VISUALIZATION: NO Q4 BOUNCE FOR NORTHAM FUNDRAISING

The Governor's poll numbers were up nearly a year after a black-face scandal, but his fundraising continued to lag behind that of his predecessors. VPAP compares the total raised by governors in the second year of their four-year term.

VIRGINIA CAPITAL ON EDGE AS F.B.I. ARRESTS SUSPECTED NEO-NAZIS BEFORE GUN RALLY

Alarming calls online for a race war. The arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis. Memories of the explosive clashes in Charlottesville, Va., three years ago. A sense of crisis enveloped the capital of Virginia on Thursday, with the police on heightened alert and Richmond bracing for possible violence ahead of a gun rally next week that is expected to draw white supremacists and other anti-government extremists.

FBI ARRESTS 3 ALLEGED MEMBERS OF WHITE-SUPREMACIST GROUP ‘THE BASE’ AHEAD OF VIRGINIA GUN RALLY

The FBI has arrested three alleged members of a white-supremacist group on federal gun and alien-harboring charges amid growing concerns about safety surrounding planned gun rights protests in Virginia’s capital next week.

FBI ARRESTS 3 CONNECTED TO WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUP WHO WERE HEADED TO RICHMOND GUN RALLY

Three men connected to a white supremacist organization are facing federal charges related to plans of transporting a gun and ammunition across state lines with plans to commit a crime. The men were planning to travel to Richmond on Monday to attend a Second Amendment rally, according to law enforcement.

FBI ARRESTS SUSPECTED NEO-NAZIS WHO PLANNED TO TRAVEL TO RICHMOND GUN RALLY WITH MACHINE GUN

The FBI has arrested three suspected members of a neo-Nazi hate group amid allegations they planned to travel to a pro-gun rally next week in Richmond with a homemade machine gun. A day before their arrests, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and announced a temporary ban on weapons on the grounds of the Capitol.

JUDGE REJECTS GUN-RIGHTS ACTIVISTS’ BID TO OVERTURN NORTHAM’S FIREARMS BAN AT RICHMOND RALLY

A Richmond judge rejected a bid by gun-rights groups and residents Thursday to block Gov. Ralph Northam’s temporary ban on guns in Capitol Square. The temporary injunction request, filed in Richmond Circuit Court, says Northam doesn’t have the authority to issue such a ban, and the ban violates Second Amendment rights and possibly the First Amendment. But shortly after a hearing, Judge Joi Taylor denied the request

GUN ACTIVISTS APPEAL TO VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT AFTER JUDGE REJECTS BID TO HALT GUN BAN IN CAPITOL SQUARE

A Richmond Circuit Court judge on Thursday denied a bid from gun-rights activists to block Gov. Ralph Northam’s temporary gun ban for Capitol Square ahead of a rally there Monday. “The governor is vested with the power to take ‘action from time to time as is necessary for the adequate promotion and coordination of state and local emergency services activities relating to the safety and welfare of the commonwealth,” Judge Joi J. Taylor wrote in her three-page ruling.

ORGANIZERS APPEAL BAN ON ARMS AT UPCOMING VIRGINIA GUN RALLY

A gun-rights group filed an emergency appeal late Thursday of a judge’s ruling upholding a ban on firearms at a pro-gun rally expected to draw thousands of gun activists to Virginia next week. The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America had filed a lawsuit earlier in the day seeking an injunction against the ban, which Gov. Ralph Northam imposed for a rally scheduled to take place Monday on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol.

JUDGE UPHOLDS NORTHAM’S BAN ON GUNS OUTSIDE VA. CAPITOL FOR MONDAY’S RALLY

A Circuit Court judge upheld Gov. Ralph Northam's temporary ban on firearms in Capitol Square ahead of Monday's gun rights rally, which is expected to draw thousands of armed activists from across the country. From Friday night until Tuesday, weapons of any kind will be prohibited on the grounds of the Capitol under a state of emergency.

