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VaNews Jan. 9, 2020
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Today's Sponsor:


** The Philip A. Shucet Company
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Celebrating Peter Bacque and his work to shine light on government and the lives of everyone he touched. We miss you, my friend.

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


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM CITES A CHANGING VIRGINIA AS DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY TAKES CHARGE ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam described a changing Virginia that is increasingly diverse and progressive Wednesday night, vowing in his annual address to the state legislature to lead the state according to that change.


** DEMOCRATS LOOK TO HISTORY AS VIRGINIA’S GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS ITS SESSION ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam called for an ambitious agenda of change Wednesday night as the Virginia General Assembly opened its annual legislative session with a series of historic firsts. "It's a proud moment to look out and see a General Assembly that reflects, more than ever, the Virginia we see every day. This is truly an historic night," Northam (D) said in his annual State of the Commonwealth speech before the Senate and House of Delegates.


** VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL REINTRODUCES BILLS AIMED AT CRACKING DOWN ON HATE CRIMES ([link removed])
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By ALAA ELASSAR, CNN

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said Tuesday he will be reintroducing a set of bills in the upcoming 2020 legislative session aimed at strengthening hate crime statuses and punishments for hate crimes. For the fourth year in a row, Herring said, he will introduce legislation which will update hate crime laws and domestic terrorism laws, and strengthen gun control across the state.


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** 'A NEW TORCH IS BEING PASSED TODAY' ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ AND MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More than 400 years after its founding, the Virginia House of Delegates elected the first woman as its speaker, as Del. Eileen Filler-Corn assumed power on a day of firsts in a chamber now under Democratic control for the first time in more than 20 years. Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, took the oath of office from Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Lemons at 12:27 p.m. on Wednesday


** HISTORY-MAKING NEW VA. HOUSE SPEAKER CITES PASSING OF 'NEW TORCH' WITH FOCUS ON DIVERSITY, EMPOWERMENT ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

As the legislative session opened Wednesday, newly empowered Virginia Democrats emphasized the historic significance of the day. “A new torch is being passed today, one that ushers in a modern era, representing all Virginians, learning from our shared experiences and moving forward in our collective prosperity,” said Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax


** NEW DEMOCRATIC SPEAKER CELEBRATES ON OPENING DAY ([link removed])
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By MAX THORNBERRY, Northern Virginia Daily

The newly minted Democratic majority oversaw a handful of firsts as the 2020 General Assembly session opened on Wednesday. After securing both chambers of government in Richmond for the first time in more than two decades, Democrats nominated the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s history.


** DEMOCRATS TAKE THE REINS IN RICHMOND, PROMISING A SAFER, MORE INCLUSIVE VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES AND DAVE RESS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Eight new lawmakers from Hampton Roads joined the ranks of the most diverse General Assembly ever on Wednesday as Democrats, who took full control of the reins of Virginia’s state government for the first time in a generation, promised “long overdue” changes.


** CHASE TO SERVE ON JUST ONE COMMITTEE AS DEMOCRATS STACK PANELS ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Chesterfield County state senator who left the chamber’s Republican caucus last year saw her committee powers diminished in assignments approved Wednesday. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, will serve on just one committee — local government — for the next four years


** TO THE VICTORS, GO THE SPOILS — IN STATE SENATE COMMITTEES, ANYWAY ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In politics, what goes around comes around, and the state Senate gave a demonstration of that on the first day of the 2020 session. Funny think, in a 21-19 Democrats-to-Republicans senate, the two most powerful committees — the gatekeepers that do the heavy lifting on the budget and on business and consumer protection bills — will be split 10-6 Democrats to Republicans (on the Senate Finance Committee — and 12-3 (on the Commerce and Labor committee).


** VIRGINIA MODERATES THWART LIBERALS WITH LIMITS TO PROGRESSIVE WISH LIST ([link removed])
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By STEPHEN DINAN, Washington Times

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, a Democrat from Fairfax County, has been waiting 26 years for his party to regain unified control of state government in Virginia. On Wednesday, he got his chance.


** GHAZALA HASHMI, CHAMBER'S FIRST MUSLIM, AND JOE MORRISSEY SWORN IN TO SENATE ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Richmond area officially has two new state senators, including the first Muslim elected to the Senate. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, were sworn in Wednesday on the first day of the General Assembly session, taking office as the state legislature, with their help, flipped from a Republican majority to being led by Democrats.


