Most Read Articles Aug. 4, 2020
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Luray mayor: ‘Hell no I’m not resigning’ after ‘Aunt Jemima’ comment on social media
He doesn’t seem to understand what he did wrong and why there’s been “such a fuss about it.” “I saw it last week, and I thought it was funny,” Luray Mayor Barry Presgraves said on Monday afternoon. “ I thought it was humorous. I had no idea people would react the way they did. I think people have gone overboard on this…It’s an election year.” On Sunday evening around 6 p.m., the three-term mayor posted the following on his personal Facebook page: “Joe Biden has just announced Aunt Jemima as his VP pick.”
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Virginia State University opts for online-only classes during first month of semester
Virginia State University will delay the return to in-person classes by four weeks, and in the meantime, faculty, staff and students will be tested for COVID-19. The university says the decision allows adequate time for testing protocols without altering the academic calendar. VSU will mail free COVID-19 tests to all faculty, staff and students, and each person must test negative before returning to campus.
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From VPAP Maps, Timeline of COVID-19 in Virginia
Our COVID-19 dashboard makes it easy to track the latest available data for tests performed, infections, deaths and hospital capacity. There's a filter for each city and county, plus an exclusive per-capita ZIP Code map. Updated each morning around 10:30 a.m.
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VPAP Visual COVID-19 Stress Test for Local Governments
Using three measures of fiscal health, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development has come up with an index to show which local governments could be most vulnerable to fiscal fallout from COVID-19. This map shows the most vulnerable locality could be the City of Williamsburg, where the local economy is heavily dependent upon tourism.
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Arlington GOP leader doxes neighbors who complain about mask-less businesses
The chairman of the Arlington County Republican Committee was kicked out of a Facebook group Sunday for posting personal information of people who complained about county businesses not enforcing rules on masks and physical distancing. Andrew Loposser posted a set of names with contact information he obtained from the Virginia Department of Health to the 11,276-member group “Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through Covid-19.” “Only part of the snitches in Arlington County,” Loposser wrote.
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Daughter of RFK seeks family heirloom from ‘Hickory Hill,’ but current owner won’t give it up
When the family of Robert F. Kennedy in 2009 decided to sell its famed “Hickory Hill” estate in McLean, Va., the late senator’s widow, Ethel Kennedy, told each of her children to pick one item from the property to take with them. Daughter Kerry Kennedy picked a four-foot-high urn planter from the front yard as a family heirloom to be relocated to the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. When the Kennedys moved out in the spring of 2010, the new owner resisted giving up the urn, Kerry Kennedy said.
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Guns taken in 1st local case involving Virginia's new 'red flag' law
"What's the point in living?" "I just want to die." Those were the comments police said a man made prior to having his guns taken in the first local case involving Virginia’s new "red flag" law. The case was adjudicated on Monday in Winchester Circuit Court. The 45-year-old Winchester man made the suicidal threats while in possession of a pistol on July 17, according to police. He voluntarily surrendered three guns to police and will not be allowed to possess guns until at least Jan. 30.
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Former GOP House Speaker Kirk Cox considering run for Virginia governor
Former House Speaker Kirk Cox confirmed Monday that he is "seriously looking" at running for Virginia governor next year, adding his name to a relatively small list of Republicans eyeing the Executive Mansion in a longtime swing state that has been steadily trending blue. Cox, a veteran legislator and retired teacher who turns 63 this month, held onto his House seat in November in a drastically revamped district, but lost the speakership as Democrats won control of the House and Senate for the first time in a generation.
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Confronting history: W&M Board of Visitors split on ‘imperatives’ to rename buildings at the college
The College of William & Mary is coming to terms with its ties to slavery and racism. After the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died after a white officer pressed a knee on his neck, the university created a task force, the Principles of Naming and Renaming Working Group, to rename buildings, spaces or structures and to add other markers on campus with historical context to be more inclusive.
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Congress pushes back on White House bid to cut funding for Virginia-class submarines
A high-profile dispute over whether to rename military installations that honor Confederates isn’t the only fight between the White House and Congress over this year’s defense authorization bill. Another battle has been brewing below the surface that also has major implications for Virginia: whether to fund construction of one or two next-generation Virginia-class submarines next year.