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Naked Truth About Strip Searches at Traffic Stops
Northern Virginia Democrat advocates for strip searches to combat opioid crisis.

Arlington Superintendent Suggests Raising Class Sizes to Balance Budget
$493.8 million spending plan represents a 4 percent increase over last year’s budget.
With Arlington’s classrooms bursting at the seams, school officials say there’s no end in sight.

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.
Dreams Taken Away: Julian Dawkins Remembered as Hard Worker with Sense of Humor
Arlington Sheriff's deputy charged with murdering 22-year-old Alexandria man.
Just a few hours after Alexandria police charged an Arlington Sheriff's deputy with murdering Julian Dawkins, hundreds of friends and relatives packed Antioch Baptist Church on Queen Street for an emotional funeral.
Negative Campaign
Candidates appear at minority business forum, attacking each other.
Local and statewide candidates for office appeared at an unprecedented forum in Northern Virginia last weekend, a collaboration of minority business groups of blacks, Hispanics and Asians. But as candidates arrived at the Annandale campus of the Northern Virginia Community College for a Sunday afternoon forum, voters realized that the tone of the campaign would remain unrelentingly negative. "All three of the Republican candidates are Tea Party right wing extremists," said Del. Ken Plum (D-36), who is running unopposed. "Look at their records and their stands on the issues." Plum attacked Cuccinelli's lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act as well as his investigation into a University of Virginia professor studying climate change. The longtime delegate also said the Republican attorney general candidate Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-25) has a similar record, including a bill that would have required women to report abortions to police. Together with the candidate for lieutenant governor, Plum said, the ticket is Tea Party from top to bottom.

Capital BikeShare To Expand
County officials are considering 42 potential locations for 30 new stations.
By next spring, Arlington residents will have 30 new BikeShare stations to choose from — expanding the existing program of 44 stations dramatically and reaching beyond the Metro corridors for the first time.

City Council Members Warned of Affliction and Loss in West End
A Proverb for the Beauregard small-area plan.
Yea, though members of the City Council walk through the valley of the shadow of Beauregard, they seem to fear no evil.

Alexandria Police Narrow Scope of Murder Investigations
Homicide detectives now calling Charles Severance "primary focus."
When Linda Robra first met Charles Severance at a Dulles Hilton swing dance in 2011, she could not have known that the man she came to know as "Charlie" would turn her life upside down.

Who is Trailing Don Beyer in Hotly Contested Democratic Primary?
Candidates elbow each other out of the way to secure second place.
Campaign finance documents show that former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer crushed the nine other candidates in the hotly contested Democratic primary.

Three Candidates Vie for Democratic Endorsement to Arlington School Board
Race to replace Sally Baird is on for Democrats.
Arlington County schools are at a crossroads. Enrollment is steadily rising, and parents have become upset about the amount of standardized testing that takes place in schools across the county.

Tall Order For Smart Growth Near Braddock Road Metro
City Council members set aside commercial land-use and height limit in Parker Gray.
Remember that commercial building that was approved near the Braddock Road Metro station? Well forget about it.

Alexandria Leaders Search for Alternative to Alternative B
City officials to reconfigure design for Potomac Yard Metro station.
For years, city officials and Deleware-based CPYR have been planning to build a Metro station known as Alternative B — a design that would allow direct access from land owned by the developer to a new Metro station.

Lawmaker Work Group to Examine Virginia Predatory Lending
Panel to investigate internet loans, car-title loans and open-end lines of credit.
The growing chorus of criticism about predatory lending in Virginia may not have prompted lawmakers to start passing laws to crack down on the industry. But it has accomplished one thing, formation of a work group.

Northern Virginia Lawmakers Push for Menstrual Equity
General Assembly to consider bills providing feminine hygiene products in schools and prisons.
For one Alexandria woman who was booked into the Fairfax County jail a few years ago, the stress of the criminal justice system wasn't just about prosecution and detention. It was also about shame. Deputies confiscated her underwear because it wasn't white, the only color inmates are allowed to wear at the Fairfax jail. So she started worrying about what would happen when she started menstruating.
Rorschach Politics
Candidates for governor present inkblots on everything from the economy to Confederate statues.
The campaign for governor is a bit like a Rorschach test as the candidates close in on the final stretch toward Election Day. Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie are presenting a series of inkblots to voters about everything from the health of the economy to the value of Confederate statues.

Democrats Lead in Polls as Voters Head to the Polls for Election Day
Hotly contested race for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Democrats have the wind at their backs heading into Election Day next week, as Republican gubernatorial candidates Ken Cuccinelli struggles to overcome a deficit in the polls.

Should Royal Street Become a Bicycle Boulevard?
Alexandria hires consultant to consider ways to encourage more bicycle traffic.
Pedestrians and bicyclists clash with vehicles up and down Union Street, a concern for city leaders who want to find a way to move cyclists to Royal Street.

Hiding at the Top of the Ticket
Race for Senate features two-term incumbent versus first-time candidate.
When Mark Warner ran for governor in 2001, opponents knocked him for wanting to be governor without having ever run for office before.

Democrats Sweep Alexandria City Election
Moving local elections from May to November helped solidify one-party rule.
Three years ago, “Plunkee the Elephant” helped an independent and a Republican unseat two incumbent Democrats on the Alexandria City Council.

Incumbents and Former Incumbents Take Heat for BRAC Site Selection
Ghosts of 2008 haunt the BRAC five.
The ghosts of 2008 are haunting the campaign for mayor and City Council, as candidates clash over events leading up to the relocation of more than 6,000 daily commuters to the city’s West End.