Today's Sponsor: Virginia Chamber of Commerce

VaNews Nov. 25, 2019
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Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia Chamber of Commerce
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The 10th Annual Economic Summit is less than two weeks away! Learn more information on the full agenda, keynote speakers, and register to attend here. ([link removed])

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


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** AS DEMOCRATS TAKE CONTROL OF SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE, BOTH PARTIES PLEDGE BIPARTISANSHIP ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As Republicans prepare to hand over control of the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee to Democrats next year, members of both parties said they hoped they would retain a commitment to working in a bipartisan manner on the commonwealth’s money issues. “What also won’t change is how we’re going to act as a collegial committee,” Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, told her Senate colleagues on Friday during the committee’s annual retreat in Harrisonburg.


** A PROMISE OF CONTINUED COLLEGIALITY AT THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As the Senate Finance Committee’s annual retreat wound down in Harrisonburg, the powerful panel’s incoming chairwoman, Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, took a moment to look ahead.


** MEDICAID ENROLLMENT EXPECTED TO RISE IN 2020, 21 ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Since the General Assembly approved Medicaid expansion in 2018, total enrollment and savings have been on the rise. Mike Tweedy, a legislative fiscal analyst for the Senate Finance Committee, said during the committee’s annual meeting at Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center on Friday that the average growth for Medicaid enrollment in fiscal year 2019 grew by 8.8% since the expansion took place.


** SEN. AMANDA CHASE TO LEAVE GOP CAUCUS AFTER ITS DECISION TO KEEP NORMENT AS LEADER ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, is planning to break off from the Senate Republican Caucus due to dissatisfaction with caucus leaders. Chase first voiced her concerns in a Facebook post late Thursday after a caucus meeting in which Senate Republicans re-elected Sen. Tommy Norment, R-James City, as their leader.


** CHASE QUITS SENATE GOP CAUCUS OVER LEADERSHIP DECISION ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

11th District senator maintains she still is a Republican representative, despite caucus statement she was not State Sen. Amanda F. Chase, whose district includes Colonial Heights and southern Chesterfield County, has quit the Senate Republican Caucus in light of James City County Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr. — with whom she has had a public feud — being elected the Senate’s now-minority leader.


** FILLER-CORN HOLDS FIRST MEETING WITH TRANSITION TEAM ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Incoming House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, held the first meeting of her transition team in Richmond on Friday, saying her priorities are transparency of the House of Delegates and making sure the chamber and her office reflect Virginia’s diversity.


** IN VIRGINIA, AND ELSEWHERE, GUN SUPPORTERS PREPARE TO DEFY NEW LAWS ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Families, church groups, hunt clubs and neighbors began arriving two hours early, with hundreds spilling out of the little courthouse and down the hill to the street in the chilly night air. They were here to demand that the Board of Supervisors declare Amelia County a “Second Amendment sanctuary” where officials will refuse to enforce any new restrictions on gun ownership.


** AIRD: SECOND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION NOT A WORRY ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

The resolution itself may not necessarily be binding, but the sentiment behind it is. With Democrats poised to take control of the 2020 General Assembly, several counties across southside and other more rural areas of Virginia are trying to send a message to the new majority: Don’t take away our rights to own guns.


** SHARING THE RIDE FOR VA. TRANSPORTATION BILLS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

State Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax County, the incoming chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, was surprised to run into so many young campaign workers this year who don’t own cars, but instead prefer to use ride-sharing services to get around. But, he noted to the Senate Finance Committee retreat in Harrisonburg, they travel on roads.


** WHAT HAPPENS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS RATIFY THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT IS UNCLEAR ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia is poised to become the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, now that Democrats in the legislature hold the majority. That would put it over the three-fourths threshold to make the amendment official. But getting language barring sex discrimination on the books — the U.S. Constitution, that is — probably won’t be as easy as ERA supporters hope.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** MCAULIFFE PAC HIRE SUGGESTS NEW BID ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Former governor Terry McAuliffe is staffing up his political action committee, a move that suggests the Democrat is interested in another run for the Executive Mansion in 2021. McAuliffe, whose term ended in January 2018, has hired Chris Bolling, executive director of the state Democratic Party, to lead Common Good VA PAC.


