VISUALIZATION: CONCEALED CARRY PERMITS

Circuit Courts in Virginia have issued more than 632,000 permits to carry concealed firearms, according to the Virginia State Police. That works out to nearly one in 10 adults, based on 2018 population estimates. The rate of concealed gun permits ranges from a high of 24 percent of the total population in rural Bath County to a low of 2.3% of the total population in Arlington County and Falls Church.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS OUT OF THE GATE QUICKLY WITH BILLS FOR NEXT YEAR

Democratic lawmakers rushed to file bills Monday as the legislative window opened for next year’s General Assembly session, setting out voting rights, gun control, LGBTQ protections and the Equal Rights Amendment as priorities for their newfound power in the majority.

GILBERT LEADS MINORITY IN RICHMOND, HAS EYES ON 2021

Virginia Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Mount Jackson, will return to Richmond in January to a city with an unfamiliar political landscape. On Election Day, Democrats surged through legislative races, giving them a hold on the government from top to bottom. Since he started his political career in Richmond, Gilbert had the power and luxury of having the weight of the majority behind him. He rose to become the second most powerful Republican in the House, behind Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights.

GROUP SEES OPPORTUNITY TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN VIRGINIA

With Democrats soon to be in control of the state legislature, the group Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is seeking an end to the death penalty in Virginia. The group announced Monday that 13 Virginians who have lost a family member to homicide are asking the General Assembly to make Virginia the 22nd state to abolish the death penalty.

VIRGINIA LGBTQ ADVOCATES PLAN BROAD 2020 AGENDA

With Republicans in control of the General Assembly, LGBTQ rights advocates trying to pass stronger anti-discrimination laws in Virginia knew they had to think small. After Election Day, that’s all over.

NEW JUDGES TAKE THE BENCH IN POWHATAN

Judges Thomas Stark IV and Theresa J. Royall both stepped into the Powhatan General and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Combined Courts this year as first-time judges ready to learn. Stark was the first to join the office, starting May 1 as a General District Court judge in the 11th Judicial District.

DOWN BY 27 VOTES, DEL. CHRIS STOLLE OF VIRGINIA BEACH WILL ASK FOR A RECOUNT

A state delegate who lost his seat by 27 votes will ask for a recount. Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, made the announcement Monday after his loss to Democrat Nancy Guy became official.

STOLLE TO REQUEST RECOUNT IN VIRGINIA BEACH HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE

Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, on Monday requested a recount in the race for the 83rd House District, where just 27 votes separate Stolle from the apparent winner, Democrat Nancy Guy. The 0.02% margin falls well within the state’s 1% threshold for recounts

BUTTIGIEG IS FIRST DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO FILE FOR VIRGINIA'S MARCH PRIMARY BALLOT

Supporters of Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg arrived in Richmond on Monday to submit his signatures to get on Virginia’s March 3 primary ballot, making him the first Democrat to do so.

BUTTIGIEG LEADING IN DONATIONS FROM VIRGINIA

With support from former Vice President Al Gore and other prominent Virginia residents, Pete Buttigieg has raised more money in individual donations from the commonwealth than any other candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has received nearly $950,000 from Virginians, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. That puts him ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden (about $750,000) and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont (less than $400,000).

DEL. JOHN MCGUIRE ANNOUNCES RUN FOR VA. 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SEAT HELD BY SPANBERGER

A Republican state lawmaker from Goochland County announced Monday that he's running for the nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th. Del. John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, was elected to the legislature in 2017 and re-elected this month in a safe Republican seat.

A REPUBLICAN STATE LAWMAKER JOINS THE RACE TO CHALLENGE REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER

Republican John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL who just won a second term as a state lawmaker, announced Monday that he will run for his party’s nomination to challenge Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) in the Richmond suburbs. With his announcement, there are six Republicans in the race, with at least one more expected to join the fray in coming weeks.

DEMOCRATS SEE IMPEACHMENT VOTES USED AGAINST THEM IN 2020 CAMPAIGNS

While the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is hanging over Capitol Hill, House lawmakers in competitive districts will face targeted ads, town-hall crowds and campaign events following their votes to support opening an investigation....Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, who voted last month in favor of the formal impeachment inquiry, released an ad on Veterans Day in which she recites the oath she swore first when she joined the Navy at age 17 and again when she was sworn in as a member of Congress in January, this time to represent a Virginia district that Mr. Trump won in 2016.

