Today's Sponsor: Capital Region Workforce Summit

VaNews Dec. 3, 2019
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Today's Sponsor:


** Capital Region Workforce Summit
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Featuring Mason Interim President Anne Holton, the Northern Virginia Chamber hosts our annual Workforce Summit on Dec. 11 Speakers and registration info here. ([link removed])

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


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** VA. LAWMAKER ASKS AG FOR FORMAL OPINION ON SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY TREND ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

A Democratic state delegate has asked Attorney General Mark Herring (D) for a formal opinion on the Second Amendment sanctuary declarations being passed in a growing number of conservative counties across the state. In a letter sent to the attorney general Monday, Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, said a legal opinion could help clear up confusion on an issue that has “become a flashpoint across our state.”


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** VIRGINIA LOOKS TO INCENTIVIZE PRIVATE HOSPITALS TO RELIEVE STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL CRISIS ([link removed])
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By BRIDGET BALCH, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services has developed a new methodology for disbursing federal and state money intended to help cover uncompensated care by private hospitals in a way that incentivizes them to take on more involuntary psychiatric patients. The state legislature directed the agency to develop the methodology for distributing “disproportionate share hospital,” or DSH, payments in order to combat the crisis facing the state’s public psychiatric hospitals


** OF WINNERS, LOSERS AND WHAT NOT TO TELL A LEGISLATOR ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

An extremely technical discussion of how to shift state funding to get private hospitals to admit more people in mental health crises brought a sharp lesson in legislative politics Monday. The aid at issue goes to hospitals that care for large numbers of low-income and indigent patients.


** FAMILY LAW LEADERS PREPARE FOR ASSEMBLY SESSION ([link removed])
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By MAURA MAZUROWSKI, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Paywall for some articles)

With the 2020 Assembly session just weeks away, legislators are putting the final touches on bills they hope to introduce. Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, has a long list of family law legislation he will advance. “I have a couple I’ve tried before that I’ll put in again. One of which is adultery decriminalization,” Surovell said, who has been practicing family law for 23 years.


** ‘JUSTICE REFORM’ BILLS EXPECTED AS DEMS TAKE CONTROL ([link removed])
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By PETER VIETH, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Paywall for some articles)

Democrats are eagerly making legislative wish lists as they anticipate their new-found dominance in the halls of state government when the General Assembly convenes Jan. 8. On Nov. 18, Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced his priorities for “a more just, equal, and fair criminal justice system,” including cannabis reform, cash bail reform and more pathways to record expungement.


** LAJC HOPEFUL VIRGINIA WILL STOP SUSPENDING LICENSES DUE TO UNPAID COURT COSTS ([link removed])
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By CARLY KEMPLER, WVIR - TV29

A controversial piece of legislation will soon be back in front of Virginia’s General Assembly. A bill aims to permanently end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid court costs. Earlier this year, Governor Ralph Northam passed a budget amendment to end the practice. However, that was only a temporary solution.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** VA. DEL. NICHOLAS J. FREITAS JOINS REPUBLICAN RACE TO CHALLENGE U.S. REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Republican Del. Nicholas J. Freitas (Culpeper) said Monday that he is running for Congress to unseat Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and that he would try to protect the nation from what he called encroaching socialism.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** NEW REPORT ON VIRGINIA SCHOOLS SAYS ACHIEVEMENT GAPS PERSIST ([link removed])
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Associated Press

A new report by the Virginia State Board of Education says there remains a persistent achievement gap for certain student groups and the state faces a growing shortage of high-quality teachers. The report was officially presented to lawmakers and Gov. Ralph Northam on Sunday


** AT VIRGINIA’S CAPITOL, A STUBBORN LEAK HAUNTS TRIBUTE TO JEFFERSON’S ARCHITECTURAL GENIUS ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol has a leak, but don’t lay the problem at his feet, even if the puddles form precisely there. Sometimes when it rains hard in Richmond, water trickles into the Capitol through a leaky skylight high above a statue of the former president and Virginia governor.


