VaNews July 25, 2019
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** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: FIRST-TERM DEMOCRATS BREAK FUNDRAISING CONVENTION ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Historically, Virginia legislators have received a significant portion of their campaign contributions from companies and business trade groups that lobby the General Assembly. But many of the 16 House Democrats who took office in 2018 have gone a different way. VPAP examines how the funding mix for these first-term Democrats differs from that of recent freshmen classes.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM ANNOUNCES PLAN TO MAKE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE TO AT-RISK PRESCHOOLERS ([link removed])
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By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday a new state team tasked with making early childhood education accessible to all 3 and 4 year olds — especially those from economically disadvantaged families. The Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness would focus on developing recommendations and work with the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget to expand and strengthen early childhood education


** FOIA REQUEST TO AG HERRING'S OFFICE CAME WITH UNEXPECTED COST, SENDER SAYS ([link removed])
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By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Josh Stanfield of Yorktown was surprised by the response he received to an FOIA request he made to the office of Attorney General Mark Herring. Stanfield was told to “kindly remit a deposit of $420.09 by check” if he wanted to proceed.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** RICHMOND MAYOR RESIGNS FROM JAMESTOWN COMMITTEE OVER TRUMP INVITE TO COMMEMORATION ([link removed])
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By GRAHAM MOOMAW, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has resigned from a committee planning upcoming historical ceremonies in Jamestown over the group’s decision to invite President Donald Trump. In a resignation letter obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Stoney said he was stepping down immediately from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation’s main 2019 Commemoration steering committee, as well as from a separate committee planning events to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in North America.


** SOME SPECIAL BILLS FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S GUN VIOLENCE SPECIAL SESSION ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

That General Assembly special session -- you know, the one-day affair adjourned until after Election Day -- was supposed to be about gun violence. But you can't stop a legislator on a mission, as some of the latest special session bills filed suggest.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** LOCAL GOP HOUSE CANDIDATES PULL IN MORE MONEY, DEMS RELY MORE ON SMALL DONORS ([link removed])
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By JARED KLINE, WHSV

Local Republican candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates have pulled in more money so far, while Democrats have relied more heavily on small-dollar donations ahead of the 2019 election, a recent analysis of publicly available campaign finance data found....26th District Del. Tony Wilt has pulled in the most money so far, raising $115,248. Businessman Chris Runion, who is running to replace retiring delegate Steve Landes, scored in second place with $104,722.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** A FORMER SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH DEDICATES HERSELF TO BOLSTERING VIRGINIA’S FOSTER CARE SYSTEM ([link removed])
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By KATIE O'CONNOR, Virginia Mercury

As the president of Virginia Kids Belong, Kelly, the former secretary of the commonwealth in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration, spends her days in meeting after meeting with faith leaders, government workers, elected officials and others, leaning on her experience in state government to trying to win more support for foster families, children who have aged out of the system, their birth families and social workers. “I can’t let go of it,” she said. “I live it every day. I see the stakes every day.”


** STATE FORENSICS LAB, MEDICAL EXAMINER MOVING FACILITIES FROM DOWNTOWN TO MECHANICSVILLE ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Forensic Science is buying 24.8 acres in Hanover County to build a new facility for the Central Forensic Laboratory and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In a release on Tuesday, the department announced that it expected to close on the property, located off Times-Dispatch Boulevard in Mechanicsville, later this year.


** INMATE DIES AT RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL, A WEEK AFTER OFFICIALS PUT FACILITY ON PROBATIONARY STATUS ([link removed])
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By MARK BOWES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A 42-year-old inmate at Riverside Regional Jail went into medical distress and died early Wednesday, jail officials said, the first prisoner death at the facility in more than a year. The inmate, William A. Brown, experienced a medical emergency at 12:54 a.m. while being examined by medical personnel and eventually died after efforts to revive him failed,


** CONGRESS
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** KAINE WELCOMES STUDENTS TO R-MC STEM PROGRAM ([link removed])
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By JIM RIDOLPHI, Mechanicsville Local

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., welcomed 34 Latina high school students from Central Virginia and their families to the campus of Randolph-Macon College for a special one-week session focused on STEM-related fields and careers. The senator was on the campus for the launch of the program on Sunday.


