Today's Sponsor: Tim Sullivan

VaNews Jan. 14, 2020
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Today's Sponsor:


** Tim Sullivan
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To the honored memory of Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr. and Senator William B. Spong Jr.,who always put Virginia first.

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


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** DEMOCRATS PUSH FIRST BATCH OF GUN CONTROL BILLS OUT OF SENATE COMMITTEE ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The first set of gun control bills proposed by Virginia Democrats sailed out of a Senate committee Monday before a packed room of gun control and gun rights advocates. All nine of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the bills, which would expand background checks on all firearm sales, limit handgun purchases to one per month, allow courts to temporarily remove guns from someone deemed a risk to himself or others, and allow localities to ban weapons from certain events.


** SENATE PANEL ADVANCES THE FIRST OF NORTHAM-BACKED GUN BILLS ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

In the first fight over gun rights in the new-look General Assembly, Democrats on Monday advanced several gun control measures. The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed a one-handgun-a-month limit, universal background checks, a “red flag” law and giving municipal officials more local authority on guns. The bills now head to the full Senate.


** PUSH TO BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS IN VIRGINIA MEETS RESISTANCE ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Some top Virginia Democratic senators are expressing reservations about plans to ban assault weapons — a key part of the new Democratic majority’s gun-control proposals and one that’s drawn fierce resistance from gun-rights advocates. “A lot of people don’t really understand assault weapons and how complicated the issue really is,” said Democratic Sen. John Edwards. “It’s going to be very difficult to figure out a way to do it. But we’re studying it, that’s all I can say.”


** DESPITE PROTESTS, DEMOCRATIC GUN-CONTROL BILLS PASS THEIR FIRST HURDLE ON A PARTY-LINE VOTE ([link removed])
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By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Four bills Virginia’s Democratic governor says could reduce gun violence passed their first hurdle amid protests from gun owners who say their Second Amendment rights are being violated. The gun control measures that have for years been quashed by Republicans — implementing universal background checks, limiting sales to one handgun a month, allowing localities to ban guns in certain places and creating an extreme risk protection order — were passed out of a packed Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Monday.


** FOUR FIREARMS BILLS ADVANCE IN VIRGINIA’S NEWLY GUN-FREE CAPITOL ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Four gun-control bills sailed out of a Senate committee Monday as the General Assembly's new Democratic majority took up firearms legislation for the first time. In a visible show of opposition to the bills, gun rights activists swarmed the Capitol, where firearms were banned last week. But the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced most of the gun legislation proposed by Democrats,


** FOUR GUN BILLS MOVE OUT OF SENATE COMMITTEE ([link removed])
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By MAX THORNBERRY, Northern Virginia Daily

Democrats avoided taking up the most controversial gun-control bills on Monday but plowed ahead with four others as they move to take advantage of their majority. The Senate Judiciary Committee had a full docket Monday morning as the fourth day of the 2020 General Assembly session got underway. Lined up at the top were 10 firearms-related bills ranging from enhanced background checks to targeted bans.


** HOUR-PLUS LINES ENSNARE ACCESS TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING ON FIRST DAY OF NEW SECURITY MEASURES ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury

Long security lines had General Assembly staff members, lobbyists and the general public waiting more than an hour Monday to get into the building where much of the state’s legislative work is done. Even sitting Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine got caught in the backup when he appeared with a box of donuts he had intended to drop off.


** AS VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ADVANCE NEW GUN RESTRICTIONS, MILITIAS ORGANIZE, PROMISING TO RESIST ([link removed])
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By NED OLIVER AND GRAHAM MOOMAW, Virginia Mercury

Opponents of new gun laws in Virginia are organizing militias in the state, but promise they’re not planning to use the new paramilitary organizations to launch a violent insurrection against the government....But how, precisely, organizers believe armed groups fit into discussion of new gun laws – which are debated at the General Assembly and, in the case of laws that pass but interest groups may consider unconstitutional, challenged in court – is not totally clear.


