Highlights this Week:

1. Statewide Democratic nominees elected in Tuesday’s primary: McAuliffe, Ayala, and Herring

2. Virginia’s COVID-19 state of emergency ending on June 30th

COVID-19

KEY MEASURES: Virginia Department of Health

Dashboard updated 6/10/2021. Case counts reflect what has been reported to VDH by healthcare providers and laboratories.

Visit the VDH Dashboard

$20 million investment in vaccine outreach, but demand is still dropping

“In Virginia, demand peaked in early April when the state administered almost 110,000 doses in a single day. Since then, it’s been on a steady downward trend…“

Vaccines required to attend VCU, others this fall

“Nearly 500 colleges nationwide will require immunizations, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, including 17 schools in Virginia…”

Government & Policy

Virginia governor signs probation overhaul bill with support of rapper and activist Meek Mill

Washington (CNN) – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a probation overhaul bill into law on Thursday, approving the state’s latest progressive criminal justice proposal alongside rapper and activist Meek Mill, who backed the legislation.

Northam, a Democrat, was joined by Mill in Richmond as he signed into law HB 2038, which limits the amount of active incarceration a court can impose as a result of a revocation hearing for a probation violation, according to the bill.

Statewide Races

McAuliffe’s sweep beat expectations that were already sky-high

Terry McAuliffe won Petersburg, the hometown of one of his top opponents, former delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who had accused him of neglecting the majority-Black city during his first term.

He won in Richmond, where Sen. Jennifer McClellan had an advantage due to her strong local following.

He won in Nelson County, a hotbed of opposition to the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline project that earned McAuliffe the ire of activists who pressed unsuccessfully for him to block it during his first term.

View coverage from Virginia Mercury »

Elections 2021

Democratic primary voters oust some of General Assembly’s most outspoken delegates

Primary voters in Virginia delivered a rebuke to the left wing of the Democratic party on Tuesday, sweeping three outspoken incumbents from office and rejecting progressive challengers in all but one race.

By the end of the night, voters had booted Dels. Lee Carter, D-Prince William, the General Assembly’s only socialist; Ibraheem Samirah, D-Fairfax, a progressive activist who protested Trump during an official visit; and Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, one of the chamber’s most forceful proponents of gun control.

Federal

Funding for Route 7 and Route 690 interchange advances in U.S. House Committee

Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) announced Wednesday that her request for $10 million to fund a new interchange at Route 7 and Route 690 was included in the INVEST in America Act, a five-year surface transportation bill directing federal money to national transportation infrastructure.

The request, which was included in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s surface transportation reauthorization bill, must next be passed out of committee before going to the full House for a vote.

“I’m excited to announce that our new legislation to invest in America’s roads, bridges, and railways will include funding to improve the Route 7 and Hillsboro Road interchange in Purcellville,” Wexton said in a prepared statement.

Full story from Loudoun Times-Mirror »

Business, Economy, & Labor News

State could use more than $1 billion in federal aid to boost unemployment trust fund, protect businesses

RT-D »

Metro board approves fare reductions, service increases in bid to lure back riders

Washington Post »

Twelve Richmond-area companies – with two new additions – make the annual Fortune 1000 list

RT-D »

Unemployment insurance complaints continue; businesses push for tax bailout

VA Mercury »

2021 Virginia General Election

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RECAP: Virginia This Week (June 11, 2021)