VaNews July 26, 2019
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Read Online ([link removed]) 10 Most Clicked ([link removed])


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM VISITS WHITE POST TO FORMALLY ANNOUNCE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET GRANT ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam came to Clarke County on Thursday to formally announce plans to bring high-speed internet to an area not yet connected to it. The county is receiving a $209,513 grant through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI), which provides localities funds to encourage private companies to extend broadband to places where it is not available.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** SOME VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS PLANNING TO ATTEND JAMESTOWN COMMEMORATION ([link removed])
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By HEATHER SULLIVAN, NBC 12

More Democratic elected officials plan to attend Virginia’s 400th Anniversary Commemoration on Tuesday, despite a boycott by party leaders over President Donald Trump being invited. While some Democrats still don’t plan to attend, the party is clarifying it’s not a party-wide boycott and some members are choosing to go.


** WILDER REBUKES PLANNERS OF 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF AFRICANS ARRIVING IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Gov. Doug Wilder says he was honorary chairman of a committee that never met — at least with him — to plan the upcoming commemoration of the 400th anniversary of enslaved Africans’ arrival in Virginia. Wilder, a grandson of slaves and the first African American elected as governor in U.S. history, called his ceremonial role “a polite inclusion” for an event that he said is not giving a full account of the legacy begun by the arrival of Africans at Point Comfort in August 1619.


** HODGES PROPOSES LOTS OF SMALL STEPS FOR A CLEAN BAY AND DEVELOPMENT ON ITS RURAL SHORES ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

They’ve not been the sort of bills many legislators notice – unless, that is, they’re members of the House of Delegates’ Chesapeake Bay panel that’s nicknamed the “Hodges subcommittee” because the Middle Peninsula’s persistent Del. Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, brings so many bills before it. But the more than two dozen bills dealing with rural Tidewater issues that Hodges has shepherded through the General Assembly over the past five years represent an unusual approach to legislating that it is easy to miss.


** STATE ELECTIONS
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** COMPETITIVE HOUSE RACES, NEW PAC TOP PRINCE WILLIAM'S ELECTION FUNDRAISING REPORTS ([link removed])
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By EMILY SIDES, Inside NOVA

The biggest story out of recent House of Delegates campaign finance reports may not be what candidates have to spend on themselves, but what one candidate has to spend statewide. Updated campaign fundraising totals through June 30 were released earlier this month, offering a window into support for candidates up and down the ballot in November’s election. Generally, most incumbent local delegates have raised more than their challengers.


** CONGRESS
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** CONGRESSMAN CLINE'S BANKRUPTCY BILL HEADED TO SENATE WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL POPE, WVTF

In the game of Monopoly, a player who cannot pay what they owe is bankrupt. Game over. You lose. But in real life, those people are still in the game. And many small businesses feel the system is rigged against them, with rules designed for major corporations with deep pockets.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** BRISTOL-BASED CONTURA OFFERS $20.6M FOR CLOSED WYOMING, WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINES ([link removed])
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By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Bristol, Tennessee-based Contura Energy has stepped forward as a potential buyer for three mines owned by bankrupt coal producer Blackjewel LLC in Wyoming and West Virginia. But the proposal is not yet a done deal. A federal bankruptcy court hearing held Thursday afternoon to consider the deal was continued to Friday morning.


** CONTURA ENERGY MAKES $20.6 MILLION BANKRUPTCY OFFER TO RESTART BLACKJEWEL MINES ([link removed])
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By TOM CORRIGAN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

Publicly traded coal supplier Contura Energy Inc. has agreed to buy a group of Blackjewel LLC’s surface mines out of bankruptcy for $20.6 million in cash plus the assumption of hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities.


** GARY LECLAIR LEAVING THE LECLAIRRYAN LAW FIRM THAT HE CO-FOUNDED TO JOIN WILLIAMS MULLEN ([link removed])
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By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gary LeClair, who co-founded LeClairRyan in 1988 and served as its longtime CEO, is leaving the law firm and joining crosstown rival Williams Mullen.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** LABELED AS 'STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT,' DAN RIVER REGION BRIDGES STAND OUT IN VDOT REPORT ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

More than 13,000 bridges throughout Virginia hold up millions of vehicles everyday, usually without incident. But not all of those are holding up the National Bridge Inspection protocols, and a large number of those are in Pittsylvania County. According to a report the Virginia Department of Transportation released this month, 18 of the 212 bridges in Pittsylvania County are structurally deficient. This translates to 8.5%, one of the worst marks in the state of Virginia.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** 'MISOGYNISTIC, RACIST AND OTHER OFFENSIVE REMARKS' LEAD TO FIRING OF 9 HAMPTON UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICERS ([link removed])
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By JESSICA NOLTE, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Hampton University said it fired nine of its police officers in connection with “misogynistic, racist and other offensive remarks” shared on social media, according to an emailed statement from the Office of University Relations.


** VIRGINIA TECH WILL PAY $8.7M TO HOUSE STUDENTS IN HOTELS ([link removed])
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By ROBBY KORTH, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

It will cost $8.7 million to house Virginia Tech students in a pair of Blacksburg hotels as a result of the school’s enrollment surge coming in the fall.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** AS FEDERAL EXECUTIONS RESUME, 7 DEATH ROW INMATES ARE FROM VIRGINIA, INCLUDING 3 FROM RICHMOND ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that it would resume executions of the federal government’s death row inmates — more than 10% of whom were sentenced to die in Virginia. Three of the cases are from Richmond.