** CAPITOL POLICE TAKE EXTRA SECURITY MEASURES THIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ([link removed])
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By SARA MCCLOSKEY, WCVE

The Virginia Division of Capitol Police are ramping up security this General Assembly session in anticipation of large demonstrations. Thousands are expected to protest proposed gun control measures on January 20. Capitol Police spokesperson Joe Macenka said the agency has met with Philip Van Cleave, the president of the gun rights advocacy group Virginia Citizens Defense League. The group is hosting the rally.


** ACTIVISTS RALLY AT CAPITOL SQUARE IN SUPPORT OF BILLS THAT WOULD ENABLE REMOVAL OF CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More than 100 people rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday to ask the Virginia General Assembly to let localities decide whether to move or change Confederate monuments in their communities that are protected by state law.


** CHARLOTTESVILLE RESIDENTS ADVOCATE FOR CONTROL OF WAR MEMORIALS AT STATE CAPITOL ([link removed])
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By TYLER HAMMEL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

More than 100 demonstrators gathered in Richmond Wednesday to show their support for legislation that seeks to allow localities to remove war monuments and statues. Wednesday, the statewide coalition Monumental Justice organized a rally outside the State Capitol, seeking to show its support for the legislation and detail the dangers they believe Confederate monuments pose. Two busloads of Charlottesville residents attended the rally.


** U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS VIRGINIA ACTION WOULD COME TOO LATE TO RATIFY ERA ([link removed])
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By PATRICIA SULLIVAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The U.S. Justice Department says the Equal Rights Amendment can no longer be ratified because its deadline expired decades ago, throwing a barrier in the path of activists who want the amendment enacted if Virginia’s new, majority Democratic legislature approves it.


** JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: TOO LATE TO PASS EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT ([link removed])
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By STEVE LEBLANC, Associated Press

The Justice Department has thrown a roadblock into efforts to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, finding that an expired pair of deadlines imposed by Congress on ratification of the measure means it’s too late for additional states to ratify it now. The memo by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel comes as Virginia is poised to become the decisive 38th state to approve the ERA nearly four decades after Congress sent it to states in 1972, attaching a 1979 ratification deadline to it.


** CLASHES OVER ERA BREAKING OUT ONCE MORE ([link removed])
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By JESS BRAVIN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

The long-dormant battle over the Equal Rights Amendment flared anew Wednesday, as Virginia’s new House speaker said its ratification would be a top priority, potentially providing the final state needed to write women’s equality into the Constitution, while the Trump administration issued an opinion saying the deadline to approve the measure expired in 1982.


** HIGH-INTEREST ONLINE LENDERS WOULD BE SHUT OUT OF VIRGINIA UNDER PROPOSED BILL ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Online lenders who hit Virginians with triple digit interest rates would be barred for doing business in the state under proposed legislation that would also slash charges levied for payday, car title and other short-term loans.


** ON ENVIRONMENT, LAWMAKERS TO GRAPPLE WITH EVERYTHING FROM SMALL FISH TO GLOBAL SHIFTS ([link removed])
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By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury

As if they didn’t have enough on their plates with energy legislation, lawmakers this session are set to consider a vast array of environmental bills, ranging from small fish (menhaden) to problems perplexing leaders worldwide (climate change).


** VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS UNVEILS 2020 AGENDA ([link removed])
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By VERNON FREEMAN JR., WTVR

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus announced its 2020 agenda Tuesday morning - including eight key priorities. The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus is made up of 23 members who represent the diverse faces of Virginia from across the Commonwealth of Virginia.


** HELMER’S INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE BILL COULD IMPACT NRA’S FAIRFAX HEADQUARTERS ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times

Del. Dan Helmer, who represents parts of Prince William County, has introduced a bill to ban indoor gun ranges in buildings where more than 50 people work, a move that would likely affect the indoor gun range at National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax. "Yes, this plan would affect the NRA, we also think it will save lives,” Helmer, D-40th, said about the bill in an email Tuesday.


** LOCAL DELEGATE FILES BILL TO ALLOW 'LAW-ABIDING GUN OWNERS' TO CARRY IN CHURCH ([link removed])
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By ELIZABETH TYREE, WSET

A delegate, voted in to the General Assembly in the latest election, has introduced a bill to remove a statute prohibiting "law-abiding gun owners" the ability to carry a firearm in a place of worship with a valid concealed carry. Currently, Virginia law prohibits any person to carry a gun, pistol, bowie knife, dagger or other dangerous weapon, without good and sufficient reason, to a place of worship.