** MCAULIFFE PLUCKS ONE OF THE ONLY AFRICAN AMERICANS ON DPVA'S STAFF TO RUN HIS PAC ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is considering a run for governor again in 2021, announced Friday that he’d hired the executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia to run his PAC — a move that would leave DPVA with just one African American among 15 paid staff members. Chris Bolling is not leaving the party until the end of the year. The party on Friday announced that he would be replaced by Andrew Whitley, who is white.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** FOLLOWING SUPREME COURT RULING, BATTLE OVER URANIUM MINING GOING TO VIRGINIA TRIAL IN FEBRUARY ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

While the 1982 moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia was originally made to last one year, it was extended indefinitely in 1983 to allow more time for additional studies and public hearings. The ban has remained in effect to this day despite numerous lobbying efforts, legislative actions and lawsuits — including one that ended up in the United States Supreme Court — from Virginia Uranium Inc. and other companies regarding Coles Hill in Chatham, the largest untapped uranium deposit in the nation with an estimated value of $6 billion.


** DEQ APPROVES FIRST SOLAR FARM FOR APPALACHIAN POWER CO. ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The first industrial-scale solar farm to produce electricity for Appalachian Power Co. has been approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Construction of the Depot Solar Center in Campbell County is expected to begin in the spring and be completed by the end of the year, according to Ryan Gilchrist of Coronal Energy, a private company that will operate the facility.


** OYSTERMAN FILES VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT APPEAL OVER POLLUTION IN NANSEMOND RIVER ([link removed])
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By ANDY FOX, WAVY

Does a local government have the right to pollute — and is it protected by sovereign immunity? That is at the center of a recent case in Suffolk Circuit Court. The judge used a 100-year-old U.S. Supreme Court case — Darling v. Newport News (1919) — that says a government can pollute.


** CONGRESS
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** DEEP IMPEACHMENT DIVISIONS DOMINATE REP. BEYER’S TOWN HALL ([link removed])
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By ALLISON STEVENS -, Virginia Mercury

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer took heat from supporters of President Donald Trump during a town hall meeting in the suburbs of Washington, D.C, Thursday night. Hundreds of people packed into a high school auditorium in Beyer’s deep blue northern Virginia district, where numerous backers of the president spoke out against the impeachment proceedings.


** LURIA TO ADD DISCLAIMER TO IMPEACHMENT VIDEO AFTER CONSERVATIVE NONPROFIT COMPLAINT ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) said Friday that she will add a disclaimer to a campaign video highlighting her military service to clarify that the Department of Defense has not endorsed her, after a complaint from a conservative nonprofit group. Luria’s campaign released a 2½-minute video on Veterans Day explaining her support for the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, a politically risky move in her Virginia Beach swing district.


** RIGGLEMAN SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS FROM WITHIN GOP ([link removed])
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By NOLAN STOUT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Denver Riggleman has a clear message for detractors in his own party. “As far as what anybody says about me, I really don’t give a rat’s,” the congressman for Virginia’s 5th District said on Friday. “I’m going to run on what I believe and who I am.” Riggleman stopped by several locations in Charlottesville on Friday, including Tandem Friends School and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.


** REP. MCEACHIN ROLLS OUT AMBITIOUS CLIMATE BILL ([link removed])
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By ROBIN BRAVENDER, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Rep. Don McEachin, D-Richmond, introduced ambitious legislation this week that would commit the United States to achieve a 100% clean energy economy by 2050. McEachin’s bill, which has more than 150 co-sponsors in the House and the backing of national environmental groups, has been in the works for months.


** A YEAR WITH TWO NEW DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMEN ([link removed])
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By SUSAN DOMINUS, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

There are not many people whom Abigail Spanberger lets boss her around, but one of them, somehow, is Lois Frankel, a 71-year-old, 5-foot-3 four-term congresswoman from Florida who has a way of waving away protestations with a brisk, cheerful air, somewhere between “Don’t be ridiculous” and “This’ll be great.”


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** POWER OF ATTORNEY ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET BALCH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

VCU Health System always called Richelle Richardson-Hayes for permission whenever her younger brother, Richard Richardson, needed a procedure, she said. Although Richard was mentally stable, he’d been paralyzed after falling from a balcony on Thanksgiving 2014, when he was 35, and sometimes needed his sister to consent on his behalf. ...That’s why she was shocked when she found out from Richard that the hospital was discharging him to a nursing home in Petersburg without telling her.


** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA DOCTORS DECRY AGGRESSIVE BILLING PRACTICES BY THEIR OWN HOSPITAL ([link removed])
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By JAY HANCOCK, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Prominent doctors at the University of Virginia Health System are expressing public outrage at their employer’s practices to collect unpaid medical debt from its patients. A Kaiser Health News report in September showed that U-Va. sued 36,000 patients over six years for more than $100 million, seizing wages and savings and even pushing families into bankruptcy.


