Early voting divides state GOP and more Virginia headlines

NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.

• “Dominion Energy paid Hampton Roads newspaper columnist Gordon Morse over $60,000 per year as he wrote unsigned editorials praising the utility, according to new paperwork filed by Dominion.”—VPM

• The GOP is divided over the Youngkin campaign’s embrace of early voting, which contradicts fraud claims at the heart of Donald Trump’s election conspiracies.—Washington Times

• Sentara Healthcare launched a dashboard to provide daily capacity updates at the seven hospitals it operates in Hampton Roads.—Virginian-Pilot

• Virginia Tech students say the school’s handling of campus sexual assaults is too lax. “I still have trouble being on campus knowing the person who raped me the first time is still walking here,” said a student at a recent rally.—Roanoke Times

• The owner of a seafood restaurant in Danville was sentenced to a year in prison for food stamp fraud. He admitted to exchanging SNAP benefits for cash.—Register & Bee

• A group of police officers in Leesburg threatened to resign if the town imposes a vaccine mandate.—Loudoun Times-Mirror

• Facebook is joining a pilot program in Grayson County to extend broadband in mountainous rural areas.—Cardinal News

• Fairfax County Police say they will stop publishing a weekly crime blotter over concerns the information could be used to deport immigrants. Open government advocates called it a blow to transparency.—Washington Post

• “A prolonged, thunderous boom sounded all over the Washington region around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, jarring residents unsure of its source. But, in all likelihood, it was caused by a lightning strike in the vicinity of Reston and Dulles.”—Washington Post