** RICHMOND GUN RALLY WILL NOT BE ‘ARMED PROTEST,’ SAYS ORGANIZER ([link removed])
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By NICK IANNELLI, WTOP

The lead organizer behind a major pro-gun rally planned for Richmond, Virginia, later this month is defending the event, saying there is “nothing menacing” about it following media reports that suggested it would be an “armed protest.” “That’s a totally inaccurate summary of what this is,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.


** RICHMOND DELEGATE'S BILL WOULD DEVOTE STATE SALES TAX TO $1.5B NAVY HILL PLAN ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The $1.5 billion Navy Hill plan hinges on a special tax zone, the size of which has become a major sticking point for opponents of the downtown development proposal. A bill introduced Wednesday at the Virginia General Assembly could allow the city to shrink the zone by giving it access to state sales taxes, the bill’s patron and the project’s backers say.


** LAKE ANNA’S HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS HAVE DRAWN THE ATTENTION OF A LOCAL STATE DELEGATE ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Del. John McGuire, R–Louisa, has introduced a resolution asking the Virginia Department of Health to study the algae blooms in Lake Anna. He represents the 56th District, covering Louisa and parts of Goochland, Henrico and Spotsylvania counties. McGuire said he decided to bring the matter to the General Assembly after hearing concerns from residents and Louisa’s Board of Supervisors.


** PILLION SAYS SOL REDUCTION, FUNDING INCREASE ARE PRIORITIES IN 2020 SESSION ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

New 40th District Virginia Sen. Todd Pillion counts two education issues — reducing the number of standardized tests and seeking increased funding — among his priorities for the new legislative session.


** RUNION EAGER AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION BEGINS ([link removed])
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By JESSICA WETZLER, Daily News Record (Subscription Required)

Between the rallies, crammed elevator rides and overall first day scramble, a tucked away hallway on the fourth floor of the Pocahontas Building is quiet. Few staff members are walking up and down the halls, passing by the office of Del. Chris Runion, R-Bridgewater.


** MARINE VET, LYFT DRIVER, SOCIALIST: DEL. LEE CARTER CONFOUNDS HIS CRITICS ([link removed])
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By DANIEL BERTI, Prince William Times

If you stand at the western boundary of the Manassas-area 50th House of Delegates district and look east, everything in front of you is houses and everything behind you is cows. At least that’s how Del. Lee Carter tells it....The area isn’t exactly the Northern Virginia of Fortune 500 companies, but rather of quickly expanding suburbs, struggling strip malls and a steadily increasing cost of living. “Everybody in my district is scrambling to pay the bills,” Carter said.


** CIAFFONE ENDORSED BY ROANOKE COUNTY BAR FOR CIRCUIT COURT VACANCY ([link removed])
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By NEIL HARVEY, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A Roanoke juvenile court judge has been endorsed by a local legal organization to fill an impending vacancy on the valley’s circuit court. At a meeting Tuesday, the 109 members of the Salem/Roanoke County Bar Association named Leisa Ciaffone as their choice to succeed Judge William Broadhurst when he retires March 1.


** SUPERVISORS BACK MESSAGE ON BILLS AFFECTING LOCAL BUDGETS ([link removed])
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By ALEX BRIDGES, Northern Virginia Daily

Shenandoah County supervisors sent a message to the Virginia General Assembly on Tuesday – give local governments more time to review bills that could hit their budgets. Supervisors voted 6-0 at their regular meeting to adopt a resolution that requests the General Assembly to reinstate a policy that required legislators to introduce bills with a local, fiscal impact by the first day of the session.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** TOBACCO COMMISSION RENEWS GRANTS FOR MEGA PARK ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

The Virginia Tobacco Commission's Special Projects Committee has renewed two grant programs for the Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill in southwestern Pittsylvania County.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** AMAZON'S VISION FOR HQ2 SECURITY EXTENDS WELL BEYOND ITS PERIMETER ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) wants to create an intelligence-sharing alliance with the law enforcement and emergency management agencies in the area of its second headquarters. In partnering with Amazon’s corporate security, Arlington police could get access to some of the company’s best practices, tech and intelligence gathering methods, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.