** RICHMOND-AREA LEADERS BACK REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The Richmond region finally is asking the state for the power to make regional decisions about transportation improvements and to raise taxes to pay for them. Seven years after Virginia approved regional transportation funding for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, many local government leaders in the Richmond area are throwing their support behind the creation of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority under legislation that would raise wholesale fuel and sales taxes in nine localities in the region.


** BILL AIMS TO CONVERT ALL DIESEL SCHOOL BUSES TO ELECTRIC IN VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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WVEC

Legislation was introduced to the Virginia House of Delegates that would create a grant to replace diesel school buses with electric buses by 2030. House Bill 1140 sets up a new block grant program that would allow school districts to seek funding to help replace their current diesel school buses with electric ones, as well as expenses for infrastructure support.


** BIL WOUD PAY NEARLY $160,000 TO MAN WRONGLY CONVICTED OF 1975 RAPE ([link removed])
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By FRANK GREEN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A bill is pending in the Virginia General Assembly to pay almost $160,000 to Winston Lamont Scott, who was wrongly convicted of a rape in Fairfax County more than four decades ago.


** 26 PERCENT OF GENENRAL ASSEMBLY MEMBERS ARE PRACTICING LAWYERS ([link removed])
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By MAURA MAZUROWSKI, Virginia Lawyers Weekly (Paywall for some articles)

Twenty-three new members of the General Assembly joined the House and Senate on Jan. 8. Of these 23 members, five are practicing lawyers – and all of them are in the House. Still, only 36 of the 140 legislators are attorneys, with a few more holding law degrees, including newly elected Del. Nancy Guy, R-Virginia Beach.


** COMMONWEALTH CAUCUS HOPES TO INCREASE BIPARTISANSHIP ([link removed])
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By NATHANIEL CLINE, Loudoun Times

First-year Del. Suhas Subramanyam (D-87th) and veteran state Sen. Emmett Hanger Jr. (R-24th) have joined forces to co-chair the new Commonwealth Caucus designed to increase bipartisanship during the new General Assembly session in Richmond. State Sens. John Bell (D-13th) and Jill Vogel (R-27th), both of whom represent portions of Loudoun County, are members of the caucus.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** STATE GENERAL FUND REVENUES INCREASED 7.6% IN DECEMBER ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

Total state General Fund revenues rose 7.6% in December with help from growth in payroll withholding, sales and use taxes and recordation tax collections, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. “This continued strong revenue performance gives us confidence that we can achieve the forward-looking agenda I have laid out, while also putting money into our cash reserves,” Northam said in a statement.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** PAMUNKEY SIGN LAND DEAL WITH NORFOLK FOR POTENTIAL CASINO ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As lawmakers prepare to debate the future of casino gaming in Virginia, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe has staked its claim in a high-profile site along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk. The tribe said Monday that it had signed agreements with Norfolk for an option to buy 13.4 acres next to the Harbor Park minor league baseball stadium and develop a commercial resort and casino there, if Virginia legalizes casino gambling on the site.


** PAMUNKEY TRIBE, NORFOLK SIGN CASINO DEAL ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

The Pamunkey Indian Tribe signed a $10 million agreement Monday with the city of Norfolk to purchase 13.4 acres of undeveloped city property adjacent to Harbor Park for a resort casino development. The city and tribe also signed a developmental agreement to regulate their partnership as the tribe develops the casino


** COSTAR GROUP EYES EXPANSION AS PART OF $1.5B NAVY HILL PROJECT ([link removed])
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By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Two thousand more jobs could come to downtown as part of the $1.5 billion Navy Hill plans, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Monday. CoStar Group, a commercial real estate analytics firm, is in talks with the project’s developers to lease an office tower that would rise north of City Hall if the plans move forward. The office would be home to 2,000 new jobs the company would add over a five-year period, said Andrew C. Florance, CoStar Group’s CEO.