** HEMP DRAWS NEW BUSINESSES TO SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, DESPITE OVERSUPPLY ([link removed])
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By TONIA MOXLEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The rapid growth of commercial hemp production in Southwest Virginia is attracting entrepreneurs to support the nascent industry, but market bottlenecks and uncertainty about state and federal regulations could slow its development. Commercial hemp became legal in Virginia in March and since then the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has registered 1,182 growers, 116 dealers and 262 processors from across the commonwealth


** VOLVO LAYOFFS COMING IN JANUARY ([link removed])
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By SAM WALL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Volvo has announced a planned layoff of approximately 700 employees at its Dublin plant after the New Year. The company expects the North American truck market to be down by about 30% or 100,000 trucks next year, Volvo spokesman John Mies wrote in an email. One of Volvo’s staple products — long-haul trucks — will represent a “significant part” of that reduction.


** BETS ON COAL END WHERE THEY STARTED: IN BANKRUPTCY ([link removed])
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By BECKY YERAK, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Businessmen Tom Clarke and Jeff Hoops Sr. thought they could make money cobbling together financially troubled mines into larger coal producers, taking advantage of the industry’s distress. But Mr. Clarke’s Mission Coal Co. and Mr. Hoops’s Blackjewel LLC have filed for bankruptcy, Blackjewel is being investigated for fraud and Mr. Clarke has personally missed making payments to creditors as part of a settlement in the bankruptcy.


** DEFENSE CONTRACTOR TO LOCATE IN UVA RESEARCH PARK ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Falls Church-based contractor recently awarded a $77 million contract with the National Ground Intelligence Center will move into the University of Virginia Research Park off of U.S. 29, park officials have announced. Solis Applied Science, which received a $77,383,996 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract in June for remote sensing and image science support services, will make the park its home.


** HARD ROCK AGREES TO OPERATE PROPOSED BRISTOL RESORT, CASINO ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

An iconic, neon-infused rock and roll guitar could soon illuminate the skyline of the birthplace of country music. Hard Rock International, known worldwide for its hotels, restaurants and casinos, has agreed to operate the proposed Bristol Resort and Casino planned for the Bristol Mall. The arrangement follows months of discussions. Project development partner Jim McGlothlin announced the arrangement Friday afternoon.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** COULD A SIMPLE CHANGE LEAD TO MORE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FOR FREDERICKSBURG AREA? ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Fredericksburg area has garnered more than $286 million for road and other transportation projects in the state’s three-year-old Smart Scale program. Local officials think the region can do better. The Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Committee took a step last week aimed at getting more funding for transportation projects through Smart Scale.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** NORTHAM APPOINTS FORMER DELEGATE, SON OF DOMINION CEO, TO VCU BOARD OF VISITORS ([link removed])
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By HANNAH EASON, Commonwealth Times

Former Republican Del. Peter Farrell has been appointed to the VCU Board of Visitors after Gov. Ralph Northam added additional members to his administration Friday. According to a news release, Northam appointed Farrell, the son of president and CEO of Dominion Energy Thomas F. Farrell, in addition to 14 others to serve on nine boards and councils in the state.


** VIRGINIA CONSIDERS DORMS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES ([link removed])
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By MECHELLE HANKERSON, Virginia Mercury

The state board that oversees community colleges will explore what on-campus or nearby student housing could look like at the system’s 23 schools. Chancellor Glenn DuBois, who is in charge of leading the community college system as it anticipates a decline in enrollment, said he thinks housing would draw more students to certain campuses.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** HAMPTON ROADS IS A HUB OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, SAY EXPERTS TRYING TO RAISE AWARENESS ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

For months, Dede Wallace went to see a 19-year-old girl who was jailed on a solicitation charge. She was picked up in a prostitution sting at a Hampton Roads hotel. She didn't see herself as a victim, but in Wallace's eyes, she was. "From my perspective, it was more of, 'What can we do to make sure she doesn't go into this situation again?' " said Wallace, victim assistance specialist with a new Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force formed by the Department of Homeland Security a little more than a year ago.


