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Lawsuit says Virginia is illegally purging legitimate voters off the rolls
A coalition of immigrant-rights groups and the League of Women Voters in Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares of an ongoing “purge” of voter rolls that will disenfranchise legitimate voters. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, argues that an executive order issued in August by Youngkin requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters violates a federal law that requires a 90-day “quiet period” ahead of elections on the maintenance of voter rolls.
Youngkin stokes fear of vast noncitizen voting in Virginia. Records don’t show it.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has been warning that illegal immigration poses a threat to democracy as he campaigns this fall for former president Donald Trump, boasting about purging 6,303 noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls during his first two and a half years in office. “Noncitizens will be prosecuted if they vote,” Youngkin cautioned last month during a telephone rally with Trump in which the former president spoke of an “invasion” by criminal immigrants and claimed his opponents will “cheat” to defeat him. But a review of state court records and interviews with elections officials found no evidence that any noncitizens have tried to vote during his term in Virginia, which does not allow undocumented immigrants to vote in any elections.
On the economy, it’s feelings that matter, Youngkin says
They talked about economists’ usual concern with hard data on interest rates, employment and tax that measure the state of the state economy, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin told the experts on his Joint Advisory Board of Economists Tuesday that he likes to look at how people feel. For Youngkin, sentiment about the economy is one of the big three things, along with the generally clearer signals that come from employment data and how the Federal Reserve System is steering interest rates, that say where an economy is going, he told the board at its regular October meeting.
Data centers use mailers, text messages to counter pushback
In response to increasing pushbacks, including what it calls misinformation, Virginia’s data center interests are fighting back with text messages and mailers touting the industry’s benefits. Prince William residents from Gainesville to Nokesville in recent weeks received fliers in their mailboxes and cellphone text messages from something called “Virginia Connects.” The notices cite the roles data centers play in entertainment, education, healthcare and business: “Data centers keep Virginians connected while driving economic growth and bringing substantial benefits to our local communities,” the messages say. Within days, they were met with a blast from data center opponents.
He Lost $500,000 Gambling. Now He Helps Others In Virginia Who Can’t Stop.
Virginia gambling-recovery counselor Sean Fournia sends a text message to 150 of his closest contacts nearly every day. “We are miracles that are making a difference by recovering from gambling today!” he said. “No bet, no spin, no scratch, no whammies, no losses.” Fournia, 53 years old, stopped gambling three years ago after decades of financial ruin and personal pain. Now, he is on the front lines of fighting the harmful side of America’s booming gambling industry: addiction. He counsels more than a hundred people struggling with betting habits in Virginia, where gambling’s rise has been swift.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Virginia is the latest state to face accusations of illegally purging voters
Two nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against the Virginia Department of Elections, accusing the agency of violating federal voting rights law. The National Voter Registration Act has become a flashpoint ahead of the 2024 general election, with states like Alabama, Georgia, and now Virginia, facing allegations of purging voters from rolls. The law prevents states from removing voters from the active rolls less than 90 days before an election, during a so-called Quiet Period in order to prevent last-minute mistakes.
Youngkin says no current plans for a special session as Virginia works toward recovery post-Helene
A large portion of the critical infrastructure in Southwest Virginia that had been knocked out by widespread flooding and wind damage due to remnants of Hurricane Helene has been repaired or brought back online, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Tuesday. But work toward total recovery in the region is far from over. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. This is not going to be a 10-day, two-week process, but the initial hurdle of getting electricity back on and water reconnected for people and communications back up and to make sure that these basics are provided for, I feel like we’re in pretty good shape today,” he said.
Fewer than 200 Southwest Virginians remain without power post-Helene, Youngkin says
Recovery efforts in Southwest Virginia following Hurricane Helene remain a priority for Gov. Glenn Youngkin as government resources continue to aid states affected by the storm’s devastation, including North Carolina, and soon Florida, where an extremely dangerous category 5 hurricane is predicted to make landfall Wednesday night. Speaking to reporters in Richmond on Tuesday, Youngkin highlighted the progress made in restoring services in Virginia’s hardest-hit areas, especially in the mountainous regions in the western part of the commonwealth. He noted that power had been restored to all but less than 200 customers in remote areas, with full service expected soon.
