NORTHAM WANTS ‘STRICT’ BAN ON HOLDING PHONES WHILE DRIVING

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he wants a “strict” new ban on holding cellphones while driving, saying tough new laws are needed to cut down on fatal accidents. “Anytime people pick these up and it puts them at risk, it puts other people at risk,” Northam said.

NORTHAM PROPOSES BAN ON HANDHELD CELL PHONES WHILE DRIVING AND SEAT BELT LAW CRACKDOWN

The gas tax hike and vehicle registration fee package Gov. Ralph Northam floated when he presented his budget last month turns out to be headlining a major streamlining of state transportation funding — fondly known as the spaghetti chart — and some long-debated but never-enacted safety rules.

NORTHAM TRIES TO JUMPSTART LANDMARK TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, had a message for motorists waiting in traffic on Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia: "Help is now on the way!" Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, are sponsoring legislation on behalf of Gov. Ralph Northam that would raise the state's tax on motor fuels by 12 cents a gallon over three years, finance the state's share of a monumental deal to expand passenger rail service, and adopt a series of highway safety measures.

VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTIONS MAY NOT BE GOING AWAY IN VIRGINIA AFTER ALL

Virginia’s vehicle safety inspections may not become a thing of the past, but they may get less frequent. A key Democratic lawmaker said Monday that an agreement has been reached to require safety inspections every other year, not annually as required under current law.

VA. GOV. NORTHAM PROPOSES GAS TAX INCREASE AS PART OF MAJOR TRANSPORTATION BILL

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is proposing a 4-cent increase in the state’s gas tax to raise money to jump-start his $3.7 billion landmark rail plan and shore up a fund used to pay for roads, transit and rail projects. The gas tax increase, which is expected to yield around $1 billion over the next four years, is included as part of a broad transportation bill Northam announced Monday.

TRANSPORTATION BILL ROLLS ON, WITH INSPECTIONS RESTORED, BUT EVERY OTHER YEAR

A sweeping transportation funding and safety package proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam has found the fast lane in the House of Delegates. A House transportation subcommittee endorsed the package on Monday after revising the legislation with a compromise that would require auto safety inspections every two years

VIRGINIA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL ASKS SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK DUKE ENERGY-BACKED PIPELINE

Virginia’s attorney general wants the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a decision striking down a permit to let the Atlantic Coast Pipeline cross the Appalachian Trail in a brief that also challenges the need for the pipeline. Attorney General Mark Herring filed an amicus brief in the appeal from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that the Supreme Court is slated to hear next month. And he goes beyond the permit question at issue in the appeal to attack outright the $7.8 billion joint venture by Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) and The Southern Co. (NYSE: SO).

SENATE PANEL BACKS AMENDED BILL TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 PER HOUR

Virginia workers are one step closer to a raise. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted 12-3 along party lines Monday to back Senate Bill 7 from Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, which calls for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. Virginia’s $7.25 minimum wage — set in 2009 — is the same as the federal minimum.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS PLAN TO REMOVE MANY ABORTION RESTRICTIONS REPUBLICANS HAVE SUPPORTED

Virginia Democrats have tried for years to undo state laws that they say make it harder for women to get abortions. Republicans have blocked them every time. But now that Democrats are in charge of the state legislature, their proposals are moving quickly toward becoming law.

THIS IS WHAT A BLUE STATE LOOKS LIKE: RAPID CHANGE ROILS VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS

One Republican delegate warns that Virginia is splitting in two. Another would support returning liberal Arlington and Alexandria to the District of Columbia. Lawmakers in West Virginia have offered to annex rural Frederick County, outside Winchester, to liberate it from its rapidly urbanizing home. The change that Democrats promised in last fall’s election campaigns is hitting Richmond with full force, casting new light on political and cultural divisions that have simmered for years.

VIRGINIA TEACHERS RALLY IN RICHMOND FOR LARGER RAISES AND MORE SUPPORT STAFF

In the 20 years Rhonda Wagner has been teaching in Newport News, she said she’s had to do more with less. At Denbigh High School, she’s watched bus and cafeteria monitor positions left unfilled. She and other teachers have had to fill in for testing coordinators as they lose their planning periods and lunch hours.