** DISCUSSION OVER FUNDING FOR AFRICAN MEMORIAL SURFACES IN FORT MONROE’S LATEST CAPITAL PLAN ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The memorial honoring the arrival of the first Africans to Virginia is only a $500,000 entry in Fort Monroe’s latest $46 million capital improvement plan. But how that initial funding toward a public art display is used generated a healthy discussion during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday


** ROCKINGHAM COUNTY TO CONSIDER SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY STATUS ([link removed])
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By PETE DELEA, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

With Democrats taking control of the Virginia General Assembly, Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans to attempt to push through wide-ranging gun reform bills when the legislative body convenes in January. Since the governor’s announcement earlier this month, several rural Virginia counties have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries to fight what they believe might be unconstitutional laws the General Assembly is prepared to pass. As of Friday, at least nine counties have passed resolutions. The Rockingham County Republican Party has asked the county Board of Supervisors to consider a similar resolution.


** AUGUSTA COUNTY SEEKS TO BECOME NEXT VIRGINIA SECOND AMENDMENT 'SANCTUARY COUNTY' ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In the wake of proposed gun control bills by a Democrat-controlled General Assembly, rural Virginia counties are trying to take action by passing resolutions affirming the right to bear arms. Augusta County will hear public comments about the idea at a special meeting the first week of December. So far, 11 counties in the state have named themselves "Second Amendment sanctuary counties," and many more are considering the idea.


** WASHINGTON COUNTY TO CONSIDER ‘SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY’ RESOLUTION ([link removed])
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By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Washington County may soon join a wave of other Virginia localities by declaring itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” pending a decision by county supervisors Tuesday night.


** LOCAL
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** NORTHERN VA. HIGH SCHOOL IS ACCUSED OF ADMISSIONS BIAS ([link removed])
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By DEBBIE TRUONG, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Last year, the school system in one of the nation’s wealthiest communities welcomed students to an airy, majestic building on a 119-acre campus in Northern Virginia. Expectations were high. The school, which cost $125 million to build and sits at the end of a winding driveway, would house some of Loudoun County’s most competitive academic programs.


** BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER LAUNCHED IMPROMPTU WRITE-IN CAMPAIGN FOR SOIL AND WATER BOARD - AND WON ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Chuck Koch did not have long to plan his first run for elective office. He was working the polls in Fredericksburg on Election Day to gather signatures to get Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in March. A voter mentioned that only one person was running for two spots as a director on the Tri-County City Soil Water Conservation District.


** FACING NAACP LAWSUIT, HANOVER SCHOOL BOARD PUNTS ON CONFEDERATE SCHOOL NAMES AT SPECIAL MEETING ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Hanover County’s Confederate school names will stay the same for now. At a specially called meeting held Friday, the county School Board opted against taking action on the names of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School. The board is currently facing a lawsuit from the local chapter of the NAACP over the names


** NEWPORT NEWS IS THE ONLY GOVERNING BODY IN THE REGION THAT DOES NOT RECORD ITS WORK SESSIONS ([link removed])
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By JOSH REYES, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Work sessions of the Newport News City Council are held a few hours before each regular meeting in a conference room on the top floor of City Hall. The council sits at a long table with the city’s clerk, attorney and manager, and receives presentations from city staff and other local and regional agencies. They can ask questions, get into discussions and call on people in the room for information


** FORMER COUNCILMAN'S CHURCH DECLARES BANKRUPTCY WITH $4 MILLION IN DEBT AND $700 IN THE BANK ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Former Portsmouth Councilman Mark Whitaker’s church, whose financial arms were at the center of the case that led to his conviction on forgery charges, has filed for bankruptcy, saying it’s $4 million in debt and had less than $700 in the bank at the time of the filing. Whitaker said the bankruptcy stemmed not from the $35,000 in short-term loans that resulted in his indictment — which were repaid — or the church’s ability to pay off debt, but from a 2018 vote by his former council colleagues that slashed at least $2 million from the value of an investment property owned by the church.


** CASE REGARDING SUPERVISORS PETITION FOR REMOVAL CONTINUED ([link removed])
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By JOSH GULLY, Northern Virginia Daily

Although the validity of signatures on a petition seeking the Board of Supervisors' removal from office has been confirmed, the matter was continued in circuit court Friday to an unknown date as a new prosecutor will take over. Michael Parker, a Rockingham County assistant commonwealth's attorney, will become the new prosecutor as Interim Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Layton will leave the Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office in January.


** ROCKINGHAM COUNTY TO TAKE OVER CRIMINAL EDA PROCEEDINGS ([link removed])
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By JOSH GULLY, Northern Virginia Daily

udge Bruce D. Albertson ruled on Thursday in Warren County Circuit Court that the Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office will prosecute charges handed up by the special grand jury investigating the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority. Interim Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Layton recused himself, saying that due to his impending January departure from the Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office, it will not benefit “the commonwealth as a whole” if he continues prosecuting the case.