ANTIFA GROUP IS SIDING WITH THOUSANDS OF PRO-GUN CONSERVATIVES IN VIRGINIA

When gun lovers rally in front of the Virginia Capitol in Richmond next week, the local chapter of antifa will be there too....Antifa Seven Hills, based in Richmond, are opposing the slew of gun bills introduced by the newly Democratic Legislature since November, because they say those types of laws are used primarily to criminalize poor people, minorities, and leftists — and to bolster law enforcement’s power.

DC, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA ATTORNEYS GENERAL JOIN SUIT AGAINST FOOD STAMP LIMITATIONS

Attorneys general in the region have joined a lawsuit filed by 14 states, D.C. and New York City against President Donald Trump’s administration in an effort to protect food stamp benefits for the unemployed. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh joined his counterparts in D.C. and Virginia in filing the suit, which challenges the U.S. Agriculture Department change that will limit each jurisdiction’s ability to extend food stamp benefits beyond a three-month period for some adults.

NORTHAM-BACKED BILL WOULD LEVY 35% TAX ON ELECTRONIC 'SKILL' GAMES; CASINO COMPETITION INTENSIFIES

Gov. Ralph Northam has upped the ante for regulating electronic “skill” games with a proposed 35% tax on gross profits and a limit of five for each location, as the battle over expanded gaming in Virginia intensifies in the new General Assembly. Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, has introduced legislation on behalf of the Northam administration for the Virginia Lottery to license, regulate and tax a fast-emerging business that has become its biggest competitor

VIRGINIA SENATE APPROVES THREE GUN CONTROL BILLS AMID LEGAL FIGHT OVER SECOND AMENDMENT RALLY

Virginia Democrats on Thursday moved one step closer to bringing more gun control to Virginia. The state Senate approved a one-handgun-a-month limit, universal background checks, and giving municipal officials more local authority on guns. A fourth bill, commonly referred to as a “red flag” law, was not voted on.

SENATE PASSES 3 GUN CONTROL BILLS, SENDS THEM TO HOUSE

The Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate passed three gun control bills Thursday as Republicans pushed back at the proposals, arguing that they target law-abiding gun owners. The Senate voted along party lines on bills allowing localities to ban firearms from certain areas as well as restoring the repealed law that caps handgun purchases to one per month.

DEMOCRATS SEEK REPEAL OF MANDATORY ULTRASOUND, 24-HOUR WAITING PERIOD FOR ABORTIONS

Republicans imposed a 24-hour-waiting period and mandatory ultrasounds for women seeking abortions in 2012 when they last controlled both branches of the General Assembly and the Executive Mansion. Now that Democrats have locked down their own trifecta, party leaders have filed an array bills to roll those and other restrictions back.

VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE CONSIDERING TOUGHER DISTRACTED DRIVING BAN

In 2014, Brad Hughes was responding to a routine call. Hughes was a private police officer in Chesterfield County. “That day, it was kind of overcast, the temperature was dropping a little bit and I was sitting down at gateway and I heard the call come out for a traffic accident with injuries,” he recalls.

HOUSE COMMITTEE TACKLES CONSUMER PROTECTIONS, CYBERSECURITY

In one of the more modern meeting rooms at the over two centuries old State Capitol, 22 lawmakers gather on Mondays to confront the increasing cybersecurity threats looming over Virginia residents. This session the House Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation will consider a variety of issues, including managing data in an increasingly digital world, regulating devices for children in schools

SENATE PANEL KILLS BILL TO PUT BIBLE CLASS IN VIRGINIA SCHOOLS

A Richmond-area senator’s effort to offer students Bible classes in public schools has died. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, proposed Senate Bill 132, which would have required the Virginia Board of Education to allow school districts to offer an elective class for high school students on the Old Testament and New Testament.

MAYOR, NAVY HILL OFFICIALS TRY TO SWEETEN THE POT FOR $1.5B COLISEUM PLAN APPROVAL

Can a series of revisions save the massive $1.5 billion Coliseum replacement and Downtown redevelopment plan that for months has appeared to be headed for rejection by Richmond City Council? That’s the hope for Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Thomas F. Farrell II, the top executive at Dominion Energy who is spearheading the proposal through the Navy Hill District Corp.