** FDA SENDS WARNING LETTER TO VALLEY PROTEINS ([link removed])
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By JOSH JANNEY, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A warning letter about “significant violations” of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act at its Frederick County rendering plant was sent to Valley Proteins Inc. on Nov. 18 by the FDA. The plant, located at 1635 Indian Hollow Road, produces animal food ingredients distributed to animal food manufacturers.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** VA. TO OBJECT TO SOME METRO FARE HIKES, SERVICE CUTS ([link removed])
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By MAX SMITH, WTOP

Virginia is joining Maryland to push back on proposed Metro fare increases for long-distance commuters. “We are concerned that the proposed budget does not strike the appropriate balance of fare increases, Metrobus service cuts and new initiatives to drive ridership,” a draft letter due to be approved by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Thursday said.


** METRO RELEASES FIRST OPERATING BUDGET FOR SILVER LINE EXTENSION ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN GEORGE, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Metro will need $24 million from the District, Maryland and Virginia to begin hiring employees and preparing for service on the Silver Line extension, according to an operating budget proposal for the project released Monday. The transit authority plans to devote $60 million — including the local contribution — in this fiscal year to staff the long-awaited nearly-11-mile rail extension, which will connect Dulles International Airport to Loudoun County.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** WVA TO VIRGINIA COUNTY: COME JOIN US. VIRGINIA COUNTY: NAH ([link removed])
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By JOHN RABY, Associated Press

Virginia is for lovers, so West Virginia is reviving a 158-year-old proposal to ask one of its counties on a date. The answer, apparently, is still no.


** W.VA. RESOLUTION INVITES FREDERICK COUNTY TO JOIN THE MOUNTAIN STATE ([link removed])
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By STEVEN ALLEN ADAMS, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The West Virginia Senate adopted a resolution Monday reminding Frederick County of a 158-year-old invitation to become the state’s 56th county. State Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan County, introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 Friday requesting that citizens of Frederick County consider joining West Virginia. The resolution now heads to the West Virginia House of Delegates for consideration.


** ‘RAGING GRANNY’ FACES MUSIC FOR PIPELINE PROTEST: ‘HAPPY THAT I DID IT’ ([link removed])
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By MASON ADAMS, Virginia Mercury

Activist and self-identified “raging granny” Glenna “Duff” Benjamin traveled to Montgomery County in September to lock herself to a sideboom pipelayer and block construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for five hours. On Monday, she returned to face the consequences of her act of non-violent civil disobedience.


** LOCAL
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** VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE CHIEF’S RETIREMENT STILL IN LIMBO ([link removed])
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By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Police Chief Jim Cervera was recognized at a Houston law enforcement conference last week for his upcoming retirement. “He’s retiring in May and has been an invaluable partner and friend,” the Major Cities Chiefs Association posted on Twitter, along with a photo of Cervera receiving an award from the group’s president, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.


** IF A STUDENT FACES A TRAUMATIC EVENT AT HOME, CITY POLICE CAN NOW NOTIFY SCHOOL OFFICIALS ([link removed])
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By ANNA MEROD, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

If a traumatic event requires a Winchester police officer to enter a home where a Winchester Public Schools student lives, the officer can choose to notify school administrators with the child’s name and the phrase “Handle With Care.” This “heads up” notification launched a couple of months ago.


** WAYNESBORO 2ND AMENDMENT HEARING ENDS AT IMPASSE ([link removed])
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By CLAIRE MITZEL, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Three hours of public comment on Monday night drew nearly 40 speakers who asked Waynesboro City Council to adopt a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution. But the meeting ended with no resolution. By the end, hecklers made it difficult for Vice Mayor Bobby Henderson and Mayor Terry Short to finish a single sentence.


** COUNCIL WITHDRAWS RESOLUTION DECLARING WAYNESBORO A 'CONSTITUTIONAL CITY' ([link removed])
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By SHANNON KELLY, News Virginian

After heated discussion between Waynesboro citizens and council members, city council withdrew a resolution declaring Waynesboro a “Constitutional City.”


** FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DECLINES TO BAN CONFEDERATE FLAG IN DRESS CODE ([link removed])
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By MIKE ALLEN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

On Monday, after another impassioned and testy round of comments from the public and board members, the school board ultimately voted 7 to 1 adopt the new dress code without adding any language that bans the flag. Member-at-large Penny Blue, the board’s only African American member, was the sole no vote. On Monday, after another impassioned and testy round of comments from the public and board members, the school board ultimately voted 7 to 1 adopt the new dress code without adding any language that bans the flag. Member-at-large Penny Blue, the board’s only African American member, was the sole no vote.


** DANVILLE POLICE USE LOCATION DATA ON CELLPHONES TO HELP SOLVE CRIMES ([link removed])
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By QUASHON AVENT, Danville Register & Bee

Most search warrants have a suspect’s name or address to delineate the terms of the search. But this one, tucked away recently in Danville Circuit Court, lists a set of four latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates. It’s a request to collect from Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, any information on cellphones to pass through those coordinates at a certain time.


** FOR THIRD TIME, REQUEST DELAYED AS DANVILLE COMMISSION WRESTLES WITH INDOOR RECREATION ([link removed])
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By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

The third time is not always the charm. A proposal for a special-use permit for a gaming facility at the former Something Special restaurant at 401 S. Ridge St. now has been delayed three times by the Danville Planning Commission.


** BRISTOL TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA CITY COUNCILS CLASH ON TOURISM FUNDING FORMULA ([link removed])
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By DAVID MCGEE, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

City councils from both Bristols found scarce consensus Monday on a formula to fund local nonprofit tourism agencies. Meeting for more than two hours, both sides offered vastly different perspectives on developing a formula to fund agencies, including the Birthplace of Country Music, Discover Bristol and Believe in Bristol.

Today's Sponsor:


** Tim Sullivan
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To the honored memory of Governor Mills E. Godwin Jr. and Senator William B. Spong Jr.,who always put Virginia first.


** EDITORIALS
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** RECIPE FOR PERMANENT CONGESTION ([link removed])
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Free Lance-Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Actions have consequences, but so does inaction. And the Fredericksburg region’s chronic traffic problem is one of the consequences of the commonwealth’s decadeslong failure to allocate enough money in the state budget to expand and maintain Virginia’s 57,867-mile road system to keep up with population growth. That failure directly led to another consequence. The contract the Virginia Department of Transportation signed with TransUrban to help ease the resulting traffic congestion on Interstate 95 by building Express toll lanes includes a poison pill:


** LEARN FROM JEFFERSON LAB’S STRIKEOUT ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia missed an opportunity when the Department of Energy announced last week that it would build an Electron Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island in New York instead of at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News.


** HOW THE POLITICS OF ONE-GUN-A-MONTH HAVE CHANGED. AND HOW THEY HAVEN'T. ([link removed])
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Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Perhaps the biggest question facing the General Assembly — and its new Democratic majority — is what new gun laws legislators will pass. Most of the gun-related bills that Democrats (led by Gov. Ralph Northam) are proposing would be new for Virginia — among them, a ban on certain types of weapons, “red flag” laws, and universal background checks.


** LET'S KEEP UP BROADBAND EFFORTS THAT INCLUDE THE PUBLIC'S VOICE ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia’s push for universal broadband access is often viewed through a financial lens. Internet infrastructure is expensive and in rural areas, grants, loans and public-private partnerships are critical resources to close gaps. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a $48 million loan for a new fiber-to-the-premises network to cover 22,604 households,


** COLUMNISTS
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** DVORAK: VA. COULD RIGHT A 100-YEAR-OLD WRONG ([link removed])
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By PETULA DVORAK, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia has a 100-year-old debt to pay. And ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment this week would finally settle that account. This is a debt the Old Dominion owes for arresting, imprisoning and abusing women who protested for their freedom and rights more than 100 years ago.
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