From VaNews <[email protected]>
Subject Political headlines from across Virginia
Date January 7, 2020 12:17 PM
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Today's Sponsor: Andrew McRoberts, of Sands Anderson PC

VaNews Jan. 7, 2020
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Today's Sponsor:


** Andrew McRoberts, of Sands Anderson PC
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Cheering on Sands Anderson's local and state government clients as they organize, open, and gavel their public bodies into a new year!

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


** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: TRENDS IN CAMPAIGN SPENDING ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

Three key components -- mail, TV and staff -- continue to drive spending in Virginia legislative elections. But digital is on the rise. VPAP ranks the ways candidates have spent money to reach voters in each of the last five General Assembly election cycles.


** VISUALIZATION: TV DROVE BIG LEGISLATIVE RACES ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

TV and radio ads were the biggest ticket item in 2019 Virginia legislative elections -- at least races where combined spending by major party candidates topped $500,000. But in less expensive races, direct mail was the preferred method of connecting with voters. This interactive visual contrasts spending in big and small contests.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** AMENDMENT OR NOT, NONPARTISAN REDISTRICTING IS COMING, NORTHAM SAYS ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

One way or the other, nonpartisan restricting is coming to Virginia, as far as Gov. Ralph Northam is concerned. Speaking after announcing a series of voting reforms he’ll be pushing at the General Assembly -- including one to make Election Day a state holiday, replacing Lee-Jackson Day -- Northam said he’s seen that some Democratic legislators are having second thoughts about the required second vote on last year’s proposed redistricting Constitutional amendment .


** NORTHAM BUDGET ALLOWS MERIT HIKES FOR OFFICIALS EXCLUDED LAST YEAR ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia government agency heads and Cabinet members would get the merit raises denied them by the Republican-controlled Senate last year, but Gov. Ralph Northam doesn’t have money in his proposed budget for general raises for state employees. That could change when a new General Assembly convenes Wednesday.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** SWEEPING CHANGES EXPECTED AS VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS TAKE CONTROL ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Democrats in Virginia are looking to advance a history-making agenda when the General Assembly convenes Wednesday that could change how Virginians vote, the type of guns they can buy and the crimes for which they can be jailed. Quick action is expected on a number of high-profile issues that Republicans have thwarted for years


** A RADICAL HOUSING PROPOSAL IS FORMING STRANGE POLITICAL ALLIANCES IN VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND ([link removed])
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By ALLY SCHWEITZER, WAMU

In an attempt to address the region’s housing shortage, local leaders have trotted out a series of incremental solutions. They’ve required developers to build more affordable housing. They’ve extracted money from Amazon. They’ve put more tax dollars toward housing construction, one budget cycle at a time. But now, two young legislators are proposing a more drastic solution, one that would reshape the look and feel of suburbs across Maryland and Virginia. They want to eliminate zoning for single-family homes.


** DEMOCRATS WEIGH MEDICAID DENTAL COVERAGE, A CHEAPER MARKETPLACE AND, MAYBE, A PUBLIC OPTION ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

The last major movement in health care policy in Virginia came last year when the state opened enrollment to its expanded Medicaid program, extending insurance to more than 340,000 people to date. This year, Virginia Democrats say they want to use their new legislative majorities to build on that program to offer dental coverage to more adults, while also turning their attention to the state’s health insurance marketplace and high prescription drug costs.


** ADVOCATES ARE GEARING UP TO PRESSURE LAWMAKERS TO FULLY FUND EDUCATION ([link removed])
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By MECHELLE HANKERSON, Virginia Mercury

For years, Democratic lawmakers called on Republicans — who had legislative and budgetary control — to fully fund public education to the threshold set by the state Board of Education. But if Gov. Ralph Northam’s budget proposal is approved as presented, the new Democratic majority would still fall short, advocates say, despite investments Northam calls “historic.”


** LEGISLATORS CONCERNED SOUTHSIDE MAY BE BRUSHED OFF WITH MORE EMPHASIS ON NORTHERN PART OF STATE ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

Local legislators’ concerns with the new Democratic majority in both chambers of the General Assembly are not just partisan, but regional. “These majorities comprise of mostly people from Northern Virginia,” said state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Moneta. The worry is Southside Virginia gets left in the cold while lawmakers’ emphasis will be on the more urbanized northern part of the state.


** NEW GROUP STRIVES TO FIND COMMON GROUND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

State lawmakers have expressed concern about the increased polarization happening the legislature, so some have started a new caucus to show that legislators across the political spectrum can work together to find common ground on issues. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, and Del.-elect Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun, are co-chairs of the Commonwealth Caucus, which they hope will improve bipartisanship during the upcoming legislative session.