VIRGINIA ELECTION OFFICIALS RECOMMEND 45 DAYS OF EARLY VOTING

The Virginia State Board of Elections is recommending that the state create a 45-day early voting window for the 2020 elections, a significant expansion of the seven-day window the General Assembly authorized earlier this year....In the report presented to the State Board of Elections Monday, the department said the original plan could confuse voters by creating a “bifurcated” system” where some absentee voters would have to give an excuse and others wouldn’t, depending on when and how they vote.

I-64′S NEW NORFOLK TOLL LANES BOOSTED RUSH-HOUR SPEEDS

Tolls on Norfolk’s reversible HOT lanes boosted average speeds of rush hour traffic in free lanes as hundreds of drivers opted to pay for a faster ride on Interstate 64, a study by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization shows. The effect of the nearly two-year-old tolls was to increase the number of cars using the long-established but lightly-used high occupancy vehicle lanes and reduce traffic jams on the free, “general purpose” lanes during the peak of rush hour.

AMERICAN LEGION BRIDGE PLAN POSES ENVIRONMENTAL, FINANCIAL RISKS

The deal between Maryland and Virginia to build a new, wider American Legion Bridge represents a victory for both regional cooperation and the battle against gridlock, but let’s pause and think before popping the champagne. Although a fix is surely needed at the region’s worst traffic bottleneck, the plan unveiled last week raises two important concerns.

METRO TO SELL NAMING RIGHTS TO STATION ON SILVER LINE EXTENSION

Metro plans to sell corporate naming rights for Fairfax County’s Innovation Center Metro station on the forthcoming Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County — a station that may no longer be called Innovation Center at all. The Metro Board is set Thursday “to allow a Fortune Global 500 Company to sponsor and rename the new Innovation Center Metro station on the Dulles Corridor,” according to documents prepared for the board.

REGION'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES LOSE MORE STUDENTS THIS FALL

Community colleges across the region lost students again this fall, according to preliminary data provided by the schools. Virginia Western Community College saw the largest decrease, reporting the equivalent of 3,430 full-time students as of this month — a 4.9% drop from last fall.

AS CLIMATE RISK GROWS, CITIES TEST A TOUGH STRATEGY: SAYING ‘NO’ TO DEVELOPERS

Glimpsed from a kayak on West Neck Creek, this swampy piece of land, a pocket of red maple and loblolly pine tucked behind growing subdivisions, doesn’t look like the stuff of existential debate. But this is where Virginia Beach, squeezed between the clamor for new housing and the relentlessness of flooding worsened by climate change, decided to draw its line in the mud.

OPPONENT CHALLENGES THE CHARITABLE STATUS OF COLISEUM DEVELOPER

A citizen has filed a federal complaint against the group behind the $1.5 billion plan to redevelop downtown Richmond around a new arena, arguing that NH District Corp. has functioned as a lobbying organization, not a charitable one, to rally public support for the Navy Hill project. Jeff Thomas, a Richmond native and author, filed the complaint Monday with the IRS. He alleges that NH District Corp. violated federal guidelines for nonprofits by refusing to hand over its financial statements upon request.

FORMER VIRGINIA BEACH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR INDICTED ON 14 EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES

The city’s former economic development director who resigned abruptly more than a year ago was indicted Monday on 14 counts of felony embezzlement. A Virginia Beach Circuit Court grand jury returned the indictments against Warren Harris. The Chesapeake resident is charged with misusing city funds for personal use

IF VIRGINIA LEGALIZES GAMBLING, PORTSMOUTH HAS A FIRM READY TO BUILD A CASINO

Portsmouth officials have hired a Chicago gaming firm to develop and run a casino resort on a 50-acre site near the city’s Tidewater Community College campus — if the state and local voters sign off on gambling.

EDA RECEIVES DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR OVERDUE AUDIT

Progress has been made on the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority’s fiscal year 2018 audit, which is about 11 months overdue, as the authority has received adjusted journal entries from its accountants. EDA Board Chairman Ed Daley said the adjusted entries, which the authority received during a closed session, are not publicly available because they are part of the ongoing $21.3 million civil litigation in which the EDA alleges a series of financial improprieties within the authority

ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO MOVE ELECTIONS

Roanoke City Council’s five Democrats held together and voted Monday to move city council elections from May to November in even-numbered years. The 5-2 vote came after a lengthy public hearing with 22 speakers and some legislative maneuvering by Councilman Bill Bestpitch that failed.

