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August 17, 2015
The Full Report
13 articles, 7 publications

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Redistricting proposal plugged as 'a purple plan'

By ALICIA PETSKA, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The General Assembly’s Democratic leadership is backing a redistricting plan that not only changes the contested 3rd Congressional District but also ripples out into western Virginia. The proposal, unveiled Friday, is expected to create five Republican-leaning districts and five Democratic-leaning districts.


Virginia legislature returns to Richmond ready to rumble

By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Virginia lawmakers will return to the state Capitol on Monday to begin to tackle redistricting and elect a state Supreme Court justice — two issues that have bitterly divided them along party lines. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and his pick for the bench, Jane Marum Roush, will address reporters in the morning, followed by hearings for the judge Republicans prefer: Court of Appeals Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr.


High stakes when General Assembly gavels in on redistricting, Supreme Court fight

By TRAVIS FAIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

This much is sure: Monday starts a new special session of the Virginia General Assembly, and somebody's going to get their feelings hurt. There's a new congressional map to draw under the threat of federal court order.


GOP senator hints he will not agree to replace Roush on Va. Supreme Court

By LAURA VOZZELLA AND AND TOM JACKMAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The GOP’s plan to replace the Virginia Supreme Court justice whom Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) put on the bench could be undone by a moderate Republican state senator, who hinted Friday that he might not agree to install someone else.


Supreme Court appointment conflict comes to a head Monday

By ALICIA PETSKA, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Justice Jane Marum Roush won’t be in the running for a spot on the Supreme Court or any other Virginia court when the General Assembly reconvenes Monday, according to a judicial interview list. Supporters still hold hope that Roush, a highly regarded jurist for more than 22 years, will get to keep the state Supreme Court seat she was appointed to less than a month ago.


Fight over Gov. McAuliffe’s court pick likely will push redistricting aside

By LAURA VOZZELLA , Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Most of the legislators ordered back to the Capitol to revamp Virginia’s congressional map will arrive Monday bent on remaking the state’s highest court instead. A federal court ordered the General Assembly to draw a new map by Sept. 1 to replace one deemed to have been illegally gerrymandered along racial lines.


Supreme Court fight could define redistricting session

By JIM NOLAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

State lawmakers return to Richmond on Monday for a special session on congressional redistricting that might end up being defined by an equally partisan battle over who should sit on the state’s highest court.


Va. Republicans’ judicial pick may not have filed conflict-of-interest forms

By JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

The judge at the center of the latest feud between Virginia Republicans and Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) apparently neglected for two years to disclose potential conflicts of interest as required by state law.


Roush: Still optimistic on Supreme Court seat

By TRAVIS FAIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)

Virginia Supreme Court Justice Jane Marum Roush said Friday that she's not ready to throw in the towel yet on her short tenure on the state's highest court.


Contentious special session on redistricting ahead

By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

State lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol on Monday for what's expected to be a contentious fight over congressional redistricting and a Virginia Supreme Court appointment. Republican leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly plan to elect Rossie D. Alston Jr., effectively removing Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's newly appointed pick, Justice Jane Marum Roush.


Democrats pitch plan to move blacks out of Bobby Scott's congressional district

By PATRICK WILSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

State Democrats pitched a proposal Friday that would move black voters out of U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott’s congressional district and redraw lines for other U.S. House seats in the state – a plan they said would provide more competitive elections. The General Assembly is to convene a special session Monday to discuss redrawing the lines of Scott’s district at the order of federal judges. The district was found to be a racial gerrymander that dilutes the voting power of blacks by packing too many of them inside it.


Lynchburg-area redistricting impact -- and many other details -- remain to be seen

By ALEX ROHR, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

While a joint committee focuses on redrawing Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District when the General Assembly reconvenes Monday, delegates will wait to see how far changes reverberate through the commonwealth.


Greason: Better Mental Health Policy, Not More Gun Laws, Can Help Stop Violence

Leesburg Today

What’s needed to curb violence is a focus on mental health, not more gun laws, Del. Thomas A. “Tag” Greason said Friday morning. “I really believe we have some troubled souls out there, and if we spend more time helping them on the mental-health side of this, I think we would be far better off at reducing the number of atrocities versus passing another law that is just simply going to be broken by a bad person with bad intentions,” Greason (R-32) said.