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VaNews Dec. 5, 2019
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Today's Sponsor:


** Taxing Authority Consulting Services PC
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A law firm representing Virginia local governments that supports VaNews and wants to remind its readers that personal property taxes are due today in many localities.

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** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM HITS 'PAUSE' ON VIRGINIA'S MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENT ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam has directed Virginia’s Medicaid program to “pause” negotiations with the federal government on approval of a work requirement that was central to a political deal that allowed the state to expand eligibility for the program’s health care benefits to hundreds of thousands of uninsured Virginians.


** VIRGINIA WILL BACK OFF ON MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS, GOV. RALPH NORTHAM SAYS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia wants to hit the pause button on pursuit of the work requirement lawmakers agreed to impose as a condition for expanding Medicaid coverage. Doing so won’t affect the coverage more than 350,000 Virginians have obtained through expansion.


** MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENT IN DOUBT IN VIRGINIA AFTER DEMOCRATS WIN LEGISLATURE ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia appears to be pulling back from the Medicaid work requirement that was key to a bipartisan deal 18 months ago to enroll an additional 400,000 residents in the government health-insurance program for the poor. A month after Democrats won control of the state House and Senate, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has directed his administration to “pause” efforts to seek federal permission to tie work requirements to Medicaid coverage.


** GOP CRIES FOUL OVER MEDICAID DELAY ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

In a parting shot as his party prepares to transfer control to the Democrats, House Speaker M. Kirkland Cox is accusing Gov. Ralph S. Northam of breaking a promise the two sides struck in order to get Medicaid expansion through the GOP-controlled Virginia General Assembly, citing politics as the main reason for the delay.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** LEGISLATOR PROPOSES PD OFFICE FOR PRINCE WILLIAM ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Paywall for some articles)

Prince William County is the only Northern Virginia community without a public defender office, but state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, says it’s time for change. Surovell’s Senate Bill 72, introduced Nov. 23, would establish a public defender office for the county and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.


** VIRGINIA SENATE COMMITTEE HEARS ABOUT GAMING STUDY ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Virginia Senate committee slated to first consider casino legislation next year discussed gaming tax rates and other aspects of the new state gaming study during a meeting this week. Members of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology heard a nearly two-hour presentation Tuesday about the study from members of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission who compiled it.


** VALLEY LEGISLATORS PREPARE FOR UPCOMING SESSION ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

With Democrats controlling the General Assembly when it convenes next month, Valley lawmakers discussed topics of interest as the new minority during Tuesday’s prelegislative breakfast at James Madison University. Hosted by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, the annual event featured a look into the upcoming session by Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, Del. Tony Wilt, R-Broadway, and Delegate-elect Chris Runion, R-Bridgewater.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** REPUBLICAN PARTY OF VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS LEAVING THIS MONTH ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

John Findlay, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he has decided to leave his job this month after close to 4½ years in the post. Findlay’s departure comes after Republicans, who have not won a statewide contest in Virginia in a decade, lost control of the General Assembly in the Nov. 5 election.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** STUDY CALLS FOR NEW WAGE-CLAIMS POLICIES AT VA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY ([link removed])
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By PATRICK LARSEN, WCVE

A new study from the nonprofit Legal Aid Justice Center suggests the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is doing very little to help workers recover unpaid wages from employers. The study used Freedom of Information Act public records requests to obtain DOLI records. Nicholas Marritz, an attorney and author on the report, says the records from the last four years reveal the agency has recovered wages in less than 20% of claims made by workers.


** REGULATIONS FOR USE OF SECLUSION AND RESTRAINT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AWAITING GOVERNOR NORTHAM’S APPROVAL ([link removed])
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By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE

Regulations for the use of seclusion and restraint of students in Virginia public schools have been in the works for years. They’re now awaiting approval from Governor Ralph Northam. That was the update that Samantha Hollins, assistant superintendent for Virginia’s department of special education and student services, provided to state lawmakers Wednesday during a Virginia Commission on Youth meeting.


** SCHEV ISSUES ‘ROADMAP’ FOR STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Virginia Business

The Virginia Research Investment Committee has approved the State Council of Higher Education’s Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap, which spells out research areas that will yield the greatest impacts from state investment in economic development with state investment for the next three years, SCHEV announced Wednesday. The report identifies these research areas as worthy of state investment and institutional focus: life and health sciences; autonomous systems; space and satellites; agricultural and environmental technologies; cybersecurity; and data science and analytics.


** CONGRESS
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** REP. BEN CLINE CALLS TRUMP IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY A 'SHAM' AND 'TRAGEDY' ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

At the first House Judiciary Committee impeachment inquiry hearing, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, denounced what he called the “sham impeachment of this president.” Cline is the only Virginia representative on the committee, which spent Wednesday listening to constitutional scholars testifying whether or not President Donald Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine rose to the level of impeachment.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** AMAZON LAUNCHING RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT IN FREDERICK COUNTY ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Amazon has announced three new renewable energy solar projects in the United States and Spain, including one in Frederick County. The projects are designed to support Amazon’s pledge to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030, a media release says.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** FAIRFAX CONNECTOR WORKERS TO GO ON STRIKE THURSDAY ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Nearly 40,000 Northern Virginia bus riders will face limited to no service on Thursday as workers for the state’s largest transit system decided to go on strike beginning at 3 a.m. They join a group of Metrobus workers who have been on strike since late October.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** FIVE YEARS LATER: WHAT HAS (OR HASN’T) CHANGED AT UVA SINCE ROLLING STONE? ([link removed])
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By BRIELLE ENTZMINGER, C'ville Weekly

On November 19, 2014, Rolling Stone magazine dropped a bombshell called “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA.” ...The story would ultimately prove to be false, a journalistic failure of colossal proportions. But it shone a spotlight on a very real problem.