** AUTHORITIES TO FOCUS ON GUNS FROM VIRGINIA BEING SOLD IN DC ([link removed])
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By MARK SEGRAVES, NBC4

D.C. leaders blame illegal guns for the spike, and following several murders in a span of just days — including the death of an 11-year-old boy — the mayor, chief of police and a top federal prosecutor promised to go after guns from Virginia being sold illegally in the District. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham have been steadfast that the best way to stop the growing homicide rate is to stop the guns from coming into D.C. The majority of those illegal guns come from one state.


** OFFICIALS PROMISE TOUGH PENALTIES FOR GUN TRAFFICKING AS VIOLENCE IN D.C. RISES ([link removed])
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By RACHEL WEINER AND PETER HERMANN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

After a bloody week that contributed to a steadily rising homicide rate, officials from the District and Virginia promised Thursday to aggressively prosecute the purchase and possession of illegal firearms on both sides of the river.


** UNDERWATER GRASSES IN THE BAY IMPROVE DESPITE RECORD RAIN ([link removed])
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By TAMARA DIETRICH, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Last year’s record rainfall throughout the Chesapeake Bay makes hard numbers hard to come by, but experts believe underwater grasses withstood the “onslaught” and even improved a bit.


** SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITIES RECOGNIZED FOR SOLAR WORK ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Eight Virginia coal country communities were recognized Thursday for their work to encourage the growth of solar energy, which supporters see as a means of boosting economic development in the struggling region.


** LOCAL
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** WITH AMAZON ARRIVING NEXT DOOR, FAIRFAX’S TOP BUREAUCRAT AIMS TO SHAKE THINGS UP ([link removed])
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By ANTONIO OLIVO, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

For decades, Fairfax County’s government has been a portrait of decorum — making the abrasive, in-your-face style of its relatively new top bureaucrat stand out. County Executive Bryan J. Hill told the schools superintendent he should be able to “fart” out another $4 million for the budget.


** PRESIDENT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY NAACP CHAPTER CALLS PREDECESSOR VARIATION OF N-WORD ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The former head of Fairfax County’s NAACP said she was shocked when she received a racially derogatory text message earlier this month. She was even more surprised when she saw the sender: the current head of the county’s NAACP. “It’s bootlickin a-- n---as like you that make the black community disrespect the NAACP,” Kofi Annan wrote to Shirley Ginwright.


** REVA REBELS: COUNCILWOMAN GIVES OUT CITY OFFICIALS’ CELL PHONE NUMBERS ([link removed])
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By JEREMY M. LAZARUS, Richmond Free Press

City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell registered her protest against new restrictions on City Council members directly contacting city administrative staff by publicly announcing the cell phone numbers of Mayor Levar M. Stoney and other top officials. ... The 8th District representative has chafed under restrictions Mayor Stoney and Selena Cuffee-Glenn, the city’s chief administrative officer, have placed on council members’ ability to talk with city officials outside of meetings.


** JUDGE PUTS CONDEMNATION OF PORTSMOUTH JAIL ON HOLD FOR 60 DAYS ([link removed])
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By MARGARET MATRAY AND ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Circuit Court judge on Thursday afternoon put a 60-day hold on the condemnation of the Portsmouth City Jail, preventing the city from shutting down the facility during that time.


** IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO THE NORFOLK SCHOOL BOARD, YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT ([link removed])
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By SARA GREGORY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Those wanting to share thoughts with the Norfolk School Board will have to wait now. The board used to hear from the public near the start of its meetings. Going forward, only speakers who want to talk about topics on the agenda will be heard at the beginning of the night. People coming to share other concerns will have to wait until the end.


** REFERENDUM FOR ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD HEADED TO NOV. 5 BALLOT IN WINCHESTER ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

City voters will have the opportunity to decide if they want an elected or appointed School Board. Winchester Voter Registrar Elizabeth Martin said on Thursday afternoon she had verified enough signatures on a citizen petition to certify the document to the state Department of Elections.


** EDITORIALS
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** DATA OFFERS INSIGHT INTO MEDICAID'S EFFECTS IN VA. ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

IN THE MONTHS since Medicaid expansion took effect in Virginia, several things have become clear. One is that the expansion was sorely needed. Low-income Virginians have been signing up for help in paying for health care in greater numbers than expected.


** VIRGINIA SCHOOLS SHOULD FIELD ESPORTS TEAMS ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

For some of you, this will be the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever read. Go ahead, laugh. We did at first, too. That was probably the reaction of a lot of people — at least those over a certain age — to the front page story earlier this week about how the Virginia High School League has authorized a one-year experiment for schools to field esports teams.


** IN NEW ONLINE FRONTIER, CENSUS MUST PROCEED WITH CAUTION ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The 2020 census is a new frontier. Counts of people will collide with computers for the first time. Next March, most households will receive a letter with a groundbreaking request. Don’t wait for canvassers or a paper questionnaire. Fill out your form online. In theory, digital access should improve participation, especially among younger generations and their aversion to mail.


** PETTY POLITICS WILL DEFINE VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

We were disappointed to learn Mayor Levar Stoney has resigned from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation’s main 2019 Commemoration steering committee and from a separate committee planning events to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to North America.


** DUI COURT IS WORKING TO MAKE ROADS SAFER ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

When you’re trying to make a point, sometimes it’s best to let the numbers do the talking. These numbers come from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, which tracks, categorizes and reports each year on motor vehicle accidents.


** THE FRIDAY READ
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** VIRGINIA BEACH MAN DIED 94 DAYS AFTER A FALL. THOSE LAST 4 DAYS COST HIS WIDOW $100,000. ([link removed])
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By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Charles Thomas Blosch died last year in Virginia Beach, 94 days after falling and hitting his head. If the 75-year-old man had died four days earlier, his widow would have probably collected on a $100,000 accidental death insurance policy. But he didn't. So she won't.
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