Today's Sponsor: B2L Consulting

VaNews Jan. 1, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Sponsor:


** B2L Consulting
------------------------------------------------------------

Happy New Year!

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


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


** VISUALIZATION: A SCANDAL CHANGED CULTURE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Virginia Public Access Project

The value of gifts to state legislators plummeted last decade. The pivotal event that spurred the drop: The 2014 conviction of ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell on corruption charges involving unreported gifts and loans from a nutritional supplement promoter. The conviction later was thrown by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the episode changed the culture around the state Capitol. Some lawmakers swore off gifts. Another factor: The definition of "gift" was changed to exclude food and drink consumed while performing "official duties."


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


** HOUSE SPEAKER-DESIGNEE FILLER-CORN LEAVES JOB AT LOBBYING FIRM ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

House Speaker-elect Eileen Filler-Corn is stepping down from her job at an Arlington County-based lobbying and consulting firm, helping to alleviate the potential for conflicts of interest as she prepares for the leadership role.


** VIRGINIA TEACHERS CALL GOVERNOR’S $1.2 BILLION FOR EDUCATION ‘WOEFULLY SHORT’ ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By KELLY AVELLINO, WWBT

As Virginia's General Assembly is set to kick off its 2020 legislative session in just over a week, some education advocates are calling foul on Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed $1.2 billion for education. Opponents say it's not nearly enough to put teacher pay on track with the national average, calling it “woefully short” for educators and students.


** OPPONENTS PUSH TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Virginia has executed nearly 1,400 people in its 412-year history — more than any other state. But as a new Democratic majority prepares to begin the legislative session, some see an opportunity to end executions in Virginia. A bill to abolish the death penalty has been filed by Del. Lee Carter, a Democrat from Manassas, and several additional bills are expected.


** WHAT DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS SAY THEY’LL DO WITH CONTROL OF LEGISLATURE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By TOMMY LOPEZ, WSLS

Along with the new year, it will also be a new era in Virginia politics in 2020. Democratic lawmakers will have control of both houses of the commonwealth's General Assembly when the session starts next week.


** NEW DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY IN VIRGINIA COULD PASS SWEEPING LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By ROBERTO ROLDAN, WCVE

As the January General Assembly session approaches, Democratic lawmakers are introducing a series of anti-discrimination bills to protect LGBTQ people. Some of the bills already filed include making it illegal for employers and landlords to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Last year, anti-discrimination bills for LGBTQ people didn’t even get a hearing in House despite having bipartisan support. But with an incoming Democratic majority in both houses, advocates are hoping that will change.


** LAWMAKERS DISCUSS PLANS FOR UPCOMING GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By CJ PASCHALL AND JOHN EARLY, WVIR - TV29

State lawmakers will be heading to Richmond in less than 10 days. They are expected to take up major issues, such as marijuana and gun control. Democrats control both houses of the General Assembly, and the Governor’s Mansion for the first time since the early 1990’s. For new delegates and veterans alike, this is uncharted territory.


** GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS BACK PUBLIC DEFENDER OFFICE IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By EMILY SIDES, Inside NOVA

Legislators and criminal rights advocates are pushing to create a public defender office in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park. The office would have 23 lawyers and 11 staff members and provide legal representation for people who can’t afford a lawyer to defend them in court. With initial funding included in the governor’s proposed budget for the two years starting July 1, advocates hope the office will be created in 2020.


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


** VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS LOOKS TO UVA AND VCU FOR HELP AS PRISON MEDICAL COSTS RISE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By CARLY KEMPLER, WVIR - TV29

Prison healthcare in Virginia is a problem. Costs have gone up more than $100 million in the last 10 years. The Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) is looking to partner with the University of Virginia to provide better care to inmates and keep drug costs low.


** NEW LAWS ON RAPE KITS AND TAMPONS TAKE EFFECT ON JAN. 1 IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By OVETTA WIGGINS, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Almost five years after the Maryland General Assembly called for an inventory of the state’s untested rape kits, police will now be required to submit such kits for testing. The measure is one of the state and local bills in Maryland and Virginia that become law as of Jan. 1. Virginians will see a small break on the sales tax when they purchase tampons and other menstrual supplies.