TEACHERS, SCHOOL LEADERS PUSH GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR MORE EDUCATION FUNDING

Thousands of teachers wearing red and carrying signs swarmed the Capitol on Monday to demand the General Assembly to fully fund public education. Public education funding makes up 38% of Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed budget. The $1.2 billion includes the single-largest increase for at-risk schools, a raise for teachers, funding for more school counselors and new flexible funds for local divisions. Northam has touted it as historic.

VIRGINIA EDUCATORS RALLY IN RICHMOND FOR FUNDING

A sea of red descended on the Virginia Capitol on Monday. An estimated 2,000 educators from across the state, wearing red scarves, shirts and pants, rallied at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square, calling on lawmakers to increase education spending. Specifically, teachers demanded a raise and for the legislature to fully fund a series of proposals prescribed by the Virginia Board of Education.

VIRGINIA FINALIZES PASSAGE OF EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT, SETTING STAGE FOR LEGAL FIGHT

Virginia's legislature finalized passage of the Equal Rights Amendment on Monday, with women presiding in both the Senate and House of Delegates for the historic votes. Virginia becomes the 38th — and potentially final — state to ratify the amendment guaranteeing equal protection for women, setting the stage for a legal fight over whether too much time has passed to add it to the U.S. Constitution.

VIRGINIA RATIFIES EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Virginia has officially approved the Equal Rights Amendment. Twelve days after the state Senate and House of Delegates initially backed the women’s rights measure, both bodies approved it again Monday. The passage makes Virginia the 38th state to do so, potentially making the measure part of the U.S. Constitution, although its future is unclear.

WITH VIRGINIA’S FINAL RATIFICATION, ERA FIGHT ADVANCES

Virginia officially became the critical 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Monday, clearing the way for likely court fights over whether the measure can be added to the U.S. Constitution. State lawmakers made history earlier this month when each chamber of the General Assembly separately approved ratification resolutions. On Monday, the House and Senate took the final procedural step of signing off on each other’s measures.

VIRGINIA TEACHERS RALLY, PUSH FOR MORE EDUCATION FUNDING

Hundreds of Virginia teachers rallied at the state Capitol on Monday to call on lawmakers to increase state funding for public education and repeal a prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees.

VIRGINIA HOUSE PASSES STUDENT ‘BORROWERS BILL OF RIGHTS’

Legislation aimed at forcing student loan service companies to be more transparent and forthcoming in their dealings with borrowers cleared the House of Delegates with bipartisan support Monday.

MORE THAN 30 VA. EMPLOYERS SEND LETTER TO LAWMAKERS ASKING FOR LGBTQ PROTECTIONS

More than 30 Virginia employers — including Altria Group Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Capital One Financial Corp. and Dominion Energy — on Monday sent a letter to Virginia lawmakers asking for comprehensive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) nondiscrimination protections.

HOUSE OF DELEGATES BALKS AT A NEW TERM FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY JUDGE

Virginia’s General Assembly declined Monday to give Montgomery County Circuit Judge Marc Long another term. Long was not included on the list of judges for members of the House of Delegates and Senate to vote on Monday.

SPANBERGER'S GOP CHALLENGERS TURN OUT IN FORCE IN CULPEPER

Republicans showed their strength Saturday in Culpeper, massing the candidates who wish to take on Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat who flipped Central Virginia’s 7th District in the 2018 midterm elections. Seven hopefuls came to assail the Henrico resident and outline their stands on key issues during a candidates’ forum at the Culpeper County Republican Committee’s monthly breakfast meeting.

VA. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR APPEAL IN CULPEPER'S IMMIGRATION PROGRAM

The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to review 2019’s Culpeper Circuit Court decision supporting the sheriff in an ACLU lawsuit that challenged the legality of the county jail’s controversial 287(g) immigration enforcement program....The ACLU filed suit in late 2018 after the sheriff’s implementation that April of a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement. A retired 16th Circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit in June 2019, ruling that Jenkins is authorized to work with ICE through the federal initiative.