FEDERAL ELECTIONS
Virginia Republican Party condemns Loudoun GOP Committee chair’s comments on courting Muslim voters
The Republican Party of Virginia released a statement Tuesday condemning the chair of one of their largest committees in the commonwealth over his comments about courting Muslim voters while not caring about Christian voters. RPV Chair Rich Anderson confirmed to Virginia Scope Tuesday that he had spoken with Loudoun County Republican Committee Chair Scott Pio privately to express his displeasure with the speech he gave at an event. “The Republican Party of Virginia has been made aware of hateful and divisive comments made by a local county chair during a recent event in Northern Virginia,” RPV wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “We strongly and unequivocally condemn these comments, which are in no way reflective of our values as a party.”
STATE GOVERNMENT
U.S. Supreme Court considers what it means to win at court in Virginia attorney fees dispute
During oral arguments over whether a group of Virginia drivers should receive attorney fees on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court considered when one side of a case becomes the “prevailing party” — after a preliminary injunction or at the final termination of the case? Stemming from a 2016 suit targeting a Virginia state law that would automatically suspend a resident’s driver’s license if they failed to pay certain court fees and fines, the residents received an injunction before the law was ultimately repealed by the Virginia General Assembly. Gerald Lackey, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, asked the high court to decide whether that temporary injunction — a temporary court order that prevents a defendant from taking a certain action — was enough for the drivers to prevail and demand attorney fees.
Virginia sending helicopter teams to help with Hurricane Milton response
With a ferocious Hurricane Milton looming over already storm-devastated Florida, Virginia is sending the state Virginia National Guard-Chesterfield County Fire teams specializing in water rescue from helicopters, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. They’ll be the first in a rolling deployment of state help in response to Florida’s request through the interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Youngkin said during his latest update on recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene slammed Southwest Virginia.
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
VCE Estimates Agricultural Damage From Helene in SW Virginia at More Than $125 Million
Damage from Hurricane Helene to farms and agricultural operations in Southwest Virginia could reach well over $125 million, according to Virginia Cooperative Extension. The preliminary estimate is based on the work of Extension agents in 16 of the most heavily impacted counties who have spent the week after the September storm assisting their clients and communities, which includes completing damage assessments with farmers and landowners.
Virginia hospitals conserve IV fluids, postpone some procedures
Hospitals across Virginia are taking steps to conserve their supply of IV fluids after Hurricane Helene damaged one of the country’s primary suppliers. The storm damaged Baxter International’s manufacturing facility in Marion, North Carolina, about 35 miles outside of Asheville. The vendor is responsible for about 60% of the nation’s IV fluids supply.
American Water, with customers in Virginia, is targeted by cyberattack
The largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the country, with customers in Virginia and other states, announced that it was the victim of a cyberattack, prompting the firm to pause billing to customers. New Jersey-based American Water said it became aware of the unauthorized activity on Thursday and immediately took protective steps, including shutting down certain systems.
Housing costs are holding Hampton Roads’ economy back, ODU report says
Despite some encouraging growth, issues with the [Hampton Roads] region’s economy persist — and the housing market is one of the major drags. That is the message of this year’s State of the Region report, unveiled Tuesday by Old Dominion University economists Bob McNab and Vinod Agarwal. The latest annual report highlights some of the best macroeconomic news for the region in more than a decade: a few consecutive years of consistent, if modest, annual growth. That’s a far cry from the stagnation that characterized the area’s economy between the 2008 market crash and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, McNab told members of the Hampton Roads Chamber on Tuesday.
Loudoun’s craft beverage industry contributing millions to local economy
Loudoun’s craft beverage industry continues to expand and contributed an estimated $48.6 million to the local economy in 2023, according to a recent study and news release from Visit Loudoun. The study showed that Loudoun's wineries, limited breweries, distilleries, meaderies and cideries reported an increase in sales of almost 60% since 2018. The Economic Impact Study was conducted by Qualtrics and Aquino Consulting and commissioned by Visit Loudoun, Loudoun Economic Development, the Loudoun Wineries and Winegrowers Association and the Loudoun Craft Brewers Association.
TRANSPORTATION
70% of bus riders in D.C. area don’t pay. Here’s what Metro is doing about it.
