From VaNews <[email protected]>
Subject Political headlines from across Virginia
Date November 8, 2019 12:23 PM
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Today's Sponsor: After Virginia Votes

VaNews Nov. 8, 2019
------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Sponsor:


** After Virginia Votes
------------------------------------------------------------

Registrations are filling up for After Virginia Votes, the state's leading post-election retrospective Nov. 12 at GMU-Arlington. It's free to attend! Register online here. ([link removed])

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


** FROM VPAP
------------------------------------------------------------


** VISUALIZATION: THE CLASS OF 2020 ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Virginia Public Access Project

As it stands now, the 2020 General Assembly will include 21 freshmen legislators. How does the incoming class compare with the 2019 General Assembly in terms of gender, age, race and educational attainment?


** MEET JONATHAN SHIELDS, THE 2019 VPAP PUNDIT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Virginia Public Access Project

Even when making a shot in the dark, Jonathan Shields could still hit the target. After eight years working in campaigns and issue advocacy, his instincts led him to be crowned the 2019 VPAP Pundit.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
------------------------------------------------------------


** DEMOCRATIC SURGE PUTS CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGENDA IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By DINO GRANDONI, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

It is hard to miss the effects of climate change in much of coastal Virginia. Now the issue will get much more attention in the state's capital. Democrats are emboldened after winning control of both chambers of Virginia's General Assembly for the first time in a generation. With their new power consolidated under Gov. Ralph Northam (D), leaders in the coal-rich bastion of the south are expected to pursue legislation to boost the use of renewable energy


** ENVIRONMENTALISTS EXPECT ACTION FROM THE ‘CLEAN ENERGY MAJORITY’ ELECTED TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By TAMARA DIETRICH, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A few months ago, environmentalists blasted Gov. Ralph Northam for not fighting GOP lawmakers who blocked Virginia from joining a regional coalition to curb carbon emissions. Northam insisted the better remedy was for voters to elect Democrats in November.


** AS DEMOCRATS TRIUMPH IN VIRGINIA, PRO-GUN GROUPS CONFRONT ‘WORST SCENARIO’ ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

In a victory speech in Richmond Tuesday night, Shannon Watts, the founder of gun-safety group Moms Demand Action, finished by mentioning a get-out-the-vote tweet from the National Rifle Association. In the video posted a few days before Virginia’s General Assembly elections, a woman in an NRA hat said people who didn’t go vote to protect their gun rights should “pack your shit and git.”


** VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ARE ON TO THE NEXT ELECTION — FOR HOUSE SPEAKER ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Democrats are on to the next battle — this time within their own party — as four candidates fight to become speaker of the House in the chamber they flipped in Tuesday’s election. There is an internal skirmish among House Republicans, too, in the aftermath of an Election Day that gave Democrats control of the House of Delegates for the first time in a generation. With Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) uninterested in serving as minority leader, two Republican delegates are vying for that post.


** PETERSBURG LEGISLATOR WILL SEEK HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

Democrats in the House of Delegates will gather this weekend to choose their leadership for the upcoming session, and the possibility exists that the next House speaker could be a Tri-City area legislator for the second time in a row. Del. Lashrecse D. Aird of Petersburg said this week she will offer herself as a candidate for the post, challenging current House Democratic leader Eileen Filler-Corn when the votes are taken Saturday behind closed doors.


** GOP HOUSE SPEAKER COX’S CHIEF OF STAFF JOINS GENTRY LOCKE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By RICHARD FOSTER, Virginia Business

Roanoke-based law firm Gentry Locke has tapped Matthew S. Moran, the former chief of staff to Virginia Speaker of the House Kirk Cox, as its government affairs director. Moran will join the firm's government and regulatory affairs practice in its Richmond office, which opened in late 2018 with partners Gregory Habeeb and John "Chip" Dicks, both former members of the state House of Delegates.


** STATE ELECTIONS
------------------------------------------------------------


** HASHMI’S ELECTION DRAWS RACIST COMMENTS ON FACEBOOK ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By HANNAH EASON AND SRAVAN GANNAVARAPU, Associated Press

Days after Virginia’s legislative elections, racist comments continued to flood news stories about Ghazala Hashmi becoming the first Muslim American to serve in the state Senate


** DEMOCRAT CHERYL TURPIN CONCEDES TO REPUBLICAN JEN KIGGANS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Democrat in the race for Virginia’s open 7th Senate District seat conceded Thursday to the Republican after being down by 515 votes. Cheryl Turpin, who served one term on the House of Delegates, called the winner of Tuesday’s election, Jen Kiggans, to concede, according to Kiggans’ campaign.