** NEW CAUCUS HOPES TO IMPROVE BIPARTISANSHIP ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A group of Virginia legislators hopes to find common ground on issues facing the state in a new-look General Assembly. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, and Del.-elect Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun, announced Monday the creation of a new caucus — formally, the Commonwealth Caucus — that they hope will encourage bipartisanship


** VICTIMS’ FAMILIES WANT A STATE-MANDATED VIRGINIA BEACH MASS SHOOTING INVESTIGATION, LAWMAKERS SAY ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Two Virginia Beach delegates want a state group to look at the motives behind the Virginia Beach mass shooting, and they say they have the support of victims’ families. A bill filed Monday would establish a 21-person, state-mandated commission picked by General Assembly leaders and the governor. It would be the third investigation, but the first at the state level, after 12 people were killed at a city municipal building in May.


** FAIRFAX STATE SENATORS PREDICT ACTION ON GUNS, ENVIRONMENT ([link removed])
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By BRIAN TROMPETER, Inside NOVA

Days before the start of the 2020 General Assembly session, two state senators predicted Democratic lawmakers would act on the campaign promises that helped them win majorities in both houses this fall. Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington-Fairfax-Loudoun) predicted the next session’s biggest issues would include ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and bills on firearm safety and climate change.


** LOCAL SHARE OF TOURISM TAX REVENUE WOULD BE EARMARKED FOR SPORTS COMPLEX UNDER NORMENT’S BILL ([link removed])
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By SARAROSE MARTIN AND JACK JACOBS, Virginia Gazette (Metered Paywall - 5 Articles per Month)

Localities would get a smaller cut of the Historic Triangle sales tax should a bill intended to help fund a regional sports complex become law. The legislation would require Williamsburg, James City County and York County each give up 10% of their shares of the tax revenue to the project. Senate Bill 254, introduced by Sen. Thomas K. Norment, R-James City, would amend the 2018 session’s SB 942 to require localities fork over some of their share of the 1% sales tax surcharge the 2018 legislation created when it became law.


** A LOOK AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S OUTSIDE-THE-BOX BILLS ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Want your elementary students to take sunscreen to school or put a strict definition on milk? What about making the state firearm the Springfield Model 1855 Rifle-Musket? You’ll have to pass a bill for that to happen — and some legislators have started the process.


** LAWMAKERS AGAIN FILE BILLS TO PROTECT STUDENT, WORKING JOURNALISTS ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The third time could be the charm for a state lawmaker who wants to protect journalists from having to testify about confidential sources in court. As a former reporter in northern Virginia, Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, said she wants to protect the institution of journalism, especially as it comes under fire in the current political climate.


** FEDERAL ELECTIONS
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** SCOTT TAYLOR TO RUN AGAINST ELAINE LURIA FOR OLD HOUSE SEAT ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Ex-Virginia Beach Congressman Scott Taylor will run to win back his former U.S. House seat, he announced Monday morning. “We can’t guarantee success, but we can guarantee we’ll be deserving of it, in this campaign, and here we go,” Taylor said in a video interview with WAVY TV 10. Taylor, a Republican, lost to Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria in November 2018.


** SCOTT TAYLOR DROPS SENATE BID, WILL SEEK FORMER HOUSE SEAT ([link removed])
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By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Former Rep. Scott Taylor, R-2nd, officially announced Monday that he is dropping his U.S. Senate bid and will seek to reclaim the U.S. House seat that he lost to Democrat Elaine Luria in 2018.


** REPUBLICAN SCOTT TAYLOR WILL END HIS SENATE BID TO RUN FOR HIS OLD HOUSE SEAT ([link removed])
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By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Republican Scott W. Taylor said Monday that he will end his U.S. Senate campaign against Sen. Mark R. Warner (D) and instead run for his old U.S. House seat representing Virginia Beach. If Taylor wins a competitive Republican primary, he will face Rep. Elaine Luria, the Democrat who unseated him in a 2018 election amid a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and a scandal over election petitions that embroiled Taylor’s campaign.


** VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS SEE GUN RIGHTS AS THE PATH BACK TO A RED COMMONWEALTH ([link removed])
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By KERRY PICKET, Washington Examiner

The Republican Party of Virginia sees an opportunity to harness the energy of outraged gun rights voters to seize back seats in the state legislature and help President Trump win the commonwealth in 2020.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** ROANOKE LAWYER NAMED VIRGINIA'S CHIEF DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ([link removed])
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By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A Roanoke lawyer has been appointed to the No. 2 position in the Virginia attorney general’s office. Erin Ashwell will serve as chief deputy attorney general effective Feb. 10, Attorney General Mark Herring announced Monday.