Leaders at the D.C. Metro system have been touting a huge drop in fare evasion at train stations since new, higher gates were installed. But only 30 percent of bus riders pay for the service, and the agency is considering a dramatic change to its funding model that would reduce the cost for jurisdictions whose riders pay their fares, officials said. “It’s a very high rate,” Metro board member Matt Letourneau said of bus fare evasion at a public meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission last week, “approaching 70 percent.” A spokesperson for Metro confirmed that number. Before the pandemic, according to Metro’s calculations, the rate was about 17 percent.
‘Road map’ for dedicated transit funding still a work in progress, N. Va. officials say
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman found himself lost in the weeds. While he might not have been the only person to lose track of the conversation, Bierman was the one who spoke up Thursday (Oct. 3) as the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) discussed regional coordination and the potential of creating a dedicated stream of tax revenue to fund local transit. After listening to discussion, Bierman — a relatively new member of the regional transit body after getting elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last November — asked his fellow commissioners to back up a step.
Most of Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia will reopen ‘within the next week’
The National Park Service says most of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia will reopen “within the next week” but that the North Carolina section will remain closed because it was more heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene. In some places, the park service says the damage is “catastrophic. For now, the entire length of the 469-mile scenic highway remains closed.
HIGHER EDUCATION
UVa appears to have changed website after being accused of racial discrimination against Whites
The University of Virginia appears to have changed the website description of a mentoring program for BIPOC students after a civil rights complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education. A federal civil rights complaint filed by the Equal Protection Project (EPP) on October 1 accused the University of Virginia of “creating, sponsoring and promoting a racially discriminatory program called the BIPOC Alumni-Student Mentoring Program” by excluding White students from the program designed to help classmates who fall into the “Black, Indigenous and People of Color” category.
UVa faculty, students say school is repressing pro-Palestinian activists
Nearly a year after Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel and a little more than five months after the University of Virginia called in state police to break up a pro-Palestine protest on Grounds, faculty members organized a virtual meeting to keep the spotlight trained on the events of May 4 and fallout since. While elsewhere vigils were being planned honoring the victims of the Oct. 7 attack, members of the UVa community joined a Zoom call to discuss their experiences closer to home on May 4 and condemn the university’s response to the student-led protest and the restrictions UVa has since imposed on student expression.
Free speech watchdog dings Youngkin administration for campus intervention
A free speech watchdog group has once again included Virginia in its annual report of America’s Censored Classrooms. Since the 1920’s PEN America has been monitoring freedom of speech in America’s schools and colleges. Their newer project, America’s Censored Classrooms, examines legislative and executive actions which limit that speech. Virginia had made recent past reports for local school boards banning books. And Virginia made the report again this year, but this time for what’s happening in state colleges under Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Boards of Visitors.
VIRGINIA OTHER
Roanoke College survey: Trust in Virginia stalls at lower level
Roanoke College’s Virginia Trust Index is relatively unchanged since August 2023 and remains well below the pre-pandemic value, with a larger share of Virginians uncertain about the trustworthiness of others, the school’s Institute for Policy and Opinion Research announced Tuesday. The Trust Index is substantially higher for Democrats than Republicans heading into the 2024 Presidential election, according to a university news release.
How much of FEMA’s direct relief money has gone to Virginians
FEMA has approved just over $210 million for the Southeast as of Monday in response to Hurricane Helene. That includes nearly $500,000 for over 89 households in Southwest Virginia, per the agency. The numbers illustrate Americans’ urgent financial needs in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, like Helene, one of the deadliest storms to hit the U.S. this century.
Patriot Front leader gets no jail time for participating in 2017 torch march at UVa
The leader of Patriot Front, a national White supremacist organization, has been barred from University of Virginia Grounds and ordered to pay court costs but will serve no time behind bars for his participation in a torch-carrying mob that marched across UVa the night before the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally-turned-riot. Thomas Ryan Rousseau, a 25-year-old Grapevine, Texas, resident, accepted a disorderly conduct conviction in Albemarle County Circuit Court on Monday as part of an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence.
Project 1619 to regroup after deaths of 2 founders within a month
Only a few weeks after the death of Project 1619 founder and President Calvin Pearson, his successor — William Wiggins — has also died. Wiggins — who was a historian, scholar and cofounder of Project 1619 — died last week at 76. He had assumed the title of the organization’s president after Pearson’s death in early September. ... Project 1619 notes the first enslaved Africans, who were kidnapped from Angola, first landed at Point Comfort, today’s Fort Monroe in Hampton, not in Jamestown.