PARKING, OCCUPANCY MAIN ISSUES FACING PROPOSED GAMING FACILITY IN DANVILLE

So far, there seems to be a single, primary holdup for the first skilled-gaming venue of its kind in Danville — parking. Michelle Adkins and Justin Williams hope to clear up parking and building occupancy issues that are holding up their proposed 50- machine gaming facility

APPOMATTOX COUNTY DECLARES ITSELF A "SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY"

Following a trend rippling across Virginia counties, Appomattox County has declared itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” uniting behind its intention to “oppose unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms.” The declaration comes in the wake of Campbell County’s Nov. 7 resolution naming itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” — inspired by Carroll County’s similar resolution in April. Several other localities across the state plan to consider the topic in coming weeks.

TAKING STANCE ON GUN RIGHTS, LEADERS AIM TO MAKE PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY A 'SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY'

With Democrats slated to have control of the Virginia General Assembly starting next year and with Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam having already proposed a variety of gun-regulation bills, many rural Virginia localities are responding by declaring themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries.” During a scheduled work session today, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors will vote on whether or not to also declare the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary.

MARTINSVILLE'S RIGHT TO REVERT COULD FEEL WRONG TO HENRY COUNTY

Martinsville officials on Tuesday will present to the public their case for considering a change in status from a city to a town, a process called “reversion.” They will say such a change will repair Martinsville’s financial problems. They will say taxes will go down for Martinsville residents, up for Henry County residents, and that services will continue unchanged.

RECRUITS MUST SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT

When 750 retired top military leaders find the great majority of Virginia’s young people are unfit to serve in the armed forces, that should be a call to action. About 70% of Virginians ages 17 to 24 — the prime age for joining the military — would be ineligible to serve because of inadequate education, a record of crime and/or substance abuse and physical problems, with obesity heading the list.

'REPORT CARD' PRESENTS CHALLENGE IN VIRGINIA

The bad news is that reading scores in the National Assessment of Education Progress test—better known as the Nation’s Report Card—for Virginia’s fourth- and eighth-graders are the lowest they’ve been in at least 15 years. What might be even scarier is that Virginia students continue to score higher than the vast majority of their counterparts across the country.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THREW UP ITS HANDS IN THE BIJAN GHAISAR CASE. VIRGINIA CAN DO BETTER.

A new chief prosecutor, Steve T. Descano, has been elected and will soon take office in Fairfax County, Virginia’s largest jurisdiction. His first order of business should be to open an investigation into the killing of Bijan Ghaisar, the unarmed 25-year-old accountant shot to death two years ago by a pair of U.S. Park Police officers who opened fire without justification.

VIRGINIA RECYCLING ON THE RISE

Recycling can be one of the best ways to promote sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But to work successfully, a practical and efficient recycling program requires the joint efforts of concerned citizens and governments.

LANE: ARE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ABOUT TO PULL A SCOTT WALKER?

Conservative Republicans took control of Wisconsin’s government in 2010 and wasted no time overhauling the state’s labor laws. Gov. Scott Walker’s signature measure, Act 10, adopted in 2011, strictly limited public-sector collective bargaining and ended the mandatory dues check-off for public employee unions.

CORR: VIRGINIANS DESERVE AFFORDABLE CHOICES FOR COVERAGE

With a presidential election on the horizon, everyone seems to be talking about health care. But beyond future and idealistic policy proposals, there are issues working through the halls of Congress that could immediately better the affordability of health care for years to come. Virginians with private insurance plans, including seniors with Medicare Advantage, need Congress to act right away to protect them from higher costs as a result of the health insurance tax. The health insurance tax — appropriately known as the “HIT” — packs a wallop for Americans who rely on private health plans.

Ashley Corr is president of the Virginia Association of Health Underwriters and president of Myriad Financial Services of Virginia, Inc.

BONDS AND RUBIN: FREDERICKSBURG NEEDS A CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN

You can regularly see it in the news reported in the Free Lance-Star and other newspapers: climate change is remaking our world. Fredericksburg urgently needs to develop a climate plan in response. This effort should include a plan that would both reduce our city’s carbon emissions (which help propel global warming) and enable adaption to impacts that are inevitable—such as lethal heat, and air- and water-borne diseases—given that a certain amount of warming is already locked into our climate system.

Eric Bonds is associate professor of sociology at the University of Mary Washington and a member of Fossil Free Fredericksburg. Rebecca Rubin is president and CEO at Marstel-Day, an environmental consulting firm.