Applications open Jan. 19 for new PPP round
The relief loan floodgates will reopen Tuesday, as the U.S. Small Business Administration opens the latest $284.5 billion round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding available. This time, borrowers who received allocations during the initial rounds of PPP funding in 2020 can reapply under Second Draw PPP Loan applications. First Draw PPP Loans are for […]
Va. nears 10k COVID cases in single day
The state hit a new one-day record of nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The rise in coronavirus infections comes amid a significant increase in coronavirus-related deaths, with approximately 49 fatalities a day, or two deaths per hour, occurring in the commonwealth last week. Meanwhile, Virginia public health officials said they expect a decrease in […]
State anticipates fewer COVID vaccine doses due to U.S. shortfall
Virginia public health officials said Saturday that the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to the state is likely to decrease — possibly by a significant amount — because the federal government does not have the reserve of doses it had said were being held back for second shots. Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine […]
State opens COVID-19 vaccinations for Virginians 65 and older
Updated Jan. 18: A vaccine dose shortfall in the federal stockpile will likely lower the weekly number of doses Virginia receives, but state officials say they will continue with expansion of group 1b. Earlier: As part of a federal push to speed up the pace of vaccinations, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday that the state […]
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 […]
Virginia sees record daily COVID-19 rises
Just after surpassing more than 5,000 coronavirus-related deaths, Virginia hit its highest daily average of new COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row. As of Monday, the state’s seven-day average of new cases stands at a record high of 4,480. On Saturday, Jan. 2, the average was 4,168; on Sunday, Jan. 3, the […]
Virginia has administered 50K+ COVID-19 vaccine doses so far
Having received 285,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from two manufacturers, Virginia has distributed more than 54,000 doses in the past two weeks. Nationally, there’s been frustration with the vaccine rollout, which has been slower than expected. The Trump administration had pledged that 20 million doses of the vaccine would be administered across the country by the […]
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 […]
Barter Theatre hangs on with Moonlite shows
Abingdon’s Moonlite Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places and in the lyrics of at least two country western songs, but the drive-in movie theater was closed for most of the last decade. When Katy Brown visited it last spring, “it was a wreck,” she recalls, “but I thought all we’d have to […]
Short and … sweet?
Even before the pandemic and ensuing recession took hold in Virginia, 2020 already had the makings for a novel year in the General Assembly. Having won majorities in both houses in the November 2019 elections, Democrats took back full control of the legislature for the first time in a generation. With Gov. Ralph Northam in […]
Northam commits additional $20M to economic recovery fund
Gov. Ralph Northam has allocated an additional $20 million in federal CARES Act funding to assist more than 300 small businesses and nonprofits through the Rebuild VA economic recovery fund. The new funding will meet demand for the Rebuild VA program and fulfill pending grant applications for small businesses and nonprofits that applied before the […]