Today's Sponsor: Jason Carter

VaNews Jan. 15, 2020
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Today's Sponsor:


** Jason Carter
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Supporting Virginia’s $90 billion agriculture and forestry industries.

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


** FROM VPAP
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** VISUALIZATION: WOMEN TAKE THE GAVEL ([link removed])
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The Virginia Public Access Project

In addition to its first female Speaker, the Virginia House of Delegates now has women chairing 24 standing committees and subcommittees. That's nearly five times as many women running committees under the new Democratic majority than under Republican leadership last term -- and double the number two decades ago when Democrats last held power.


** EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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** NORTHAM TO BAN GUNS FROM CAPITOL GROUNDS ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN AND DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press

Fearing a repeat of the deadly violence that engulfed Charlottesville more than two years ago, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to declare a temporary emergency Wednesday banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of a massive rally planned next week over gun rights. That’s according to two state officials who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak publicly about them. The governor, a Democrat, plans to announce the plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon


** NORTHAM TO BAN GUNS FROM VIRGINIA CAPITOL GROUNDS ([link removed])
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By LAURA VOZZELLA AND GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday will announce at least a temporary ban on firearms on the grounds of the state Capitol, two people briefed on his plans said late Tuesday. The move comes just days after newly empowered Democrats banned guns from the Capitol building and an adjacent legislative office building. And it comes just ahead of a gun rights rally planned for Monday, which organizers say will draw tens of thousands to Capitol Square.


** NORTHAM HAS BIG PLANS FOR TRANSPORTATION ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Gov. Ralph Northam has more in mind for transportation than raising taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. Much more. Legislation introduced for the governor by House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, both Democrats from Fairfax County, also would: make failure to wear a seat belt a primary traffic offense, meaning a driver could be cited for that alone;


** GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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** LOTTERY LOSSES LEAD TO MORE PRESSURE TO BAN OR REGULATE 'SKILL' GAMES ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The new chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee promised on Tuesday to propose legislation that would ban electronic "skill" games that the Virginia Lottery blames for cutting into profits that help pay for public education.


** VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS WEIGH DIFFERING REDISTRICTING REFORMS ([link removed])
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By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

Virginia Democrats argued for years that Republicans abused their majority status by drawing gerrymandered legislative and congressional districts that gave the GOP an unfair advantage on Election Day. Now that they are in charge, Democrats say they still favor redistricting reform, but are split on how to do it.


** DEL. CIA PRICE PITCHES REDISTRICTING PLAN THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ([link removed])
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By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

As Democrats sort through a variety of approaches for the 2021 redistricting process, Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, pitched a plan on Tuesday that would create a bipartisan advisory commission to draft the state’s political maps. Price is among lawmakers proposing to delay work on a constitutional amendment that would shift power over the maps away from the governor and General Assembly.


** HOUSE PANEL BACKS ERA RATIFICATION AS SENATE VOTE NEARS ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A Virginia House of Delegates committee now controlled by Democrats on Tuesday advanced ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, a measure previously killed by Republicans on the same panel.


** DEMOCRATS ADVANCE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ([link removed])
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A Virginia House of Delegates committee controlled by Democrats advanced the Equal Rights Amendment on Tuesday, clearing a hurdle that last year allowed Republicans to prevent the state from ratifying the amendment.


** DEMOCRATS ADVANCE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT IN VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ([link removed])
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By SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press

Virginia moved a step closer to ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment on Tuesday, even as the measure's future nationally remains in doubt. A House committee approved a resolution to ratify the gender equality measure, which advocates hope will become the next amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 13-9 vote split along party lines, with all Democrats supporting it and all Republicans opposing it.


** SENATE PANEL BACKS EARLY VOTING BILL, DISCLOSURE OF PRE-GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION DONATIONS ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Virginia Democrats are on their way to making it easier to vote in elections. The newly empowered Democrats have made voting rights one of their top priorities this legislative session. And on Tuesday, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee advanced what is essentially early voting — permitting registered voters to vote absentee in any election without having to provide a reason for voting before Election Day.


** VIRGINIA SENATE ASKED TO LIFT CHURCH-SERVICE WEAPON BAN ([link removed])
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By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 5 free articles a month)

The state Senate is being asked to repeal a 140-year-old ban on possessing weapons in a house of worship during a religious service unless there is sufficient reason to do so. Senate Bill 958 was introduced Tuesday at the General Assembly by state Sen. Amanda F. Chase, R-Chesterfield. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is not expected to act favorably on it.


