NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
• Officials have pledged to distribute Virginia’s allocation of COVID-19 vaccines equitably, but so far vaccine providers have not recorded race or ethnicity data for more than half of the people who have been inoculated so far.—Richmond Times-Dispatch
• The town of Rocky Mount fired two police officers arrested in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, citing “conduct unbecoming of an officer.”—Roanoke Times
• A tentative deal to head off the censure of Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, fell apart when a promised apology for praising rioters at the Capitol fell short of Democrats’ expectations. “If I have offended any of you in this room because I am very passionate about the Constitution, I apologize,” Chase said, continuing to deny she had made the remarks even though they are well documented in videos, written comments and earlier speeches.—Washington Post
• “A panel of Virginia legislators advanced a bill Friday to remove a statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., a staunch segregationist, from the state Capitol grounds.”—Associated Press
• Lawmakers are backing legislation that would allow restaurants to continue selling cocktails and other alcoholic beverages for carry-out orders.—Roanoke Times
• Legislation declaring racism a public health crisis is moving for a vote before the full House of Delegates over objections from Republicans.—VPM
• Del. Josh Cole, D-Fredericksburg, proposed legislation removing Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s name from U.S. 1 throughout the state and replacing it with Emancipation Highway.—Free Lance-Star
• “A group of protesters marched along Route 6 to the Goochland County Courthouse on Friday, demanding justice for 18-year-old Xzavier Hill, of Charlottesville, who was fatally shot two weeks ago by state police after a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 64.”—Daily Progress
• The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s future looks increasingly uncertain. Environmental groups filed a sixth lawsuit challenging the project’s federal permits, and President Joe Biden has put a public critic of the project in charge of the federal body that regulates pipelines.—Roanoke Times
• About half of the 2,400 Virginia National Guard troops deployed to Washington will remain at the U.S. Capitol for the coming weeks.—Richmond Times-Dispatch
• “Virginia GOP Chairman Richard Anderson publicly complained over the weekend that the party’s deteriorating headquarters is a ‘literal ghetto.’”—Washington Post
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