The awarded funds — precise amounts going to each institution were not disclosed — are part of a $35 million higher education initiative announced earlier in the month. In addition to the $25 million “HBCU Promise” program, Dominion will create a $10 million scholarship fund for African American students and other underrepresented minorities across its service territory.
Along with the four Virginia universities, seven HBCUs in North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina will receive funding over the next six years, according to a news release. The funding will go toward four general areas: operating needs, urgent capital needs, endowment and scholarships. Some details are still being worked out.
The 11 colleges and universities were chosen through a variety of factors: earlier partnerships with Dominion, significant customer presence and opportunities to make an immediate impact, the news release said.
“We have all been witness to our country’s evolving conversation on race and social justice,” Dominion Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II said in a statement. “Investing in these important institutions — which serve as a springboard for social and economic mobility for so many — is one way we can help. We have actually partnered with HBCUs for nearly 40 years, offering volunteer and financial support.”
The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce rescinded a speaking invitation this month to state Sen. Amanda Chase, the controversial Chesterfield County-based politician who is seeking the 2021 GOP nomination for governor, with the chamber’s newly installed chairman, Kathryn Falk, saying the chamber condemns “statements and actions by Senator Chase and any person who attempts to divide us, playing on people’s fears and appealing to bigotry and hate.”
Chase was unable to be reached for comment.
Falk, the vice president and market leader for Cox Communications’ Northern Virginia operations, became the chamber’s chairman on July 1. In a statement released by the chamber Wednesday, Falk said that former chairs of the chamber’s board of directors wrote to the body, asking its political action committee to withdraw its speaking invitation to Chase, who is currently the only Republican who has declared their candidacy for governor.
As state senator representing the 11th District since 2016, Chase is best known for her defense of gun rights and her combative political image, drawing comparisons to President Donald Trump, whom she strongly supports. In 2019, Chase was kicked out of the Chesterfield County Republican Party over a series of public attacks on county Sheriff Karl Leonard, also a Republican. She also made news in March 2019, when video emerged of Chase cursing at a Capitol Police officer who wouldn’t let her park in a secure area near the Virginia State Capitol.
Falk’s statement, which was also signed by the chamber’s president and CEO and the rest of the board’s leadership, refers to Chase’s “recent actions and statements related to the removal of Confederate monuments, ‘white history,’ statements about State Senator Jennifer McClellan, and Senator Chase’s actions to aggressively spread a hoax that rioters were crossing the James River to attack the white citizens of Chesterfield County.” Falk said that former chairs of the chamber asked June 28 for the chamber to “publicly repudiate” these statements by Chase.
Since declaring her run for governor in February, Chase spoke to a group of 250 Second Amendment activists at the Capitol, a group that included some self-identified white supremacists. At the July 4 event, Chase defended the Confederate flag as a “cultural symbol more than a historical or divisive one” and said she did not want to see Confederate statues removed, although she advocated for the addition of statues of African Americans to bring balance to Monument Avenue. However, she said in a Facebook live video in June that Gov. Ralph Northam‘s attempts to remove the Robert E. Lee monument was “erasing the history of the white people.”
Chase has made other statements on Facebook that have drawn criticism, including a since-deleted post that said state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a Democratic candidate for governor, “is NOT for ALL Virginians,” partly based on her position as vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and a warning that Chesterfield residents should be on alert that anti-fascist activists, or Antifa, were planning to target shopping centers in the county in June, saying that the county police chief had shared the information. Later, Chief Jeffrey Katz said he had not spoken with Chase about any threats.
“Going forward, we want to make it clear to any candidate seeking office in Virginia that we will not tolerate, either overtly or subtly, any statements or actions that are inconsistent with the Chamber’s core values, our commitment to racial justice, and our efforts to stamp out racism, discrimination, and prejudice,” the chamber statement said.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced Monday that it will resume most bus and rail service in the Washington area beginning Aug. 16, after closing routes and decreasing hours and numbers of trains and buses beginning in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Metro also plans to reopen six Fairfax County stations on the Orange and Silver lines, which have undergone construction since May, by Aug. 16, it announced in the news release. Here are the main changes to service:
Weekday bus service will take place on 174 routes by Aug. 23, at about 75% of pre-pandemic service.
Buses will run until midnight, an additional hour.
Metrorail will add 15 hours of more service per week starting Aug. 16, with weekday runs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays
Overnight workers will receive a $6 subsidy for Lyft service when there is no service between midnight and 4 a.m., up from $3.
Stations west of Ballston — McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East (Silver line) — will reopen Aug. 16, as will West Falls Church station on the Orange line.
Vienna, Dunn Loring and East Falls Church stations on the Orange line are expected to open around Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Arlington Cemetery station, on the Red line, remains closed because the Arlington National Cemetery is closed to the general public.
COVID-19 cases continued to increase statewide last week at a higher rate than the previous week, with 6,733 more people testing positive since July 13.
