Recent Articles from Kate Andrews
Liberty University chair Jerry Prevo appointed acting president
The executive committee of Liberty University’s board of trustees has appointed its chairman as acting president while Jerry Falwell Jr. takes an indefinite leave of absence, which took effect Friday. Jerry Prevo, a retired evangelical pastor from Anchorage, Alaska, has been on the university’s board since 1996 and chairman since 2003. He oversaw the Anchorage […]
UPDATED: Sen. Chase refused to wear mask at Harrisonburg restaurant
Updated, Aug. 19 The owners of a Harrisonburg restaurant posted a message on Facebook saying that GOP gubernatorial candidate Amanda Chase refused to wear a mask in their restaurant Sunday and threatened to sue them for enforcing the policy. “Chase came into our restaurant,” wrote Katharine Nye Pellerito, co-owner of Vito’s Italian Kitchen with her […]
COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000 in Virginia
Virginia has now recorded more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 since it started tracking the coronavirus in February, the Virginia Department of Health recorded Monday. The state has 100,749 confirmed and probable cases, up 7,643 from Aug. 3. Virginia’s number of deaths went up by 109 last week to 2,327, and the statewide positivity rate […]
Falwell agrees to immediate indefinite leave of absence from Liberty
UPDATE: Board of Trustees Chairman Jerry Prevo has been appointed acting president during Falwell’s absence. Liberty University President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. has agreed to immediately take an indefinite leave of absence from both leadership roles at the private Christian institution in Lynchburg, at the request of the university’s board of trustees Friday. According to [&[...]
Virginia State Senate will return to Science Museum for Aug. session
A staff member for Virginia Senate Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Saslaw confirmed Friday that the Senate will meet at the Science Museum of Virginia for its special session Aug. 18. In April, for their veto session, senators gathered in a large room at the Richmond museum instead of their usual quarters to avoid spread of […]
Delegates to meet at Richmond’s Siegel Center
Update, Aug. 7: The Virginia State Senate will return to the Science Museum of Virginia, a staffer in Senate Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Saslaw’s office confirmed Friday. Earlier: Leaving the big tent behind, the Virginia House of Delegates will meet at the Stuart C. Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University at its Aug. 18 special session, […]
Virginia joins six-state antigen testing agreement
Virginia will be part of a six-state agreement that will expand rapid testing for COVID-19, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The state will purchase 500,000 antigen tests, which the governor says can deliver results in 15 to 20 minutes. Virginia joins Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Ohio in the compact, according to a news release […]
Former Liberty football coach and player return as executive VPs
Liberty University announced Tuesday its former football coach, Turner Gill, and Liberty alumnus and former NFL player Kelvin Edwards will join its executive team in positions focusing on diversity and inclusion, as the Lynchburg institution has come under fire for what some former Black employees and students call a hostile environment. Gill and Edwards, who […]
Virginia sees 136 COVID-19 deaths last week, higher than previous weeks
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Virginia went up by 7,034 last week, a decrease from the previous week, but the number of new virus-related deaths rose by 136, a higher rate than in recent weeks. The Virginia Department of Health reported Monday, Aug. 3 that there are 93,106 coronavirus cases statewide and 2,218 […]
Lee Enterprises plans newsroom cuts at Virginia publications
The Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville will lay off its four-person copy desk in early October, as Iowa-based owner Lee Enterprises eliminates local jobs in favor of a consolidated copy desk in Indiana or Wisconsin, according to a memo sent to affected employees Friday. The cuts at The Daily Progress are possibly just the beginning […]