** STATE EDUCATION OFFICIAL VISITS ELKTON MIDDLE SCHOOL ([link removed])
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By MEGAN WILLIAMS, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

When James Lane was appointed Virginia’s 25th superintendent of public instruction by Gov. Ralph Northam in June 2018, he made a commitment to himself to visit all 132 school divisions in two years. He’s been to about 80 so far, and on Monday, Rockingham County Public Schools was on the agenda.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** DOMINION LAYS OUT INITIAL PLANS FOR COAL ASH DISPOSAL IN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, THREE OTHER SITES ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Dominion Energy on Monday revealed its working plan for the excavation and disposal of the legacy coal ash buried in four sites across the state. The utility’s plans include recycling ash from pits in Chesterfield County and Chesapeake, said Mark Mitchell, Dominion’s vice president of generation construction, in an interview. Dominion is studying an on-site landfill for the ash at Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County.


** NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING GETS BOOST FROM RECORD $22B SUBMARINE CONTRACT ([link removed])
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By HUGH LESSIF, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Navy on Monday awarded its largest shipbuilding contract ever, a $22.2 billion deal for nine Virginia-class submarines that continues the unique partnership between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding.


** PORT OF VIRGINIA BEGINS $350M DREDGING PROJECT ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Virginia Business

The dredging project to make Virginia the East Coast’s deepest port has begun nearly two-and-a-half years earlier than expected, The Port of Virginia announced Monday. Dredging work started Dec. 2 to deepen the western side of Thimble Shoal Channel to 56 feet for commercial channels. After the dredging, the Norfolk Harbor will be able to host two ultra-large container vessels.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** MINCHEW SUBMITS RESIGNATION FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Loudoun Times

Former state Del. Randy Minchew has submitted his resignation to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority after serving on the body for six years. While Minchew's current appointment runs through June 30, 2020, he said in a Nov. 27 letter to legislative leaders he believes “it is in the best interests of our commonwealth for me to submit my resignation … well in advance of that date so that Speaker-Designate [Eileen] Filler-Corn may make an appointment of another individual to represent the Virginia House of Delegates on the Authority as soon as she may wish to do so.”


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** UVA, W&M PARTNER TO REACH 2030 CARBON NEUTRALITY GOAL ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary have made commitments to become carbon neutral by 2030. The two state schools will share information and collaborate on initiatives aimed at achieving zero net greenhouse emissions, according to a joint news release.


** UVA, W&M PARTNER TO REACH 2030 CARBON NEUTRALITY GOAL; VT UPDATING 2009 PLAN ([link removed])
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By HENRI GENDREAU, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

While the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary have announced goals to become carbon neutral by 2030, Virginia Tech is updating a 10-year climate action commitment. The state schools in Charlottesville and Williamsburg will share information and collaborate on initiatives aimed at achieving zero net greenhouse emissions, according to a joint news release.


** U-VA. AND WILLIAM & MARY TEAM UP TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT ([link removed])
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By NICK ANDERSON, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary pledged Monday to team up on projects to reduce fossil fuel consumption and limit greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to make their operations “carbon neutral” by 2030. The two public universities plan to share information and resources as they pursue carbon neutrality.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** AS SEA LEVELS RISE, ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA BEACH ARE AT RISK, EXPERTS SAY ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Dotting the rural areas of Virginia Beach — teeming just below farms, fields and Back Bay islands — are a host of archaeological sites containing artifacts from Native American nomads and soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. Some date back more than 10,000 years when the coastline jutted farther out into the ocean, experts said.


** LOCAL
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** INCOMING PRINCE WILLIAM CO. SUPERVISOR WARNS AGAINST ‘SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY’ ([link removed])
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By MAX SMITH, WTOP

Prince William County, Virginia, will not be a “Second Amendment sanctuary” jurisdiction, the next Board of Supervisors chair said Monday. Ann Wheeler, a Democrat, promised the incoming Democratic-led board would reverse any action taken by the Republican-controlled board during lame duck sessions set for Tuesday and next Tuesday, Dec. 10.


** RICHMOND SCHOOL BOARD OPTS AGAINST MERGING MAJORITY-WHITE, MAJORITY-BLACK SCHOOL ZONES ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Richmond Public Schools has new school zones — for the most part. On Monday night, the Richmond School Board narrowly approved a rezoning proposal for the East End, South Side and West End, while delaying action on boundaries for schools in the city's North Side. The approved plan does not include the combination of majority-white and majority-black school zones in the West End, or "pairing," an idea that has been the most contentious aspect of a rezoning process


** RESIDENTS OF NORFOLK’S EAST SIDE SAY CITY LEADERS SPEND MORE ON THE WEST SIDE AND DOWNTOWN ([link removed])
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By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The numbers are stark: $80 million in major identified projects for Norfolk’s west side and downtown over the next five years. Twice that if you include the St. Paul’s redevelopment effort. And less than $18 million to be spent in specific neighborhoods in the rest of the city.