** HIS MAJORITY GOT WIPED OUT IN THE SUBURBS. HOW DID KIRK COX SURVIVE? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

On paper, Kirk Cox didn’t look like he had a chance. A court order meant to undo racial gerrymandering shifted the partisan balance in the powerful Republican House speaker’s district an astounding 32 points to the left, leaving Democrats with a theoretical six-point advantage in Tuesday’s election....Cox’s campaign, meanwhile, attributed the win to hard work, good strategy, and Cox’s status as a 30-year incumbent with strong relationships in the community


** CULPEPER STAYS RED THIS ELECTION SEASON ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JEFF SAY, Culpeper Times

While Democrats took full control of the state government Tuesday night, Culpeper stayed red. Republicans won most of the races in Culpeper, with the sheriff, commonwealth’s attorney, treasurer and all state senate and delegate seats being the most prominent.


** REPUBLICAN REQUIEM ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MICHAEL LEE POPE, Alexandria Gazette Packet

It wasn’t all that long ago that Northern Virginia had its own breed of Republicanism. People like U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11), U.S. Sen. John Warner and Del. Dave Albo (R-42). Now, after a series of stunning defeats since the election of Donald Trump to the White House, Northern Virginia Republicans are a dying breed, with moderates bowing out or being voted out. “Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving,” said Del. Mark Keam


** THE RIPPON VOTING SNAFU: HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED, AS BALLOTS CAST WILL COUNT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By URIAH KISER, Potomac Local (Subscription Required)

The voting precinct at Rippon Middle School in Woodbridge closed for about an hour on Election Day. Election officials received a batch of misprinted ballots that had the same ballot information printed on each side. Officials closed the precinct about mid-afternoon, turned voters away, and then went to Staples office supply store to print new ballots. Once in hand, they reopened the polling place.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
------------------------------------------------------------


** THIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS ACCREDITED DESPITE FAILING TO MEET VA. STANDARDS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By RILYN EISCHENS, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Though Westwood Hills Elementary School failed to meet accreditation benchmarks this year, the school still received the state's top quality ranking — and will be accredited again in 2020 and 2021. More than two-thirds of local schools, including Westwood Hills, will remain accredited for the next several years, regardless of their test scores or absenteeism rates. They'll maintain that status under a state law that grants schools three-year accreditation waivers based on past performance.


** STATE GRANT APPROVED TO SUPPORT REDEVELOPMENT OF CVTC PROPERTY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JUSTIN FAULCONER, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The GO Virginia Region 2 Council recently approved a $100,000 grant to assist the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance's efforts to secure a redevelopment plan for the Central Virginia Training Center. CVTC, located on roughly 390 acres near the James River in Madison Heights, is set to close in June 2020.


** CONGRESS
------------------------------------------------------------


** CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TO REVIVE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT PUSH ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Democrats, buoyed by their party’s electoral sweep in Virginia this week, plan on Friday to revive the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress, embarking on what they hope is a final push to add the nearly century-old measure to enshrine equality of the sexes into the Constitution.... Representative Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, will announce that his panel intends to mark up a bill eliminating the deadline for states to adopt the amendment, known as the E.R.A., which was one state short of the 38 needed for ratification when the deadline passed in 1982.


** LURIA’S HEARD ENOUGH, WILL VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Back in September, Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Norfolk, and six other first term members of Congress from swing districts stunned Washington by declaring they supported an inquiry to see if President Donald Trump should be impeached. In the weeks since, she said new information that’s emerged about Trump’s July call to the Ukrainian president has convinced her that it is time for the next step.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
------------------------------------------------------------


** NAVY SECRETARY AND HUNTINGTON INGALLS “IN A BETTER PLACE” AFTER CARRIER FORD CRITICISM ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By HUGH LESSIG, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

After some recent public fireworks, the Navy and Huntington Ingalls are sounding united when it comes to preparing the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford for deployment. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer recently criticized company senior management regarding the ship’s advanced weapons elevators. HII first said the elevators would be ready by July of this year, then said work would take much longer, Spencer complained.


