Virginia

Virginia statehouse candidates face questions about residency requirements

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2023

Virginia statehouse candidates face questions about residency requirements

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia state lawmakers are required to live in the district they represent, as well as in any district they might be seeking to represent. If they move out of their district, the state constitution says they are out of office.

Those requirements, combined with political maps that took effect this year, have created a headache for some candidates.

At least two sitting lawmakers seeking reelection in new districts say they are living either with or in the home of a relative rather than with their immediate family, in order to meet the residency requirements.

But for one of those two, Democratic Del. C.E. “Cliff” Hayes, a private investigative company’s findings that were provided to The Associated Press by the House Republican caucus raise questions about that claim.

Hayes said Friday that he’s following the rules. He reported to state officials earlier this year that he was living in a Chesapeake home that’s in both the 77th District, which he currently represents, and the new 91st district, which he’s running in this fall.

In an interview, Hayes acknowledged that he owns another property, where he said his wife lives and he sometimes spends time. But he said he is living with his brother-in-law in the home indicated on his paperwork, which he said had long been in his wife’s family and used to be a rental property.

The report, dated Sept. 30, says a private investigations company with an active state license was hired to look into an allegation that Hayes was not living at that address.

According to the report, three vehicles registered to Hayes have been “routinely parked” at a different home, the one where Hayes says his wife lives. That home is also in the 91st district but not the 77th, according to a publicly available state tool that shows which political districts addresses fall into.

A car registered to Hayes’ wife has also been seen at the home, the report said. None of those vehicles were ever seen at the address Hayes listed on his state paperwork.

A range of other vehicles were, however, seen at the house listed on his paperwork, according to the report, which said surveillance was conducted in the month of September “at various hours of the day and night.”

Hayes said he and his wife have five vehicles, and he sometimes drives different ones.

“I didn’t want to abandon my constituents, so I moved into our rental property. We ended the lease,” he said.

In a statement provided by a House Democratic caucus spokeswoman, he added: “As my constituents well know, I have been proud to represent this community that I have lived and worked in for my entire life. Any allegations to suggest otherwise are unfounded, partisan musings from a party attempting to distract from their own wrongdoings,”

Hayes is running against Republican Elijah Colon, who has not reported raising any funds for his campaign. The 91st District is strongly Democratic and includes parts of Chesapeake and Portsmouth.

The once-a-decade redistricting process that adjusts each state’s political maps to account for population shifts was handled this year by a pair of independent experts, with sign-off granted by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

The maps were drawn without regard to protecting incumbents, which left many Assembly members doubled or tripled up in districts. Some opted to retire, challenge each other in primaries, or move.

The state constitution is clear that a senator or delegate who moves from the district to which they were elected “shall thereby vacate his office.” Virginia’s part-time General Assembly is not actively meeting, but members are paid on a monthly basis and receive health care and other benefits.

Tim Anderson, an attorney and former House member who resigned this year to run in what was ultimately an unsuccessful state Senate primary, said his benefits ended as soon as he stepped down.

Delegates are paid their $17,640 annual salary throughout the year, Anderson said. Members are also eligible for a “phenomenal” health care plan, state retirement benefits, an office allowance and a legislative assistant, who also receives a salary and benefits, he added.

Another delegate, Nadarius Clark, resigned earlier this year to run in a new district.

Nick Freitas, the GOP nominee in a Culpeper County-area seat that’s strongly Republican, has also faced questions about his residency. After his chief of staff initially declined to answer a specific question from radio station WMRA about whether Freitas had moved out of his home, Freitas told the Culpeper Star-Exponent that he had and was living at a home owned by his mother. His paperwork filed with the state shows that home is in his current and would-be future districts.

“None of this is ideal, but the bottom line, I had the chance to continue to represent the district I have been representing for eight years,” Freitas, who couldn’t be reached Friday, told the newspaper.

Other concerns have flared this cycle.

Tim Griffin, the Republican nominee in a deeply conservative Lynchburg-area district, has faced questions about where he lives since his party’s nomination contest. He recently refused to divulge his address to The Daily Progress, and Cardinal News reported that a group of concerned Republicans had hired a private investigator to look into the situation.