BOURNE'S STATE SALES TAX PROPOSAL FOR NAVY HILL PLAN WOULD RAISE $55 MILLION, RICHMOND OFFICIALS SAY

With an assist from the state, Richmond could dramatically reduce the size of a special tax zone that has become a major stumbling block for the $1.5 billion Navy Hill plan, Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration told a City Council panel Thursday.

LOCAL DELEGATE CALLING FOR STRICTER GUIDELINES WHEN TESTING FOR LEAD IN SCHOOL WATER

A local delegate is trying to enact stricter legislation when testing for lead in school water. Delegate Alex Askew said he was inspired after elevated levels of lead were found in drinking water at multiple Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

BILL TO ASSIGN REVENUE FROM LOCAL SHARE OF TOURISM TAX KILLED ON NORMENT’S REQUEST

A bill that would have required Williamsburg, James City County and York County to cough up 10% of their shares of the Historic Triangle sales tax revenue is no more. The Senate finance and appropriations committee voted unanimously to kill the proposed legislation Wednesday on bill patron Sen. Thomas K. Norment’s request

SUBRAMANYAM BILL SEEKS TO PUSH BACK ON GREENWAY TOLL HIKES

Del. Suhas Subramanyam (D-87) has filed a bill intended to give the state power to throw light of the Dulles Greenway’s secretive finances—and push back on constantly rising tolls. Subramanyam’s bill is identical to bills filed last year by Del. Dave A. LaRock (R-33) and Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. (R-20), which both died in committee.

AUGUSTA COUNTY DELEGATES VOTE AGAINST EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

All three delegates that represent parts of Augusta County in the House of Delegates voted against ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday. John Avoli, R-Staunton; Ronnie Campbell, R-Rockbridge; and Chris Runion, R-Rockingham, were among 41 others who opposed House Resolution 1.

LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA COMMEMORATES 100 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VOTING RIGHTS

During a week when equal rights took center stage in Virginia politics, with the state legislature ratifying the decades-old Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, another celebratory milestone is happening blocks away from Capitol Square. The Library of Virginia presents “We Demand: Women’s Suffrage in Virginia,” now through Dec. 5. The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th constitutional amendment, giving women the right to vote.

DOMINION MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS FOR TAZEWELL COUNTY HYDROELECTRIC PLANT

While winter weather has slowed some of the outdoor work Dominion Energy is moving forward with its study of a potential hydroelectric plant on East River Mountain. Spencer Adkins, director of power generation projects for the company said last week that the company is continuing its studies of the site.

2019 WAS GOOD FOR COTTON, BAD FOR SOYBEANS AND TOBACCO IN VIRGINIA

Virginia farmers last year saw big bumps in cotton thanks to favorable weather, but soybeans and tobacco suffered as a result of the China-U.S. trade war.

A DELAYED VOTE ON SILVER LINE FUNDING COULD PUSH BACK ITS OPENING, METRO BOARD MEMBER SAYS

Metro board members delayed a vote Thursday that would have authorized tens of millions of dollars needed to start filling positions for the Silver Line extension, the latest setback for a troubled project that has had its opening pushed back at least once. Board member Michael Goldman said it is now unlikely the extension will open this year without “heroic circumstances.”

TRANSIT UNION VOTES OVERWHELMINGLY FOR WORKER CONTRACT, ENDING STRIKE AT METROBUS GARAGE

Members of a transit union have approved a worker contract at a Metrobus garage in Northern Virginia, formally ending an 82-day strike and setting the stage for the return of regular service on several bus routes that had been canceled by the work stoppage.

DOMINION'S FIRST ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES COMING TO FOUR NOVA SCHOOL DIVISIONS

Some of Dominion Energy’s first phase of electric school buses will be rolling this year in four Northern Virginia communities, the company announced Thursday. Prince William, Arlington and Fairfax counties and Alexandria were among the 16 school divisions included in the first phase of 50 buses across Dominion’s Virginia footprint.

FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ALEXANDRIA PULLS FROM TWO AMAZON-INSPIRED FUNDING SOURCES

Alexandria officials will buy a local apartment complex and convert some of it to affordable housing, relying on a pair of funding sources inspired by the arrival of Amazon in neighboring Arlington. The nonprofit Alexandria Housing Development Corporation is working to purchase the Avana Alexandria Apartments, a 326-unit complex near Fairlington

LOUDOUN LETS 2 LGBTQ BOOKS REMAIN IN SCHOOLS

A movement to withdraw books with LGBTQ characters from elementary schools in one of the nation’s wealthiest counties suffered a setback Wednesday as officials in Northern Virginia voted to leave in place two books that some parents wanted removed. A few months ago, conservative parents launched a religion-driven campaign to banish ­LGBTQ literature from elementary school libraries and classrooms in Loudoun County — with early success.

VIRGINIA BEACH WILL NEED TO SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BATTLE SEA LEVEL RISE, SAYS NEW CITY REPORT

To prepare for the threat of sea level rise in the coming decades, Virginia Beach will have to consider multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects, restricting new development in some parts of the city and purchasing properties in danger of flooding, according to a new report.

BORROWING $41 MILLION TO BUILD A NEW JAIL WOULD BUST PORTSMOUTH’S DEBT LIMITS, ADVISORS SAY

If Portsmouth borrowed the $41 million it could cost the city to build a new jail, it would breach the amount of debt the city can take on for projects and could put its credit ratings in jeopardy, a pair of outside financial advisors told City Council members this week.

STAFFORD SCHOOLS URGED BY LEGAL COUNSEL NOT TO PASS TRANSGENDER PROTECTIONS

Newly unsealed documents show the Stafford County School Board’s legal counsel advised against passing protections for transgender students. It did it anyway, after more than 400 people filled the Board Chambers and, after six hours of public testimony at a Sept. 10, 2019 meeting. The most polarizing additions to the school division’s existing policy that came with the decision now provided protections for “sexual orientation” of students, staff, and faculty, and addressed “gender identity” in the updated policy.

EDA PRESENTS ITS CASE TO RECEIVE SUPERVISORS’ BACKING

Members of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority presented their case on why the county should provide a life preserver if the EDA runs out of money in March. EDA Vice Chairman Jeff Browne told the supervisors during a Tuesday work session that a worst-case scenario has the EDA depleting its funds in two months. This comes as details of an alleged embezzlement scandal within the authority continues unfolding.

COURT DISMISSES FRAZIER APPEAL THAT COUNTY COVER PERSONAL LEGAL FEES

Circuit Court Judge James E. Plowman, Jr. dismissed Jackson District Supervisor Ron Frazier’s appeal for Rappahannock County taxpayers to pay his attorney fees in connection with Marian Bragg v the Board of Supervisors. Plowman ruled that he did not have jurisdiction to overturn a discretionary act made by a legislative body, in this case the county’s Board of Supervisors.

SUFFOLK CITY COUNCIL PASSES SECOND AMENDMENT RESOLUTION

Suffolk on Wednesday became the most recent city in Hampton Roads to pass a Second Amendment resolution protesting gun legislation in the General Assembly. It’s the second time the City Council has addressed the matter and approved a resolution, but this time it specifically mentions the Second Amendment.

FATHER OF PARKLAND VICTIM CALLS FOR VIRGINIA COUNCILMAN'S RESIGNATION

The father of a school shooting victim is calling for the resignation of a Virginia city council member who strapped an assault weapon to his chest during a vote to protect gun rights.

BROADBAND CONTRACTOR WON’T SAY WHO’S SERVED

Louisa County Broadband Authority members say they’d like to report to the community how many citizens have obtained faster internet service as a result of the group’s work. But they can’t, they say, because SCS Broadband, the company contracted to provide service on all of the authority’s wireless towers, won’t tell them.

PRINCE WILLIAM SUPERVISORS TABLE GUN SAFETY RESOLUTION

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted 8-0 on Tuesday to table a proposed resolution supporting gun safety legislation and funding for mental health services. During a meeting Jan. 7, the new Democratic-led board heard from more than 100 people, most of them gun-rights supporters, after new Chair Ann Wheeler proposed a resolution that would back gun safety efforts in the General Assembly, including increased background checks and red flag laws that would allow courts to confiscate weapons in particular cases.

