State and National Government

Virginia Redistricting Commission members say if anything appears certain, it is that lawsuits are likely to challenge any decision they make. It was a common theme heard yesterday as the commission debated what seems to be the simplest of questions:  when does the commission have the census numbers it needs in hand to draw new general assembly and congressional boundaries in Virginia? The Census Bureau released its 2020 data last Thursday, August 12, but state law also requires that prisoners be listed by home town, not where the prison is, and that won’t be available until the 26th, a week from Thursday. It is one of many considerations the redistricting commission must navigate amid a highly-charged partisan era, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:

Ed Lynch – Hollins U.

The chair of the Political Science department at Hollins University, Ed Lynch, says the ultimate outcome – the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan – would have been the same under the Trump Administration, which also wanted to remove most of the U.S. military forces by next month, but the former Reagan White House staffer doesn’t let President Biden off the hook. Lynch expects a Congressional investigation on the Administration’s plan for the withdrawal of troops and civilians from Afghanistan. Ed Lynch has written two recent books on the Middle East, where he has also been on the ground in recent years.

The Northam Administration has issued a statewide indoor mask mandate for all Virginia K -12 schools. The health department order comes after some school systems had chosen not to require face coverings, and it follows what has been shifting guidance on the subject from Richmond in the last month that has frustrated many parents and school officials.

Republican legislative leaders call the mandate “a triumph of bureaucracy over common sense.” House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert says local school divisions are best equipped to make such decisions — and good luck keeping masks on young children.

State Senate Republicans including leader Tommy Norment have also issued a stinging rebuke to the Health Department and Governor Northam’s mask mandate order for schools today, saying in a joint statement that, quote, “Northam’s announcement … makes it clear that he was not telling the truth in his attempt to impose a mask mandate last Thursday when he falsely claimed ‘the legislature made me do it.’ Now … he has imposed yet another mandate, usurping local authority without any opportunity for public input.”

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration issued a universal mask mandate for K-12 schools Thursday.

The move came after a handful of school districts in recent days decided to buck the governor’s interpretation of a state law and opt not to require face coverings, against the current recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tension over the politically divisive issue has exploded at one school board meeting after other in the past week.

“This is a way to ensure uniformity in schools across Virginia,” Northam spokesperson Alena Yarmosky said.

The mandate came in the form of a public health order from the state health commissioner, Dr. Norman Oliver.

The governor’s administration has offered shifting guidance on the subject in the past month, frustrating some school officials and parents, as conditions worsened due to the surging delta variant of the coronavirus.

After a previous public health order that required masking in schools even after the statewide mandate was lifted came to an end in July, Northam opted not to issue a new one. He said school divisions would have the ability to implement local policies “based on community level conditions and public health recommendations.”

At the time, the CDC was not recommending indoor masking, but the agency changed its guidance in late July, recommending it for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.

At a news conference a week ago, Northam highlighted a law passed by the General Assembly earlier in the year mandating in-person instruction, saying it also requires school districts to follow mitigation strategies from the CDC “to the maximum extent practicable.”

His comments prompted some school districts that had not intended to require masks to reverse course. But some districts, mostly in rural areas, decided in recent days not to require masks.

Among them is mostly rural Patrick County, where the school board voted Monday to recommend but not mandate mask-wearing, against the advice of its attorney and insurance agent, the Martinsville Bulletin reported.

Hanover County, outside of Richmond, also opted against a mask mandate, according to local news outlets.

And school board meetings even in districts that ultimately have adopted mask mandate have turned contentious.

In Virginia Beach, dozens of people spoke at a meeting that went into the early morning hours of Wednesday before the school board ultimately voted to require masks, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Some speakers cursed the board, made offensive gestures at them and accused them of child abuse, according to the newspaper.

It was not immediately clear how districts without a mask mandate would respond to the latest directive.

Ed Lynch – Hollins U.

