Recent Articles from Kate Andrews
State sees one COVID death every 39 minutes
Every 39 minutes, a person died from COVID-19 in Virginia last week, according to reports from the state health department Monday. The state’s COVID-19 numbers continued to climb, with 35,850 new cases over the past week and 261 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Jan. 11 update. The current seven-day positivity rate is […]
COVID-19 vaccinations for Va. essential workers start Monday
On Monday, 11 Virginia health districts will begin COVID-19 vaccinations of “frontline essential workers,” including police, teachers and grocery store workers, the Virginia Department of Health announced Friday afternoon. Some regions will continue vaccinations of priority group 1a, which includes frontline health care providers and employees and residents of long-term care facilities[...]
General Assembly will see limited in-person gatherings, higher security for 2021 Lobby Day
A federal judge said Friday that a dispute over the scheduled closing of the Pocahontas Building, the temporary offices for delegates and state senators during the General Assembly session, has been settled. In December, Virginia state Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, sued Senate Rules Committee Chair Sen. Mamie E. Locke, D-Hampton, who announced that the […]
Sen. Amanda Chase ‘will absolutely not resign’
UPDATED 4:40 P.M., JAN. 8 Virginia Senate Democrats called Friday for the resignation of Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase, who spoke at the pro-Trump demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday that turned violent and led to a breach of the U.S. Capitol, but Chase says she “absolutely” will not leave her office. Facebook placed restrictions […]
Va. National Guard to be deployed in D.C. through at least Jan. 20
The Virginia National Guard and Virginia State Police troopers will be deployed in Washington, D.C., at least through Jan. 20, inauguration day for President-elect Joe Biden, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday afternoon. In a tweet, Northam said, “I’m extending Virginia’s National Guard deployment at least through Jan. 20, based on conversations this morning with our […[...]
Va. National Guard dispatched to U.S. Capitol, under siege
Updated, 8:45 a.m. Jan. 7 Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia Wednesday evening and ordered a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for Alexandria and Arlington County at the localities’ request, after crowds of supporters of President Donald Trump breached and took over the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate chambers […]
Northam sets accelerated goals for vaccinations
In his first COVID-19 news conference of the year, Gov. Ralph Northam said the state is aiming to administer 25,000 COVID vaccine shots per day to Virginians, up from the current 14,000 shots per day. He hopes to get to 50,000 daily vaccinations as soon as possible, although the state is waiting for more doses […]
Representing the underdogs
Although it’s hard to think way back to January 2020, a time before a year of social unrest, pandemic and economic peril, that’s when Virginia’s legislature and executive branch became majority-Democrat for the first time since 1993. However, even if some Virginians forgot about this significant shift, Republican lawmakers have not. Just before Thanksgiving, Virginia […]
Amid leadership shuffle, Halifax sees silver lining
The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority has seen some upheaval recently, but officials say there are several projects in the pipeline as well as a new shell building ready to be occupied. In October 2020, IDA executive director Brian Brown was fired after being hired a little more than a year ago, a move that […]
Va. COVID-19 rate passes 12% this week
Virginia recorded 25,285 new COVID-19 cases and 207 more deaths last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Dec. 28 update. The current seven-day positivity rate is 12.3%, up .9% from a week ago. The state has reported 336,175 cases and 4,861 deaths since March, and the current seven-day average number of daily new […]