** REP. BEN CLINE CRITICIZES ROBERT MUELLER'S APPLICATION OF OBSTRUCTION IN RUSSIA INVESTIGATION ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

With five minutes to question former special counsel Robert Mueller, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, used most of his time Wednesday to critique Mueller’s interpretation of obstruction of justice. The three-hour House Judiciary Committee hearing featured mostly one-word or brief answers from Mueller about the federal probe of Russia’s 2016 election interference.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** OPIOID CRISIS IN HAMPTON ROADS: MORE THAN 226 MILLION PILLS — AND THAT'S ABOUT AVERAGE ([link removed])
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By ABIGAIL BRASHEAR, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

From 2006-2012, over 226 million prescription pain pills were supplied to Hampton Roads. Comparing numbers from the rest of the country, that's not too bad. Last week, the Washington Post released a database with six years of information on how the opioid crisis affected every single county and state in the country.


** DISPLACED MINERS LOOK FOR EMPLOYMENT, ANSWERS AMID BANKRUPTCY CONCERNS ([link removed])
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By JIM TALBERT, Richlands News-Press

Wednesday was the second time Heather Casey’s husband lost his coal mining job — and his paycheck — without warning, and she says one man is to blame. “We went through this same type thing in 2017 when he was working for Revelation. I don’t know why he went back,” she said. Casey, a Honaker resident, was waiting while her husband filled out paperwork at the Virginia Employment Commission’s Rapid Response event


** BLACKJEWEL LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL BUYERS FOR ITS ASSETS ([link removed])
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By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Coal producer Blackjewel LLC is looking for potential buyers for its assets, according to a status report filed Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.


** DOMINION EMPLOYEES ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT PUMPED-STORAGE PLANT DURING PUBLIC MEETING ([link removed])
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By JIM TALBERT, Richlands News-Press

Local residents found few answers to their questions about the East River Mountain Hydroelectric Project, but Dominion Energy Co. supplied lots of information during the public information session July 16. Stations with maps, brochures, pictures and other details filled the gym at Graham High School


** TRANSPORTATION
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** FIRST PHASE OF I–95 STUDY IN VIRGINIA FINDS MORE PROBLEMS THAN MONEY TO FIX THEM ([link removed])
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By SCOTT SHENK, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

State transportation officials have results from the first phase of a study aimed at improving traffic flow on what could be called Virginia’s most complex interstate.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** CLIMATE CHANGE COULD COST VA. COASTAL CITIES BILLIONS, EXPERTS WARN CONGRESS ([link removed])
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By ALLISON WINTER, Virginia Mercury

Climate change could cost Virginia coastal cities billions of dollars and put communities and military facilities at risk, a special assistant to the governor warned federal lawmakers this week. Ann Phillips, who is in charge of helping the state respond to climate change on Virginia’s coastline for Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration, told the U.S. House Budget Committee Wednesday that large-scale federal action is needed to address the looming threat.


** LOCAL
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** LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN NEW DEVELOPMENTS NEAR FUTURE HERNDON METRO STATION SPARKS DEBATE ([link removed])
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By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now

Within the last five years, more than 500 residential units have been proposed at the door of the future Herndon Metro Station, which is on track to open by the end of 2020 In all three place-making projects that were recently approved by town officials, there are no affordable or workforce housing units. Comstock’s downtown Herndon redevelopment project — which has 273 apartments — and Penzance’s mixed-use development less than one-tenth of a mile from the future station — which has 455 residential units — will not have any ADU or WDU units. Stanley Martin’s Metro Square project — which has 64 two-over-two condos — also has none. Prices for those units start at $679,990.


** 'WE HAVE TO SPEAK UP NOW': HANOVER SUPERVISORS MET WITH SONG, PRAYER, CRITICISM OVER KKK RALLY ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In their first meeting since a white supremacist group rallied in Hanover earlier this month, members of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors were met Wednesday by a mix of song, prayer and criticism from dozens of local residents. While several of the organizers of a prayer vigil before the board meeting said it was not a protest, some of the attendees said they were dissatisfied with how the supervisors responded after a Ku Klux Klan group from North Carolina tried recruiting members near the county courthouse with signs for their hotline and a large Confederate battle flag.