** PROPOSED LAWS WOULD TIGHTEN TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAD IN SCHOOL WATER ([link removed])
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By BRIANA ADHIKUSUMA, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A new state bill would require preschools and daycare centers to test drinking water while another bill would require all schools to notify parents of any elevated lead levels in tested water. The bills were brought forward after 23 Virginia Beach schools tested for high lead levels last fall.


** CHANGING MINDS AND CONSISTENCY ON CATASTROPHIC HEALTH INSURANCE BILL ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Sometimes, legislators have second thoughts — but sometimes they’re consistent. Take the reaction to this year’s version of a GOP health-care proposal that Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam vetoed last year. Despite the Democratic takeover that gave the party a new 12-3 majority on the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, the panel passed the bill again. It squeaked by this time, in an 8-7 vote Tuesday.


** ROADWAY SAFETY ADVOCATES BRING HELEN'S LAW TO RICHMOND ([link removed])
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By JAMES SCOTT BARON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A road trip to Richmond may soon help improve some of Stafford County’s most dangerous roadways. That’s the hope of a group of Colonial Forge High School students who traveled to the State Capitol on Monday to make their case for the passage of a proposed state bill known as “Helen’s Law.”


** THE KIDS HAD AN IDEA ABOUT GOATS -- BUT THE SENATORS SAID NOT SO FAST ([link removed])
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By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

There’s a stretch of Town Branch, a creek in Leesburg, that the town has to keep clear of weeds and shrubs to meet federal flood control rules. After enough workers sprained ankles and suffered other injuries on the uncertain footing of the creek’s rip rap, town officials figured they’d tackle the chore with herbicide.


** BILL AIMS AT ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL OVER ELECTION DATE MOVE; ELK HUNTING IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By AMY FRIEDENBERGER, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, had a few complaints about the manner in which the Democrat-controlled Roanoke City Council voted in November to move its council elections from May to November in even-numbered years.


** STATE GOVERNMENT
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** DHARMA RECEIVES VIRGINIA'S FIRST PHARMACEUTICAL PROFESSOR PERMIT ([link removed])
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By STAFF REPORT, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Dharma Pharmaceuticals has received its license from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to operate a CBD oil facility at the Bristol Mall.


** HAMPTON ROADS REGIONAL JAIL, MEDICAL PROVIDER SETTLE FOR $900K IN WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT ([link removed])
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By GORDON RAGO, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

A federal judge on Tuesday signed off on a nearly $1 million settlement in the 2016 death of an inmate at Hampton Roads Regional Jail. The regional jail authority agreed to pay $650,000 in the death of William Otis Thrower Sr. who repeatedly complained to jail staff before his death on March 20, 2016, according to a lawsuit filed by family attorney Mark Krudys.


** HAMPTON ROADS REGIONAL JAIL SUPERINTENDENT TO RETIRE MARCH 1 ([link removed])
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By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The superintendent of the beleaguered Hampton Roads Regional Jail plans to retire March 1 after a little less than two years on the job. Citing personal reasons, David Hackworth told his staff Monday he believed it was in the best interest of his family for him to step down.


** DMAS SURVEYS NEW MEDICAID ENROLLEES ([link removed])
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By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine

At the one-year mark for Medicaid expansion in Virginia, the number of newly enrolled adults in Medicaid has nearly doubled from 200,100 to 370,000. And survey data from an online dashboard released Tuesday by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) indicates that before gaining health coverage from Medicaid, nearly two-thirds of enrollees went without needed medical care, primarily due to costs.


** CONGRESS
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** KAINE SAYS HE HAS 51 VOTES TO RESTRAIN TRUMP ON IRAN ([link removed])
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By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

A Democratic senator said Tuesday he has at least 51 votes to support a bipartisan resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said the Senate could vote as soon as next week on the measure


** HOW ONE DEMOCRAT CONVINCED REPUBLICANS TO VOTE TO CURB TRUMP’S IRAN MOVES ([link removed])
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By MARIANNE LEVINE, Politico

When Tim Kaine was pushing Republicans to support his effort to curb military action in Iran, he kept hearing concerns that the resolution was an attack on President Donald Trump. The Virginia Democrat recalled that Republican Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) in particular asked whether the resolution was really about the Trump administration.