LOCAL
Norfolk casino construction is one step closer to starting after City Council approval
Years after it was first proposed, the Norfolk casino planned for the land near Harbor Park finally has a development certificate. Norfolk City Council members voted 7-1 Tuesday evening to approve a development certificate for the casino, bringing the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Boyd Gaming a step closer to beginning construction on the long-planned project.
Hampton clerk’s daily mission: Provide a window into city government
Katherine Glass never expected to work in public service before 2005. A lifelong Hampton resident, she was happily working as a legal secretary when a developer came forward with a plan to build condominiums on wetlands in her family’s Fox Hill neighborhood. Glass’ father gathered a group of concerned neighbors to oppose the development. They voiced their concerns to the Hampton planning commission, which ultimately led the city council to reject the project. “And that land is still marshland today.” That laid the groundwork for the formation of the Fox Hill Civic League, but it also set the stage for Glass’ growing interest in local government. Soon enough, instead of fighting city hall, she joined it.
Former Spotsylvania Superintendent Taylor files lawsuit against school board
After the Spotsylvania County School Board announced it terminated former Superintendent Mark Taylor “with cause” back in March, the reasons for his dismissal were not revealed — at least, not publicly. But a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Taylor Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unveils the reasons the board gave for his firing and shed light on why Taylor believes he was terminated. Thomas Strelka, a Roanoke-based attorney representing Taylor, alleges in the lawsuit that Taylor was dismissed because he “organized and implemented a book fair” promoting Christian literature on Dec. 2, 2023, at Riverbend High School.
In lawsuit, former Spotsylvania superintendent says firing was retaliation
Potential violations of state law and school division policy related to the hiring of “unlicensed and unqualified” employees and the unauthorized disposal of school property are among the reasons enumerated by the Spotsylvania School Board for firing former superintendent Mark Taylor earlier this year. In addition, Taylor “may have repeatedly violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act” and “made numerous documented offensive and inappropriate social media posts on various social media platforms that the Board believes may bring into question his ability to serve as a School Superintendent in any school system in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” a letter from the School Board’s lawyer to Taylor’s lawyer reads.
Virginia teachers reaffirm suit against Harrisonburg schools over transgender student policies
Three Harrisonburg City teachers renewed their lawsuit against the Harrisonburg City School Board on Friday, referencing the Supreme Court of Virginia’s 2023 opinion that school boards may not compel an employee, over their objection, to refer to a student by pronouns that don’t correspond with the student’s sex. On Friday, Alliance Defending Freedom, representing the Harrisonburg teachers, filed the brief in Rockingham County Circuit Court. In June 2022, Harrisonburg City teachers Deborah Figliola, Kristine Marsh, and Laura Nelson filed a lawsuit challenging the school board’s decisions that they claim “violate Virginia’s Free Speech Clause and the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act by compelling them to speak a message to which they object,” the attorneys stated.
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COLUMNISTS
Yancey: State report says 7 Virginia universities should be monitored as enrollment cliff approaches
The good news: No state-supported colleges are in danger of closing. The maybe not-so-good news: A report by the General Assembly’s watchdog agency says seven of them should be monitored more closely and three have “some viability risk” because of declining enrollment and other factors. The seven: Christopher Newport University, Longwood University, Norfolk State University, Radford University, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and Virginia State University.
Willis: FEMA Helene funds aren’t going to undocumented immigrants, despite Youngkin appointee’s tweet
We’re four weeks away from electing the country’s next commander-in-chief and Virginia’s representatives in the U.S. Senate and Congress, and in the wake of one of the most devastating hurricanes the Southeast has seen in years. It’s an especially bad moment to be spreading misinformation online. It seems Rooz Dadabhoy has a poor sense of timing. Dadabhoy is the president of Rally Virginia, an organization that describes itself as “the home of the modern Republican woman,” a tech company CEO and a VCU Board of Visitors member appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
OP-ED
Zollos: On Ageism Awareness Day, a plea on seniors’ behalf
As the chief executive officer of Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, I have a unique perspective on aging our community. For more than 50 years, Senior Services has provided essential services to Hampton Roads’ seniors, caregivers and veterans. The good news is that we are living longer and stronger, and seniors are more important to our communities, economy, workforce and families than ever. The bad news is that ageism continues to thrive in Hampton Roads.