VaNews Nov. 29, 2019
------------------------------------------------------------

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


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


** VISUALIZATION: PRESIDENTIAL FUNDRAISING BY QUARTER ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Virginia Public Access Project

President Trump reported $620,000 in donations from Virginia residents in the third quarter. Democrats candidates raised more than twice as much in Virginia from July to September, but the money was spread across multiple candidates. VPAP lists the Top 10 candidates based on Virginia donations, broken down by quarter.


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


** THIS BLACK FRIDAY AND CYBER MONDAY, EXPECT TO PAY VIRGINIA’S NEW INTERNET SALES TAX ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MECHELLE HANKERSON, Virginia Mercury

This Black Friday and Cyber Monday, some online shoppers might notice they’re paying more state taxes. This is the first holiday season online shopping regulars might notice the tax, which stems from a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled states could collect sales tax from companies that don’t have physical locations in said states. Virginia lawmakers passed a law formalizing the tax during this year’s General Assembly session.


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


** JUST WHAT IS THE JAMES RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By IAN M. STEWART, WCVE

If the question on the ballot about who to elect as the directors of the James River Soil and Water Conservation District stumped you, you weren’t alone. Voter Rachel Rowe says she did some research.


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


** VIRGINIA SENATORS HOPE TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT WOULD FIX VIRGINIA BEACH TRAGEDY FUND ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MICHAEL POPE, WVTF

The Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund was set up with a serious flaw: it named the victims. The IRS has rules against that to prevent funds from benefiting specific people instead of causes. That means contributions to the fund are not tax deductible. Victims' names cover part of a flower vase at a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach.


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


** THESE STUDENTS WANT THEIR WASHINGTON AND LEE DIPLOMAS — WITHOUT THE PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON AND LEE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By SUSAN SVRLUGA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A group of law students is calling on Washington and Lee University to give future graduates the option of a diploma stripped of portraits of the school’s namesakes, George Washington and Robert E. Lee. The proposal, which is supported by more than half of students at the Washington and Lee School of Law and has sparked intense backlash from alumni, comes amid a national reckoning over the legacy of historical figures.


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


** SOME PORTSMOUTH INMATES WILL APPEAR IN COURT BY VIDEO. LAWYERS SAY THAT THREATENS THEIR RIGHTS. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Some defendants locked up in Portsmouth will soon be making their first appearances in court through a web camera. And while video arraignments are common in Hampton Roads, the city’s top prosecutor and public defender aren’t happy about the change. They are worried it will force bond hearings, which give defendants a chance at freedom, to be conducted via video as well — or delayed.


** AS 5G ANTENNAS POP UP ACROSS VIRGINIA BEACH, CITY WANTS MORE CONTROL ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

For 33 years, Larry and Patti Wesling have had an unobstructed view from the living room of their cozy, ranch-style home. Naturally, the 66-year-old retirees were surprised when they found out that AT&T planned to erect a small cell antenna in front of their corner lot in Virginia Beach’s Green Run neighborhood.


** “EVERY ONE OF THEM MATTERS”: IN CHESAPEAKE, A SPECIAL COURT PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

She’d been here before, standing in front of a judge in a courtroom. For nearly two decades, Adrian Towns struggled with mental health and substance abuse problems. She’d been to jail. She’d been to state psychiatric hospitals for treatment, stays she hopes she’ll never make again.


** JAMES CITY COUNTY SUPERVISORS WILL CONSIDER 2ND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY RESOLUTION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JACK JACOBS, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 5 Articles per Month)

James City County supervisors directed staff to draw up a 2nd Amendment sanctuary resolution Tuesday to be considered at the board’s next regular meeting Dec. 10. The request sets the stage for the county to potentially join the growing list of Virginia localities that have passed such resolutions out of fear tighter gun control measures will come out of the General Assembly.


** SUPERVISORS TAKE UP 'SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY' PROPOSAL ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By ALEX BRIDGES, Northern Virginia Daily

Dozens of speakers fearful of losing rights to own firearms as a result of an impending political shift in state government urged Shenandoah County supervisors Tuesday to make the area a “sanctuary” for gun owners. More than 1,000 people converged at the government center for the Board of Supervisors meeting during which members discussed a proposed resolution to designate Shenandoah County as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County.”


** FIREFIGHTERS PACK CITY HALL; COUNCIL SETS STAGE FOR INVESTIGATION OF CITY'S PERSONNEL PRACTICES ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More than 100 firefighters from as far away as Loudoun County packed Rouss City Hall on Tuesday night during a City Council meeting to protest City Manager Eden Freeman’s handling of a personnel situation involving Winchester Fire and Rescue Chief William Garrett. Council responded by setting the stage for a possible investigation of City Hall’s personnel policies and practices, which Winchester career firefighters and paramedics blame for major staff losses and recruiting difficulties for the city’s Fire and Rescue Department.


** HENRY COUNTY SEEKS TO “SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT” ON CITY REVERSION DISCUSSION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By KIM BARTO MEEKS, Martinsville Bulletin

Henry County leaders briefly addressed reversion during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday afternoon, with County Administrator Tim Hall making a statement to “set the record straight” on recent comments from Martinsville officials. Later in the meeting, the board indicated it will reach out to its counterpart in the city about discussing the schools.


** 2A ADVOCATES HEARD AT B.O.S. MEETING ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By WILLIAM PAINE, Southwest Times

As has happened in several localities over the past two weeks, hundreds of individuals came to Monday night’s Board of Supervisor meeting at the County Administration Building to show their support for making Pulaski County a Second Amendment Sanctuary. The board room was filled to capacity, as was the hallway leading to the board room. Outside several hundred more gathered


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


** BOTH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MUST APPROVE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Winchester Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Grandiosely announcing that “Virginia’s lights are on and our doors are open, and we welcome new Virginians to make their homes here,” Gov. Northam informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Old Dominion is ready to accept any and all refugees. Such a gesture, generous on its face, is made possible under Executive Order 13888, “Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement.” But there is a rub to all this:


** OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS WISH LIST ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Today is the biggest shopping day of the year. By the time some of you read this, maybe you’ll have already been up before dawn for the Black Friday sales rush. For the rest of you, here’s our wish list, in case we happen to be on your Christmas list — and you spot any of these items on the shelves today. A fix for Virginia’s outdated schools. This is one we asked for last year but didn’t get,


** OP-ED
------------------------------------------------------------


** SUROVELL: DON'T FORGET THOSE WHO WORKED ON THE STAR ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By SCOTT SUROVELL, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Thank you for you recent retrospective on the 70th Anniversary of the Mill Mountain Star which has become an important part of Roanoke and is often used to commemorate significant moments in the City’s history. While your retrospective featured city leaders and a local actor, it was missing something. It is also important to honor area residents whose labor and creativity build our public monuments such as those involved in designing and construction.

Surovell is a state senator who represents parts of Fairfax and Prince William and Stafford counties. He is a Democrat.


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


** ‘I THINK THIS GUY IS, LIKE, PASSED OUT IN HIS TESLA’ ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By PETER C. BAKER, New York Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

I discovered the videos in January. One of the first I saw was posted by the irreverent online car magazine Jalopnik. “Dangerous Idiot Sleeps While Driving His Tesla on Autopilot,” read the headline. The cellphone-captured footage did, as promised, appear to show a man snoozing in the driver’s seat of a Tesla as it zipped along a road somewhere outside Las Vegas.
------------------------------------------------------------
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