Republicans Aim To Curb Governor’s Emergency Powers, Fredericksburg Judge Rules Curfew Unconstitutional, Church Ownership Of Slaves; More

From the Virginia Mercury:

By Graham Moomaw
August 3, 2020

NEWS TO KNOW
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• Republican lawmakers have filed legislation to try to curb the governor’s emergency powers in times of crisis by forcing the executive branch to get legislative approval for long-term policies. “I know that a dictatorship is very efficient, but that’s not the way free people should be governed,” said Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.—Roanoke Times

• As court systems try to restart jury trials, they face the “tricky balancing act” of protecting the health of jurors while ensuring the rights of defendants.—Washington Post

• Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is restarting the once-controversial practice of traveling with armed bodyguards amid a wave of threats following his push to remove the city’s Confederate monuments.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• A Fredericksburg judge ruled a curfew enacted in response to Black Lives Matter protests was unconstitutional, “temporarily setting aside about 50 curfew violation cases that have been a rallying point for local protesters.”—Free Lance-Star

• A Confederate battle flag flying over a public park in Culpeper County disappeared in the middle of the night last week. A new one was hoisted in its place the next day.—Culpeper Star-Exponent

• University of Lynchburg alumni want the school to sever ties with Liberty University and rename part of a dorm building honoring the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. “His rhetoric represented that of racism, bigotry, placism and sexism until the last day,” one former student said.—News & Advance

• “Churches were some of the first institutions in the colonies to own, use, sell — and abuse — the enslaved.” Now some present-day institutions are reckoning with that history.—Virginian-Pilot

• A lost summer of tourism may be particularly devastating for the Williamsburg area, where roughly one in five working adults are employed by hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions.—Daily Press

• A Sunday-morning flight out of Richmond International Airport was delayed after a passenger refused to comply with mask rules.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Hampton Roads is under a tropical storm watch as Isaias moves up the East Coast. The storm, expected to make landfall near Wilmington, N.C., is expected to begin impacting the region Tuesday.—Daily Press

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