** ECONOMY/BUSINESS
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** AS HURT SMOKESTACK PREPARES TO TUMBLE DOWN, A NEW CHAPTER OPENS AT SITE OF FORMER TEXTILE PLANT ([link removed])
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By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee

A light fog hung in the air throughout the afternoon Tuesday as a demolition crew worked to take down a towering smokestack, the primary relic from the former Klopman textile manufacturing plant. Dozens of onlookers pulled their cars over off of Main Street in Hurt and watched the crew work, hopeful to see the towering structure, which is well over 100 feet tall, collapse to the ground.


** TRANSPORTATION
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** DEAL REACHED TO END NORTHERN VIRGINIA METROBUS STRIKE ([link removed])
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By MAX SMITH, WTOP

After more than 80 days, workers at Metro’s privatized Cinder Bed Road bus garage in Lorton, Virginia, are set to return to work, union officials said Tuesday evening. The strike has eliminated or reduced service since late October for thousands of riders who use more than a dozen bus routes, mainly in Fairfax County, Virginia.


** METRO NEEDS MORE MONEY TO STAFF UP, LAUNCH THE SILVER LINE'S SECOND PHASE ([link removed])
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By JONATHAN CAPRIEL, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)

Metro will need some extra cash to start running trains on the $2.8 billion second phase of the Silver Line. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority staff is asking for about $23.6 million to be added to the fiscal year 2020 budget in order to launch the 11.4 miles of Silver Line that will connect Reston with Ashburn, with service starting perhaps this fall.


** HIGHER EDUCATION
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** VIRGINIA UNION REVOKES GROUP'S PERMISSION FOR EVENT THAT PLANNED TO HONOR TRUMP ON MLK DAY ([link removed])
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By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia Union University has revoked permission for a group that planned to honor President Donald Trump at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony. A flyer distributed Tuesday listed Trump, along with son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, as honorees at Urban Revitalization Coalition’s planned Jan. 20 event at the Richmond university.


** VIRGINIA OTHER
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** FELLOW BAY STATES GO AFTER PENNSYLVANIA, EPA OVER BAY CLEANUP FAILURES ([link removed])
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By TAMARA DIETRICH, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Members of Virginia and Maryland’s congressional delegations are demanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency live up to its obligation to enforce cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. The move came days after EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Director Dana Aunkst reportedly called the 2025 pollution diet targets for bay states — targets they’ve been striving to reach for 10 years — “an aspiration” rather than an enforceable deadline.


** LOCAL
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** LEESBURG REFUSES TO HOLD CLOSED HEARING IN LIGHT OF THREATENED LITIGATION ([link removed])
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By ELIZABETH STINNETTE, Loudoun Times

As Leesburg grows, town government must balance the limits of current infrastructure with the opportunity to gain revenue. This came to the forefront Monday night when Leesburg Town Council refused to hold a closed session about threatened litigation from the owners of Graydon Manor, a proposed brewery, winery and co-housing development outside town that wants additional sewer service from Leesburg.


** SPOTSYLVANIA BUS DRIVERS CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR BETTER PAY, BENEFITS ([link removed])
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By ADELE UPHAUS–CONNER, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Bus drivers for Spotsylvania County Public Schools are continuing to advocate for higher pay, especially for veteran drivers. A handful of drivers, dressed in teal, attended Monday’s School Board meeting and three spoke to the board during a public hearing on the upcoming budget ... In Virginia, a bill introduced in the General Assembly this month attempts to address the shortage


** FEDERAL JUDGE QUESTIONS PREMISE OF HANOVER NAACP'S LAWSUIT OVER CONFEDERATE SCHOOL NAMES ([link removed])
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By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

A federal judge on Tuesday said he had serious concerns about the premise of the Hanover County NAACP’s lawsuit aimed at changing the names of Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Lee-Davis High School. Judge Robert Payne questioned whether black students at the schools are forced to honor the Confederacy when they put on athletic uniforms bearing those names.


** PORTSMOUTH JOINS RUSH TO VOICE SUPPORT FOR SECOND AMENDMENT ([link removed])
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By ANA LEY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

It was Portsmouth’s turn Tuesday night to consider a resolution supporting the Second Amendment, and Councilman Nathan Clark chose an attention-grabbing accessory for the occasion: an AR-15 rifle. Clark — who is seeking re-election this year — brought his gun and issued a press release to emphasize his support for hundreds of Second Amendment advocates who packed chambers to capacity.