** MICROSOFT REVEALS FIRST PLANS FOR LEESBURG PROPERTY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MICHAEL NEIBAUER, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has submitted the first applications to begin building data centers in Leesburg on 332 acres it acquired from the Peterson Cos. in 2018. A pair of filings indicate the first phase will include two data centers,


** IN SIX MONTHS, INNER-CITY GROCERY LOSES MILLIONS, BUT OWNERS COMMITTED TO MISSION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)

The building was pristine. The staff was top-notch. The need was immense. The Market @ 25th opened its doors in late April after years of anticipation in the East End neighborhood long deemed a food desert. Its establishment brought two things that are scarce in Church Hill: new jobs and fresh food.


** POSSIBLE SHUT-DOWN COULD PUT HUNDREDS JOBLESS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Neck News

All of the science says there are plenty of menhaden. Even so, on October 28, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Management Board voted to ask the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to hold Reedville’s Omega Protein out of compliance with the commission’s regulatory scheme for menhaden. Should he do so, Omega might be forced to shut down putting several hundred employees out of work.


** TURBINES WILL BE TALLER IN LATEST WIND FARM PLAN FOR BOTETOURT COUNTY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A renewable energy company has revised its plan to build wind turbines on a Botetourt County ridgeline, making them nearly 700 feet tall. The latest proposal by Apex Clean Energy exceeds the maximum turbine height of 550 feet approved nearly three years ago and would require an amended permit from the county’s board of supervisors.


** TRANSPORTATION
------------------------------------------------------------


** METRO BOARD MEMBER CHRISTIAN DORSEY TO RETURN $10,000 CAMPAIGN DONATION FROM TRANSIT UNION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By ROBERT MCCARTNEY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Metro board on Thursday forced member Christian Dorsey to return a $10,000 campaign contribution from the transit system’s largest union and give up his finance committee chairmanship as punishment for breaking ethics rules regarding the donation. The board penalized Dorsey for waiting four months to disclose the June donation, instead of within 10 days as required by the board’s ethics code.


** ARLINGTON COUNTY BOARD CHAIR CHRISTIAN DORSEY FILES PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY PETITION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By PATRICIA SULLIVAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey, who was penalized Thursday for failing to disclose a campaign contribution to the Metro board in a timely manner, filed for bankruptcy last month after falling behind on his mortgage and accruing tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.


** TRANSIT ACTIVISTS QUESTION NEED FOR NAVY HILL’S PROPOSED GRTC TRANSIT CENTER ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

As part of the Richmond Coliseum redevelopment proposal, the GRTC bus system would receive a new transfer center. The developers have called it a public benefit, but transportation activists are questioning its necessity. The organization RVA Rapid Transit recently issued a statement saying they have serious concerns about the new transfer center’s size and location. The current GRTC transfer hub is basically an extended sidewalk near Richmond City Hall, that services 13 bus routes in the evening, but only 5 during the day. The Navy Hill redevelopment proposal calls for a centralized, mixed-used space with room for 12 buses.


** SELF-DRIVING SHUTTLE, CAR SHOWN OFF IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JOHN AARON, WTOP

More self-driving vehicles are being shown off in the D.C. region. They include one known as “Tony” — short for “to navigate you,” said Dave Hofert, of Perrone Robotics.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
------------------------------------------------------------


** PRIME OPPORTUNITY: NORTHAM SIGNS GRANTS FOR TECH TALENT WITH 11 HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam came to Virginia State University on Thursday with a pledge to colleges and universities “in every part of the state” that they will share in a $1.1 billion state investment in higher education to generate more than 31,000 additional degrees in computer sciences over the next 20 years. “I underline the word ‘every,’ ” Northam told an audience of higher education officials at the historically black university here. “This is about the entire commonwealth.”


** VIRGINIA SEEKS LARGER PIPELINE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By NICK ANDERSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) disclosed plans Thursday to help public universities produce 31,000 more degrees in computer science and related fields over the next two decades, an initiative that aims to help meet growing demand for a high-tech workforce as the state prepares for a new Amazon headquarters in Arlington. With the announcement, Northam spelled out targets for 11 universities to contribute to the tech-degree pipeline.


** VIRGINIA TECH, RADFORD GET MILLIONS FROM STATE TO BOOST COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADS AS PART OF AMAZON DEAL ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As part of Virginia’s deal with Amazon, Virginia Tech, Radford University and nine other schools will get hundreds of millions of dollars from the state over the next decades to boost their number of computer science graduates. Virginia Tech will gain nearly half a billion dollars by 2040 to produce a set number of 5,911 undergraduates and 10,324 graduate students with degrees in computer science and related fields. Radford agrees to graduate 394 people with bachelor’s degrees in tech.