MUSTER CALL FAILS TO SECURE PARK RESERVATION

On Jan. 6, a group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Floyd began circulating on social media a “Militia Muster Call” encouraging local residents to volunteer for an “unorganized militia,” a move which Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Branscom said may violate state law.

SANCTUARY PUSH IN SW VA. AIMS TO DEFY GUN CONTROL EFFORTS

Pushing back on commonwealth gun control efforts, two Southwest Virginia counties are promoting militia training and threatening stiff fines on public employees who enforce restrictive laws. The moves by leaders in Buchanan and Tazewell counties came last month as dozens of localities declared themselves to be Second Amendment “sanctuaries,” a movement that has galvanized gun rights advocates across Virginia.

WHY REPUBLICANS SHOULD EMBRACE NORTHAM'S DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY

Did someone invent a time machine? Is it once again, Aug. 10, 2017 — the date before the horrific and ultimately deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville? We ask because of the tone-deaf reaction of some Republican leaders to Gov. Ralph Northam’s decision to declare a state of emergency in advance of Monday’s Gun Lobby Day in Richmond

ATTACKS ON VIRGINIA’S GUN SAFETY EFFORTS ARE IRRESPONSIBLE OVERREACTIONS

The gun lobby’s combustible rhetoric at the prospect that Virginia’s new Democratic legislative majority will push through a handful of firearms safety bills is wildly detached from reality. Tailor-made to stoke furor, it has found an online echo chamber among neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other militant groups planning to join gun advocates at the Capitol in Richmond next Monday for an event that officials worry could reprise the chaos in Charlottesville in 2017.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PASSES THE ERA -- FINALLY

The General Assembly took a long overdue action on Wednesday when it approved the Equal Rights Amendment. After suffering defeat every year between 1973 and 1982 and then again in recent sessions, the amendment finally cleared the legislature in a 58-42 vote in the House of Delegates and by 28-12 in the state Senate.

VIRGINIA CLOBBERS MARYLAND IN JOB GROWTH

An economic power shift is changing the entire face of the greater Washington area. Business is going south. In the first 10 months of 2019, Northern Virginia gained 19,500 jobs on average over the previous year. In the Maryland suburbs, the average gain was just 200 jobs, or about 1 percent of the gain in NoVa. This is before Amazon’s 25,000 positions land in Arlington, a county with a 1.7 percent unemployment rate that needs more jobs like the Sahara needs a sand pit.

VIRGINIA'S VISIONARIES SET THE TONE FOR FAITH AND PEACE

Long before our Founding Fathers gathered in Philadelphia to frame the U.S. Constitution, Virginia’s visionaries set the tone for the inclusion of faith and peace. On the same street corner in Shockoe Slip where the Virginia General Assembly gathered secretly during the American Revolution, dozens of people came together Thursday at The Valentine First Freedom Center to celebrate Religious Freedom Day.

VANCE: WHY RIGHT-TO-WORK IS WRONG FOR VIRGINIA

Many of the “luxuries” you enjoy today work like minimum wage, overtime pay, safety, etc were non-existent. When our country was founded, and for many decades later, there were literally no laws concerning workers. Companies treated their employees however they pleased. Company towns thrived because here the people worked for script rather than money.

Vance is Western Virginia Coalition of Labor Union Women President, United Food and Commercial Worker Local 400 Member.

FORDE-MAZRUI: A LIBERAL CASE AGAINST THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Virginia’s vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which aims to end legal distinctions between men and women, is being celebrated by many as a milestone. But as a constitutional law scholar and a liberal supporter of women’s equality, I hope the ERA is ultimately defeated. The ERA is unnecessary, useless and harmful to women’s equality.

Kim Forde-Mazrui is the Mortimer M. Caplin Professor of Law and the Earle K. Shawe Professor of Employment Law at the University of Virginia

BALLOONS, PLASTIC BOTTLE CAPS TOP LIST OF TRASH WASHING UP AT VIRGINIA WILDLIFE REFUGES

Garbage in many forms washes ashore every day, but a four-year study of that trash turned up some surprising finds. The study spearheaded by the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center examined 15,275 pieces of debris. Topping the list were plastic bottle caps, followed by the remnants of helium balloons.