State and National Government

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A regulatory panel has declined calls from environmental groups, landowners and others to reconsider important water-quality permits for two natural gas pipelines.
The State Water Control Board met Tuesday in Richmond to consider public comments it solicited earlier this year about the permits granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines.
Staff from the Department of Environmental Quality gave an overview of the thousands of comments received, and the board also heard from attendees of the packed hearing, which was raucous and contentious at times.
Critics have argued the Corps’ review process is overly broad and have pushed for additional protections. DEQ has defended the process, and both pipeline companies say the review has been rigorous.
The board weighed a motion to consider re-evaluating or revoking the permits but voted it down.

Gov. Ralph Northam

Retiring Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s son has stirred the political pot in the 6th district by saying he supports the Democratic challenger to Ben Cline this fall. How does Virginia’s Governor see the November election? WFIR’s Gene Marrano provides some insight:

Jennifer Lewis

The Democratic candidate running to replace Congressman Bob Goodlatte says the representative should not be judged for his son’s political affiliation. WFIR’s Lillian Boyd spoke with Jennifer Lewis amid Bobby Goodlatte’s recent donation to her campaign.

Lewis says she first learned the son of Bob Goodlatte donated to her campaign when he tweeted his support. A Twitter account apparently run by Bobby Goodlatte posted he had made the maximum donation of $2,700 to Lewis’s campaign for the 6th District seat. Lewis says she’s thankful for the support, and she understands firsthand what it’s like to disagree with a relative’s politics.

“We’re all raised a certain way and once we get of that age to spread our own wings and figure our own way into the world, we often disagree with our parents. Personally, my dad voted for Trump and here I am running for Congress as a progressive Democrat,” Lewis said.

She faces Republican Ben Cline in November. As of last month, Cline had a $100,000-dollar fundraising lead over Lewis. Click below for the full interview with Lewis.

 

Rep. Bob Goodlatte

The son of a powerful Republican congressman has lambasted his father on Twitter for “ruining” the career of a recently fired FBI agent.
Bobby Goodlatte targeted his father, Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, on Twitter after Monday’s news that the FBI fired Peter Strzok. The agent had sent anti-Trump text messages during the Russia investigation.
Strzok faced tough questions from the elder Goodlatte during a particularly brutal congressional hearing last month. The younger Goodlatte called the hearing a “low point” for Congress and said he was “deeply embarrassed by my father’s political grandstanding.”
Bobby Goodlatte also started soliciting campaign donations on Sunday for the Democrat who’s running in his father’s congressional district. The elder Goodlatte is retiring after 13 terms.
Democrats said Monday that they had received more than $25,000.