VISUALIZATION: LEGISLATORS' SOURCE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS

VPAP ranks Virginia legislators by the percentage of money from six types of campaign donors, ranging from small donors who give $100 or less to businesses that lobby the General Assembly. There's also an option to view each category by dollar amount. The updated campaign finance numbers are through December 31.

DEMOCRATS DISAGREE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Democrats – led by Gov. Ralph Northam – came to Richmond prepared to rewrite many of Virginia’s criminal justice laws. But not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the best approach, even those urging reform. “The goal is to call attention to the many injustices that exist within the prisons and the criminal justice system,” said Lynetta Thompson, co-chair of the Virginia Prison Justice Network,

VIRGINIA SENATE APPROVES ‘RED FLAG’ LAW ALLOWING TEMPORARY SEIZURE OF GUNS

The Virginia Senate on Wednesday passed a "red flag" law that would allow authorities to temporarily seize the firearm of someone deemed a threat, a measure that was strongly opposed by gun rights advocates who swarmed the streets around the state Capitol on Monday.

SENATE APPROVES 'RED FLAG' GUN LAW. NORTHAM'S AGENDA MOVES FORWARD

Virginia Democrats continue to move forward with their package of gun control bills after a gun rights rally on Monday drew an estimated 22,000 people to Richmond. The state Senate on Wednesday approved a “red flag” law that would allow for the removal of guns through a legal warrant from a person deemed “a substantial risk of injury to himself or others” through what is called an “extreme risk protective order.” The Senate backed the measure in a 21-19 party-line vote.

SENATE PASSES 'RED FLAG' FIREARMS BILL ON PARTY LINE VOTE

The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would allow courts to temporarily ban people from possessing firearms if there are clear signs that they pose a danger to themselves or others. The so-called “red flag” bill passed the Senate 21-19, and while similar legislation in other states has had bipartisan support, no Republican senators voted for it.

HERE'S WHAT ‘RED FLAG’ GUN BILL WOULD DO

Concerns about a lack of due process and mental health treatment weren’t enough to stop the Virginia Senate from passing a bill Wednesday that would allow police to temporarily take people’s guns away if a judge deems them a threat to themselves or others. The bill, an extreme risk protection order commonly known as a “red flag” law, passed on a party-line vote after a nearly hour-long debate and now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration. A lawmaker there, Del. Rip Sullivan, has his own version.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES BILL TO RELAX ABORTION REGULATIONS

The House Courts of Justice Committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would repeal a number of state regulations on abortion adopted by previous Republican majorities. Democrats, now in control of the legislature, have promised a package of new laws aimed at expanding access to abortion.

DEMOCRATS START EFFORT TO LOOSEN ABORTION LAWS IN VIRGINIA

Virginia Democrats on Wednesday began to dismantle abortion restrictions erected by Republicans over the past decade, pushing an omnibus bill to the House floor on a 12-to-9 party-line vote. The bill would expand the categories of health professionals who can perform abortions, remove requirements for ultrasounds and waiting periods and eliminate rules that made some clinics ineligible to perform the procedure.

PROPOSED BUDGET AMENDMENTS INCLUDE GOP BID TO FUND SCHOOL BUILDINGS

The new Republican minority in the House of Delegates wants to turn Gov. Ralph Northam’s spending priorities upside down. Instead of giving the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate $200 million in discretionary funds for their priorities, House Republicans want to use the money to help localities repair dilapidated schools or give pay raises to state employees.

SIX EXPECTED TO SEEK SEAT ON COURT OF APPEALS

At least six candidates have indicated they would like to be considered for a vacancy on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Virginia bar groups have been asked by a state Senate leader to evaluate candidates, and an evaluation process is expected to take place next month, in time for the General Assembly to consider

BILL ALLOWS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE TO GET NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE

The Senate passed a bill earlier this week that would allow a person who changed their sex to have a new birth certificate issued, something that the transgender community said will help eliminate problems experienced when their legal identification doesn’t match their transition.

VIRGINIA BILLS WOULD BAN HOLDING PHONE WHILE DRIVING, PREVENT RACIAL TARGETING

It’s already illegal to text or read a message on a smartphone while driving in Virginia, but opponents of distracted driving are renewing a push to ban holding a phone while behind the wheel. New bills being considered in Virginia’s House and Senate — HB874 and SB160 — would tweak the current law to include a driver having the device in his hands while driving, subject to a $125 fine for a first offense and $250 for subsequent ones.