Over the past month, the weekly rate has climbed from 3,724 the last week of June to 5,540 new cases between July 6 and 13, according to the Virginia Department of Health. As of Monday, July 20, the state has 78,375 coronavirus cases total and 2,031 deaths, an increase of 68 fatalities from last week. That marks a significant slowdown in new virus-related deaths, which were exceeding 100 a week over the past month.
As of July 16, the seven-day positivity rate statewide is 7.7%, an increase from 6.8% last week. As reported last week, the most dramatic surges are in the Hampton Roads area.
Portsmouth has the highest positivity rate in the state, at 15.9%, followed by Norfolk at 15.4%. Chesapeake’s current rate is 13.8%.
Virginia Beach has a 12% positivity rate, Hampton is at 12.2%, and the Peninsula Health District is at 10.8%. The most-affected average age is also younger than earlier in the pandemic, with the majority of cases now falling between the ages of 20 and 39, although hospitalizations and deaths continue to occur more often with older patients, typically over the age of 60.
Last week, Gov. Ralph Northam declared that the health department and Virginia ABC will conduct drop-in visits to businesses to make sure they’re following safety rules, including customers and employees wearing masks and not allowing people to gather at bars. He said much of the state’s enforcement focus will be in Hampton Roads, which saw its number of daily cases rise more than five-fold over the past month, from an average of 60 cases to 346 a day.
These are the Virginia localities that have seen 400 or more total cases, as of July 20:
Fairfax County: 14,934
Prince William County: 8,190
Loudoun County: 4,670
Chesterfield County: 3,472
Henrico County: 3,058
Arlington County: 2,737
Virginia Beach: 2,720
Richmond: 2,588
Alexandria: 2,559
Norfolk: 2,214
Chesapeake: 1,758
Manassas: 1,530
Newport News: 1,206
Spotsylvania County: 1,154
Stafford County: 1,128
Accomack County: 1,053
Harrisonburg: 1,009
Portsmouth: 1,009
Culpeper County: 900
Rockingham County: 829
Suffolk: 757
Hampton: 723
Roanoke: 659
Shenandoah County: 650
Albemarle County: 628
Frederick County: 597
Buckingham County: 584
Fauquier County: 530
Hanover County: 518
Manassas Park: 473
James City County: 452
Globally, there are 14.56 million reported COVID-19 cases and 607,187 confirmed deaths as of July 20. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 3.79 million confirmed cases so far, with 140,716 deaths nationwide attributed to the coronavirus since February.
Gov. Ralph Northam set the General Assembly‘s special session for Aug. 18 in a proclamation Friday. Lawmakers will adopt the biennial budget based on the revised revenue forecast, and they also plan to discuss policing measures in light of ongoing protests against police brutality.
A finalized agenda has not yet been issued, but the House of Delegates and Virginia State Senate must pass a final budget, which was postponed in April due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor, along with legislators, froze $2.2 billion in new spending passed during the regular session to prevent cuts to programs, and the General Assembly also postponed by one year a ban on so-called “gray machines,” slot-like games that were set to be prohibited this year in Virginia. Income from the games is going toward a coronavirus relief fund to assist Virginians with housing insecurity and small business loans.
In the August meeting, lawmakers will consider several items that saw their budgets frozen in April, including tuition-free community college, broadband access, early childhood education and affordable housing. The session will be held after the governor presents his end-of-fiscal-year report to the General Assembly’s money committees. Although state officials predicted earlier this year a possible shortfall of $1 billion, the deficit is now at $236.5 million, Northam announced July 9.
It’s not clear if the House and Senate will meet in person in Richmond next month, due to ongoing coronavirus concerns. In April, House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, attempted to adjourn the special session — held under a tent on the Virginia State Capitol grounds — to hold a virtual version, but she was defeated in a party-line vote.
In recent days, though, the governor and some Hampton Roads officials have expressed concern about a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in the region, which could impact a decision on a virtual session in August.
Also on the agenda are measures to address policing, which has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis and subsequent protests. In recent weeks, police in Virginia have been criticized by activists and some elected officials for using tear gas and pepper spray against protestors — including a couple of delegates participating in street protests. In Richmond, protestors have taken to the streets nightly since the beginning of June, protesting the city’s police department and some elected officials, including the mayor and commonwealth’s attorney. In early July, the city removed all five city-owned Confederate monuments, and the state is currently in court, defending its plan to take down the state-owned Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, which has been stopped by court injunction.
According to the governor’s office, the General Assembly will take up measures in August on police use of force, increased training of officers, accountability and oversight, and hiring and decertification. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Virginia African American Advisory Board, the governor’s Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law, and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will advise the administration in developing policy initiatives.
Dominion Energy Inc. announced Thursday its $35 million initiative that will include a $10 million scholarship fund for Black students and other underrepresented minorities and also support historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Virginia and three other states.
More details will come soon, according to a news release from the utility company, which recently announced a $5 million pledge through its charitable foundation to support social justice organizations in its coverage area.