** LOCAL
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** AFTER COMPLAINT, PURCELLVILLE EYES MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE ([link removed])
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By PATRICK SZABO, Loudoun Now

Already facing multi-million-dollar lawsuits for management scandals and dealing with a data breach that has impacted close to 2,000 people across the country, the Town of Purcellville this week came under fire for the lack of diversity in its workforce.


** LANDFILL LOSES COURT BATTLE OVER EXPANSION ([link removed])
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By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer

The county’s largest landfill has been rebuffed again in its bid to expand operations to an adjacent rock quarry in Chester. Chesterfield County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson dismissed Shoosmith Bros.’ lawsuit against the county last month, finding the Board of Supervisors acted within the scope of its authority last year when it denied the company’s request to conduct landfill operations in the quarry on its Lewis Road property.


** AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN COLISEUM REDEVELOPMENT DEAL WON’T TARGET THOSE MOST IN NEED, EXPERT SAYS ([link removed])
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By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

The proposed redevelopment of the Richmond Coliseum and surrounding neighborhood includes 480 income-restricted apartments, but there are questions about how affordable those apartments will actually be.


** ALLEN WINS GRIFFIS-WIDEWATER SUPERVISOR SEAT AFTER RECOUNT ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Democrat Tinesha Allen was officially certified as the winner of Stafford’s Griffis-Widewater supervisor’s race on Wednesday, following a tedious, day-long recount at the Stafford County courthouse.


** ALBEMARLE SUPERVISORS HEAR SUPPORT FOR GUN SANCTUARY ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WRABEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Albemarle County residents and other gun rights supporters packed Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting to encourage members to make the county a Second Amendment sanctuary. In light of the General Assembly’s Democratic majority this upcoming session, local elected officials in localities across Virginia have discussed resolutions stating that they will not enforce any unconstitutional federal or state gun laws.


** DANVILLE COUNCIL SENDS EIGHT SKILLED-GAMING MACHINE ISSUES BACK TO PLANNERS ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

Danville City Council voted to remand eight items involving requests for special-use permits for skilled-gaming machines in several stores in the city back to the Danville Planning Commission.

Today's Sponsor:


** Taxing Authority Consulting Services PC
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A law firm representing Virginia local governments that supports VaNews and wants to remind its readers that personal property taxes are due today in many localities.


** EDITORIALS
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** MAKING SMART SCALE FAIRER ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

In November, the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Committee passed a resolution asking the commonwealth to move the region from its current grouping in Category A, which includes Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, to another category with smaller urban centers. The hope is that such a move will make the Fredericksburg region more competitive when the next round of Smart Scale funding is divvied up.


** WILL DEMOCRATS BE TEMPTED TO EMBRACE GERRYMANDERING? ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

When John Kennedy was getting ready to appoint his brother, Robert, as attorney general, some advisers cautioned about this act of nepotism. The president-elect was insistent, though, so then the question turned to how the announcement would be made. Kennedy joked to aides: “Well, I think I’ll open the front door of the house some morning about 2 a.m., look up and down the street, and if there’s no one there, I’ll whisper ‘it’s Bobby.’” That story comes to mind as another set of Democrats about to take power contemplate another unpopular decision:


** PORT OF VIRGINIA DREDGING PROJECT ADVANCES THE COMMONWEALTH'S ECONOMY ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A new project at the Port of Virginia has the commonwealth in position to be the premier trade destination on the East Coast. On Monday, crews began dredging the western end of the Thimble Shoal Channel off the coast of Norfolk. The $350 million project will deepen the approach into the harbor to 56 feet, while widening some segments to more than 1,400 feet. By 2024, the port will be able to hold “two, ultra-large container vessels” at once.


** COLUMNISTS
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** SCHAPIRO: GOP GUN MANEUVER IS ABOUT CONSISTENT INCONSISTENCY ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In 1987, when Republicans were in the minority in the Virginia legislature, they pushed through a measure preventing local governments from adopting gun control laws unless authorized by the General Assembly. Republicans succeeded because there were still many pro-gun Democrats in Richmond — among them the governor, Jerry Baliles, who signed the bill into law.


** OP-ED
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** CLINE: IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED ([link removed])
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By BEN CLINE, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

When I was sworn into office this past January, I was honored to receive a seat on the Judiciary Committee. The Committee not only addresses some of the most timely and substantive topics facing the nation, but it is one of the first lines of defense for our Constitution.

Cline represents the 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a Republican from Botetourt County


** WATSON: WHAT'S NEXT FOR VIRGINIA GAMING? ([link removed])
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By ARTHUR WATSON III, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The results of the Nov. 5 elections in Virginia have echoed loudly across the national political landscape. With the Democratic takeover of all the levers of power in the commonwealth, the long-cited “Virginia Way” will continue, but down a different path.

Watson co-founded Castle Hill Gaming, which develops, leases and manages gaming machines, The company has offices in Charlottesville and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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