** WINCHESTER NOT WILLING TO ADOPT 2ND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION ([link removed])
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By BRIAN BREHM, Winchester Star (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Winchester has declined to join dozens of other Virginia localities regarding passage of a resolution supporting the right of citizens to own and use guns. During a work session Tuesday night at John Kerr Elementary School, councilors voted 5-4 against creating a resolution stating Winchester’s support of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The city is one of just nine localities in Virginia to reject adoption of such a resolution.


** LYNCHBURG CITY COUNCIL VOTES DOWN SECOND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION ([link removed])
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By SHANNON KEITH, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Despite concerns voiced by more than 100 Lynchburg residents during a marathon meeting that lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Lynchburg City Council voted not to join the more than 120 localities in Virginia that have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.

Today's Sponsor:


** Jason Carter
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Supporting Virginia’s $90 billion agriculture and forestry industries.


** EDITORIALS
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** ‘NO’ TO BYRD STATUE REMOVAL ([link removed])
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Winchester Star Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Folks have already asked about our response to the possible removal of the statue of Virginia Gov. Harry F. Byrd Sr. from Capitol Square. First of all, Mr. Byrd, who essentially began his professional life as savior of this newspaper, is not going anywhere. The bill proposing his removal is simply a blow across the bow of Democrats eager to eradicate the statues of Confederates.


** BEYOND COLLEGE FOR ALL, WE NEED TO ALIGN STUDENT SKILLS WITH WORKFORCE NEEDS ([link removed])
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Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Virginia kicked off 2020 with an educational milestone. Earlier this month, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) announced a record-high 56,484 students earned bachelor’s degrees at state colleges and universities in 2018-19. That’s in addition to 31,094 graduate degrees, 19,228 associate degrees and 15,362 certificates. Around 70% of the 122,000-plus degree and certificate holders were in-state residents.


** A FAILURE TO PROTECT MIGRATORY BIRDS ([link removed])
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Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The Virginia Department of Transportation displaced an estimated 25,000 migratory birds from their nesting place of 40 years without plans to provide an alternative for them — an egregious and avoidable misstep by the state agency. Certain accommodations must be made for vital transportation projects such as this, of course. But what price must be paid in the name of progress?


** COLUMNISTS
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** WILLIAMS: A GUN RIGHTS RALLY IN RICHMOND ON MLK DAY HAS PEOPLE FEARING A REPEAT OF CHARLOTTESVILLE ([link removed])
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By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Armed and aggrieved gun-rights activists and goodness knows who else will descend by the thousands on Virginia’s Capitol Square on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What could go wrong? Plenty, say folks with memories of Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017, when a weekend rally of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and neo-Confederates veered out of control, with violent consequences.


** POLITIFACT: HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS INCORRECT ON GUN RESTRICTION CLAIM ([link removed])
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By WARREN FISKE, WCVE

In imposing a gun ban at the State Capitol, newly-empowered House Democrats repeatedly said they were acting on the recommendation of the Capitol Police. Pro-gun Republicans accused the Democrats of deceit.


** OP-ED
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** GREEN: REDISTRICTING AMENDMENT IS PROGRESS FOR VIRGINIA ([link removed])
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By REBECCA GREEN, Published in the Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Last year the Republican-controlled General Assembly joined with Democrats and voted in favor of the constitutional amendment to delegate decennial redistricting to an independent commission. It passed 85-13 in the House and 39-1 in the Senate. It’s now up to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to follow through this session.

Rebecca Green is co-director of the Election Law Program at the William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg.


** HINCKER: TAXES, TAXES, AND MORE TAXES ([link removed])
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By LARRY HINCKER, Published in the Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

Well, that didn’t take long. Just about one month after the Democrats took complete control of both houses of the General Assembly, Gov. Ralph Northam rolled out the cookie jar. None of the cookies are free, however. With one of the largest stealth tax increases ever foisted on Virginians still moldering, the governor’s proposed FY 2020-22 biennial budget includes a bunch more levies.

Larry Hincker is a retired public relations executive and lives in Blacksburg


** KAINE AND LEE: WHY WE’RE INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION ON WAR WITH IRAN ([link removed])
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By TIM KAINE AND MIKE LEE, Published in the Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

For more than 40 years, the United States and Iran have had a troubled relationship. Because of the Iranian regime’s insistence on spreading terror throughout the region and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons, multiple administrations have considered a broad range of options — both military and diplomatic — to counter these threats.

Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, and Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, are members of the U.S. Senate.
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