SENATE COMMITTEE SIGNS OFF ON PERMANENT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COUNCIL

A proposal to make the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice a permanent body cleared its first hurdle Wednesday evening when the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology voted 14-1 to forward it to the full chamber for consideration.

BILL TO ONLY ALLOW ONE BALLOON RELEASED PER HOUR IN VIRGINIA PASSES SENATE

The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would limit you to how many balloons you can release. Senator Jennifer Kiggans (R) said one of her main platforms is the environment. She said she's opposed to offshore drilling, will work to protect our beaches, and supports beach replenishment projects.

BILL PROPOSES REGIONAL ‘RECOVERY’ HIGH SCHOOL

The Virginia General Assembly is being asked to pilot alternative high-school education for students with dependency issues, and one area legislator is trying to get that school placed in Chesterfield County. First-term Del. Carrie E. Coyner, R-Chesterfield, is sponsoring House Bill 928 to establish a regional “recovery high school” in the county that would serve not just Chesterfield but the entire Tri-City and metro Richmond areas.

BILL TARGETING SEXUAL ABUSE EDUCATION FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES MOVES FORWARD

A bill by Del. Chris Runion, R-Bridgewater, has cleared its first hurdle as legislation dealing with individualized education programs, or IEPs, passed a House of Delegates subcommittee Wednesday, 8-0. The legislation would require the Department of Education to establish guidelines for developing IEPs for children with disabilities

BILL DEFINING MILK ADVANCES IN VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

As people drink less dairy milk and some turn to plant-based alternatives such as oat, soy and almond milk, dairy farmers say they’re struggling. That’s why Virginia is the latest state to advance legislation restricting the use of the word milk for marketing purposes. Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, introduced House Bill 119, which defines milk as the lacteal secretion “obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved animal.”

LOUDOUN ADVANCES ‘PATH TO FREEDOM,’ CONFEDERATE STATUE’S FUTURE CALLED INTO QUESTION

Uncertainty around a bill that could give Loudoun County leaders authority to move war monuments has given some supervisors pause about plans for a series of new installations on the courthouse grounds to tell the story of slavery and the civil rights struggle in Loudoun. Under current state law, Loudoun County government cannot move or disturb war memorials on its locally owned public land—notably including the Confederate soldier statue on the Loudoun County courthouse lawn.

GIVE ALEXANDRIA AND ARLINGTON TO D.C., REPUBLICAN VIRGINIA DELEGATE SUGGESTS

A Republican delegate in Virginia is apparently game to gift large, politically inconvenient swaths of his state to the District of Columbia. Some jurisdictions in Virginia “are becoming more like California and New York,” Delegate Dave LaRock told a reporter for the Winchester Star last week. The delegate—who represents a district that encompasses parts of Frederick, Loudoun, and Clarke counties—went on to say that “he could get behind a move to have more liberal jurisdictions such as Arlington and Alexandria become part of Washington, D.C.,” per the Winchester Star.

MATTHEW TRUONG SEEKS GOP NOD TO RUN IN 10TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Matthew Truong, director of business development for a multi-billion dollar tech company based in Germantown, Maryland, says he has lived the "American Dream." The 52-year-old came to the United States by himself in 1980 from Communist Vietnam at age 12, with basically “two pairs of clothes and two words of English," he said in a recent interview. His parents and siblings eventually joined him in the U.S.

KNAGGS CLAIMS HE CAN AND WILL DEFEAT SPANBERGER

GOP congressional candidate Andrew Knaggs came to Culpeper with a message of determination. “I can and I will defeat Abigail Spanberger,” Knaggs told about 30 people Saturday morning at the Culpeper County Republican Committee headquarters on Main Street. “All I need is for you to give me that chance.”

NORTHAM ANNOUNCES BROADBAND EXPANSION CONNECTING MORE THAN 36,200 HOMES

Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Wednesday, that more than $18.3 million in grants through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) will support 12 projects across Virginia. Surry County will receive nearly $2.23 million for the Prince George Electric Cooperative Project. All of the projects amount to more than $35 million in local and private matching funds and will connect approximately 36,000 households, including thousands of businesses and community anchor institutions.

FRANKLIN COUNTY WINS $2.4 MILLION STATE BROADBAND GRANT

A state grant for almost $2.4 million will help Franklin County bring broadband service to rural residents who don’t have internet access. “Another great day in the county,” said Chris Whitlow, interim county administrator. The Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grant award, announced Wednesday by Gov. Ralph Northam in Charles City County, comes a day after Northam came to Rocky Mount for the announcement that California-based organic tea maker Traditional Medicinals intends to build a $29.7 million plant in Summit View Business Park.

