again impressed by Del. Rob Bell’s incisive grasp of the commonwealth’s issues, his deep understanding of the complexities of government, and his considerable know-how in using government to address those issues. This is a knowledge that goes beyond the soundbites and hot-button topics of the day.


** COLUMNISTS
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** WILLIAMS: VIRGINIA NAACP SAYS ITS DOMINION EVENT WILL GO ON ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Far from moved by the outcry over its acceptance of cash from Dominion Energy, the Virginia State Conference NAACP is doubling down in its own defense. As of Tuesday, the state NAACP’s executive committee had been sent 275 letters online urging it to cancel an event it is co-hosting Thursday with Dominion Energy, “And Yet We Rise,” a symposium “on teaching and presenting the complete and accurate 400 year history of people of African descent in America.”


** OP-ED
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** MCDONNELL: PROTECT VIRGINIA’S RIGHT-TO-WORK STATUTE ([link removed])
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By ROBERT F. MCDONNELL, Published in the Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Ten years ago, I was honored to be elected Virginia’s 71st governor. In that year, 2009, the economic conditions of the country were not good. We were just coming out of the Great Recession, banks were not lending and national unemployment stood at 10.2% on Election Day. To focus on economic revival, we chose the campaign slogan “Bob’s for Jobs” and it resonated with voters.

Robert F. McDonnell served as a the 71st governor of Virginia
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