** VIRGINIA COLLEGES PROMISE 31,000 NEW TECH GRADS AS PART OF AMAZON DEAL ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MATT JONES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Amazon’s planned second headquarters campus in Alexandria may be a several-hour drive from Hampton Roads, but it’s having consequences for local colleges.


** UVA TO RECEIVE $33M OVER 20 YEARS TO SUPPORT COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The University of Virginia will receive about $33 million from the state over the next 20 years to support more than 3,000 degrees in computer science. Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that the state plans to create 31,000 new computer science graduates over the next 20 years through partnerships with 11 universities.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
------------------------------------------------------------


** RECYCLING MAY NOT BE GOING WHERE YOU THINK ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A few years ago when you tossed your cardboard boxes from Amazon into the recycling bin, there’s a good chance they eventually traveled thousands of miles and half a world away to China. That changed early last year. China stopped taking most of those materials and the recycling industry entered a tailspin as the world’s largest market for recycled commodities all but closed. Prices plunged and with them, recyclers’ revenue.


** LOCAL
------------------------------------------------------------


** PRINCE WILLIAM DEMOCRATS PROMISE REVIEW OF RURAL CRESCENT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By URIAH KISER, Potomac Local (Subscription Required)

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman At-large (Elect) Ann Wheeler led a post-election press conference Wednesday. Flanked by her fellow Democrats just elected to seats on the Board, officials said they would review all of the county’s land-use policies after they take their seats in January.


** AS STATE TURNS BLUE, CHESTERFIELD GOP WINS BIG ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By STAFF REPORT, Chesterfield Observer

Democrats won majorities in both houses of the General Assembly on Tuesday, but the county GOP secured significant victories in Chesterfield, maintaining control of the Board of Supervisors and winning three of the four countywide races. In both the state and county races, women from both parties secured key victories.


** WOMEN WIN COUNTYWIDE RACES, MAJORITY ON SCHOOL BOARD ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By STAFF REPORT, Chesterfield Observer

Women won three of the four countywide races on Tuesday, and four of the five seats on the nonpartisan Chesterfield School Board. For the first time in the county’s history, Chesterfield’s top prosecutor is a woman: Republican Stacey Davenport, who defeated Democratic incumbent Scott Miles for Commonwealth’s Attorney. Another Republican, Rebecca Longnaker, won the race for county treasurer over Democrat Michael Jackson, and Democrat Jenefer Hughes won reelection against GOP challenger Tim McPeters for Commissioner of the Revenue.


** WITH ANOTHER PROJECT ON THE WAY, SOME WORRY SOLAR FACILITIES WILL CONSUME TOO MUCH LAND ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

How much solar is enough for Chesterfield County? And how much would be too much? Those questions were raised at a recentBoard of Supervisors meeting, when the board unanimously approved the rezoning of a 329-acre property in the rural Winterpock area for use as a solar farm. California-based Cypress Creek Renewables plans to lease the property and expects to have a 20-megawatt solar facility operating there by the first quarter of 2022. It’s the second such project approved by the Board of Supervisors in the past two months.


** NEW ANTI-CASINO PETITION IN NORFOLK HAS ENOUGH SIGNATURES TO FORCE COUNCIL TO VOTE AGAIN, BACKERS SAY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The second effort to overturn a City Council decision on a land deal for a proposed Pamunkey Indian Tribe casino resort secured more than 3,000 signatures on Election Day — almost three times what it needed for the first step. The group scrambled 45 volunteers to collect signatures at polling places on Tuesday, petitioner Jackie Glass said.


** HAMPTON, NEWPORT NEWS SCHOOL BOARDS TO FILL SEATS OF DELEGATE-ELECTS MUGLER, SIMONDS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MIKE HOLTZCLAW AND JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Hampton and Newport News School Boards each have begun the process of replacing members who won seats to the House of Delegates Tuesday. In each city, the respective School Boards will select an interim member to serve until the May local elections when voters will pick full-time replacements.


** CITY COUNCIL STRIKES DOWN SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR SKILL GAMES ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By LANIE DAVIS, Chatham Star Tribune

During Thursday night's meeting, Danville City Council unanimously denied a special use permit allowing for commercial indoor recreation at Pilot Flying J on U.S. 58 for skill games with the opportunity to earn monetary prizes. The request was filed by Queen of Virginia Skill and Entertainment on behalf of the store.