ALBEMARLE BROADBAND PROJECT RECEIVES STATE FUNDING

A project that will bring a CenturyLink Fiber Gigabit broadband service option to 837 homes in Albemarle County will receive state funding. Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday announced more than $18.3 million in grants through the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative

VIRGINIA PRISONS BUDGET $2.10 PER INMATE PER DAY FOR FOOD

It was an offhand question, for sure. But during an early morning briefing by the Virginia Department of Corrections, Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, recalled eating the food served to inmates at Red Onion State Prison during a site visit to the Southwestern Virginia supermax facility several years ago. How much, he asked, does the department spend feeding the men and women under its care?

IT'S HAPPENING: DEMOLITION BEGINS ON AMAZON HQ2 SITE

Just a month after developers got the go-ahead from Arlington County, machines on Wednesday began picking apart the Metropolitan Park warehouse where Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) plans to erect its first two towers for its second headquarters.

AMAZON PURCHASES 100 ACRES IN CHANTILLY FOR $73 MILLION

Amazon Data Services has acquired 100 acres in Chantilly as part of a $73 million deal, according to land records. Multiple media outlets have indicated the site will be used for data centers. The Washington Business Journal first reported earlier this month that H&M Gudelsky Asset Management LLC sold the land shortly before Christmas for well over the assessed value of nearly $3.5 million.

SALAD DRESSING MAKER MOVES TO NEW SITE IN WISE COUNTY

Clisso Manufacturing LLC, maker of Chef G.W. Clisso salad dressings, has found a new home in Wise County and expects to double the number of employees, from 15 to 30.

DEFENSE CHALLENGES 'DRAGNET' OF GOOGLE LOCATION DATA IN CHESTERFIELD BANK ROBBERY

A groundbreaking Fourth Amendment challenge with national implications is brewing in federal court in Richmond over a search warrant for Google data in a $195,000 bank robbery case. Authorities used a “geofence” warrant to obtain Google location history data that led to the identification of Okello T. Chatrie, 24, as a suspect in the takeover-style armed robbery of the Call Federal Credit Union in Midlothian in May.

CORONAVIRUS LEADS VIRGINIA MIDDLE SCHOOL TO CANCEL VISIT BY CHINESE EXCHANGE STUDENTS

A Northern Virginia middle school canceled a seven-day visit by 21 Chinese students and their chaperones on the day they arrived in the United States because of fears over a new coronavirus circulating in China, according to a school letter emailed to parents Wednesday afternoon.

4 LEESBURG COUNCIL MEMBERS CRITICIZED ON DEVELOPMENT, TOWN ATTORNEY

An unusual statement sent to Loudoun Now by three Leesburg Town Council members has put a spotlight in the long-simmering division on the council dais, one that may impact the future of Town Attorney Barbara Notar. Monday afternoon a letter signed by Mayor Kelly Burk, Vice Mayor Marty Martinez and Councilman Neil Steinberg was sent to Loudoun Now accusing council members Ron Campbell, Tom Dunn, Suzanne Fox, and Josh Thiel of a “concerted strategy” to terminate Notar’s employment contract.

NFL HALL OF FAMER BRUCE SMITH MAKES NEW PITCH FOR LARGE-SCALE DEVELOPMENT IN VIRGINIA BEACH

Bruce Smith, the NFL Hall of Famer-turned-real estate developer whose ideas for a coveted piece of city-owned Oceanfront property have been turned down by Virginia Beach before, is back with a new proposal.

JUDGE TO ORDER CHARLOTTESVILLE TO PAY $365,000 TO LAWYERS IN STATUES CASE

A Charlottesville Circuit Court judge wrote this week that he will award more than $300,000 in attorneys' fees to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over Charlottesville City Council's 2016 and 2017 votes to remove two downtown statues of Confederate generals.

AMHERST SUPERVISORS APPROVE CONTRACT FOR NEW TRANSFER STATION, LANDFILL TO CLOSE

fter more than a year of study and heavy discussion, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve a contract with a Rocky Mount-based company to build a new transfer station waste disposal. The new station, estimated at $2.2 million, will be built at the county’s landfill on Kentmoor Farm Road in Madison Heights.

AFTER REPORTS OF SKILLED GAMING MACHINES IN OPERATION, DANVILLE ISSUES WARNING

Although Danville officials have told the owners and operators of numerous businesses not to operate skilled gaming machines, zoning officials believe that some stores might have them running anyway. On Wednesday morning, the city sent out a news release reminding local business owners they can’t continue to operate skilled gaming machines without city approval. City spokesman Arnold Hendrix explained the release was sent out after the city received multiple reports of businesses operating the machines.