** HAMPTON ROADS TASK FORCE PONDERS REGION’S NAME AND IDENTITY ([link removed])
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By GARY ROBERTSON, Virginia Business

Coastal Virginia, Tidewater, 757, Hampton Roads. What’s in a name, and what gives a region its identity and enhances its competitiveness? A task force of leaders from the Hampton Roads region is hammering away at those questions as they ponder whether Hampton Roads should continue to be called, well, Hampton Roads.


** CITING U.S., VIRGINIA CONSTITUTIONS, ROANOKE COUNCIL REBUFFS CALL FOR GUN RIGHTS SANCTUARY ([link removed])
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By MATT CHITTUM, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Dozens of gun rights advocates crowded Roanoke City Council chambers Monday, calling on the council to make the city a Second Amendment sanctuary, but were rebuffed. The city has no authority or intent to violate the U.S. or Virginia constitutions, Mayor Sherman Lea told the crowd of about 100 in explaining why the council would take no such action.


** COUNTY GOP PREPARE FOR SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY DISCUSSION ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

With resolutions circulating across the commonwealth to make counties and cities “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” Rockingham County Republicans came together Monday to get a head start on the conversation. The Rockingham County Republican Party announced Nov. 21 its intent to support a resolution naming the county a Second Amendment sanctuary. The resolution will be heard by the Board of Supervisors at 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the County Administration Center.


** AHEAD OF POSSIBLE VOTER REFERENDUM IN 2020, DANVILLE SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR CASINO PROJECT ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

Seeking proposals for a casino project now will provide officials with information on a potential gaming project before a possible voter referendum in 2020, Danville’s city manager said. “We want to be as prepared as possible should the state give our citizens the opportunity to vote [on whether to allow a casino in Danville],” City Manager Ken Larking said. “The more information we have now, the better for our community to help them decide what to do.”

Today's Sponsor:


** Capital Region Workforce Summit
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Featuring Mason Interim President Anne Holton, the Northern Virginia Chamber hosts our annual Workforce Summit on Dec. 11 Speakers and registration info here. ([link removed])


** EDITORIALS
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** THE SUPERFUND THREAT ([link removed])
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Daily Press Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Climate change plus contaminated Superfund sites equals an alarming threat to the health and lives of many Americans, one that the Trump administration should not dismiss. That’s the message in a new report just out from the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency that works for Congress. It’s a conclusion that should worry Virginians, because 15 of the most contaminated sites identified as being vulnerable to the effects of climate change are here, and five are in the greater Hampton Roads area.


** SUPERFUND SITES VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Superfund program was created in 1980 when the federal government recognized the dangers presented to human health and the environment by chemical and other hazardous waste sites, and decided to clean them up. Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the program has always been extremely complex and expensive. It is also absolutely necessary.


** SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY ADVOCATES AND ANTI-PIPELINE ACTIVISTS HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMONON ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

How are the crowds demanding their counties be declared a “Second Amendment sanctuary” like the anti-pipeline activists camped out in trees? Both are engaged in a colorful act of futility that won’t accomplish what they think they’re accomplishing. With those two sentences, we have now likely managed to offend people on both the left and the right, but the truth is an equal-opportunity offender.


** OP-ED
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** DOMENECH AND EMBLIDGE: MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL STUDENTS ([link removed])
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By DANIEL A. DOMENECH AND MARK E. EMBLIDGE, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Last year, 92% of Virginia’s high school seniors graduated on time — continuing Virginia’s 10-year upward trend in on-time graduation rates. While impressive, this number gives the illusion that almost all of our students are meeting graduation requirements. However, if you dig a little deeper, you would see that the majority of these graduates are economically advantaged (57%), compared to their disadvantaged counterparts (43%).

Daniel A. Domenech is chair of the Communities In Schools of Virginia board and executive director of the American Assn/ of School Administrators; Mark E. Emblidge is founder of Communities In Schools and former president of the State Board of Education.
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