Chase fails in effort to use $70 million for election audit and a Hanover group wants to stop paying federal taxes to push back against vaccine
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Amanda Chase failed to submit the paperwork in time to add a $70 million budget amendment that would have funded a 2020 election audit.
Chase has been participating in protests at the Capitol with her supporters in an effort to convince legislators to follow her lead and push for a forensic audit of last year’s presidential election results in Virginia.
The problem, however, is Chase did not submit the paperwork in time to actually try and include the amendment with the budget bill that the legislators are working to pass.
Virginia Democrats voted to provide more funding for law enforcement officers across Virginia, but the Republicans in the state are unhappy with the speed at which it will happen, according to this report from VPM News.
“Virginia State Police have over 334 vacancies out of 2,164 and a pay scale that starts at around $48,000 for new officers. The Virginia Beach police department is attempting to plug roughly 100 vacancies with $5,000 bonuses; neighboring Chesapeake is set to follow suit. The state’s jails have nearly 700 vacant positions, according to a March presentation from the Virginia Sheriff’s Association that drew from state data.”
“The budget drafted by top Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Ralph Northamoffers immediate bonuses of up to $5,000 for state police alongside ‘compression bonuses’ between two and eight percent of salaries, as well as $1,000 for state-funded sheriff officers and workers at regional jails. It also includes $20 million in compensation increases for VSP officers that would go into effect after a planned salary study due October 15.”
The House of Delegates passed Governor Northam’s COVID-19 relief spending bill — but the Senate added amendments — meaning a conference committee will have to take place so both chambers can work out the differences and pass the same bill.
The Washington Post reports: “Democrats who’d hoped to get the legislation out of both chambers without any tinkering succeeded in the House. But the Senate added $189 million to beef up bonuses for sheriff’s deputies and correctional staff, andrequire the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide walk-in service again.”
“Those were the most significant changes made by the Senate, which worked late into the night Wednesday as it considered a total of 142 proposed amendments. It ultimately passed the amended bill on a 22-to-18 vote, with just one Republican, Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta), voting in favor.”
Congressman Bob Good (R-VA05) is facing a primary challenge from a member of his own party. Kimberly Lowe recently announced her candidacy and explained to WSET why she is running against Good. "I'm a grassroots, non-establishment candidate. I actually was a Democrat and I switched parties around 2016, so I think I can bring people together. I think there are a lot of non-partisan issues that we have to come together on, in order to help our communities and we have to stop the divisiveness. For me, I've got a lot of spunk and I'm very aggressive at solving problems. I'm a creative problem-solver. I'm not someone who sits behind a desk. I'm someone who is always feet on the ground, in the community."
Lowe recently encouraged her supporters to attend election audit events at the Capitol to try and convince legislators to audit the 2020 presidential results.
In a redistricting update, lawyers advised the commission to update existing lines instead of starting from scratch, according to this article from WVTF.
“The question of whether the next voting districts are totally new or just modifications of the current districts looks like it will cause some conflict between the members that do and do not hold elected office. The commission is split in half between those two types of members.”
The commission consists of eight citizen members and eight legislators from the General Assembly.
“‘With all due respect to Senator Barker the way it was done before kind of resulted in the districts we have now that the citizens overwhelmingly are telling us they don't want,’ said Sean Kumar, a commissioner who is not a member of the General Assembly.”
It is time for another check-in on the Hanover Patriots, the large group of individuals whose leaders participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Hanover Patriots describe themselves as a community group, but often they can be seen making posts in their Faceook group describing incidents where they harass residents of the county who they deem “suspicious.”
Now members of the group are advocating for 80 million people to not pay federal taxes to fight back against potential COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
More News:
Gov. Northam ‘actively considering’ vaccine mandate for state employees, Dr. Avula says
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What a new federal eviction order means for Virginia renters
Former Norfolk sheriff’s defense says jail contractors gave him gifts because they were friends
Colonial Williamsburg uncovering LGBTQ history, aims for programming that reflects the time period