** TENSIONS RISE OVER HOPEWELL’S AUDIT STATUS ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

City Council went looking for answers Tuesday night on why an audit that should have cost around $125,000 to complete still is not finished and has led to a current price tag of more than $800,000. Councilors grilled City Manager John M. Altman Jr. and Finance Director Michael Terry on the reasons why the 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, also known as CAFIR, was not done despite being led to believe otherwise.


** JUDGE DISMISSES CHARGE AGAINST VIRGINIA BEACH EMPLOYEE WHO CONFRONTED SUPERVISOR FOLLOWING MASS SHOOTING ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A judge has dismissed a disturbing the peace charge brought against a Virginia Beach employee who told a manager the gunman from May's mass shooting probably snapped because of supervisors like her. General District Court Judge Gene Woolard said Wednesday morning that the issue "sounds like a huge personnel matter" but not a criminal one.


** PORTSMOUTH CIVIC CENTER CONDEMNED, DEEMED "UNFIT FOR HABITATION" ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY AND MARGARET MATRAY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The city plastered three bright orange signs on the doors of the Portsmouth Civic Center on Wednesday afternoon, alerting passersby that the complex that includes the city jail was unlivable. The move came a day after City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton told the City Council that the jail is not safe for human habitation and must be evacuated immediately.


** PORTSMOUTH COUNCIL OKS EFFORTS TO LURE A CASINO NEAR TCC CAMPUS ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

City Council members gave staff the OK Tuesday night to try luring developers to a 50-acre site near the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College with the goal of building an entertainment district and a possible casino.


** EXPULSION VOTE FUELS DISCORD IN AMHERST; TOWN REQUESTS SPECIAL ELECTION ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN FAULCONER, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Town of Amherst officials filed a request in Amherst Circuit Court last Thursday seeking a special election on Nov. 5 for voters to determine who will fill the seat made vacant by town council’s controversial decision to expel a member.


** CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SMALLER SCHOOL BOARD ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The city School Board will most likely be smaller starting next July, when its new fiscal year begins. Meanwhile, a question on switching from an appointed board to one with elected members appears to be headed to a voter referendum on Nov. 5.


** EDITORIALS
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** COURTS MUST COMPEL PENNSYLVANIA TO CLEAN UP CHESAPEAKE BAY ([link removed])
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Daily Press Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Attorney General Mark Herring should consider legal action to keep Pennsylvania in line with Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals Remember those school-aged days when teachers assigned group projects? Inevitably, someone didn’t carry equal weight, dragging the group down and forcing the remaining members to work harder. Pennsylvania has become that indolent classmate.


** GARNISHED WAGES PAY HIDDEN HOSPITAL TAX ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Days after an article was published last month in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association spotlighting Mary Washington Healthcare’s aggressive debt collection policy, MWH announced it would “suspend the practice of pursuing legal action for unpaid bills”—including filing lawsuits for bills less than $300.


** COLUMNISTS
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** SCHAPIRO: JAMESTOWN'S THE PHOTO-OP SOME REPUBLICANS DON'T WANT ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In a twisted way, Donald Trump couldn’t be a better headliner for the 400th birthday party that Virginia is throwing for representative government in America. That’s because Trump — whether he appears at Jamestown and Democrats are there to hear him — symbolizes its troubling, contradictory nature.


** OP-ED
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** HOEFT: THE SPECIAL SESSION WASN'T SO SPECIAL ([link removed])
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By J.R HOEFT, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

It’s has been just more than two weeks since the Virginia General Assembly convened for a special session called by Gov. Ralph Northam. Yet, almost as soon as they met, they adjourned for a four-month recess. It should be intuitively obvious what the nature of any “special” session is by its name. It is not routine. It is extraordinary and necessary.

Hoeft, a retired Naval officer, has been writing about Virginia policy and politics for nearly two decades.
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