** CITY AIMS TO INCREASE CENSUS RESPONSE RATE ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

The northeast neighborhood of Harrisonburg is considered to be one of the hardest census tracts to count in the country, according to data from censushardtocountmaps2020.us. The decennial census count is the basis for funding, grants and representation in government and begins nationwide on March 12.


** CHRISTIANSBURG COUNCILWOMAN-ELECT CLASHES WITH TOWN OVER PRIVATE MEETINGS ([link removed])
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By YANN RANAIVO, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Johana Hicks was elected to town council earlier this month after saying she opposed the amount of closed sessions some of her soon-to-be colleagues choose to have. And before she takes office, Hicks is already taking a stand. The current council asked her to sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to participate in executive sessions before she takes office on Jan. 1 , which would require her to not divulge anything she hears behind closed doors.


** ELECTED OFFICIALS VOTE TO DISCLOSE LOCAL TAX STATUS ([link removed])
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By JIM TALBERT, Richlands News-Press

Some elected officials in Tazewell County will have to make it known whether or not they are current on local taxes in the future. During its Nov. 7 meeting the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the county’s conflict of interest policy to add that requirement. The move came a month after Southern District Supervisor Mike Hymes proposed that the board adopt a policy requiring that elected officials or those running for office state whether or not they are current on all local taxes.

Today's Sponsor:


** Virginia Chamber of Commerce
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The 10th Annual Economic Summit is less than two weeks away! Learn more information on the full agenda, keynote speakers, and register to attend here. ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** AMAZON’S IMPACT REVERBERATES ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Amazon’s decision to locate a new headquarters in Virginia is starting to have major impacts. Some, such as the housing boom that’s already transformed the market in the suburbs around Arlington, will be felt mostly in northern Virginia. Others will be good for Hampton Roads and all of Virginia. High on the list is the commonwealth’s investment in expanding public universities’ offerings


** WHY AREN'T THESE RURAL CROWDS DEMANDING BETTER SCHOOLS? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Some liberal cities — although none in Virginia — have declared themselves “sanctuary cities” that don’t go out of their way to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration matters. Now some conservative counties have started to declare themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries” – for whatever that means in terms of gun laws.


** MORE VIRGINIA KIDS IN FOSTER CARE ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

ACCORDING to an annual report on foster care by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of foster children nationwide decreased last year for the first time since 2012. A total of 437,283 U.S. children were in foster care in 2018, down from 441,071 in 2017. And a record 63,123 children were adopted out of the child welfare system last year, compared with 59,491 in 2017.


** DON'T TARRY ON REDISTRICTING REFORM ([link removed])
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News & Advance Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As Richmond readies itself for the arrival of the newly empowered Democrats to take control of both chambers of the General Assembly in just a handful of weeks when the 2020 session opens, it seems as if everyone and his brother is offering the the legislators advice following the party’s flipping of the legislature in the elections earlier this month.


** STATE LEADERS STEP UP AND RAISE VIRGINIA’S INTERNATIONAL PROFILE ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When CNBC named Virginia America’s top state for business in July, the news was well-deserved recognition of the commonwealth’s stable of resources. Our 2.6% unemployment rate in October is an indicator of the competitive commonwealth job market. Our colleges and universities are among the best in the nation,... The Port of Virginia is a favorable location for large ocean carriers to dock, and Dulles International Airport offers nonstop flights to 47 overseas destinations.


** UVA RIGHTLY REVERSES VETERANS DAY 21-GUN SALUTE DECISION ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

There is no need to wait until next year for a decision to reinstate a Veterans Day 21-gun salute at the University of Virginia. There is no need to maintain, or revive, pressure on UVa to correct its error in eliminating the salute this past Veterans Day. UVa President Jim Ryan already has said the tradition will be resumed in 2020. Our thanks and commendations to Mr. Ryan for this new decision.


** HAMPTON ROADS DELEGATION MUST FIGHT ([link removed])
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Daily Press Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When lawmakers return to Richmond next year, the landscape of the General Assembly promises to look starkly different than it did when the last session convened in January. That’s especially true for the Hampton Roads delegation, which lost members as a result of retirement and the Nov. 5 election. It also lost influence, thanks to that attrition and some key legislative positions going to lawmakers from other parts of the commonwealth — notable Northern Virginia.