A HAND-WRITTEN RESOLUTION WAS BORN TWO HOURS BEFORE DANVILLE MEETING

The stripped-down resolution in support of the U.S. Constitution passed by Danville City Council late Tuesday was written on a piece of paper less than two hours before the regular meeting. “[It was] literally done on the fly to get this thing past us and to move forward with something we could all agree on,” City Councilman Adam Tomer, who wrote the resolution, said Wednesday.

NO MORE EXCUSES FOR NOT VOTING

“My kid has a soccer game that day.” “I’m tired after work, and don’t feel like standing in a long line.” “I want to go to happy hour with my friends instead.” “The weather on Election Day is supposed to be awful.” All those excuses as to why voters can’t make it to the polls on Election Day and need to vote absentee may be true, but they’re currently not acceptable.

PUT THE PHONE DOWN

The stories of loss are heartbreaking. Karen Giles, a volunteer firefighter and EMT, was driving her Honda Accord in Chesterfield County this past February when a dump truck crossed into oncoming traffic and hit her head-on, killing her almost instantly. The dump truck driver had taken his eyes off the road to look at his cellphone,

CELLPHONE PRIVACY DESERVES PROTECTION

The advance of digital technology is creating new ethical challenges across society, and here we go again in the battle between law enforcement and the privacy of encrypted cell phones in a democracy.

VIRGINIA COMMITS TO HELP VETS WHO ARE HURTING

Gov. Ralph Northam’s latest strategy to prevent suicide among veterans, service members and their families is a sensible effort to help existing agencies work together and be better prepared to deal with this devastating problem.

A STATUE HONORING THE HEROIC 14 IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO HAPPENING

In our editorial “Honor the brave on both sides of the struggle” published last month, we strongly endorsed a movement initiated by Richmond attorney Donald E. King and backed by Richmond City Councilwoman Kimberly Gray to erect a statue on Monument Avenue in tribute to 14 Civil War Medal of Honor recipients.

SCHAPIRO: NOT-SO-BIG GUN RALLY SPOTLIGHTS BIG PROBLEMS FOR GOP

Grayson County, where Richard Vaughan has been sheriff for 13 years, is 60 miles south of West Virginia. When it comes to gun politics, the mountainous Southwest Virginia county and West Virginia are a lot closer. Vaughan, in a sheriff’s signature, cocoa-colored uniform and Smokey Bear hat, traveled nearly 300 miles to Richmond to join 21,199 other firearms-rights protesters who crowded Capitol Square and surrounding streets this week to loudly vent in an argument with the new Democratic majority over new gun restrictions that they are almost certain to lose.

CASEY: WHOSE GUNS WILL THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY GRAB?

In the months leading up to the 2020 General Assembly session, the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League riled up gun owners from Big Stone Gap to Virginia Beach with talk of government gun grabs and unconstitutional infringements of their Second Amendment rights. They turned out crowds who spurred elected bodies of more than 100 Virginia local governments to adopt Second Amendment sanctuary status — empty, feel-good resolutions that cheered audiences who packed municipal government chambers, but aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

HAMILTON: SHOULD VIRGINIA PREEMPT LOCAL ZONING?

The Virginia House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee will soon hold hearings on two bills that would limit the authority of towns and cities to restrict new housing supply. The bills will likely lead to debate over local control of land-use policy, but we should agree on this: The commonwealth needs to find ways to allow more housing and improve affordability.

Emily Hamilton is a research fellow and director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

LONG: DOES VIRGINIA'S RATIFICATION OF THE ERA COUNT?

The Virginia legislature recently ratified the long-debated Equal Rights Amendment, becoming the 38th state to do so since it was first proposed by Congress in 1972. With Virginia, three-fourths of the fifty states have passed the amendment. So that makes it now part of the U.S. Constitution, correct? Well, that remains to be seen.

Long is a historian, writer and educator from Salem.

LOCKLIN: TCI IS THE SOLUTION TO VIRGINIA'S TRANSPORTATION, CLIMATE PROBLEMS

Transportation is a key part of our everyday lives—from commuting to work and school, to running errands and shipping goods across the country. It is also a major contributor to climate change. In fact, in Virginia transportation is responsible for nearly half (46 percent) of our total greenhouse gas emissions. If Virginians want to do our part to slow climate change, we definitely need to tackle transportation emissions.

Ken Locklin is a director of Impax Asset Management, which specializes in the transition to a more sustainable economy.