COVID-19 workplace safety, health rules become permanent Wednesday
Permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health rules take effect Wednesday in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam announced, including standards that require all public-facing employees to wear masks as well as requiring businesses to provide ready access to hand sanitizer and regular common workspace cleaning. The rules range from appropriate personal protective equipment to sanitation, social distancing, […][...]
‘Pattern of unacceptable conduct’: Focus of Chase censure changes
A newly reworded resolution to censure state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield County, seeks to place the ardent Trump supporter and gubernatorial hopeful last in seniority “for failure to uphold her oath of office, misuse of office and conduct unbecoming of a senator.” It no longer seeks censure “for fomenting[...]
Local officials slam Northam administration’s COVID vaccine rollout
With Virginia lagging behind other states in getting residents vaccinated for COVID-19, officials in Hampton Roads, Fairfax County and Chesterfield County have gone straight to the governor with complaints and concerns about the process, which Chesterfield supervisors categorized as “totally defective” and Hampton R[...]
First case of U.K. COVID variant detected in Virginia
Updated 3:25 p.m., Jan. 25: The Virginia Department of Health announced Monday afternoon that Virginia has recorded its first case of a variant strain of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom late last year. It’s known as the B.1.1.7 variant, and so far, the United States has recorded nearly 200 cases of this mutation […]
Chase apologizes to Va. Senate ‘if I offended any one of you’; censure still in play
Updated Jan. 24 In a bid to avoid becoming the first state senator censured since 1986, state Sen. Amanda Chase on Friday apologized to her Senate colleagues, saying she was sorry “if I offended any one of you.” Her words were not enough to avoid censure, the chief patron of the censure resolution said in […]
Chase stripped of last committee assignment in Senate
A resolution to censure state Sen. Amanda Chase moved forward Tuesday, and the embattled Republican from Chesterfield County also was stripped of her last committee assignment, although not without objections. Chase left the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus in 2019 after Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, was re-elected as the Senate party leader. At […]
Northam calls FEMA denial ‘a slap in the face’
In a tweet Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam decried the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s denial of federal funding for the Virginia National Guard presence at the U.S. Capitol as a “slap in the face” by President Donald Trump. “Virginia was there to defend the U.S. Capitol on January 6 — and we are comm[...]
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 […]
Facing her own censure, Chase plans resolution to censure Lucas
As state Democrats seek to censure her for participating in the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally that preceded the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, state Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield County, said she planned to file a resolution Monday to censure Democratic colleague Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, for taking part in a social jus[...]
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 [...]
Va. Senate considers censuring Sen. Amanda Chase
State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, faces censure after a Democratic colleague filed a resolution Thursday alleging that Chase “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. Constitution when she participated in the pro-Trump rally Jan. 6 that led to the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol. The resolut[...]
Northam warns extremists with “ill intent” to avoid Richmond
Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued a warning to anyone “with ill intent in your heart” to abandon their plans to come to Richmond as part of an armed protest of the state legislature. The governor said the state government is prepared for security concerns around the General Assembly’s annual […]