** REFERENDUM APPROVAL SETS STAGE FOR 2020 SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

City voters have decided to switch from an appointed to an elected School Board. “I didn’t know I could be this happy,” said city resident Roya Milotte, who organized a petition drive to get a referendum for an elected school board on Tuesday’s ballot. “The turnout was amazing.” A total of 3,909 people, or 63.5% of ballots cast, voted in favor of switching to an elected board,


** CAMPBELL SUPERVISORS OK COUNTY'S THIRD SOLAR FARM PROJECT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By SARAH HONOSKY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Residents can expect another solar farm to come to Campbell County, the latest in a rising trend, after supervisors approved a solar facility Thursday night. The proposed Caden Energix Gladys LLC 660-acre solar facility would be the county’s third — after a 1,200-acre solar farm was approved in September 2018 and a 150-acre solar farm project was approved near Rustburg that November. Supervisor approval comes only weeks away from the county’s first solar project breaking ground in Lynch Station.


** COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDS AXTON SOLAR FARM TO BZA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MATT BELL, Chatham Star Tribune

The Pittsylvania County Planning Commission unanimously recommended a 130-acre solar farm to the Pittsylvania County Board of Zoning Appeals Thursday, Nov. 7. According to Axton Solar project manager John Ragone, of Bluefield, Virginia, the estimated $100 million capital investment project will be owned and operated by Caden Energix LLC. "The US based company is Caden, and Energix is an Israeli based company with offices in Richmond and Washington, D.C.," Ragone said.

Today's Sponsor:


** After Virginia Votes
------------------------------------------------------------

Registrations are filling up for After Virginia Votes, the state's leading post-election retrospective Nov. 12 at GMU-Arlington. It's free to attend! Register online here. ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
------------------------------------------------------------


** FOR DEMS, A CHANCE & A CHALLENGE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Tuesday's legislative elections gave Democrats control of the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly for the first time since 1993—back when George Allen was governor and Bill Clinton was in the White House. It was the culmination of many years of demographic and political changes that led to a gradual loss of Republican dominance in the commonwealth long predating the Trump era.


** STATE, LOCALITIES MOVE MORE STRONGLY LEFT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It’s a bad time to be a Republican, post-election 2019. With a handful of exceptions, the results of Tuesday’s balloting made clear that Virginia voters are trending more firmly Democratic. Come January’s swearing-in ceremony, Democrats will fully control state government — although the wielding of power will begin even before then, in the pre-filing of bills and preparations of committee assignments.


** 8 QUESTIONS AFTER TUESDAY'S ELECTION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Tuesday’s election provided answers. Now we have more questions: 1. When and how will the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly get crosswise of a Democratic governor? Just because the same party controls both the legislature and the executive doesn’t mean they’ll always agree.


** VIRGINIA’S BLUE WAVE WASHES OUT LOCALLY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Before voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, most expected that the races in Hampton Roads — and specifically Virginia Beach — would determine control of the General Assembly for the next two years. A protracted legal battle over the constitutionality of 11 House of Delegates districts were found by a federal court to violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause as racial gerrymandering. It led to a court-led redrawing of 26 districts, dramatically increasing the likelihood that Democrats could flip enough seats to take control of the chamber.


** A DRIVER OF GROWTH ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

To land Amazon’s second headquarters, Virginia looked to the future. After 238 pitches from places across North America and 14 months of conversations, the commonwealth’s proposal won with a focus on the next generation. One year later, our state officials and schools remain bullish on that vision. On Thursday, Gov. Ralph Northam unveiled a plan to fill the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP) with 31,000 computer science graduates over the next two decades.


** THE FRIDAY READ
------------------------------------------------------------


** WOMAN WHO RESPONDS TO AD FOR FREE DIRT HAS YARD BURIED BY 100 TRUCKLOADS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

When Rosmery Vega’s brother sent her Facebook ads exclaiming “Free dirt and Yard Leveling!” she thought she had found the perfect solution to shore up the sagging fence in the backyard of her Northern Virginia home. That is, until the dump trucks started rumbling up to her house.
------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe ([link removed]) Donate ([link removed]) Content Policy ([link removed]) Privacy ([link removed])

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
Virginia Public Access Project . P.O. Box 1472 . Richmond, VA 23218 . USA
Screenshot of the email generated on import

Message Analysis