His campaign didn’t respond to an emailed interview request Friday.

Residency questions bubbled up even before the new maps took effect.

Greg Habeeb, a former delegate and campaign chair for the House Republicans, said it has been a perennial issue, but not one there has ever been much appetite to address with stricter standards given the issues have been in both parties and chambers.

“Most years there is some question about somebody,” he said.

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Virginia

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

Published

4 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:

Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.

A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.

Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.

Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.

Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.

Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.

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Virginia

Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024

Published

11 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:

Mega Millions

Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2

Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5

Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2

Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash4Life

Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.

04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash Pop

Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.

Coffee Break: 04

After Hours: 05

Prime Time: 06

Rush Hour: 09

Lunch Break: 12

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash 5

Drawing every day at 11 p.m.

12-22-31-38-44

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways

Published

19 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways

Virginia (4-2) got back in the win column with a 74-65 victory over Manhattan (3-3) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Here are our five quick takeaways from the Cavaliers’ win over the Jaspers.

Virginia was in serious need of a win after suffering those two humbling losses to Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. But a convincing and comfortable victory would have been even better and for a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on their way to doing just that. UVA led by as many as 15 points in the first half and opened up a 16-point advantage midway through the second half. But rather than putting the game away, Virginia let Manhattan hang around and the visiting Jaspers were in a situation where they were fouling to stop the clock in the final minutes, narrowing the deficit to as little as six points. A win is a win, but this was far from a confidence-boosting performance.

Virginia went with a new starting lineup on Tuesday night, as Andrew Rohde replaced TJ Power. Rohde has been playing very well recently, particularly with his resurgent outside shot, while Power came into this game shooting 25% from beyond the arc this season.

Power initially responded well to the benching, swishing a corner three shortly after he first entered the game, hitting the deck for a loose ball, and coming up with a steal to stop a Manhattan fastbreak. But he wound up playing only six minutes, fewest among Cavaliers who saw the floor in the game. That does not bode well for the Duke transfer.

Read Val’s Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.

Rohde, on the other hand, had another solid game and was perhaps the top performer for the Hoos on Tuesday night. Though he missed his only three-pointer, which was a desperation off-balanced heave at the end of the shot clock, Rohde finished with a season-high 14 points, two assists (with one turnover), two rebounds, and four steals. Rohde showed excellent feel for the game, getting exactly where he wanted to go and exhibiting some nice touch on a couple of floaters plus a short jumper off the glass. If Rohde is playing like this and his three-point shot continues to be there, this could be a big season for the former St. Thomas transfer.

The main reason why this game continued to be close deep into the second half is because UVA’s defense frequently broke down and gave up open shots to Manhattan, particularly from the perimeter. The Jaspers shot 11/26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc and and seven different players knocked down a three. A couple of those Manhattan triples were well-contested, but the vast majority of them were wide-open. That’s very concerning and shows that this Virginia defense, with its many new faces, is still very much a work in progress.

Virginia’s offense was pretty well neutralized by Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. Tuesday night against Manhattan was a small step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

Let’s start with the good. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Isaac McKneely, who hit three of his four three-point attempts and went 5/6 from the free throw line. We still think McKneely needs to shoot way more, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Dai Dai Ames scored 10 points and dished out five assists, but fouled out of the game. Blake Buchanan made his first four shots and finished with 11 points and five boards. Cofie made five of his seven shots and finished with 10 points and five boards. The best part of the game was that Virginia had 15 assists on 29 made baskets and turned the ball over only eight times, a vast improvement over the team’s turnover issues in The Bahamas.

Virginia outscored Manhattan 42-22 in the paint. That looks like a good stat, but it’s also an inevitable stat because of UVA’s size advantage over the Jaspers, whose tallest player in the rotation is 6’8″. Still, Manhattan snared 10 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. In The Bahamas, UVA was dominated on the glass and was simply outmatched from a physicality and athleticism standpoint. Nothing we saw from the Cavaliers on Tuesday night did anything to alleviate those concerns.

Up next, Virginia remains at home for another (supposed) tune-up game against Holy Cross on Friday at 4pm at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia vs. Manhattan Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball

UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas

Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways

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