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


** THE PENINSULA HASN’T HAD ITS OWN FEDERAL JUDGE FOR NEARLY 200 YEARS. THAT COULD SOON END. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Is the Peninsula finally on the verge of getting its own federal district judge after nearly 200 years of not having one? It could well happen. Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner — who play a key role in the judicial selection process — are voicing support for having a Peninsula native fill a recent federal district court opening in Hampton Roads, rather than the normal practice of picking someone from South Hampton Roads.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
------------------------------------------------------------


** TRUMP ORGANIZATION FIRES MORE UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS AT VIRGINIA WINERY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By JOSHUA PARTLOW AND DAVID A. FAHRENTHOLD, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Nearly a year after the Trump Organization pledged to root out undocumented workers at its properties, supervisors at the Trump Winery on Monday summoned at least seven employees and fired them because of their lack of legal immigration status, according to two of the dismissed workers.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
------------------------------------------------------------


** IN ONE VIRGINIA CITY, 93 OPIOID PILLS A YEAR FOR EVERY RESIDENT ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By ANDREW RIDDLER AND SRAVAN GANNAVARAPU, VCU Capital News Service

Between 2006 and 2012, more than 71 million opioid pills flowed into Henrico County. For the county’s 320,000 residents, that represented about 32 pills per person per year. During the same time period, pharmacies in Petersburg, whose population is 32,000, received more than 10 million opioid pills — or about 45 pills annually for each city resident. But Colonial Heights ranked No. 1 in opioid sales in the Richmond metropolitan area.


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


** RICHMOND MAYOR LEVAR STONEY TALKS ABOUT NAVY HILL, HOUSING AND FUTURE POLITICAL PLANS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

It was a trying third year at City Hall for Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. His proposed investments in schools and roads survived the most contentious City Council deliberations of his tenure. The 9-cent real estate tax hike he wanted did not. His top administrator was embroiled in a nepotism scandal because five of her relatives had city jobs in departments she oversaw, an Inspector General investigation found. Stoney fired her; he has not set a timetable to hire a permanent replacement.


** NORFOLK PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS WAIT AND WONDER AS MOVE-OUTS ARE DELAYED BY MONTHS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By RYAN MURPHY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

They weren’t supposed to be here for Christmas. They weren’t even supposed to be here for Labor Day. Hundreds of residents of a section of Norfolk’s Tidewater Gardens — deemed Phase 1 by the city and housing authority — were supposed to move out this past summer, the first leg of a relocation effort that will eventually move 4,200 people out of the St. Paul’s area to make way for a major redevelopment effort.


** INCOMING CITY COUNCIL LOOKS TO BUILD HOUSES AND TRUST ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By BEN HITCHCOCK, C'ville Weekly

On January 1, three new Charlottesville City Council members will officially begin their terms. Michael Payne, Sena Magill, and Lloyd Snook will join current councilors Heather Hill and Mayor Nikuyah Walker as Wes Bellamy, Mike Signer, and Kathy Galvin ride off into the sunset.


** PATRICK COUNTY RECEIVES GRANT TO ADDRESS HEALTH ACCESS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By AMIE KNOWLES, Martinsville Bulletin

In December, the area received some welcomed news — the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded Patrick County with a $50,000 grant to address health-access issues.

Today's Sponsor:


** B2L Consulting
------------------------------------------------------------

Happy New Year!


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


** WE CAN’T ASSUME VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS WILL KEEP THEIR PROMISE ON REDISTRICTING REFORM ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Redistricting sailed through the Virginia General Assembly in February with a tally of 85 to 13 in the House and just one objection in the Senate. Given the lopsided votes, and the measure’s broad public support, you might expect it to sail through its second required vote, particularly because Democrats who long pushed for redistricting reform will be in control when the legislature convenes in January. That assumes, though, that Democrats will keep their promise and act on principle and not out of party interest. Sadly, that can’t be taken for granted.


** RASSAWEK DISPUTE RATCHETS HIGHER ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The question of Rassawek’s fate ends the year — the decade — with a pair of actions that raise the stakes. The fundamental question: Will Rassawek, considered the historic site of the Monacan headquarters, be preserved; or will it be used for a planned water intake and pump station that will help supply water from the James River to the Zion Crossroads development area of Louisa and Fluvanna counties?


** COLUMNISTS
------------------------------------------------------------


** WILLIAMS: MOVE THE FREDERICKSBURG SLAVE AUCTION BLOCK FROM ITS STREET CORNER TO A MUSEUM ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As I asked the black woman how she felt about the slave auction block at the corner of William and Charles streets, a group walked up behind us, excited at their discovery. A little white girl, perhaps 5, clambered onto the elevated stone where human beings were once sold as property. “Smile!” she was told as her photo was taken. The black woman’s vocal disgust did not appear to register with the family as they strolled away.


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


** FLORES: TRUMP ROLLBACK OF TWO SAFEGUARDS INCREASES THREAT OF CHEMICAL DISASTER IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By DAVID FLORES, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The health and safety of Southside and Southwest Virginians are threatened by recent Trump administration policy moves that greatly weakened public safeguards against toxic coal ash and chemical disasters. Now, state officials must rise to our defense.

Flores is a policy analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform and a Roanoke resident
------------------------------------------------------------
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