Highlights this Week:

1. VA General Assembly likely meeting for Special Session in late July/early August. AGENDA: filling judicial seats, and allocating billions in federal aid

2. As of today: 41.5% of Virginia’s population is fully vaccinated

COVID-19

KEY MEASURES: Virginia Department of Health

Dashboard updated 5/21/2021. Case counts reflect what has been reported to VDH by healthcare providers and laboratories.

Visit the VDH Dashboard

UVA medical sees success in COVID-19 “long-hauler” clinic

“A medical team at the University of Virginia is making big strides in post-COVID-19 treatment, which helps many patients dealing with long-term symptom recovery.“

'Near SWVA': Patient count under 100, first time in 30 weeks

“For the second week in a row, health officials in “near Southwest” Virginia saw a sharp drop in the number of coronavirus hospitalizations…”

Legislation & Policy

A Virginia lawmaker wants to make FOIA requests cheaper or free. Some government and police groups aren’t happy about it.

To make the case for why Virginia’s public-records law needs to work better for reporters and citizens alike, Del. Danica Roem told the story of a constituent, Stephanie Minor, who Roem said spent seven months fighting Prince William County Public Schools for access to video footage showing her autistic daughter being dragged off a school bus.

For Minor to see what had happened, the school system wanted her to pay $2,500, down from an initial estimate of $8,800 for the video and staff emails, to cover its costs of producing the video and redacting it to blur out other students.

Statewide Races

Chase says she supports Youngkin; does not plan to run as independent

Unsuccessful GOP gubernatorial contender Amanda Chase is mostly ending questions about whether she plans to run for governor as an independent, saying Tuesday she supports GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin.

Chase, a state senator from Chesterfield County, said she congratulated Youngkin last week. She finished third in the GOP convention balloting for governor behind Youngkin and investor Pete Snyder.

“At this point, I’m planning on supporting [Youngkin],” Chase said. “I’m not planning on running as an independent. … I’m not likely to at this point.”

View coverage in the Richmond Times-Dispatch »

Elections 2021

Virginia 2021 primary: House of Delegates races to watch

Beyond the high-profile primary contests for Virginia governor and other statewide offices, candidates seeking their party’s nod for Virginia’s House of Delegates seats are also on the ballot. Two years after Democrats won control of the chamber for the first time in more than two decades, there is an unusually high number of Democratic incumbents facing challenges from within their own party.

Across the state, voters will weigh in on 14 Democratic delegates who are facing primary challenges. That’s more than three times higher than the number of Democratic incumbents who faced primary opponents in 2019 or 2017.

Federal

Homeless students slipping through the cracks during the pandemic, congressional panel told

WASHINGTON — Witnesses advised a U.S. House panel on how federal relief aid can help bridge educational gaps among children who are homeless and in foster care during the pandemic.

James Lane, Virginia’s state superintendent of public instruction, told the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee that that because the American Rescue Plan provided $800 million for homeless students, Virginia’s schools will see an increase in McKinney-Vento funds, a federal program that ensures educational rights and protections for children experiencing homelessness. Virginia’s share will rise from $1.7 million last year to $13 million.

Full story in the Virginia Mercury »

Business, Economy, & Labor News

Va. revenue surplus likely to exceed $500 million after 'unusual recession'

Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne told legislators on Monday that he expects state revenues to exceed expenses by more than $500 million in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

FULL STORY IN THE TIMES-DISPATCH

A federal lawsuit forces Virginia to own its duty to handle pandemic jobless claims promptly

VA Mercury »

Va. sees second week of slightly lower initial jobless claims

Virginia Business »

Clearing Up Mask Confusion: Do Virginians Need A Vaccine Passport?

VA Dogwood »

2021 Virginia General Election

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RECAP: Virginia This Week (May 21, 2021)