** VA.’S LEADING COAL MINE RESUMES PRODUCTION AFTER FURLOUGH ([link removed])
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By TIM DODSON, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Operations have resumed at Virginia’s leading underground coal mine after hundreds of workers were briefly furloughed at the Buchanan County site last month. Coronado Global Resources, the company that operates the Buchanan mine, notified state officials on Dec. 16 that a little over 600 workers would be furloughed ... Employees returned to work between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** PVCC LAND SALE ON HOLD PENDING STATE STUDY OF ON-CAMPUS HOUSING ([link removed])
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By KATHERINE KNOTT, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Piedmont Virginia Community College officials were expecting to ask a state board for permission this month to sell 17 acres the college owns off Avon Street Extended. But in November, the Virginia Community College System State Board voted to study whether some form of student housing could be an option for some of its community colleges.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SEE INCREASE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS ([link removed])
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By HENRY GRAFF, WVIR - TV29

Local governments across central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley are working to make sure you have access to public records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA is on the books at both the state and federal level. It gives the public access to some government records.


** LOCAL
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** GUN VOTE DELAYED AS 2-A SUPPORTERS AGAIN PACK THE PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER ([link removed])
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By JILLIAN ELLIS, Potomac Local (Subscription Required)

It’ll be the evening of January 21 when the Prince William Board of County Supervisors takes up the discussion of gun rights for the third time in the past two months. At its first meeting of the New Year on Tuesday, the Board voted unanimously to wait on a proposed resolution that urges legislators in Richmond to pass a red flag law allowing judges to temporarily restrict the gun rights of those they deem a threat to themselves or other.


** MAYOR: NO ‘2A’ VOTES HERE ([link removed])
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By SEAN JONES, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

Mayor Samuel Parham said that Petersburg has no plans to join other Virginia localities in becoming a Second Amendment “sanctuary” locality, adding that the city’s track record on gun violence is too dire to join a movement that would fight against proposed restrictive gun legislation.


** HAMPTON CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY WITHDRAWS SECOND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION ([link removed])
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By NIKO CLEMMONS, WVEC

Hampton City Council unanimously withdrew a resolution to support constitutional Second Amendment rights. On Wednesday, council members met to discuss potentially taking up a resolution as many Virginia localities have. After a lengthy public comment segment from both gun rights proponents and opponents, Councilwoman Eleanor Brown moved to withdraw the resolution from consideration


** VIRGINIA BEACH CONSIDERS A PROGRAM TO BUY OUT OR ELEVATE HOMES IN DANGER OF FLOODING ([link removed])
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By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

To protect more homes from future flooding and to lower flood insurance rates, Virginia Beach is considering funding a local program to buy out or elevate at-risk properties throughout the city. If approved, the new funding — a $1.5 million initial investment and then $500,000 annually — would represent a shift in the city’s strategy.


** SCOOTERS ARE COMING BACK TO VIRGINIA BEACH, BUT WITH STRICTER RULES ([link removed])
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By STACY PARKER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Electric scooters will be coming back this spring, but with heavy regulation as the city takes control of where they are allowed and how they operate. Bird and Lime, two vendors which were operating in Virginia Beach last year, pulled their scooters off of the streets in December after the City Council voted to require permits for scooter rental services.


** VIRGINIA BEACH SUPERINTENDENT, WIFE RELEASE STATEMENT ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL FACEBOOK POST ([link removed])
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WVEC

The Virginia Beach City Public Schools' superintendent and his wife apologized to staff and students, school board members, and the community Wednesday about a Facebook post that said President Donald Trump could "go and F**k himself." Krista Spence included the message on her personal Facebook page on New Year's Day. She offered positive wishes to everyone except Trump.

Today's Sponsor:


** The Philip A. Shucet Company
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Celebrating Peter Bacque and his work to shine light on government and the lives of everyone he touched. We miss you, my friend.


** EDITORIALS
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** THERE'S STILL GOOD NEWS IN AMTRAK PROPOSAL THAT LEAVES OUT BRISTOL ([link removed])
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Bristol Herald Courier Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Don’t give up on the idea just yet of passenger rail service coming to Abingdon and Bristol, despite the news that a recently announced passenger rail plan for Virginia does not include the extension of Amtrak trains from Roanoke to our region. In fact, the proposal unveiled by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and executives of CSX Transportation should help end an impasse that has been preventing any consideration of expansion of service


** NO NEED FOR FRACKING IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Virginians are either hopeful or worried as the General Assembly convenes today under new management for the first time in 26 years. The Democrats’ 10-seat majority in the House of Delegates and two-seat majority in the state Senate will undoubtedly take the commonwealth in a number of new directions.