2 OF 3 POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS IN VIRGINIA TESTED NEGATIVE, HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY

Test results for two of the three suspected coronavirus cases in Virginia came back negative Monday — a relief for health officials vigilantly watching for signs that the outbreak has reached their own backyard. With the two patients in Central Virginia turning out to not have the illness, the state continues to have no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus

GAMES THAT OFFER CASH REWARDS ARE FLOODING THE REGION. IS IT ILLEGAL GAMBLING?

It was game day at the District’s city hall, where lawmakers and their staff fiddled with joysticks and mashed buttons to capture dragons flying across the screen of a machine the size of a pool table. The game caught the attention of policymakers because of the potential prize: cash. Just don’t call it gambling.

SCC APPROVES ROANOKE GAS RATE INCREASE IN PART; CUSTOMERS TO GET REFUNDS

State regulators have approved a rate increase less than what Roanoke Gas Co. sought and implemented last year on an interim basis, leading to refunds of $30 to $40 for the average residential customer.

CHARITABLE EFFORT SEEKS TO ABOLISH MEDICAL DEBT IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

The Secular Society in Blacksburg plans to spend $3 million over the next three years to wipe out the medical debt of people living in Southwest Virginia. RIP Medical Debt said in a news release Monday that it is partnering with the Secular Society to buy and abolish debt. RIP purchases medical debt for pennies on the dollar and then forgives it.

MEDICAL MANUFACTURER BRINGING 40 JOBS TO CITY OF FRANKLIN

A New York-based manufacturer of medical products is coming to the city of Franklin’s Pretlow Industrial Park, bringing 40 jobs and $10.5 million in investment, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday.

MARC TRAINS COULD BE CARRYING PASSENGERS INTO VIRGINIA IN A FEW YEARS

Maryland residents would be able to ride MARC commuter trains to jobs in Northern Virginia under legislation being introduced in the General Assembly this week. The bill directs the state to begin laying the groundwork that would allow MARC trains to travel past Union Station in the District and into Virginia, with the goal of having the Maryland commuter rail service operating across the Potomac River within a few years.

SECRETARY OF STATE TO ADDRESS LIBERTY UNIVERSITY GRADUATES

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University in May, the school announced on Monday. University president Jerry Falwell made the announcement of Pompeo’s address to the Class of 2020, scheduled for May 9.

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND OFFICIALS, STUDENTS AND ATHLETES RESPOND TO RACIST VANDALISM IN DORMS

Three University of Richmond students were targeted last week in acts of vandalism that the university’s president and students are describing as racist. First, an African American student’s residence hall door was defaced, prompting a campuswide note from university President Ronald Crutcher.

AOL CO-FOUNDER’S RIVERFRONT ESTATE BECOMES PRICIEST-EVER HOME TO SELL IN THE D.C. AREA

A Northern Virginia estate that was owned by the late AOL co-founder James V. Kimsey has sold for about $45 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. ...Straddling the border between McLean and Arlington on the Potomac River, Mr. Kimsey’s 3-acre riverfront estate includes a roughly 24,500-square-foot, six-bedroom house he built as well as an adjacent house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

AREA SEES STEADY GROWTH IN LAST DECADE WHILE STATE'S POPULATION GROWTH SLOWS

Charlottesville’s population has jumped 13% in the last decade, but that growth appears to be tapering off, according to estimates released Monday by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Weldon Cooper demographers estimate that 49,181 people lived in Charlottesville, as of July 1, 2019.

MAJORITY OF RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL URGES MAYOR TO PULL COLISEUM REDEVELOPMENT DEAL

The majority of Richmond City Council members are asking Mayor Levar Stoney to pull the plug on the $1.5 billion redevelopment of the city’s downtown before a final vote on the deal next month. A resolution co-sponsored by five counselors was introduced at the end of Monday’s council meeting. VPM obtained a draft version of the resolution, which could signal the end of the proposal that will require a supermajority of city council members - seven of nine - to be approved. Kim Gray, Chris Hilbert, Kristen Larson and Reva Trammell all signed on to the resolution.