The scholarship fund will be known as the Dominion Energy Educational Equity fund, and more information will be announced in coming days.
“We all know there are no actions or words that will immediately heal the hurt caused by 400 years of institutional racism,” Dominion Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II said in a statement. “But since early June, we have seen signs of change and growth. Our country is moving forward. We are moving forward, too.” Farrell added that the HBCUs have played important roles in “African American advancement and the importance of education as an equalizer in society.”
Amherst County launched a grant program for small businesses suffering economic downturns due to the coronavirus epidemic, the county announced Tuesday.
Amherst supervisors designated $300,000 in federal CARES Act funding, which will be administered by the county’s Economic Development Authority. Applications are being accepted now for locally owned, for-profit businesses in the county for payroll, rent, utilities, restarting expenses and marketing.
The grants include:
Up to $25,000 for Amherst-owned and operated businesses with 21 employees or more
Up to $10,000 for Amherst-owned and operated businesses with no more than 20 employees
Up to $5,000 for businesses in the county that are not owned locally
Eligible businesses must have been in operation since March 1, 2019, with a physical location in the county. They must be current on taxes and have a current town or county business license if required. One owner must reside in the county to be defined as “locally owned.” Businesses also must have lost more than 10% in revenue compared to the same month or quarter as the previous year, and banks and financial institutions are not eligible.
Applications and more information are available at the EDA website.
Gov. Ralph Northam said that because the number of daily COVID-19 cases has shot up more than five-fold in the Hampton Roads region in the past month, he will increase social distancing and mask enforcement at businesses, starting immediately.
Daily positive cases have gone from an average of 60 a day to 346 a day in the Eastern Virginia region since early June, Northam reported Tuesday.
“We are going to get much stricter in enforcing these guidelines,” added Dr. Norman Oliver, the state health commissioner. The Virginia ABC and health inspectors will conduct unannounced visits to restaurants, stores, bars and other public spaces — all over the state, but mostly focused on southeastern localities, and Northam said that businesses’ licenses are “on the line” if they are found in violation of the state’s mask mandate or ban on gathering at bars.
He also asked business owners to step up their enforcement and refuse service to people who don’t wear masks. If customers don’t leave, businesses can call police because the customers are trespassing. “It’s just like the signs,” Northam said. “No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service.”
Northam added that he expects to announce earlier cutoff times for alcohol sales at restaurants, with details to come soon. He also said that he may scale back the allowed size of gatherings, which is currently at 250 people in Phase Three of Northam’s reopening plan. Some rollbacks may take effect only in certain regions, the governor added.
In examining the state’s positivity rates by region, Northam said that all regions — except for the Eastern region, where the rate is 10.1% — remain between 4% and 7%. The rise in positive cases in Virginia Beach and other localities in Hampton Roads is mainly due to a surge among people between the ages of 20 and 29, many of whom are socializing in large groups with no masks, the governor said. In the past month, the positivity rate among this age group has risen 250%.
“You are being selfish,” Northam said, addressing people who refuse to wear masks. “This is not political. This is about our health and well-being.”
In other updates, Northam said that 938,559 Virginians have applied for unemployment since March, and 900 households have received rent and mortgage relief from the state’s $50 million fund, which has been available for nine business days. Also, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry will soon release its labor standards to keep workers protected from spread of the virus.
With regard to schools’ reopening this fall, Northam added that localities’ school boards will make final decisions for their school systems, using guidelines issued last month by the Virginia Department of Education, and local health department information. Also, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is currently reviewing reopening plans for colleges.
“One size doesn’t fit all,” Northam said. “Everybody has to feel safe.”
John Schneider has been hired as chief technology officer at Whereoware, a Chantilly-based digital advertising and marketing agency, the company announced Tuesday. He has more than 20 years’ experience in technology leadership, including at SapientNitro and Rightpoint, and has developed customer experience projects for brands including Coca-Cola, NASCAR, Hilton and UPS.
He will lead Whereoware’s web development and technical services team. Whereoware has been on the Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest growing private companies for the past three years, and it recently started adding marketing strategists to work with B2B and B2C clients.
Schneider most recently served as senior vice president of technology and managing director at Rightpoint, and he is a graduate of Penn State University. He is based in Atlanta.
Art Lucia, co-founder of InfernoRed Technology Inc., is joining KlariVis, a data analytics startup based in Roanoke, as its chief technology officer, KlariVis announced Monday.
Founded in February 2019 and launched nationally in January, KlariVis has developed a proprietary software platform for banks to analyze data. Lucia served as the company’s consultant since its inception and has led the platform’s development. He has more than 20 years of experience in software development and co-founded InfernoRed, which has offices in Reston and Blacksburg, in 2012.
KlariVis was started by a group of community bankers, and it recently completed an oversubscribed $2.5 million seed round, primarily with funds from Roanoke investors.
Lucia previously served as director of Excella Consulting’s Extension Center in Blacksburg and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
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