** CONGRESS
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** CLINE DEFENDS KILLING OF IRANIAN GENERAL BUT SAYS HE HOPES U.S. WILL AVOID WAR ([link removed])
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By CALVIN PYNN, Harrisonburg Citizen

Republican U.S. Rep. Ben Cline told about 50 of his constituents in Harrisonburg Monday night that while he wants to avoid war with Iran, he agreed with President Donald Trump’s assassination order of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani based on the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in place in Iraq. “Given the information I have, I believe that the action was appropriate,” said Cline, who just finished his first year representing Virginia’s 6th Congressional District. “Now the question is: where do we go from here?”


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** BON SECOURS BUYS PETERSBURG HOSPITAL, 2 OTHERS ([link removed])
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By SEAN GORMAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg and two other Virginia hospitals are under new ownership. Bon Secours Mercy Health, a Cincinnati-based Catholic health system, announced Monday the acquisition of the Petersburg hospital as well as Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia and Southampton Memorial Hospital in the city of Franklin.


** NORFOLK SOUTHERN ANNOUNCES ROUND OF FURLOUGHS IN ROANOKE ([link removed])
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By ALICIA PETSKA, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Norfolk Southern notified workers Monday that a new round of furloughs is coming to its Roanoke operations. The railroad said fewer than 70 employees would be affected. “We don’t take personnel decisions lightly, yet the reality is that as our business changes, so too do our personnel needs,” read a statement from the company.


** HEMP PROCESSING IN ELKTON SLATED FOR MARCH OPENING ([link removed])
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By IAN MUNRO, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Shenandoah Valley Hemp will be processing hemp in Elkton after its request to develop a facility was supported by Town Council in December. Abner Johnson, of Harrisonburg, along with his four brothers, Talbot, 18, Jake, 26, Tanner, 28, and Andrew, 31, are the core of the nearly dozen-person team that is Shenandoah Valley Hemp.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** COLLEGE ENROLLMENT IS FALLING, NATIONAL STUDY SAYS. BUT VIRGINIA IS “HOLDING OUR OWN." ([link removed])
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By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Across the country, fewer students are enrolling in college, according to a study released in December by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. But Virginia seems to be bucking that trend. It’s true that community colleges in the commonwealth are seeing huge drops in enrollment, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, said Tod Massa, director of policy analytics for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** ‘I LOST HOPE’ A LOOK INSIDE THE ICE DETENTION CENTER IN FARMVILLE ([link removed])
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By MALLORY NOE-PAYNE, WVTF

The facility is a sprawling compound less than three miles from the small quaint main street of Farmville. It’s surrounded by tall fences topped with barbed wire. On the day we visited more than 500 men were held inside, although those numbers fluctuate each week. At the height of border crossings earlier this Spring there were more than 800 men there. Photos and audio weren’t allowed inside the facility, nor was talking to detainees. The media tour consisted of one other reporter, several ICE officials, and the facility’s director. He's employed by the private company that runs the facility.


** VIRGINIA LANDOWNERS FILE CONSTITUTIONAL CASE AGAINST FERC & MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE ([link removed])
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By ROBBIE HARRIS, WVTF

The lawsuit calls into question what the plaintiffs call, eminent domain for private gain, when private companies are granted the right to take private property for public use. The law requires "just" compensation to be given to the original owner. "The question is w appears to be whether or not FERC actually has the constitutional authority to delegate that power."


** LOCAL
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** ALEXANDRIA PLANS TO BUY FREEDOM HOUSE, FORMER SLAVE PEN NOW HOME TO A MUSEUM ([link removed])
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By PATRICIA SULLIVAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The city of Alexandria plans to buy and restore Freedom House, the site of one of the nation’s most notorious pre-Civil War slave pens, and expand exhibits inside the building that showcase its cruel history. City officials announced the $1.8 million purchase agreement late Monday after months of negotiations with the Northern Virginia Urban League,


** SWORN IN: DEMOCRAT NOW LEADS PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY BOARD OF SUPER ([link removed])
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By MICHELLE BASCH, WTOP

A new Democrat-majority Prince William County Board of Supervisors was sworn in Monday night, marking a major change in Virginia’s second-largest county by population. Among those taking the oath of office at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas was new board Chairman Ann Wheeler.


** RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL ASKS VIRGINIA FOR AUTHORITY OVER CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In a symbolic vote, the Richmond City Council has requested authority from the state to decide the fate of its Confederate iconography. The 6-2 vote came at a special meeting Monday. It is an about-face for the nine-member body, which twice rejected similar requests earlier this term.


** VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL DECLARES ITSELF A SECOND AMENDMENT CONSTITUTIONAL CITY ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia Beach joined more than 100 localities in the state to affirm its commitment to the Second Amendment. On Monday night, seven months after the mass shooting that left 12 dead and four more injured, the Virginia Beach City Council voted 6-4 in favor of becoming a Second Amendment Constitutional City. The council supported the symbolic message to encourage state lawmakers to not pass laws that some activists contend would infringe on the Constitution. The council did not declare itself a gun sanctuary city,


** CLARKE SHERIFF VOWS TO UPHOLD THE LAW ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Clarke County Sheriff Tony Roper told the Clarke County Board of Supervisors he takes his oath to uphold state and federal laws “very, very seriously,” so whatever the laws are, he will enforce them. Roper made that vow immediately before the county’s Board of Supervisors, in a unanimous vote on Monday, adopted a resolution against proposed state gun control measures


** CLARKE ADOPTS RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF GUN RIGHTS ([link removed])
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By MICKEY POWELL, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Clarke County Board of Supervisors has formally declared its support for county residents continuing to be able to own and use firearms.

Today's Sponsor:


** Andrew McRoberts, of Sands Anderson PC
------------------------------------------------------------

Cheering on Sands Anderson's local and state government clients as they organize, open, and gavel their public bodies into a new year!


** EDITORIALS
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** VIRGINIA OFFICIALS MUST SHOW THEY LEARNED THE LESSONS FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE ([link removed])
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Washington Post Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The violence that racked Charlottesville in 2017 was triggered by a noxious crew of racist white nationalists and neo-Nazi thugs, but the incompetence and inexcusable passivity of state and local law enforcement allowed events there to spin into mayhem. Now, as a similar array of extremists are poised to join conventional gun-rights advocates in Richmond this month to protest proposed firearms legislation, Virginia authorities must take care to apply lessons learned from the chaos in Charlottesville.


** RAIL INITIATIVE WOULD BENEFIT COMMONWEALTH ([link removed])
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Daily Progress Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Major improvements to rail transportation now being finalized will prove a boon to Virginia commerce. The rail improvements will affect mostly Northern Virginia and Richmond in the immediate term, although at least one initiative could benefit the Charlottesville area in the long term.


** SENATORS AT WORK ([link removed])
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Daily Press Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia’s senators have handled with steady professionalism President Donald Trump’s order of a drone strike against Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, one of the most prominent and deadly military leaders in the Middle East, last week. It is arguably Trump’s most consequential act in office, and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have raised thoughtful, measured questions


** COLUMNISTS
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** CASEY: DON'T BELIEVE THE SCAREMONGERING ON GUN LEGISLATION ([link removed])
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By DAN CASEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Probably by now, you’ve heard a hue and cry about the “great Virginia gun confiscation scheme” that’s about to be hatched in Richmond. In response, elected boards in scores of Virginia’s (mostly rural) localities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, where local authorities promise not to enforce state or federal laws that violate the U.S. Constitution. According to the more lurid propaganda now circulating, the Virginia National Guard will be going door-to-door,


** DVORAK: GUN REALITY VS. GUN FANTASY IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By PETULA DVORAK, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Let’s talk reality and fantasy in Virginia. Just minutes into New Year’s Day, it rained glass inside Justin Tate’s car, as a celebratory bullet shot into the sky at midnight fell back to the earth through his sunroof as he drove down Interstate 64, not far from the Richmond airport, according to CBS 6 News.


** BERES: A FORMIDABLE RACE IN THE 7TH DISTRICT ([link removed])
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By ROBIN BERES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

There are still 10 months to go before Election Day 2020, but you’d never know that from the energy it’s generating. The presidential contest isn’t the only race attracting a bevy of candidates eager to challenge the incumbent. According to Ballotpedia, there are already seven Republicans vying for Virginia’s 7th District congressional seat that is currently occupied by Democrat Abigail Spanberger. The filing date for candidates isn’t until March 26 — so there may be even more.


** OP-ED
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** TOBIAS: FILLING THE VIRGINIA STATE COURT VACANCIES ([link removed])
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By CARL TOBIAS, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

When the recently elected Virginia General Assembly convenes on Wednesday, Democratic and Republican members should make a New Year’s resolution to elect the finest possible judges to deliver justice.

Carl Tobias is the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond.


** LAROCK: INHERENT FLAWS ([link removed])
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By DEL. DAVE LAROCK, Published in the Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As Virginia inches closer to a massive but avoidable confrontation, it is important to realize men and women who are dedicated to keeping us safe are being put in harm’s way. Waiting until things get worse is just not an option. On one side we have Democrat legislators heavily funded by out-of-state anti-gun groups controlled by powerful people bent on making Virginia a national poster child for aggressive anti-gun laws.

Del. Dave LaRock, R-Hamilton, represents the 33rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates.
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