JUDGE DENIES DROPPING EDA DEFENDANTS FROM LAWSUIT

Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. Albertson has opted to not drop five defendants from the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority’s $21.3 million civil lawsuit. On Dec. 12, arguments for dismissals were heard from lawyers representing local businessman Donald Poe, developer Curt Tran and his company ITFederal, Jesse Poe — who is not related to Donald Poe — and April Petty. Other defendants, which now totals 15, have also filed motions for dismissal but their requests have not yet appeared before Albertson.

STONEY DEFIANT AS RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL ASKS MAYOR TO PULL DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

In a rebuke to the $1.5 billion Navy Hill plan, a majority of the Richmond City Council plans to ask Mayor Levar Stoney to pull his controversial economic development proposal before a final vote next month. His response? No chance.

REVERSING COURSE, WAYNESBORO PASSES CONSTITUTIONAL CITY RESOLUTION

Backtracking on an earlier decision to not vote on a Second Amendment-related resolution, Waynesboro City Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution that declares the city a "Constitutional City."

STAUNTON CITY COUNCIL REJECTS COUNCILWOMAN'S BID FOR SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY MEETING

The city of Staunton will not be a Second Amendment sanctuary, nor will its city council conduct a public hearing on the issue despite one councilwoman's multiple attempts. For the first time on Thursday, the topic was on council's work session agenda, and Councilwoman Andrea Oakes tried to convince council to hold a public hearing. But the other six council members agreed: Enough was enough.

BEDFORD LEADERS FRUSTRATED BY SECOND DELAY OF BROADBAND INITIATIVE

Members of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors voiced concern Monday about an additional delay in a long-awaited project to expand high-speed internet access to residents in Bedford County. The board on Monday voted unanimously to table a vote to extend the project completion deadline of a project that would provide about 95 percent broadband coverage throughout Bedford County to Aug. 14. The original deadline — December of 2019 — was extended in November 2019 until April.

ALL ABOARD FOR EXPANDED RAIL

It used to be that driving to Washington from downtown Richmond took about two hours. Sure, you might have encountered some traffic once you passed Occoquan into Fairfax County, but otherwise you could expect to drive the approximate 100 miles in a reasonable amount of time. That hasn’t been the case for years.

DEMOCRATS CAN HONOR THEIR LIBERAL HERITAGE BY BACKING THIS REPUBLICAN

Isaac Newton once told a fellow scientist: “If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Likewise, the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly stands upon the shoulders of those who decades ago challenged the state’s conservative establishment.

LEGISLATURE SHOULD PASS HELEN’S LAW

The premature death of Helen Wang on her 17th birthday last year was tragic. The beloved high school junior was killed instantly by a dump truck on May 16, 2019, after she made a left turn onto Kellogg Mill Road from the Abel Lake boat ramp parking area in Stafford County. Because of the overgrown vegetation that blocked her view of the intersection, she never saw the truck coming.

SLEMP: WHY IS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY GIVING THIEVES A LICENSE TO STEAL AND ANOTHER COST OF LIVING INCREASE?

When did it become acceptable to steal from others in the Commonwealth of Virginia? Despite what various proposals introduced at the General Assembly this session might suggest, it is not acceptable. Theft is wrong. Theft is dishonest. Theft is harmful to individuals. While the rest of us work hard to make an honest living and purchase goods to support our families, thieves violate the trust of others and victimize innocent people by taking what they have worked hard to achieve.

Slemp is the Commonwealth's Attorney for Wise County & the City of Norton.

KAPSIDELIS: CIVILITY DOESN’T GROW FROM THE BARREL OF A GUN

As Richmond police politely asked armed and masked gun rights proponents to clear Ninth Street so that traffic could resume after their mass rally, a demonstrator unfolded his pocketknife and carefully pried an orange “Guns Save Lives” sticker from the pavement.

Thomas P. Kapsidelis is the author of “After Virginia Tech: Guns, Safety, and Healing in the Era of Mass Shootings.” He is a visiting assistant professor of journalism at the University of Richmond and worked 28 years at The Times-Dispatch.

LINGAMFELTER: POLICIES AND PLACEBOS

During my tenure in the General Assembly, I witnessed both changes and exchanges of majority power in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. I also observed that the party gaining seats frequently assumed a mandate it didn’t actually possess.

L. Scott Lingamfelter is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former chairman of the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee in the Virginia House of Delegates.