The chair of the Hollins University Political Science Department says its probably no accident that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation today just after the Senate passed an infrastructure bill championed by President Biden. Ed Lynch thinks Cuomo may have deliberately tried to steal the President’s thunder. Both Biden and Cuomo are Democrats. Lynch, who worked in the Reagan White House, said this was much more than the now-former Governor’s penchant for kissing people on the cheek – there were some serious allegations of sexual harassment brought to light.

 

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a spending plan for $4.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, including funding for initiatives aimed at helping small businesses, increasing broadband access and replenishing the state’s depleted unemployment trust fund.

The budget approved by the Senate and the House of Delegates preserves most of a plan crafted by Gov. Ralph Northam and fellow Democrats, but also includes several amendments proposed by Republicans in the Senate, including raising bonuses for law enforcement officers. Under a compromise worked out by a conference committee, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers will receive bonuses of $3,000, while state police will receive $5,000.

The budget will now be sent to the governor, who supports the budget compromise, according to Northam spokesperson Alena Yarmosky. The budget also calls for helping small businesses avoid a large tax increase by using $862 million of the federal money to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund, which has been depleted by the large number of claims filed during the pandemic.

The budget also calls for helping small businesses avoid a large tax increase by using $862 million of the federal money to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund, which has been depleted by the large number of claims filed during the pandemic.

Another provision will require the Department of Motor Vehicles to resume walk-in service at its customer service centers throughout the state within 60 days. Because of the pandemic, the DMV instituted an appointment-only system for in-person services 17 months ago, a system that has drawn widespread complaints from customers.

The budget plan also includes a provision that would establish regulations to allow student athletes — including students at four-year colleges and universities and two-year community colleges — to receive compensation from outside parties for use of their name, image and likeness in sponsorships, paid partnerships and advertisements.

State senators have approved a proposal that would require Virginia’s DMV to reopen all its customer centers to walk-in traffic no later than early fall. It seemingly came out of nowhere in the budget debate, an amendment proposed by northern Virginia Democrat Chap Peterson and supported by senators from both parties.  Right now, DMV offices are open only by appointments that are often available no sooner than several weeks away. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:

The Roanoke Valley’s Morning News spoke with Delegate Jason Miyares this morning – also the Republican candidate for Attorney General in November. Jason Miyares joined Roanoke Valley’s Morning News Host Joey Self and Anchor/Reporter Gene Marrano to discuss several amendments he hopes to propose during the current General Assembly special session.

The highly-contested decision to allow casinos and online lottery games in Virginia while outlawing skill games – often found in convenience stores and bars – is hurting small businesses. That’s according to the Republican nominee for Attorney General, as WFIR’s Ian Price reports:

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A federal freeze on most evictions enacted last year is scheduled to expire Saturday [today], after President Joe Biden’s administration extended the original date by a month. The moratorium, put in place by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September, was the only tool keeping millions of tenants in their homes. Many of them lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and had fallen months behind on their rent.

Landlords successfully challenged the order in court, arguing they also had bills to pay. They pointed out that tenants could access nearly $47 billion in federal money set aside to help pay rents and related expenses.

Advocates for tenants said the distribution of the money had been slow and that more time was needed to distribute it and repay landlords. Without an extension, they feared a spike in evictions and lawsuits seeking to boot out tenants who were behind on their rents.

Virginia’s Rent Relief Program helps tenants suffering financial hardship from the pandemic. Fairfax and Chesterfield Counties administer their own programs. As of July 14, more than $308 million had been paid out statewide to support more than 48,000 households, according to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Virginia and its local governments will ultimately have access to about $1 billion in funds to help renters. The state has launched an awareness campaign, while legal aid attorneys and others are offering to help tenants navigate the application process.

The state is also requiring courts to grant a 60-day continuance for an eviction proceeding when a tenant can demonstrate that their failure to pay was due to the effects of COVID-19. That protection expires at the end of September.