** TWO PLACES TO WATCH: DANVILLE AND FAR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

We’ve said this before but it bears repeating: The two most interesting places to watch right now are Danville and far Southwest Virginia. Both communities are taking on a daunting task — to build a new economy after the demise of their traditional industries.


** COLUMNISTS
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** SCHAPIRO: VA.'S REVOLVING DOOR SPINS A BIT FASTER THESE DAYS ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Think of it as the Shallow State. Having been chased by voters from Mr. Jefferson’s temple of government, Republicans are becoming money-changers, of sorts, giving up the people’s business for a far more profitable line of work: lobbying. They’re not alone. Democrats, too, are trading a public paycheck for a fatter private one.


** OP-ED
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** DALEY: VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ARE PLAYING A DANGEROUS GAME WITH REDISTRICTING ([link removed])
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By DAVID DALEY, Published in the Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

When longtime Virginia resident Thomas Hofeller, often referred to as the godfather of Republican gerrymandering, trained state legislators on the nitty-gritty of mapmaking, he emphasized secrecy, security and the importance of not leaving digital crumbs that might be revealed by the media or in the courts. But when Hofeller died last summer, he left behind a treasure trove of memos, draft maps and emails that suggest Republicans not only illegally used racial data to redraw North Carolina maps that had been ruled an unconstitutional racial gerrymander but also misled the court about it.

David Daley, a senior fellow at FairVote, is the author of “Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count.”


** BOEHMER: EXPANDING THE FEDERAL TAX CREDIT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES IS A NO-BRAINER FOR VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By ELLY BOEHMER, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia has the opportunity to help every resident economically by supporting the extension of the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit. The commonwealth can decrease harmful auto emissions and improve quality of life by supporting widespread adoption of EVs. Electric vehicle incentives don’t solely benefit consumers who opt to drive EVs. Increasing accessibility to EVs supports communities across the board.

Elly Boehmer is the state director for Environment Virginia, an environmental advocacy organization.


** CRAWFORD: PATH TO A NEW VIRGINIA ENERGY FUTURE LIES AHEAD ([link removed])
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By KENDYL CRAWFORD, Published in the Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

At the beginning of this month, the federal government added to its already dismal climate inaction by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. On Nov. 5, Virginians showed their consensus on climate action and renewable energy policies. With more climate action supporters in decision-making positions, it will very likely pave the way towards achieving the goal of 100% clean energy as will Gov. Ralph Northam’s Executive Order 43, which establishes ambitious goals and targets for electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050.


** SUTPHIN: IT’S TIME TO END THE DEATH PENALTY IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By RACHEL SUTPHIN, Published in the Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

On Aug. 21, 2006, my father, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Eric Sutphin, was gunned down when he encountered William Morva on a massive manhunt in Blacksburg, Va. Morva was caught, charged and tried on two counts of capital murder. Despite Morva showing symptoms of severe mental illness, the jury sentenced him to die.

Rachel Sutphin is a second-year master of divinity and master of arts of practical theology student at Columbia Theological Seminary.


** RODGERS: THE VALUE OF A CARE ECONOMY IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By ALEXSIS RODGERS, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The future of work already is here, and it’s right in our homes. Domestic work is projected to have the most anticipated growth in the job market in the next 10 years, not jobs in the technology sector. Thanks to an aging population that’s living longer, Virginia has an opportunity to boost its economy and provide quality jobs through care work if we give domestic workers labor rights.

Alexsis Rodgers is the Virginia state director for Care in Action


** PERRIGAN: HERE'S WHAT VIRGINIA'S RURAL SCHOOLS NEED MOST ([link removed])
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By KEITH PERRIGAN, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As we approach the 2020 General Assembly session in January, one of the most consequential decisions faced by the legislature will be to approve a new two-year state budget that will determine the future of Virginia’s public education funding. In preparation for this major budget cycle, the Virginia Board of Education recently approved recommended changes to the Standards of Quality,

Perrigan is Superintendent of Bristol Public Schools and President of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia.


** MORSE: TALL CHALLENGE AHEAD FOR REGION’S DELEGATION ([link removed])
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By GORDON C. MORSE, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

In the context of the upcoming 2020 General Assembly — politically/fiscally/everything-speaking — how challenging does it look for Hampton Roads? Put it this way: With the election defeat of Suffolk Del. Chris Jones, prospects clouded up a bit.

Gordon C. Morse wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then spent nearly three decades working on behalf of corporate and philanthropic organizations
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