** MORE CRACKS IN LEGISLATURE'S GLASS CEILING ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Glass ceilings are not shatterproof. This month, Virginia’s General Assembly attests to that. Of the 140 seats in the House of Delegates (100) and Senate (40), 41 will be filled by women. For the first time in its 400-year history, a woman, Eileen Filler-Corn, presides as speaker of the House, the oldest continuously-elected governing body in the Western Hemisphere. Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman elected to the state Senate.


** KAINE IS RIGHT. CONGRESS MUST VOTE ON WAR. ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

President Trump’s decision to blow up a top Iranian general has inadvertently thrust back into the spotlight Hillary Clinton’s 2016 running mate. Politics is funny that way, although this is deadly serious business. By what authority did Trump order the death of a top official of a country that we’re not at war with?


** PROTECTING HISTORY FROM A CHANGING CLIMATE ([link removed])
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Daily Press Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The water that defines Hampton Roads was a source of health and recreation long before European settlers arrived. Our regional shores have played such a vital role that historians are still finding artifacts from native travelers in areas where the water laps at the land.


** COLUMNISTS
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** SCHAPIRO: NORTHAM, DEMOCRATS GIVE UP SPLIT-SCREEN POLITICS ([link removed])
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By JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The governor’s ceremonial conference room in the Jefferson-designed state Capitol is usually a tableau of fussy splendor, at the center of which is a long, gleaming table flanked by cushy chairs, including one for the chief executive with a high back emblazoned with the Virginia seal. Not Tuesday. The table and chairs had been removed, anticipating a crowd — and there was a bit of one — for a traditional exercise in political theater


** OP-ED
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** BROWN: GUN LAWS WOULD MAKE VIRGINIA LESS SAFE ([link removed])
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By JENNIFER M. BROWN, Published in the News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

For the last several years, Democrats and advocates of liberal policies have endorsed allowing states and local communities to ignore laws that do not align with their political agendas. These groups cheered when communities designated themselves as “sanctuary cities” and refused to enforce federal immigration laws. But now that local communities are refusing to enforce sweeping proposed gun control legislation, the Democrats have done a 180 and are suddenly arguing for the sanctity of law.

Brown is chairwoman of the Sixth Congressional District Republican Committee in Virginia.


** ALLSBROOK-HUISMAN: BIG PUSH TO DESIGNATE MILITARY-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By STACY ALLSBROOK-HUISMAN, Published in the Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Virginia is making major strides in helping military-connected children transition to and from schools in the commonwealth, an effort that is often fraught for military families due to the frequency of moves. The state has adopted the so-called Purple Star school designation program, a growing national effort to create programs and services at the school level that help 1.2 million military-connected students make the transitions.

Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman is an Air Force spouse and advocate for military-connected children.


** FRALIN: VIRGINIA'S RIGHT-TO-WORK LAW SHOULD BE REPEALED OR AMENDED ([link removed])
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By HEYWOOD FRALIN, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Virginia economy is growing. Unemployment is at its lowest level in years. The state’s investment in GO Virginia is bringing local governments together and providing renewed enthusiasm for economic development in every region of the Commonwealth. The research dollars awarded to our universities are increasing, and incubators and accelerators launched around the state are helping startup companies initiated by this research to succeed.

Fralin is Chairman of Medical Facilities of America


** LONG: GAMBLING ISN'T A GOOD BET ([link removed])
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By JOHN LONG, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

It’s a new month, a new year, and a new decade, and with them comes a new political balance in Richmond. The Democrats have taken the majority in both houses of the General Assembly, with the Governor’s Mansion also in the same party’s hands. The voters have spoken, and changes are inevitably coming.

Long is a historian, writer and educator from Salem.


** BAKER: A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND RENEWABLE ENERGY ACCESS ([link removed])
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By BRYN BAKER, Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Citizens like you and me want to move Virginia toward a cleaner, more prosperous, zero-carbon energy future. In fact, 70% of the public thinks we should be moving toward 100% renewable energy sources in the “near future.” Across the commonwealth and the country, major companies and organizations are making bold commitments to use renewable energy

Bryn Baker is the director of policy innovation at the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance,
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