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On the Campaign Trail

Year after year, members of the General Assembly consider efforts to restore voting rights to nonviolent felons. But year after year, the effort is killed — usually by House Republicans.

On the Campaign Trail

Turnout for Tuesday's primary was abysmally low, with only 140,000 participating in the voting.

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Combat Veteran Takes on Former City Councilman in House of Delegates Race

First-time candidate challenges freshman delegate.

Jeffrey Engle is no stranger to combat. The Army veteran spent 11 years in the service, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that he has taken a medical retirement from the military, he's ready for a different kind of fight.

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Northern Virginia Democrats Spoiling for a Fight Against Republican Incumbents

13 first-time candidates ready to take on incumbents across the region.

He may be taking the summer off from his role as host of the Daily Show, but Jon Stewart is playing an important role in the Democrats’ campaign for the House of Delegates this fall.

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Terry McAulife Launches Healthcare Platform at Inova Alexandria Hospital

Affordable Care Act is a key point of distinction between candidates for governor.

Democratic candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe found himself in the emergency room this week, but it wasn't because of a medical crisis.

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Alexandria to Hand Count All Paper Ballots in Recount For Attorney General

Limitations of election machines prevent electronic scanners from being programmed for recount.

Alexandria election officials will be going back to the future in the next few weeks, pouring over thousands of paper ballots by hand as part of a recount effort in the hotly contested race for attorney general.

Democrats Shut Out of Power in Senate

Even if Democrats win in two special elections, control over committees is unlikely.

Don't expect Democrats to take control over state Senate committees anytime soon, even if the party manages to hold both of the seats where special elections are now underway.

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Rob Krupicka Wins Special Election In Landslide Victory

Councilman wins every precinct in special election for 45th District of House of Delegates.

Back in 2003, a former AOL executive named Rob Krupicka launched his campaign for Alexandria City Council at Fireflies — a popular Del Ray restaurant a stone’s throw from the Krupicka house on East Nelson Avenue.

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Northern Virginia Democrat Takes Aim at the Gun Show Loophole

Arlington delegates wants to require background checks for all private firearms sales.

Legislators will be dueling over guns this year at the Capitol, with gun-rights advocates set to oppose efforts to close Virginia’s gun-show loophole.

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Toxic Politics: Northern Virginia Delegation Split on Uranium Mining

Issue pits economic development against environmental concerns.

Northern Virginia may be hundreds of miles away from the Southside community where a family business is seeking to overturn a longstanding ban on uranium mining in Virginia.

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Northern Virginia Democrats Finally Get Traction on Voting Rights for Nonviolent Felons

But House Democrats stand in the way of bipartisan effort.

The plight of the nonviolent felon has been a losing cause in Northern Virginia for decades. Year after year, Democrats introduce a bill that would restore voting rights for nonviolent felons. And year after year, the effort fizzles in Richmond.

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Bipartisan Team Seeks Compensation for Victims of Forced Sterilization

Effort would give $50,000 to survivors; estimated cost would be $73 million.

Nobody knows how many people are survivors of Virginia’s forced sterilization program, which targeted people with mental illness, mental retardation or epilepsy.

Week in Alexandria

Rape charge dropped.

Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Porter won't say why he asked General District Court Judge Donald Haddock to drop the charge of rape against former Alexandria Deputy Sheriff Bryant Duane Pegues, who was fired from his job after evidence emerged that he had sex with an inmate at the city jail last month.

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Closing All the Loopholes

Democrats poised to impose new regulations on high-interest lenders.

The days of unregulated high-interest lending may be coming to a close in Virginia. Now that Democrats have seized control of the General Assembly, members of the Legislative Black Caucus say cracking down on predatory lending is one of their top priorities for the 2020 session.

Nazi Commonwealth

Bipartisan team seeks compensation for victims of forced sterilization.

Nobody knows how many people are survivors of Virginia’s forced sterilization program, which targeted people with mental illness, mental retardation or epilepsy. But a bipartisan effort now under consideration in Richmond would hand each and every one of them a $50,000 check from the people of Virginia. According to one calculation, that could mean as much as $73 million.

In Session: Virginia Assembly Briefs

The backlog of untested rape kits has received a lot of media attention in recent years, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been working to find ways to process all that evidence. But that’s not the only problem with rape kits. Many of them are them are simply thrown away.

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Democrats Launch Primary Campaign

Candidates are eager to win back two seats lost in the last election cycle.

Six candidates officially launched their campaigns this week at a meeting of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, and several more are expected in the coming weeks.

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Budgeting for Crisis

Community service boards push legislators to create five crisis centers.

Johnny is a 13-year-old student at school in Northern Virginia. He’s been acting out lately, running away and confronting other children on the playground.

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Incumbents and Candidates Face Difficult Test as City Council Campaign Heats Up

Rival groups of Democrats endorse slates of candidates for June 12 primary.

The fiercely competitive Democratic primary for the Alexandria City Council is about to get even more intense this weekend, as current council members take up the most controversial development proposal since the waterfront plan.

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Voters to Have Final Say on Eminent Domain Amendment

Opinions are divided as to what kind of influence the amendment could have if passed.

This fall, voters across Virginia will be confronted with a hotly debated amendment to the Virginia Constitution that seeks to limit the ability of local governments to use the power of eminent domain.